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Rural Maryland Council

Rural Maryland Council Elects 2026 Leadership

Annapolis, MD – The Rural Maryland Council (RMC) and its membership convened at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Annapolis on Wednesday, November 19, 2025, for its Annual Meeting and Rural Impact Awards Ceremony. Executive Board elections for the 2026 calendar year were held and the following Officers were re-elected:

• Chair: Ms. Susan O’Neill
• First Vice Chair: Greg Padgham
• Second Vice Chair: Dr. Heidi Anderson
• Immediate Past Chair: John Hartline

Ms. Susan O’Neill currently serves as the Executive Director for the Upper Shore Regional Council (USRC), a cooperative planning and development agency for Cecil, Kent, and Queen Anne’s counties. USRC plans and implements programs to improve the quality of life in the Upper Shore Region of Maryland. Ms. O’Neill will be serving her fourth year as Board Chair. “It’s a privilege to continue leading the Rural Maryland Council alongside such dedicated and talented partners,” said O’Neill. “Our rural communities are resilient, innovative, and full of possibility. Together, we will keep pushing for the investment, collaboration, and resources needed to help them flourish.”

Mr. Greg Padgham serves as the Executive Director of the Tri-County Council for the Lower Eastern Shore of Maryland, the purpose which is to facilitate regional planning and development in Somerset, Wicomico, and Worcester counties. Mr. Padgham will be serving his fourth year as First Vice Chair.

Dr. Heidi M. Anderson was named the 16th president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on September 1, 2018. President Anderson, herself a first-generation college student, leads a campus focused on excellence in teaching, research, and community outreach. This is Dr. Anderson’s third
year serving as an Officer.

Mr. John Hartline serves as the Executive Director for the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, a cooperative planning and development agency that fosters social and economic development in Southern Maryland, composed of Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s Counties. Mr. Hartline currently serves as immediate past chair and will serve as the Chair of the Joint Planning and Development Committee.

New Board Members include the following:

  • Sheebah Smith, Deputy Director with the Calvert County Office of Economic Development, Representing District 3 – Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary’s Counties.
  • Dee Anna Sobczak, CEO of Think Big Networks, Representing For-Profits
  • Carmella Watkins, Executive Director of Ivy and Pearls of Southern Maryland Community Charities, Inc., representing Non-Profits

Stakeholder changes include:

  • Paul Ellington, USDA Rural Development State Director for Delaware and Maryland.
  • Dona Sorce, Director of Community Development Block Grants with the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, replacing Cindy Stone.
  • A stakeholder change for Commerce will be announced in January

The Rural Maryland Council operates under the direction of a 40-member executive board in a nonpartisan and nondiscriminatory manner. It serves as the state’s federally designated rural development council and functions as a voice for rural Maryland, advocating for and helping rural communities and businesses across the state to flourish and to gain equity to its suburban and urban counterparts. The vision for RMC is the ultimate realization that residents in rural communities are achieving success in education and employment, have access to affordable, quality health care and other vital public services, and live in an environment where natural and cultural resources are being sustained for future generations.

Click here to view the official 2026 RMC Leadership Announcement 12.1.2025 press release.