LISA WIDMAIER

Executive Director

Lisa Widmaier joins ESAHEC as the Executive Director. Previously, Lisa served as the geriatric program coordinator and community health worker lead trainer from 2012 to 2018.

In her tenure at the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center, Lisa educated health professionals about geriatrics and team-based care as well as helped lead the development of the community health worker workforce in Maryland. She held state appointments including with the Maryland Workgroup for Workforce Development of Community Health Workers and most recently the Community Health Worker Training Program Application Review Committee.

Prior to rejoining the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center, Lisa served as clinical coordinator at Easterseals of Delaware and Maryland’s Eastern Shore, where she led a staff of nine including pediatric therapists and support workers. Widmaier directed noncredit health care programs at Chesapeake College where she managed programs for certified nursing assistants, dental assistants and clinical medical assistants as well as supervised full-time staff members and part-time instructors.

Previously, she was a public-school teacher.

Lisa graduated from the Shore Leadership program in 2022. She holds a Master of Education from Penn State University and bachelor’s degree in elementary education and teaching from Lebanon Valley College. She lives in Dorchester County.

JENNIFER HUDSON

Non-profit Finance Manager

Jennifer Hudson joined ESAHEC as the Finance Manager in January 2024. Previously, she worked as an office manager at a large construction company and held multiple roles over 28 years with an accounting firm. She brings a wide variety of skills with her to ESAHEC, including specializations in billing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, mid-level tax preparation, payroll and specialized reporting. She also has an extensive knowledge of multiple accounting software systems. She looks forward to bringing her finance management and accounting skills to ESAHEC. Jennifer has lived on the Eastern Shore in Caroline County her entire life and enjoys farm life with her family and all of their animals when not working.

ERICA COPPER

Administrative Specialist

Erica Copper joins ESAHEC as the Administrative Specialist. She was raised in Delaware but moved to the Eastern Shore almost ten years ago. Her schooling as a paralegal, coupled with experience in the real estate and design industries, taught her a lot about how to ensure processes run smoothly. She has worked well with architects, legal and medical staff, facilitating seamless communication and ensuring clients’ needs were always handled in a timely and efficient manner. She has always provided exceptional support to staff and clientele. She is passionate about helping others and showing people that she cares, and she is dedicated to using her strong interpersonal skills to help further ESAHEC’s initiatives. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, playing card games, reading and going to the beach.

BETH SPENCER, LCSW-C

Grants Specialist

Beth Spencer joins ESAHEC as the grants specialist. She recently retired from the Dorchester County Health Department after 24 years, most recently as a social work program administrator. She managed programs that serve pregnant women and families with newborns, provide health and mental health services within the public school system and support parents and children impacted by incarceration. Her work involved writing and administering grants at the local, state and federal levels. Prior to joining DCHD, Beth worked at the Eastern Shore Hospital Center.

A native of Dorchester County, Beth attended Salisbury University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in social work (1992)4 and went on to complete a Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland, Baltimore (1993). In her free time, she enjoys reading and spending time with family.  Beth is excited to join ESAHEC and utilize her experience in public health and grant writing to support programs across the Eastern Shore.

Theresa Cardillino, MA

Special Initiatives Program Coordinator

Terry Cardillino joins the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (ESAHEC) as the special initiatives program coordinator. Terry brings a multidisciplinary educational and professional background to the position. Her initial career was in the advertising design industry. She founded a corporate communications firm in New York state and provided leadership on strategy, operations, sales, budgets, design and production of more than 4,800 print media and exhibit projects for government agencies, academic institutions, for-profit corporations and membership organizations for over three decades. Her interest in the aging population later led her to a new career path. She has since served as an adjunct faculty member in the Conflict Analysis and Dispute Resolution Department at Salisbury University and was the Maryland Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program regional manager for Kent, Talbot and Caroline Counties for almost six years.

Terry earned a BA degree in Commercial Design from The George Washington University, an MA in Conflict Analysis and Dispute Resolution from Salisbury University and has recently completed 73% of the doctoral requirements towards her Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Her Ph.D. research interests include leadership, the aging population, the importance of nursing assistants, organizational commitment, conflict approaches and the analysis of the qualitative interview study as a research methodology.

SHAKIRA ABDULAI

Public Health Initiatives Program Manager

Shakira Abdulai joins ESAHEC and continues her passion for public health as the Public Health Initiatives Program Manager. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and raised in Delaware. In 2019, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology, with a concentration in Health and Health Services from the University of Delaware. Shakira went on to complete her Master of Public Health degree from Penn State College of Medicine. Her experience includes working with vulnerable populations within the fields of geriatrics and mental health, as well as providing supplemental instruction to undergraduate sociology students. Her most recent project explored the connection between racism in health care and its impact on maternal health outcomes for African American women. Shakira is excited to begin her new journey in working to improve community health! She will be managing the Diabetes Prevention Program and the Community Health Worker Program at ESAHEC, as well as other public health special projects.

