Dr. Carol L. Mueller is an experienced educator recently retired from Harford Community College where she was an assistant professor in math and Earth Science. In 2018, Dr. Mueller won the John and Suanne Roueche Teaching Excellence Award from the League for Innovation for her work in developmental education, and, in 2019, she won the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence award for her work at Harford Community College. She serves as treasurer for the National Organization for Student Success and vice president of the Maryland Chapter of the American Association of University Women. Dr. Mueller earned an associate degree in Education from the College of DuPage, a Bachelor of Education in Earth and Space Science, and a Master of Education in Geology and a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Arkansas. She is a firm believer in lifelong learning and in the last five years has completed two more certifications, one in Leadership for Higher Education and one in Developmental Education. Her interest in student success led her to serve on the board for the National Center for Developmental Education and as a presenter at the Kellogg Institute at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Since 2009, Dr. Mueller has worked with three schools in Meru District South in Kenya, helping them with resources needed to provide a quality education to their students. Dr. Mueller moved to Bel Air twenty years ago to work for HCPS. Both of her children graduated from HCPS, her son from Harford Tech and her daughter from Bel Air High School. Dr. Mueller is a strong advocate for students and is looking forward to serving the families of Harford County.

Mr. Wade Sewell is a lifelong Harford County resident, attending Youth’s Benefit Elementary School and graduating from Fallston High School in 1991. He attended Drexel University in Philadelphia, earning BS and MS degrees in Environmental Science. Wade worked at Aberdeen Proving Ground for the Chemical & Biological Defense Command as a part of his cooperative education work experience through Drexel. While working towards his Masters, Wade worked for Drexel and later DuPont to build their Radiation Safety programs. Wade returned to Fallston in 2000 to work as an environmental consultant. In 2002, Wade had the opportunity to purchase a local food distribution business introduced to him by his father. After successfully building this business for over a decade, Wade returned to school and completed an MBA with a focus on Supply Chain and Sustainability from the University of North Carolina. After completing his MBA in 2016, Wade sold his distribution business and started his own sustainability consulting company. In 2021, Wade launched another business focused on environmental commodities. Wade is married to Heather, and they have two children who both attend Harford County Public Schools. He supports the interests and endeavors of his children as much as possible, volunteering for the organizations they are involved in and working on projects together. Wade serves in multiple volunteer capacities in the community. Most recently Wade was the PTA Treasurer and Environmental Club leader at Youth’s Benefit Elementary School. Wade served on the HCPS North Star Parent Advisory Council, and he was the Harford County director for Strong Schools Maryland where he advocated for the passage of the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. He is currently a Board Member and Treasurer for Fallston Soccer.

Dr. Joyce Herold is the mother of a HCPS student, an active school volunteer and a participant in the Parent-Teacher Association. Professionally, Dr. Herold serves as the vice-president of True Life Wellness, LLC, a community health organization and parent company of Maryland Spine Institute (MSI), which she and her husband founded in 2007. In this capacity, Dr. Herold functions as Business Manager at MSI overseeing business operations and team development. Dr. Herold previously served as Academic Program Manager at Towson University in Northeastern Maryland (TUNE) where she oversaw academic program development and helped transfer students make successful transitions within the institution’s bachelor’s degree articulation pathways. Prior to transitioning to TUNE, Dr. Herold served on Towson University's main campus as Coordinator of Off-Campus Student Services where she developed a sustainable model for off-campus student engagement and development. While in this role, Dr. Herold partnered with local residents and government officials to improve Town/Gown relations and help students make successful transitions off campus. Dr. Herold holds a doctorate in Higher Education Administration, a Master of Arts in Secondary Education, and a Bachelor of Arts in English from West Virginia University. She and her husband, Dr. Rochelin Herold, are residents of Bel Air, MD, and have two young children.

