Talbot Hospice Appoints Five New Board Members

Talbot Hospice board president Diane Rohman recently announced the appointment of five new directors to the board. They include Brenda Forbes-Butler, Liz Freedlander, Roberta Lilly, MD, Rev. Leonard Palmer and Elizabeth Todd. “I am pleased to welcome these new board members as ambassadors for Talbot Hospice,” said Rohman. “We are fortunate and honored to benefit from their time and talents. I am confident that during their tenure they will contribute to the well-being of Talbot Hospice as they help guide our institution through the next several years.”

Brenda Forbes-Butler will be serving a one year term as President of the Festival of Trees. Forbes-Butler is a consumer loan officer with 1880 Bank in Easton. She served as Chair of the Festival of Trees in 2014 and has been a Friends of Hospice board member for three years.

Seated (l-r) Talbot Hospice board president Diane Rohman, Rev. Leonard Palmer, Roberta Lilly, MD; standing (l-r) Talbot Hospice executive director Vivian Dodge, Brenda Forbes-Butler, Elizabeth Todd.

Liz Freedlander was Executive director of Talbot Hospice Foundation for 14 years from 1990 until 2004. During her tenure the Hospice House was constructed and the Pathways pre-hospice, non-medical volunteer program was instituted. Since then she has served as Director of Advancement at The Country School and has been Director of Development at Horn Point Laboratory for the past ten years. She is a registered Fund-Raising Counsel in Maryland and has provided consultant services to nonprofit organizations including the Talbot County Library Foundation, the Maryland Arts Council and Channel Marker. Freedlander is a past president of the board of directors of Hospice and Palliative Care Network of Maryland.

Roberta Lilly, MD is a breast surgeon and the medical director of the Clark Comprehensive Breast Center in Easton. She originally trained in transplant surgery, but after the death of her husband, the need to have more time for her young daughter led her to complete a fellowship in surgical oncology of the breast at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Lilly is board certified by the American Board of Surgeons and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Lilly was honored as a Hometown Hero at the American Cancer Society’s Colors of Cancer in 2015.

Rev. Leonard Palmer is pastor of St. Luke United Methodist Church in Bellevue. He was previously pastor of St. George United Methodist Church in Worton. For the past 14 years, Palmer has been employed by the Department of Social Services in Anne Arundel and Talbot Counties. He is a member of Strengthening the Black Church for the 21^st Century task force and volunteers for the Talbot Healthy Communities Coalition and the Mid-Shore Mediation Center.

Elizabeth Todd is currently a Risk Manager with Maryland Medicine Comprehensive Insurance Program. For 16 years prior, Todd was employed by the UM Shore Regional Health System in the Dialysis Unit, the Neurology Unit at the Requard Center for Acute Rehabilitation and as Nurse Navigator at Shore Comprehensive Rehabilitation. She has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Bioethics. Todd’s professional activities include serving as co-chair of the Patient Care Advisory Committee and the Quality and Performance Improvement Council, Rehabilitation Services.

Leaving the board are Jack Anthony, Susan Piggott, Bill Rolle, Adrienne Rudge and Tom Seip. Rohman said, “These directors have brought a wealth of diverse talents and experience as well as passion and commitment to our mission. We were immensely fortunate to have these distinguished community leaders on our board.”