The Baltimore Station, a residential treatment program supporting veterans and others transitioning from homelessness and addiction to self-sufficiency, has added five new members to its board of directors. Jay Larson, Frank McNeil, Jr., Joseph Salek-Nejad, Adam Skolnik, CPM, ARM and Lawrence “Eric” Wyss, CFP®, AEP®, CTFA were recently elected to the board and will join 11 Baltimore-area community and business leaders to help guide the organization’s therapeutic residential recovery program.
“The board of directors plays an integral role in the oversight of The Baltimore Station’s programming and provides invaluable support that contributes to the success of the organization,” said Lou Kousouris III, president of The Baltimore Station’s Board of Directors. “As a board, we are confident the new members’ passion for the organization and its work will translate into continued growth and enhanced programming for homeless veterans in Baltimore.”
Jay Larson
Operations Manager, Johnson Controls
Jay Larson currently serves as operations manager for Johnson Controls where he is responsible for the leadership and growth of a business unit that generates $2 million in yearly revenue. Prior to joining Johnson Controls, Larson served as an officer in the Army in various company and battalion leadership positions. Larson holds an MBA from Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business and a bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy. He is also a lacrosse coach at Loyola Blakefield.
Franklin McNeil, Jr.
Vice President/Community Consultant, PNC Bank, Greater Maryland Community Development Banking
A former Marine, Frank served for eight years as an artillery officer after graduating from the United States Naval Academy as a Second Lieutenant. With more than 26 years of banking experience, McNeil is now vice president/community consultant in the Greater Maryland Community Development Banking line of business at PNC Bank, where he is responsible for outreach to the community; writing and presenting grants and sponsorships; providing and teaching financial education and materials to PNC Retail partners and the community; partnering with non-profit organizations and agencies to meet their needs; identifying lending and investing opportunities; and participating in strategic development and support of PNC’s low- and moderate-income branches. An active member of the community, he currently serves on the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, the Community Law Center and Iron Crow Theatre boards of directors.
Joseph Salek-Nejad
Owner, Pizza di Joey Brick Oven Pizza Food Truck
Joseph Salek-Nejad, also known as “Pizza di Joey,” has been serving in the United States Navy for over 12 years. In his travels, Salek-Nejad’s passion for baking pizzas grew into a way for him to help boost morale among his fellow service members; a small taste of home quickly became an eagerly awaited, weekly tradition. He has baked pizzas everywhere from hundreds of feet under the sea, to the hills of Afghanistan. Now, he brings his authentic, NY-style brick oven pizza to the streets of Baltimore with Pizza di Joey (food truck). Salek-Nejad remains dedicated to serving and helping those who have served and defended our country, freedoms, and the American spirit. Through his food truck, he employs veterans and disabled veterans to ensure that meaningful employment is afforded to those who have sacrificed so much.
Adam Skolnik, CPM, ARM
Executive Director Maryland Multi-Housing Association
With more than 30 years in the real estate and development industry, Adam Skolnik is the executive director of the Maryland Multi-Housing Association (MMHA), a non-profit supporting rental housing providers, suppliers and professionals that promote and advance the needs of the rental housing industry. A graduate of Skidmore College, Skolnik has served as executive director of MMHA for nearly 10 years. He currently sits on the Maryland Lead Poisoning Prevention Commission and the Association Executive Council of the National Apartment Association.
Lawrence “Eric” Wyss, CFP®, AEP®, CTFA
Vice President and Senior Wealth Strategist, Wilmington Trust
Prior to joining Wilmington Trust in 2001, Eric Wyss served as tactics instructor and department head in the United States Navy nuclear submarine force after graduating from college. He has held numerous positions in Wilmington Trust’s investment division prior to becoming vice president and senior wealth strategist. In his role, Wyss manages a financial planning team centered in Baltimore that carries the responsibility for developing customized wealth management strategies and financial plans for prominent individuals, families and business owners throughout the Wilmington Trust footprint. Wyss earned an MBA with specialties in operations and finance from Carnegie Mellon University and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
About The Baltimore Station
The Baltimore Station is a therapeutic residential treatment program that helps homeless men – primarily veterans – bound by drug and alcohol addiction break the cycle and become self-sufficient members of society. Accredited by one of the nation’s most prestigious accrediting bodies for rehabilitation facilities, The Baltimore Station is the area’s only long-term residential program in the area, providing up to 24 months of clinical care and life skills development to encourage a smoother transition to the real world and guaranteed lifelong success. At The Baltimore Station, we turn lives around. www.baltimorestation.org.
