Shepherd"s Clinic Board of Directors | Shepherd's Clinic - Healthcare for the Uninsured in Baltimore

Sara Cawrse, CRNP

Staff Nurse Practitioner

Sara Cawrse joined Shepherd’s Clinic in 2011 as a volunteer nurse. She became a staff nurse practitioner in 2012 and assistant to the medical director in 2014. Sara received her BSN and MSN from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing where she also participated in the Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows Program. The Fellows Program allowed Sara to expand her experience in community health and reinforced her commitment to working with underserved communities. Sara believes in taking a holistic approach to healthcare and has a particular interest in empowering patients through health education.

Kelly Arguero

Nurse Coordinator

Kelly Arguero has a Bachelor’s Degree in Public and Community Health from University of Maryland, College Park, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing from Drexel University in Philadelphia. Her background includes direct nursing care at MedStar Montgomery Medical Center working as an emergency department RN. She currently spends some of her free time as an active volunteer crisis counselor with Crisis Text Line. Kelly joined Shepherd’s Clinic during the summer of 2020. She is eager to combine her nursing and policy backgrounds to deliver quality health care to underserved populations while learning from her patients. Kelly is excited to work with Shepherd’s Clinic to help community members who are most in need of compassionate health care.

Clifford Mitchell, MS, MD, MPH

Nathaniel Chase

Mark J. Bittle, DrPH, MBA, FACHE

David E. Finney

George Moran, MD

Stuart B. Bell

MD

Elizabeth Burger, MPA-

Treasurer

William K. Bleser, PhD, MSPH

Vice President

Alan Yuspeh, JD, MBA

President

Tracy Holcomb, RN

Joy Wellness Center Program Director

Tracy Holcomb is the Program Director of the Joy Wellness Center and MedStar Community Health Educator. Her background includes 14 years of direct clinical nursing care at MedStar Union Memorial Hospital and a Masters in Community/Public Health Nursing. Tracy began at the clinic as a Nurse Diabetes Educator in 2015 and became Program Director in 2017. Her responsibilities at the Joy Wellness include overseeing wellness programs such as yoga, massage, acupuncture, nutrition classes, movement, stress reduction, and health education that reach over 2,500 appointments annually. She is most proud of living and working in this community throughout her entire nursing career.

Rebecca Peterson, CCHW

Community Health Advocate

Rebecca Peterson is Shepherd’s Clinic’s Community Health Advocate. She works out of MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital making sure that patients know about Shepherd’s Clinic, the services that we offer and how to access them. With a background in broadcast journalism, production, media consulting, public relations, Rebecca conducts community outreach, and is certified to facilitate health education classes for diabetes self-management. Prior to Rebecca’s position as Community Health Advocate, she worked as an Outreach Representative at the Center for Successful Aging at MedStar Good Samaritan Hospital.

Preethi Gopal

Patient Intake Coordinator / Executive Assistant

Preethi graduated from Johns Hopkins University in May of 2020. Prior to being offered the position as Patient Intake Coordinator and Executive Assistant, Preethi served as a Front Desk Volunteer and found it to be one of the most meaningful experiences she had while in college and an influence in her decision to go to medical school in the future. Preethi is excited to be a part of Shepherds’ mission to provide comprehensive healthcare to the Baltimore Community.

Nichelle Newton, RN

Staff Nurse

Nichelle Newton has a Bachelors in Public and Community Health from the University of Maryland-College Park, a Master of Science in Health Systems Management from University of Baltimore, an Associate’s Degree in Nursing from Howard Community College. Nichelle’s primary area of interest is in health care disparities that exist among minorities and people of lower income. She believes everyone deserves access to affordable and quality healthcare.

Nezia Munezero Kubwayo

Director Of Philanthropy

Nezia Munezero Kubwayo is the Director of Philanthropy at Shepherd’s Clinic. She has managed communications and development efforts for non-profits for over a decade. Nezia previously worked in refugee resettlement for the Ethipian Development Council and Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area. She also worked as the Executive Director of Night of Peace Family Shelter prior to serving in the information management branch of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Nezia completed her BA in Political Science and French at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and received her MA in International Human Rights Law from the American University in Cairo.

