Public Commentary

Carmela Coyle is the President & CEO of the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA), a position she has held since July 2008. MHA is the advocate for Maryland hospitals, health systems, and the communities and patients they serve. In her role, Carmela is sharpening the association’s focus on advocacy and public policy. Quality and patient safety is a priority, where she is helping hospitals make health care in Maryland the safest in the nation. She is currently leading an effort to rethink the future of payment in Maryland and to both preserve and modernize Maryland’s Medicare waiver for the next 30 years. In addition to her post at MHA, Carmela also serves on the Board of the Maryland Patient Safety Center, the Maryland Healthcare Education Institute, and PRIME, MHA’s shared services organization.

Joseph T. Jones, Jr. is founder of the Center For Urban Families (CFUF), a Baltimore, Maryland nonprofit service organization established to empower low-income families by enhancing both the ability of women and men to contribute to their families as wage earners and of men to fulfill their roles as fathers. Prior to founding CFUF, Mr. Jones developed and directed the Men’s Services program for the federally funded Baltimore Healthy Start initiative and replicated the Baltimore affiliate of the nationally recognized STRIVE employment services program. His ability to engage and provide hands-on services to fathers garnered him the reputation of trailblazer in the field.  Mr. Jones is now a national leader in workforce development, fatherhood and family services programming, and through his professional and civic involvement influences policy direction nationwide.

Dr. Sharfstein is the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Previously, he served as the Commissioner of Health in Baltimore, Maryland and as the Principal Deputy Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In these positions, Dr. Sharfstein has pursued creative solutions to longstanding public health problems -- including drug addiction, school failure, unsafe consumer products, and most recently, cheap, candy-flavored cigars.

Marc B Terrill is the President of THE ASSOCIATED: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore. In his professional leadership role, Marc directs the day-to-day management and operations as well as the long-range planning for THE ASSOCIATED, with a primary emphasis on the development of human and financial resources. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and obtained his Masters in Social Work with a concentration in community organization from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University. Marc received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the Baltimore Hebrew University.

Mark Furst is the president and chief executive officer of United Way of Central Maryland. Prior to joining the organization in 2004, he spent over 25 years in banking, primarily in executive positions at M&T Bank and its predecessors.

Mark has volunteered on various nonprofit boards over the years and presently serves as a director of Baltimore City Head Start, GBC LEADERship and Baltimore Workforce Investment Board. He is also an advisor for Baltimore’s 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness and on the Mayor’s Pay for Success Workgroup.