DAMARIS BOURLAND

High School Health Careers Coordinator

Damaris joined the Eastern Shore AHEC in September, 2016. She brings extensive experience to her position working in healthcare, education and business for more than 25 years. In addition to her clinical nursing career, she served as Healthcare Continuing Education Coordinator at Chesapeake College for 15 years; and developed the curriculum and directed the Associate Degree Program in Massage Therapy at Chesapeake College for 13 years. Damaris is a Licensed Massage Therapist and has maintained a private massage therapy practice since 1998. In her role as ESAHEC’s High School Health Careers Coordinator she works in partnership with high schools and organizations on the eastern shore developing programs and learning experiences to foster, support and encourage high school students to explore careers in healthcare.

CAITLIN DONOHUE-VEGA

Oral Health Outreach Coordinator

Caitlin Donohue-Vega, RDH, BS has served as the Oral Health Outreach Coordinator with the Eastern Shore Area Health Education Center (ESAHEC) since 2018 and also practices clinical dental hygiene 3 days a week in a periodontal specialty practice. Mrs. Donohue-Vega has worked in both general and specialty dental practices as well as the public health sector for a total of 20 years in the dental field. She is a strong advocate for education and has a passion for breaking down the barriers by providing oral health education and services to our most vulnerable populations. She has a strong desire to give back to the community that helped shape who she is today. Mrs. Donohue-Vega is a 2009 graduate from Salisbury University with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Spanish. She then went on to pursue her dental hygiene degree from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry where she graduated summa cum laude in 2013. For help with oral health resources, program information and/or questions please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Donohue-Vega via email at cvega@esahec.org.

KIMBERLY FINCH

Geriatrics and Clinical Education Manager

Kim Finch has joined the ESAHEC staff as the Geriatrics and Clinical Education Manager. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Social Work from Radford University and worked as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) for five years. Her jobs and responsibilities included providing support services to adults with developmental disabilities and brain injuries in both residential and day program settings.

Kim went on to earn a Master of Arts Degree in Elementary Education from Towson University and holds an Advanced Professional Certificate in Elementary Education from the State of Maryland. Kim has over 12 years of experience in the classroom, where she created lesson plans that focused on specific student learning styles. She made interactive learning a priority to ensure student engagement. She integrated modern instructional techniques across all subject areas and planned and organized academic events and activities, both on and off school property. She established positive relationships and collaborated with students, parents, peers and the administrative staff.

Kim lives in Easton with her family and is looking forward to bringing and integrating her experiences and knowledge as she embarks on her new adventure with ESAHEC.

KELLY SCHWARZ

Diabetes Prevention Coordinator

Kelly is a native of Green Bay, Wisconsin and graduated from the nursing program at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her BSN. She moved to Maryland to work as an RN in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1993. She worked there for almost ten years and obtained a master’s degree in Nursing Systems and Management from the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.

She moved to Dorchester County from Baltimore City in 2003 with her husband and two young children and spent a short amount of time working in Pediatric Home Health. She then participated in the Eastern Shore Faculty Academy & Mentorship Initiative (ES-FAMI) to prepare for a new role as clinical nursing faculty. This opportunity led her to Chesapeake College, where she taught first-year nursing students as a Clinical Nursing Instructor and in addition worked as a nursing tutor. With her experience as an adjunct faculty member in nursing education, she developed the skills to identify adult learning styles/principles and implement successful teaching strategies to accommodate diverse audiences. This included facilitation skills for guiding group discussions and encouraging interactive learning. She also developed strong skills to support and encourage goal setting and problem solving in her role as nursing educator. With this skillset, she is excited to join ESAHEC as the Diabetes Prevention Program Coordinator.

JUDITH MURILLO

Bilingual Community Health Worker

Judith Murillo joins ESAHEC as the bilingual Community Health Worker. She was born in Veracruz, Mexico, but moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 2008 and then to Easton, Maryland, in 2013. Judith received her Nursing Assistant (CNA)/Geriatric Nursing Assistant (GNA) certificate in 2022 from Chesapeake College and then utilized her skills as a GNA at Bayleigh Chase Nursing Home. Judith assisted patients with their daily living activities, monitored patient vital signs and collaborated with a team of health care professionals devoted to providing the highest quality of care.

Her passion for helping others lead her to ESAHEC to serve as a Community Health Worker (CHW). She is excited to use her own experiences navigating the health care system to help members of her community get the help and services they need.

Judith is a busy mom of four children aged ten, seven, six and three. She enjoys spending time with her family, whether they are going to baseball practices and church or cooking together.

KYRI JACOBS

Communications, Bonnie Heneson

Kyri L. Jacobs joined BHC in 1992 and has spent nearly 30 years as a communications, public relations, advertising, media and marketing professional. She has provided counsel and led major campaigns for many of BHC’s largest clients throughout Maryland. As owner of the agency, she is integral in the company, successfully managing agency operations for the past 20 years.

Prior to joining BHC, Kyri worked for the Pennsylvania-based Ohio Valley General Hospital. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English writing from the University of Pittsburgh.

EMMA DAY

Communications, Bonnie Heneson

Emma Day manages BHC’s client accounts and specializes in social media strategy and management, website development, digital marketing and content creation. She joined BHC in 2017 as a social media account executive.

Previously, she worked as the communications and program coordinator for the nonprofit ORANS and its parent company, Baltimore Mediation, where she managed both companies’ websites and social media. She also maintained the companies’ blogs, regularly writing articles and creating content.

Emma earned a Bachelor of Arts in English with a concentration in creative writing and a minor in sociology from Goucher College in 2015.