Meredith Kerr, Rn

Staff Nurse

Meredith Kerr, MSN, FNP-DNP: student 2021 (both degrees from Hopkins). Meredith has a previous career in design with BFA from MICA. She lived in Baltimore since 2005 and loves it. At present she is a public health RN at multiple local non-profits, focusing on substance use disorder treatment and harm reduction. She has been a staff nurse at Shepherd’s since 2018 and also is the Medication Assisted Treatment Community Specialist for the Shepherd’s buprenorphine program.

Michele Mccomas, Rn

Clinical Manager

Michele McComas, RN, serves as the Clinical Manager. Michele volunteered at Shepherd’s from 2006 until 2013, when she then joined as a staff member. Present duties include maintaining and teaching use of our electronic medical records, managing and scheduling staff and volunteers, overseeing education of patients, maintaining equipment, discovering ways to obtain reduced-cost and free medications for our patients, and maintaining patient databases

Libby Aldridge, MPH

Development Assistant

Before moving to Baltimore, Libby worked conducting health policy research and community outreach for 504HealthNet, a non-profit association of 60 federally qualified health centers in New Orleans. She started at Shepherd’s Clinic as a volunteer in January 2019 while earning her direct-entry Master of Science in Nursing degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, and became a part-time employee in July. At present she serves as the Development Assistant, and helps with donor correspondence, donation tracking, and grant writing. She is specifically interested in expanding access to healthcare, and enjoys working to help support the Shepherd’s mission to do so.

Kari Parreco

Referral Coordinator

Kari has B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a Psychology Minor. She also has an Associate of Science in Chemistry with a Premedical Professional focus. Prior to her accepting her current position at Shepherd’s Kari served for 3 years as a Front Desk Volunteer.
In response to COVID-19, Kari became a Certified Application Counselor and now assists eligible patients with insurance enrollment.

Haley Taylor, LCPC

Behavioral Health Director

Haley Taylor is the Behavioral Health Director. Haley obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from West Virginia University and a Masters of Science in Clinical Community Counseling from Johns Hopkins University. She has worked in the counseling field for the past 12 years. Prior to counseling, Haley worked in substance abuse treatment research at Johns Hopkins University for 6 years. Haley enjoys spending time with family, and watching West Virginia and Pittsburgh Steelers football.

Ellen Sangiamo

Volunteer & Onboarding Administrator

Ellen started her tenure at Shepherd’s as an Administrative Volunteer followed by serving 2 service years as Volunteer Coordinator through the Americorps Volunteer Maryland Program. She started volunteering at Shepherd’s after being at home full time raising her 3 boys who are now adults. Ellen has a strong interest in integrative medicine and helping people to access quality healthcare.

Allison Revels

Joy Wellness Center Program Coordinator

Allison earned her Bachelor’s of Health Science Degree from Towson University and spent 5 years working in the Community Health field before coming to Shepherd’s where she started as a Health Science Intern before accepting her position of Program Coordinator. Allison’s area of focus is Health Education and Promotion. While earning her undergraduate degree, she assisted in designing a youth intervention to influence the need for building healthy relationships in the community. Allison has always had a passion for integrative health and plans to continue her education in Herbal Medicine.

ADONGO MATTHEWS, MBA

Executive Director

Adongo Matthews is a non-profit professional who joined Shepherd’s Clinic in December 2019 as the Executive Director. Adongo brings almost a decade of experience working with underserved families in Baltimore. She previously worked as the Manager of a Community Action Center (CAP) in Baltimore City where she focused on financial empowerment, housing stability and utility affordability for Baltimore’s most vulnerable populations. At CAP she had the unique opportunity to work one on one with clients at the center level while also working as part of the leadership team. She was able to witness the daily struggles that clients faced, while also having a hand in the policies and procedures necessary to maximize assistance to families. Adongo holds an MBA from Alvernia University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Morgan State University.

Kathleen Mchugh, MD

Medical Director

Dr. Kathy McHugh joined the staff of Shepherd’s Clinic in 2011 as a volunteer primary care physician. She became medical director in 2016. Dr. McHugh has worked as a primary care physician and hospitalist at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Boston and at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. She is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and did her residency training in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. Dr. McHugh has a special interest in caring for underserved populations and patients who struggle with chronic illnesses.

Our Board