Board of Advisors
The mission of the Loyola School of Education Board of Advisors is to assist the dean and the leadership of the School to enact the vision, values, and plans of Loyola University Maryland in the lives of the undergraduate and graduate students and faculty, administrators, and staff of Loyola University Maryland.
Martin Knott, ’01, Chair
B.A. in History and Philosophy, Loyola College in Maryland (now Loyola University Maryland)
Martin Knott is the managing director of professional services at Moodlerooms, an enterprise education service software provider. Previously, he established The Shepherd Group, a retained executive search firm, after serving as a managing director of three global search firms. Knott was also owner/CEO of an engineering and construction mechanical contracting company serving the mid-Atlantic region, and chairman and CEO of a major real estate holding company. He is a trustee of The Marion I. and Henry J. Knott Foundation.
He resides in Easton, MD.
Andrew J. Bowden, Esq., ’83
B.A. in History, Loyola College in Maryland (now Loyola University Maryland)
J.D., University of Pennsylvania
Andrew Bowden is associate director of the National Investment Adviser/Investment Company Examination Program in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE). He was previously the executive director at Legg Mason Capital Management, where he was responsible for sales, service, and marketing. Prior to assuming the role of executive director, he served as general counsel and chief operating officer. Bowden also previously served as deputy general counsel for Legg Mason, Inc.
Bowden resides in Millersville, MD.
Mary Beth Brady
B.A. in English/Pre-Med, Georgetown University
M.D., Georgetown University
Residency and fellowship in anesthesiology, Johns Hopkins University
Mary Beth Brady is an assistant professor at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the department of anesthesiology and critical care medicine, the medical director of the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit, and director of The Intraoperative Transesophageal Echocardiography Program.
Brady resides in Cockeysville, MD.
Noelle Fracyon, ’89
B.A. in Marketing, Loyola College in Maryland (now Loyola University Maryland)
R.N., Villa Julie College (now Stevenson University)
Noelle Fracyon is a practicing aesthetic nurse at Chesapeake Plastic Surgery and she is owner of Lazer-Rx, LLC. She serves as first vice-president of the Raskob Foundation for Catholic Activities and as director of the Bill Raskob Foundation. She is also a member of the Maryland Catholic Conference for Education and Family Life.
Fracyon and her family reside in Sherwood Forest, MD.
Elaine Grillo
Parent of Elizabeth,’08
B.A. in Education, The College of St. Elizabeth
M.A. in Administration and Supervision in Education, The College of St. Elizabeth
Elaine Grillo is a former elementary school teacher. She is currently a trustee for the Kemmerer Library in Harding Township, NJ.
Grillo and her husband, Anthony, reside in New Vernon, NJ.
Jean C. Halle, ’80
B.A. in Accounting from Loyola College (now Loyola University Maryland)
Parent of Danielle, '10
Jean C. Halle is currently an independent education consultant. Prior to this she worked as the chief executive officer of Calvert Education Services from 2002 to 2010. From 1983–2001 Ms. Halle held ever increasing roles of responsibility with the Baltimore Sun, eventually becoming the chief financial officer and vice president of new business development for Times Mirror Interactive. Halle is currently a member of the board of directors for American Public Education, Inc., a provider of online higher education.
Her current business and civic responsibilities include:
Advisory Board Member for Stevenson University
Advisory Board Member for Citybizlist, Baltimore
Member, Women’s Education Alliance, Archdiocese of Baltimore
Board of Directors Member, American Public University System
Board Member for St. Joseph School, Cockeysville, MD
Senior Advisor, Dinnertime, Inc.
Board Member and Treasurer for Catholic Distance University
Fellow, National Association of Corporate Directors
Architectural Chair, Pebblecreek Community Association
Halle resides in Lutherville, MD.
Larry Jennings
Parent of Jessica,’14
B.S./M.C.S. in Mathematics and Economics, Carnegie Mellon University
M.S.I.A. in Finance and Strategy, Carnegie Mellon University
Larry Jennings is the senior managing director and co-founder of ValStone Partners, LLC, a registered investment advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a private equity investment firm. Prior to helping establish ValStone Partners, Jennings was a principal with Carnegie Morgan Partners, a financial advisory firm that he founded in 1994. He has also served in several roles of increasing responsibility, including managing director, with Legg Mason Wood Walker, and as a senior financial analyst with Maryland National Bank.
Jennings and his family reside in Baltimore, MD.
Deborah Phelps
B.A. in Education, Fairmont State University
M.Ed. in Educational Management and Supervision, Loyola University Maryland
Deborah Phelps is the newly appointed Director for The Baltimore County Public Schools Education Foundation which provides resources for students and teachers and funds for innovative programs. Widely regarded as an innovative, talented leader and master teacher with more than three decades of teaching and administrator experience, Ms. Phelps began her career as a teacher in Harford County Public Schools in 1974. Over the course of her distinguished career, she evolved her experiences from teacher to team leader to department chair to middle school principal in Baltimore County. She has been a BCPS Teacher of the Year Finalist, twice named Maryland Family and Consumer Science Teacher of the Year, and was named Baltimore County’s “Baby Boomer of the Year, 2004.” She co-chaired the “One Campaign” for the Harford County Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and is a member of the Board of Directors for Maryland Character Education, The Children’s Guild, Northwest Hospital and The Michael Phelps Foundation. She serves on the national advisory board for The American Students’ Fund and Rachel’s Challenge and is an education presenter for many organizations throughout the United States. Ms. Phelps has also written a book titled "A Mother for All Seasons," released in April 2009.
Phelps resides in Baltimore, MD.
Janet M. Rohner
B.S. in Industrial Management, Carnegie Mellon University
M.A.S., Johns Hopkins University
Master of Human Resource Development, Johns Hopkins University
Janet Rohner is director of human resources at Verizon Communications in Silver Spring, MD. She also serves as the first vice president of Folly Quarter Middle School’s Parent/Teacher Association and River Hill High School Parent/Teacher/Student Association as well as the executive advisory board of Future Business Leaders of America.
Rohner and her family reside in Ellicott City, MD. Rohner’s husband, Stephen A. Rohner, received his MBA from Loyola in 1993.
Askew “Skipp” Sanders
B.A. in Philosophy, Licentiate in Sacred Theology, St. Mary’s Seminary
Doctorate of Education, University of Pennsylvania
Skipp Sanders is the executive director of The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture. He was previously the associate superintendent of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Prior to that, Sanders served in the Maryland State Department of Education from 1980-2008 of which the last 14 years were in the role of Deputy State Superintendent under Superintendent Nancy Grasmick. Sanders was a professor of Urban Educational Leadership at Morgan State University and was a professor of education at Goucher College.
Sanders resides in Baltimore, MD.