Anja Fries, Board Chair
Anja Fries is a dedicated public health professional with nearly 10 years of experience in the population health field. Passionate about improving community health, she focuses on addressing social determinants of health and implementing innovative programs to deliver high-quality healthcare. Anja has worked in diverse settings, including the Baltimore City Health Department, the state health information exchange, and a local hospital, gaining a comprehensive understanding of public health systems. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Davidson College and a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Rachel Duncan, Secretary and Treasurer
Rachel Duncan had 15 years of experience in the energy and consulting industries before switching gears to serve community-based organizations in Baltimore. She is an alumna of the AmeriCorps VISTA program, through which she contributed two years of national service by building capacity for positive youth development programs serving immigrant youth at the Esperanza Center in Fell’s Point and with Johns Hopkins Centro SOL, where she has stayed on as its Operations Manager since 2023. She holds an MBA and an MS in Computational Finance from Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business.
Rachel is an active volunteer, serving on the board of Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore and also of the Baltimore City Schools Parent and Community Advisory Board, for which she chairs its Policy Committee. She is a mentor, leader, and coach with Baltimore-based Thread, an organization that is committed to ending social isolation and building a more equitable culture in which everyone thrives.
She is most proud, however, of her work as a founding board member of TAMOJA Foundation, where she currently serves as Secretary and Treasurer. Rachel finds inspiration in TAMOJA’s focus on investing in youth to lead us to a world without gender-based violence and enjoys collaborating with an amazing team of fellow board members.
Jessica Rita Contreras
Jessica, is a Licensed Social Worker with over twenty years of experience working in the Field of Social Work. Her macro and clinical work has focused primarily on working with immigrant Spanish-families and other diverse communities. She has worked in a variety of settings and roles including Baltimore Medical System, Baltimore City Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods, Johns Hopkins Bayview and currently she works as a Programmatic Social Worker in Howard County Schools. Jessica is an immigrant from Guatemala and life and professional experience have defined her commitment in towards to equity and access to resources of all communities. In her free time, Jessica enjoys spending time with her spouse, family and friends.
Anisha Thomas
Marilena Hatoupis
Marilena joined Bloomberg LP Global Corporate Philanthropy in 2018. Prior to that, alongside her work in education and publishing, she served as the founder and volunteer director of the US branch of refugee-support organization Urban Refugees. Her background includes extensive experience in non-profit and for-profit start-ups, consulting, project management, social impact practices, creative and general management. Marilena holds two Masters and a Bachelor's degree. She has lived, travelled, conducted field work and volunteered abroad and speaks multiple languages. Raised in Africa and Greece, Marilena lives in New York.