Board of Directors

Joseph “Vanoni” Salek-Nejad, Secretary

Owner, Pizza di Joey

Joey was born and raised in Perth Amboy, New Jersey and learned the culinary art and science of pizza baking on a coal fired, brick oven in one of the country’s first pizzerias founded in 1930. After high school, Joey enlisted in the United States Navy. In his eight years of active military service, Joey has traveled far and wide, serving on land and at sea aboard submarines. In his travels, Joey’s passion for baking pizzas grew into a way for him to help boost morale among his fellow service members; a small taste of home quickly became an eagerly awaited, weekly tradition. Joey has baked pizzas everywhere from hundreds of feet under the sea, to the hills of Afghanistan. Now, after nearly a decade of service, Joey is bringing his authentic, NY-style pizza to the streets of Baltimore.

Joey remains dedicated to serving and helping those who have served and defended our country, freedoms, and the American spirit. Pizza di Joey employs veterans and disabled veterans to ensure that meaningful employment is afforded to those who have sacrificed so much in order to guarantee that Americans can safely indulge in simple pleasures, like pizza.

Board Member

Natalie Arteen, Vice President

Assistant Vice President, M&T Bank

Arteen is responsible for coordinating community involvement and volunteerism for M&T Bank’s Maryland and Greater Washington regions in partnerships with various non-profit organizations. She has served as a volunteer at The Baltimore Station for six years and facilitated a partnership with M&T Bank that included various sponsorships and also a comprehensive financial literacy program for residents. At M&T Bank she is also responsible for coordinating corporate hospitality events for M&T’s valued customers.

Arteen has two decades of experience in community outreach and corporate hospitality, with over 21 years of experience at M&T Bank. Arteen was appointed to M&T Bank’s President’s Council and is on the M&T’s Charitable Contribution Committees. Arteen serves on the Heart of the Schools Committee, and The Westport Academy Family Council.

Christopher Barnes

Senior Manager of Fleet Services at Baltimore Gas and Electric

Barnes has more than 22 years of military service as a Lieutenant Commander and five years in the corporate sector.

Jeff Cooper

CEO, Len The Plumber

Jeff Cooper has close to 25 years of experience as a business executive and is currently the CEO of Len The Plumber. He previously spent two decades working at Stanley Black & Decker (SBD) where he was the Global President of the Black & Decker business. Following his tenure with Stanley Black & Decker, Jeff served as the Chief Operating Officer and General Manager for BerettaUSA.

Throughout the years and varying business climates, Jeff has consistently demonstrated an ability to grow the business in terms of both top and bottom-line revenues. He enjoys building strong teams and strategies that make the workplace a motivational and success-oriented environment.

Jeff has been married to his wife, Laura, for 21 years. They enjoy their time watching their 18-year-old daughter, Ellie, and 15-year-old son, Jeffrey, play lacrosse.

Board Member

Michael Fonce

Program Graduate

Fonce is a 2017 graduate of The Baltimore Station’s program. A member of the Army from 1982 to 1991, Fonce entered The Station’s residential treatment program in June 2016. After a year and a half, Fonce successfully completed the program and moved into his own apartment. Celebrating five years of sobriety, Fonce is attending school to receive his certificate in Drug and Alcohol Counseling and credits the organization for helping him repair relationships with his kids and other family members and showing him there is a “better way of life.”

Alan Grace

First Vice President of CBRE

Alan is a location-agnostic agent for companies that are tenants or owner-occupants of office and industrial buildings. Alan Grace entered the commercial real estate brokerage industry in October of 1995. Alan’s career includes seven years at Insignia’s Baltimore office. Just prior to CBRE’s 2003 acquisition of Insignia, Alan became a principal at a boutique commercial real estate investment firm and split time between end-user focused transactions and acquisitions for the investment firm. The firm grew to 15 buildings. In January 2012, Alan joined CBRE in partnership with industry veteran and existing CBRE salesperson, Ketch Secor.

Stacy Kahatapitiya

Director of Industrial Hygiene Services – Arc Environmental, LLC

Stacy was introduced to The Baltimore Station as a volunteer in 2012; she enjoys spending time with the residents and finding meaningful ways to share in and support the mission of The Station. Originally from Ohio, Stacy moved to the Baltimore area after completing her undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina Wilmington and has over 19 years of diverse experience providing environmental consulting and industrial hygiene services to Federal, commercial, and industry clients worldwide. Stacy holds a Master of Science in Environmental Planning and Management from Johns Hopkins University and serves as a board member for several professional societies, including the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals National Capital Chapter where she is a Director and the Society of American Military Engineers where she currently serves as the Baltimore Post President. Stacy is an avid supporter of a number of community-based organizations and currently resides in Catonsville with her husband, Somendra, their two children, dog, and guinea pig.