Dr. Roy Phillips graduated with honors from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts and received his medical degree from the Chicago Medical School. Originally from Long Island, New York, he migrated back to the east coast for his internship and residency in internal medicine, and fellowship in endocrinology and metabolism, all at the University of Maryland Hospital. In 1982, after completion of his fellowship, he relocated to Harford County where he started a solo practice and became Harford County’s first endocrinologist. He was instrumental in the development of Harford Primary Care, LLC, and sat on its board for five years. Following private practice for 28 years, he joined the endocrinology practice at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in 2010 where he remains today. Additional health care responsibilities over his professional career have included division chief of endocrinology at Fallston General Hospital, Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, and Harford Memorial Hospital. Dr. Phillips also served in the capacity of physician advisor for quality assurance and utilization review for 15 years at Fallston General Hospital. He sat on the Harford County Health Planning Commission which reviewed initial plans for both Upper Chesapeake Medical Center and Lorien Riverside Health and Rehabilitation Facility. He spent 13 years as volunteer team physician for C. Milton Wright football from 1982-1995. He has delivered scores of lectures to physicians and other health care providers in the field of endocrinology, primarily in the areas of diabetes, thyroid, lipid and bone disorders. Dr. Phillips has a son and a daughter, both with advanced degrees, and two granddaughters. His wife of 41 years, Rhodora, passed away from breast cancer in 2018. In her honor and memory, he has started an endowed scholarship in her name in the nursing program at Harford Community College.

Ms. Patrice Ricciardi is the Sr. Director of Business Development at Freedom Federal Credit Union and is responsible for developing strategic business partnerships, which enable their employee groups to enjoy the benefits of the credit union. As a summa cum laude graduate of Siena College, she is member of the Delta Epsilon Sigma National Scholastic Honor Society with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and graduate studies at Georgia State University. Ms. Ricciardi has been a longtime advocate for education and serves on the Harford County Public Schools Citizens Advisory for Career and Technology Education, where she served as Chair for four years. She served as a PTA President in Baltimore County and was instrumental in the renovation of Carroll Manor Elementary School and the upgrade of the science labs at Dulaney High School. She has served on the Maryland State Department of Education Parent Advisory Council for Education, participates annually with the culminating assemblies for the HCPS Patriot Program, and is a regular volunteer across the school system, contributing to financial literacy education in the classroom. Ms. Ricciardi is also very involved with many non-profit organizations throughout Harford County including the Upper Chesapeake Health Foundation and is a member and past Treasurer of Women’s Giving Circle of Harford County. She recently joined the Harford Community College Foundation Board and is the Chair for the Harford County Chamber of Commerce. She has been acknowledged by the Daily Record as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women, twice as a Harford Community College Athena finalist, a Harford Leadership Academy graduate, a member of the Colonie Central High School Hall of Fame, and is a proud resident of Harford County.

Ms. Denise Perry is an Army Veteran and a federal government retiree. Her career included serving as an IRS Field Agent and an Internal Auditor for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Mrs. Perry is a graduate of Aberdeen High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Business and Accounting from the University of Maryland. Mrs. Perry and her husband, Dwight, have been Harford County residents for more than 30 years. Nineteen of those years have been in the Forest Oaks Community in Edgewood. They are the parents of two adult daughters and a son who is deceased. Her four grandchildren are currently attending Harford County Public schools. Mrs. Perry serves on the National Board of Directors of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Maryland State Veterans Commission, and the Edgewood Community Advisory Board. She also served a term on the Harford County Veterans Commission.

Mrs. Melissa Hahn is a resident of Jarrettsville where she has lived for the past six years with her husband and two children, one a recent graduate and the other a sophomore at North Harford High School. Mrs. Hahn received her certification in early childhood education and worked with pre-school aged children for more than eight years. She then worked for sixteen years as a case manager for Baltimore County Government until deciding to dedicate more time as a volunteer in her children's classrooms. She was a regular volunteer in Baltimore County Public Schools from 2010 until 2015 when she and her family moved to Harford County and then began volunteering in HCPS. Melissa has served as the Vice President of the PTSA and worked as a regular substitute at North Harford High School until being elected to serve on the HCPS Board of Education in 2022.

