Leadership
Suzanne M. Salichs, Ph.D., Director
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Dr. Salichs joined Centro Hispano in June, 2024 as executive director.
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She has many years of experience in nonprofit administration, public service, grant acquisition and management, and organizational development, including establishing a community center to serve rural populations in Oklahoma. She has a Ph.D. in leadership and higher education as well as a master´s degree in public administration.
Board
Dan Blum, Chair
A resident of Frederick for 30 years, Dan has been working with Centro Hispano since 2017, starting as a volunteer teacher.
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He is a business analyst at NIH, helping to design and develop software to support research and grant management at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Danielle "Dani" Adams
Danielle is the Executive Officer of the Frederick County Building Industry Association, having joined FCBIA in 2021 from a family that has been in the building industry over 50 years.
As a native personally and professionally of Frederick County, Danielle’s career has spanned the financial, legal, educational, and nonprofit sectors. She is a builder of valuable and lasting relationships, advocating for needs of FCBIA’s members to be informed, engaged, and successful.
Manny Casiano
Manuel “Manny” Casiano practiced general surgery for 23 years in Frederick, and then completed an MBA at Hood College in 2004.
He served as a director on the Frederick Memorial Hospital Board for six years and later moved into an administrative role, serving as Vice-President and Chief Medical Officer for 14 years. Among other things, Manny was charged with overseeing population health throughout the health system, including managing the organization’s COVID-19 efforts internally and in the County.
Manny and his wife Carmen raised their two children in Frederick and continue to live in Frederick City.
Megan Kirk
Megan is a Senior Consultant at Ellucian, a global higher education technology provider. She has a background in public service strategy and management consulting, human resources, and public administration. With her strategy and management consulting background, she has experience helping public service organizations develop sustainable strategies and transforming that strategy into action through collaborative initiative development, process improvement, and project management. Megan received her MPA from George Mason University located in Fairfax, VA.
Megan moved to Frederick in March 2020 with her wife, Amanda, and is grateful for the opportunity to serve the community she now calls home.
Art Rathell
Arthur L. Rathell, III is Senior Vice President/Residential Mortgage Manager at ACNB. Mr. Rathell is responsible for residential mortgage lending, including sales and processing, throughout the Bank’s southcentral Pennsylvania and central Maryland footprint. He works with the Bank in Frederick County.
Art has more than 20 years of experience in the residential mortgage lending industry and for many years has been active in advocating for the Hispanic immigrant community.
Susy Sessons
Susy is Branch Manager for Patriot Federal Credit Union located in Frederick and has been managing teams since 2000. Susy enjoys leading and developing her teams both professionally and personally.
Susy is first generation American; her parents immigrated to the United States from El Salvador in the 1970’s. Susy was born and raised in Silver Spring MD and moved to Frederick with her husband and son in 2013. Outside of work you can find Susy reading, eating good food, traveling, and spending quality time with friends and family.
Marisel Torres-Crespo, Ph.D
Marisel Torres Crespo has over 20 years of experience in higher education. She is a Professor of Education at Hood College, where she teaches, directs the Curriculum and Instruction and Multidisciplinary Studies Graduate Programs, and serves as Coordinator of Online Instruction.
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Fluent in English and Spanish, Marisel focuses on improving teaching and learning through innovative, research-based methods. Her mission is to empower the Frederick community—educators, learners, and citizens — by providing them with the knowledge and skills needed to thrive in the 21st century.
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She has lived in Frederick since 2012, when she moved from Puerto Rico with her husband, daughter and a bunch of pets!
Aaron Vander Meer
Aaron Vander Meer has more than fifteen years of experience in the field of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. He obtained his Bachelor’s of Social Work from Calvin College and his Master’s in Clinical Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Aaron holds an advanced clinical social work license in Maryland and is a nationally credentialed work incentives planner. He also holds a national certificate of achievement in employment services.
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Aaron has worked both nationally and internationally, designing and implementing person-centered programs. He has a background in non-profit leadership, program development, and community partnership building.
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Aaron is also the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Maryland Coalition of Families and a member of Hood College’s Social Work Advisory Committee.
Community Liaison
Officer First Class Maggie Lee
Officer First Class Maggie Lee joined Frederick Police Department in 2015. OFC Lee was assigned to the School Resource Officer Team in 2017 where she is currently the assigned SRO for Maryland School for the Deaf. In 2023, OFC. Lee was awarded her Comfort K9 Partner, Fred who works to bring support to her students and staff. OFC. Lee is also a certified Crisis Negotiator, member of the Critical Incident Stress Management Team, and leads a criminal justice youth group for teens.
OFC. Lee began working with Centro Hispano de Frederick in 2019 assisting in building understanding between the Hispanic community and law enforcement. Specifically working with the EXITO STEAM Program, OFC. Lee has been able to build lasting relationships with at-risk youth in the community. It is her passion to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for all community members where there can be open and honest communication built on trust.
Currently, OFC. Lee continues to work with EXITO assisting to create First Responder Days where a wide variety of law enforcement personnel spend time with youth sharing their skills and hoping to inspire a friendship they can carry into adulthood.