Michael Lucero

Director, Cyber & Intelligence, BlueHalo

Lucero has more than 25 years of experience leading strategic growth with enterprise-level programs and projects across U.S. Government, commercial and non-profit organizations. A recipient of the Department of Energy’s Special Service Award, he graduated magna cum laude from the University of Maryland, College Park and received his Master of Science and Master of Business Administration from Johns Hopkins University.

Board Member

Cameron Mathis

Principal, Brown Advisory

Mathis is an equity research analyst with Brown Advisory and possesses a decade of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to coming to Baltimore, Mathis spent more than five years and held various positions with Evercore, an investment bank, in New York City. Also, while in New York, he was actively involved with the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award Foundation and specifically helped the Award flourish across the Northeast. Mathis is both a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and a lifelong supporter of current and former members of the US armed forces.

Tyler Mays

Client Executive/Associate General Counsel at RCM&D

In addition to more than a decade of experience as an insurance defense litigator, Mays has a deep connection to The Baltimore Station and remembers volunteering here as a teenager.

Linwood Nelson

Program Manager, ASRC Federal Mission Services

Linwood Nelson currently works for ASRC as a Program Manager. In his role, he is responsible for staff, budgets, and invoices totaling more than 40 million dollars annually. Additionally, he has owned and operated several small businesses to include an apparel company and a tutoring franchise. After high school, Linwood joined the United States Army and retired after 20 years of Active Duty service. During his military career, he served in various mid to senior-level leadership positions around the world and deployed on four combat tours. In his free time, Linwood enjoys spending time with family, outdoor activities and cooking. He is a native of Baltimore and has lived in Laurel, Maryland since his return in 2011.

Linwood holds BS in Business Management from the University of Phoenix and has a passion for helping others in need, especially his fellow military veterans.

Col. Michael Nelson

Practice Lead, Partner Engineering and Science, Inc.

Nelson is a retired member of the United States Army and has served in various engineering positions within the Army, Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve for the last 30 years. A graduate of West Point, Nelson also graduated cum laude from the University of Baltimore with a Juris Doctorate. Nelson is currently practice lead at Partner Engineering and Science, Inc., which offers full-service engineering, environmental and energy consulting and design services throughout the Americas, Europe and around the world.

Michele Renaud

Associate Brand Manager, T. Rowe Price

Michele Renaud is an Global Brand Manager at T. Rowe Price, a global asset management firm headquartered in Baltimore. Prior to T. Rowe Price, Michele followed her passion for marketing and held various roles within the asset management, retail, advertising and women’s wear industries.

With a deep belief that is important to recognize and thank those who gave so much, she looks forward to creating awareness for The Baltimore Station.

Michele is a graduate of Rider University.

Thomas M. Staskowski

Senior Population Health Strategy Consultant, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield

With more than a decade of experience in health care, Staskowski serves as a senior population health strategy consultant for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. He has extensive knowledge in the health care consulting field, where he educates providers on operational and clinical best practices with the patient’s best interest as a priority.

Staskowski is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University, where he studied Science, Health Policy and Administration, and furthered his education at DeSales University, earning his Master of Business Administration in Healthcare Administration and Planning and Contract Management.

Stuart Sutley

Frankie Velez

Vice President & General Manager, Praxis Engineering Technologies, LLC; A GDIT Company

With over 35 years of experience, Velez is the Peraton Vice President & General Manager responsible for the performance and success of the Cyber Intelligence Solutions Business in Annapolis Junction, MD. Mr. Velez has devoted almost his entire career to being part of or providing support to the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. With extensive experience in leadership, business, program management, his expertise centers around enabling organizations that provide software engineering and capability research support to government customers in the areas of emerging technologies and cybersecurity. Velez is a highly effective, results-oriented leader with expertise in coaching, mentoring, and optimizing employee performance focusing on overall team excellence. He served for 15 years in the United States Navy, working in cryptology and intelligence to run operations throughout the country and the world.

Outside of his professional career, Velez is an avid supporter of veterans. He volunteers his time to Ft. Meade Alliance Foundation (FMAF) as the vice president of the board of directors and the vice president of the Maryland State Chapter of the U.S. Military Vets Non-Profit.