Ms. Carol Bruce currently resides in Aberdeen, Maryland in the family home purchased in 1963 with her husband, Don, a 23-year veteran of the U.S. Army. Ms. Bruce attended the Havre de Grace Colored School which was built in 1930 until it closed in 1954. She graduated from Havre de Grace Consolidated School in 1954. The school was built to avoid integration and was one of the two African American Schools in the county. Ms. Bruce received a BS degree from Morgan State College and an MBA from Morgan State University. She is a life member of the Morgan State University Alumnae Association and a member of the Harford County Alumnae Chapter. Ms. Bruce traveled with her husband and family, a daughter and two sons, until his retirement in 1985. They returned to Harford County and she worked for the U.S. Army in a variety of supervisory and management positions at Ft. Meade, Edgewood Area of APG, and Aberdeen Proving Ground, in Maryland. She retired from the U.S. Army Ordnance Center & School in 2006, as the Resource Manager in charge of personnel and finances. Ms. Bruce’s mother, Elizabeth Joyner Sawyer graduated from the Havre de Grace Colored School in 1940. She and her husband Thomas were the first African Americans to own a business in Havre de Grace, Maryland and owned it for over 30 years until 2007. Ms. Bruce served as a judge and chief judge for the Harford County Board of Elections for over 20 years. She was appointed to the Harford Board of Election by the governor in 2014. Ms. Bruce is a Diamond Life Member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and a member of the Harford County Chapter. She is a charter member of the Susquehanna Chapter of Blacks In Government (BIG), beginning her membership in 1977. She served in a variety of positions at the local, regional, and national levels for 40 plus years to include recognition as a Gold Plus Life Member. She is a recipient of the Region III Congressman Elijah Cummings Award. Ms. Bruce has served as a member of the Havre de Grace Colored School Museum and Cultural Center Board since its inception in 2017. Funds were raised to purchase the original school building in 2019 and it will be restored to its original state to serve as a facility to serve the community. It will provide the history of African Americans and the struggle to obtain education in the county as well as the country. On January 7, 2020, Ms. Bruce was named a Harford County Living Treasure by the Harford County Council. She received a Certificate of Appreciation from Harford Community College for outstanding participation in the Harford Civil Rights Project in October 2021. She is a Life Member of the NAACP and active with the local Harford County Chapter. Ms. Bruce is the proud mother of three children and has twelve grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Diane Alvarez is retired from the Army Test and Evaluation Center, where she dedicated 32 years to testing and evaluating military equipment. She is a graduate of Widener University with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Mrs. Alvarez knows that education starts at birth and continues throughout life. The most rewarding part of her career was mentoring interns who were always able to provide new vision. She served as a government advisor on the Army Science Board and recieved numerous awards throughout her career. She later returned to school to earn her Master’s degree in Human Services from Liberty University and uses this education to support charity work throughout Harford County. Mrs. Alvarez has taught parenting skills at the Harford County Detention Center and life skills at New Day Recovery Center and at local nonprofits. She is an active member of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church where she serves as a Eucharist Minister, visiting the homebound and hospitalized. She is a member of the Legion of Mary at St. Joan of Arc and its formation for the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites. Diane has been a resident of Havre de Grace since 1991 where she continues to reside with her husband Jorge. They have raised two boys and enjoy the laughter of two grandchildren.

Noa Blanken, a senior at North Harford High School, serves as the 2022-2023 Student Member on the Board of Education. At North Harford High School, Noa is taking part in the Natural Resource and Animal Science program and is focusing on companion animals in the Small Animal Strand. She enjoys taking on leadership positions in her school, including Senior Class President and Harford County Regional Association of Student Councils liaison for North Harford High School. Noa is a member of North Harford’s FFA chapter, Harford County Student Mental Health Council, HCPS Blueprint committee, North Harford High School’s livestock show team, and the Maryland Association of Student Councils. Noa has worked closely with the mental health specialists in the HCPS network to help ensure that every student’s needs are met. After high school, Noa plans on attending a four-year university, majoring in pre-veterinary medicine, and eventually continuing on to veterinary school.

Dr. Sean W. Bulson became Superintendent of Harford County Public Schools on July 1, 2018. Dr. Bulson holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations from American University, a master's degree in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) from Marymount University, and a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from George Washington University.

He began his education career in Montgomery County Public Schools, serving a total of 16 years before relocating to North Carolina in 2011 to become superintendent of Wilson County Schools. In 2016, Dr. Bulson joined the University of North Carolina (UNC) System to lead an initiative to open laboratory schools at UNC institutions to serve students from low-performing schools.

In Harford County, Dr. Bulson serves as a member of the Harford County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; legislative chair for the Public School Superintendents’ Association of Maryland (PSSAM); a member of the Council on Advancement of School-Based Health Centers (CASBHC); a member of the Economic Development Advisory Board; an executive committee member of the Harford Business Roundtable (HBRT); a member of the Harford County Education Foundation Board of Directors; a member of the Healthy Harford Board of Directors; and a member of the Susquehanna Workforce Network Board.