Henry Montes finds his service to the work of Identity to be a most rewarding experience. Henry is a retired federal senior executive who has 35 years of experience working in public health.  He developed the first Hispanic Cancer Control Program at the National Cancer Institute and throughout his years in public health he has worked on issues of minority health, health promotion, disease prevention and public health workforce policies.   Currently, he is consulting with the National YMCA and is a site visitor and chairs teams for accreditation of public health schools and programs.

Steve Simon is a seasoned media and communications professional, who launched his own public relations consulting firm in 2009, after more than 20 years of senior-level experience working in three public agencies in Montgomery County. He served previously as a public information officer under the administrations of three Montgomery County Executives, as the director of communications for Montgomery College, and as public information director for Montgomery County Public Schools. Steve joined the Identity Board of Directors in 2006 and is now the Board Secretary.

Fernanda T. Bianchi, Ph.D. is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Psychology at the George Washington University.  Dr. Bianchi has worked as a clinician in the community and has served as the Project Director on several NIH-funded projects.  Dr. Bianchi received her doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology from the George Washington University in 1997. She has been a member of the Latino Health Steering Committee of Montgomery County since 2006 and a board member of Identity since 2009.  She is honored to be able to volunteer and advocate on behalf of the Latino community. 

Charles F. Hess is a principal owner and the Chief Executive Officer of HESS Construction + Engineering Services, a leading provider of educational construction and facility services, headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland.  Mr. Hess is a lifelong resident of the Washington Metropolitan area, and a graduate of the University of Maryland and George Washington University. Mr. Hess also serves on the Boards Directors of the Greater Washington Board of Trade, the Montgomery County Business Roundtable for Education, the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, the Montgomery Chamber Foundation, and the Board of Trustees of the Connelly School of the Holy Child.

Michael Knapp is founder and president of Orion BioStrategies a firm dedicated to increasing the commercialization of life science technologies in the Greater Washington – Baltimore region. Prior to founding Orion, Mr. Knapp served two terms as a Councilmember in Montgomery County, Maryland. During his time at the Council, Mr. Knapp’s policy efforts included legislation to increase the life science industry in the County, increase educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), provide new strategies to reduce homelessness, overseeing land use and zoning changes increase transit oriented development, and provide efficient and effective provision of services to community residents.  He also served on numerous regional boards including serving as chair of the Washington Metropolitan Council of Governments, and the Transportation Planning Board.  

During his career, Mr. Knapp served in key management positions in several life science organizations including as a founding employee of Celera Genomics as director of the business development and client management programs and extensive work in life sciences policy at the National Center for Genome Resources, The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and as a legislative assistant to Senator Peter V. Domenici of New Mexico. In addition, Mr. Knapp has entrepreneurial and start-up experience as he worked to establish two biotechnology companies in New Mexico.  Mr. Knapp has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Government from The College of William and Mary in Virginia. After graduation, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserves, spending 10 years in the Reserves as an Engineer and Infantry officer.   He serves on the boards of the Community Foundation of Montgomery County, the Universities at Shady Grove, and Identity and volunteers for Germantown HELP.

Gabe Romero has always known he wanted to be an architect. His mother taught him that architects make our world and our surroundings better and prettier. He has never forgotten that simple lesson. He also visits his Alma Matter, Catholic University, on a regular basis as an invited juror to the School of architecture. His recent project experience includes the design of the new and expanded community facilities for the Kentlands and the Lakelands in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He has also worked on such diverse projects as the new Olde Towne Concert Pavilion in Gaithersburg, Maryland's Victorian historic district and the renovation of the Voice of America headquarters office in Washington, DC.

Elena Saenz currently serves as director of Academic Initiatives at Montgomery College. In this role, Ms. Saenz has administrative oversight for the Montgomery College and Montgomery County Public School Partnerships. She is particularly proud of creating the Hispanic Student Academic Awards program which celebrates the academic achievements of Hispanic/Latino students at Montgomery College.  Ms. Saenz holds a B.S. from Frostburg State University and an M.S. from the University of Maryland and is currently perusing a doctorate in Community College Leadership from Morgan State University.

Since 1992, Maribel Torres-Piñero has been the President/Owner of MT Pinero, PC, a CPA firm serving the tax and accounting needs of individuals, businesses, and not-for-profits in the Washington DC metropolitan area. Maribel graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and has been a CPA since 1990. Prior to starting MT Pinero, PC in she worked for Arthur Andersen’s tax division and as an auditor for the U.S. General Accountability Office. 

Maribel has been recognized for her public service by the Small Business Administration (Accountant Advocate of the year in 1999), by the Montgomery County Government and by the numerous not-for-profit organizations where she has participated as a Board Member (as Treasurer, Vice President and President). She is a graduate of the 2002 Leadership Montgomery program.  Her recent focus has been growing and strengthening MT Pinero, PC and devoting time to her family.

Jorge Urrutia, a native of Guatemala, earned his Associate’s degree from MC while working nights and attending college during the day. He subsequently earned a Bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Maryland and a Master's degree in public administration from Harvard University. Currently, Mr. Urrutia is the CEO & President of MSI Universal, an Engineering consulting company he has grown into a multi-million dollar a year business. Fluent in Spanish and English, Mr. Urrutia has been portrayed by TV channels, several magazines, newspapers and radio stations as a role model for the Hispanic community. His message has always been that of encouraging education as a first priority for new immigrants.