Meet the Commissioners

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Jenna lives in St. Michaels with her husband Ben and two boys ages 6 and 10.  Jenna has an undergraduate Degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in Public Administration and Policy. 

In 2010, Jenna and Ben purchased Home Instead in Easton, which provides non-medical home care to older adults such as companionship, meal preparation, light housekeeping, medication reminders, transportation, and personal care services.   Jenna manages the office and business finances as well as works in the community advocating for seniors. 

Jenna is currently the Legislative Liaison for the Talbot County Commission on Aging, previously she was the chairman for four years.

Ellen moved to Easton from Alexandria, Virginia where she was Business Manager for The Port Packet Newspaper and then Advertising Manager for Our Nation’s Oldest Daily Newspaper, The Alexandria Gazette and its seven group papers including The Walter Reed Stripe and The Pentagram News. She became Assistant to the Director of Economic Development for Talbot County and then Talbot County Office of Tourism Coordinator. She retired as Intake Coordinator for an Easton award winning non-profit. Ellen is a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) member, has been a Talbot Humane volunteer and is a volunteer with the Talbot Hospice Foundation since 2010.  

Lee is a licensed certified social worker- clinical. She received her Master of Social Work degree from Salisbury University. She has been a practicing social worker with Talbot County Department of Social Services since 1999 and is currently an Adult Services Social Worker. Lee is also a member and past president (2020- 2021) of the Tidewater Rotary Club. She is married and has two teenage sons. 

Jen is the manager for the University of Maryland Shore Regional Health’s Inpatient Rehabilitation program in Easton. She received her baccalaureate degree in Health Care Administration from the University of New Hampshire and a Master’s in Occupational Therapy from the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. In 2006 Jennifer relocated to the Eastern Shore from Seattle and joined the University of Maryland Shore Rehab team. She became certified in lymphedema therapy in 2007.   

Marion is a registered nurse and she received her master’s degree in Health Care Administration from Simmons College in Boston.  Her prior work experience includes acute care nursing, then followed by a 30-year career in the home health care field where she held senior and executive level positions in both for-profit and non-profit companies in the north east. Marion was a founder and board member of Maryland Community for Life℠-Talbot. She became involved with the organization in 2015 when it first began as Talbot Village Connections. She continued with the organization until November 2020 when she oversaw the organization’s merger with Partners in Care. Marion currently volunteers for Partners in Care, Brookletts Place Senior Center, and Maryland Medical Response Corps. Marion and her husband Jack reside in Easton. Marion has been a member of the Talbot County Commission on Aging since 2015. 

Veda L. Gibson joined the Talbot County Commission on the Aging as a member on October 26, 2020. Currently employed by the Housing Commission of Talbot, she serves as the Manager of Asbury Place Apartments in Easton, Maryland.  Asbury Place Apartments is an apartment building for seniors who can live independently and are sixty-two (62) years of age and older. Veda brings to the Commission her experience of thirty-nine (39) years as a retired Banker and fifteen (15) years as a Caregiver for the elderly. She enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. Veda has been a member of the Commission since 2021.   

Grace Lyons is the Community Relations Director at Candle Light Cove Assisted Living & Memory Care. She recently joined the commission in May 2022!  Grace thoroughly enjoys working with seniors and felt that the commission would offer her further opportunity to support seniors in the community, while learning about resources available to local seniors. The members of the commission have been a wealth of information, as each of them brings a unique perspective and experience to our meetings and events. She looks forward to learning more through the commission and taking an active role in enhancing the lives of seniors in Talbot County!

Megan has lived in Easton since 2007 and works at Talbot Hospice where she is the Pathways and Volunteer Coordinator. Prior to her current position, she had worked at Mid-Shore Pro Bono where she managed the Elder Law Project. Over the years, she has volunteered with Habitat for Humanity and the Mid-Shore Community Foundation Scholarship Program. She enjoys the slower pace of Eastern Shore living and all of the good things that come with it.

