Asbury Foundation Board of Directors
The Asbury Foundation Board of Directors works with Foundation leadership to carry out our Mission of securing charitable support to enhance the quality of lives for persons served by Asbury – their service is invaluable. Our volunteer Directors include residents of Asbury’s communities, family members, and professionals with expertise in financial management and fields related to senior living.
Meet Our Board Members
Carolyn Stamatakis, Chair
Carolyn Stamatakis brings decades of experience in financial advising and philanthropic work to her Board service with the Asbury Foundation.
Since 1996, Carolyn has served on several Asbury Boards and committees including the Asbury Methodist Village Board of Directors and Quality of Care Committee, the Asbury Communities Board of Directors where she served as chair twice and on the Governance Committee, and the Asbury Foundation Board of Director where she served as Vice Chair and also on the Real Estate Partnership Committee.
A native New Yorker and longtime Maryland resident, Carolyn attended Dunbarton College in Washington D.C. and graduate school at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. She then worked for several financial institutions over the course of her career, including Standard Federal Savings and Loan, Freddie Mac, and Capital One.
Carolyn and her husband Steve have been married for more than 45 years and retired to South Carolina in 2017. When not spending time with their two dogs, Samantha and Bella, Carolyn enjoys traveling, reading, walking, swimming and cooking.
Loann (VanBilliard) Burian, Vice Chair
Loann Burian is a cartographer for the U.S. Department of Defense and Chair of her church finance committee. Loann has long-standing roots in Asbury and its Mission of service to older adults. Her parents, Elizabeth and Lowell Van Billiard lived at Asbury Methodist Village and funded the community’s Intergenerational Endowment, supporting the Gaithersburg Beloved Community Initiative’s efforts.
Loann recalls visiting Asbury as a child with her mother when she visited residents in her work as a pastor, caroling, and handing out homemade cards. When Liz and Lowell moved the Asbury in 2001, Asbury “became home to family Christmas’s, week-long sumer visits with Grandma and Grandpa, and more.”
Loann helps care for her 98-year-old father-in-law and sister in-law and enjoys seeing her granddaughter as often as possible.
Robert E. Burke, Ph.D.
Robert E. Burke, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management at the George Washington University. He was the Gordon A. Friesen Professor of Health Care Administration and served as Chair of the Department of Health Services Management and Leadership from 2003 to 2014 at The George Washington University.
Burke is a medical sociologist and a nationally known expert in long-term care, with extensive experience in developing, evaluating and implementing health care policy and managing research projects with multidisciplinary and multistate professional staff. For more than 25 years, he conducted and directed health service research, payment and evaluation projects, and is thoroughly versed in the policy and program issues of Medicare, Medicaid and other public and private third-party payor systems, serving as an advisor to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and a subject matter expert for the US Veterans Administration. In 2015, The American College of Healthcare Administrators awarded him their Education Award. In 2019 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award for Aging and Public Health by the American Public Health Association.
He holds a master’s degree in sociology from Boston College and a doctorate in medical sociology from the University of Florida.
Mary Anne Morefield*
Mary Anne Morefield is an active member of the Bethany Village community, where she has resided since 2011. She currently serves as the committee chair for the Bethany Village Ecology Team.
Mary Anne has actively supported Bethany Village through her philanthropy. She was a lead donor for Phase II of the “Building Our Community” campaign which added a renovated Town Center, Bistro, and Pub to the campus. The new “John & Annie’s Bistro” is named after son and late husband, both named John, and her granddaughter Annie. As a result of her generous philanthropy, Mary Anne is a member of the Asbury Foundation’s Enduring Legacies Circle, Loyalty Society, and Heritage Society.
Mary Anne’s volunteer engagement includes serving on the Seminary Ridge Museum board at Lutheran Theological Seminary.
Mary Anne also boasts other creative talents. An accomplished poet, Mary Anne’s first book, Earth Grass, Trees, and Stone was published in 2015. Her second book, No Bridle, No Bit, No Reins was published in 2017.
While she is devoted to serving the Bethany Village community, she also spends part of the year in Chautauqua, NY. Mary Anne is widowed, with three grown children who live in Arizona, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.
Sara Tapiero
Sara has more than 20 years of experience in wealth management. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley in 2020, she spent most of her career at Bank of America Private Bank as a Sr. Vice President and Portfolio Manager for high net worth individuals, executives, business owners, divorcées, private foundations and nonprofits. Sara takes great pride in listening to her clients to gain a deeper understanding of their goals and to develop and execute a thoughtful financial plan and investment strategy.
She graduated from American University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Marketing. In her free time she enjoys cooking, Pilates, interior design, spending time with family and long walks with their dog. She is on the committee for the Annual Taste in Potomac fundraiser for Adoptions Together and enjoys being an active member of the community.
Dr. Richard Vert*
As a financial advisor for 22 years in the Gaithersburg office of what is now Morgan Stanley, Dick Vert is a seasoned business leader, with versatile experiences that have prepared him for his current role with the Asbury Foundation.
Originally from Schenectady, New York, Dick moved to the DC area in the fourth grade before relocating to North Carolina to receive his undergraduate degree at High Point University. There, he met his wife, Peg. He later went on to get his master’s from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. from George Washington University.
After graduating from High Point, Dick served as treasurer, vice president, and president of the High Point University Board of Trustees. He remains engaged as president emeritus. The Vert Track and Soccer Stadium at the university is named after the family.
Dick and Peg have lived at Asbury Methodist Village for nine years, and his parents lived at Asbury as well. They are avid travelers, visiting 88 countries and having visited all seven continents. In non-pandemic times, Dick and Peg visit North Carolina 6-7 times a year.
In her free time, Peg volunteers with the Gaithersburg Beloved Community Initiative and serves on the Asbury Foundation Partnership Advisory Committee at Asbury Methodist Village. Dick serves as the chair of the Asbury Foundation Endowment Committee.
Linda Woodin
Linda joined the Asbury Foundation Board having been connected to the Bethany Village family for years. Her parents moved to Bethany in 2012 and her mother, Amalie, lives at Bethany Village still today. Together, Linda and her mother are making an incredible philanthropic impact on wellness programs and capital enhancements to short term rehabilitations services at Bethany. As a family member Linda brings a unique perspective to the Foundation Board and, together with her background in nursing, will provide incredible guidance as a committee member of the 100-Year Anniversary System-wide Campaign, Everyday Exceptional.
Doug Leidig, Ex Officio Voting
J.D. Shuman, Ex Officio Voting
*Current resident board members