Rachel is the Director of Sales & Marketing at Londonderry On The Tred Avon. She has been with Londonderry for more than four years and loves working with the residents and the entire staff. Prior to her role at Londonderry, Rachel worked for several homebuilders which gave her a wealth of experience in new home sales and construction and working with clients to create their dream homes. 

Rachel is an Easton native and grew up on a farm with her two younger brothers. She attended Salisbury University where she met her husband, Jeff. Together they are raising three active boys and enjoy spending time with family nearby.

Kate Stinton, RN, LCSW has been employed at the Talbot County Health Department since 2006 and is currently the program manager for Senior Services and Community Care Coordination. Previous employment includes staff RN at Dorchester General, and Memorial Hospital at Easton. Kate has resided in Talbot County since 1999 and is married with three grown sons.

Lynn Mielke is a graduate of Washington College (’72) and the University of Baltimore School of Law (’79). She was admitted to the Maryland State Bar in November, 1979. She has resided in Talbot County and practiced law on the Mid-Shore since 1979. She was an Assistant Public Defender for Talbot County in the early 1980s. She operated a general practice, with a concentration in family law, until her retirement in 2016.

Over the past 43 years she has served on the Board of many volunteer organizations including: Mid Shore Council on Family Violence (founding board member and Treasurer); Talbot County Mental Health Association; Talbot County Hospice; Home for Aged Women (now Dixon House); and Talbot County Pro Bono. She is a past president of the Talbot County Bar Association. She served on the Judicial Nominating Commission of the Association of the Maryland State Bar Association. Since her retirement she has served on the Easton Club Community Association Board of Directors and Sts. Peter and Paul Women’s Guild. She volunteers for several Talbot County arts organizations: Waterfowl Festival, Plein Air, and Tred Avon Players. Lynn was elected to serve on the Talbot County Council in November 2022. 

Lynn resides in Easton with her fur baby who she adopted from Talbot Humane.

Andy is the newly appointed (May 2022) Executive Director of Upper Shore Aging, Inc. For the last 20 years, Hollis has held several key leadership roles in government and nonprofit organizations on the Mid-Shore. He has provided leadership in day-to-day operations, administration, and fiscal matters.  As the former Talbot County Manager, he was responsible for overseeing the preparation, approval, and implementation of multi-million-dollar operating and capital budgets.  Hollis previously served as Executive Director of Londonderry Retirement Community of Easton, Inc. and as Town Manager of St. Michaels, Maryland. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a major in Urban Studies/Urban Planning from the University of Maryland, College Park. He resides in Easton with his wife Karen.

Childlene, is a Talbot County native. She attended the former Fredrick Douglass Elementary School in St Michaels and spent 4 years at Robert Russa Moton High School prior to transferring to St. Michaels High School In 1967. She completed a business course at the Baltimore Institute and has taken classes at Chesapeake College.

Childlene retired from the State of MD, Talbot County Health Department in 2010 and began working at Brookletts Place Talbot County Senior Center in 2011 as the Program Coordinator. She currently serves as the Manager, a position she has held since 2014.

Childlene is a lifelong member of New St. Johns United Methodist Church, Wittman, and currently serves on the Missions Outreach Committee. 

Very involved in the community, Childlene has served on numerous boards in the past to include but not limited to, the American Cancer Society, at the local, state, and regional levels; Critchlow Adkins Children’s Center; and Mid-Shore Pro Bono. She is currently an active Board Member of CASA of the Mid-Shore; Talbot Hospice Foundation; Frederick Douglass Honor Society; Bay Hundred Community Volunteers; Inc., Mid Shore Pancreatic Cancer Foundation, and co-founder of the Family Friends of Asbury & Green Chappel, Inc.

Marion Donahue, Ellen Taggert, and Rachel Smith

Ellen Taggert and Jenna Marchi

Lee Newcomb and Jen Pierson