Suzie is the co-founder of the Ryan Bartel Foundation and mother of Ryan. After losing Ryan to suicide in the fall of 2014, Suzie felt the need to turn their tragedy into something positive by helping other teens and young adults from spiraling into depression and suicidal behavior when times get tough. In a short space of time, what started as a peer-led support group for teens at the high school Ryan attended, has grown into a non-profit whose teen and parent programs touch all corners of the Loudoun community.  ​ Suzie has 30+ years of experience as a senior marketing and business executive, running her own design and marketing business in London and then working in senior marketing positions for private and public companies in the US after moving to Loudoun County in 1999. Today she juggles her professional life with advocating and working in her spare time for the Foundation. She is an active speaker in the community and an advocate for mental health and youth suicide awareness and prevention through the empowerment of youth.  ​ Suzie has been recognized for her community leadership with several awards that include Public Citizen of the year from the Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers; the Leadership Award by the Women’s Center; Loudoun County Sheriff’s Community Leadership Award; a finalist for the Loudoun Chamber Community Leadership Award; and Honoree for the ‘Loudoun 100’.

Tom Julia is vice chair of the Ryan Bartel Foundation and chair of its Governance Committee. He has served on the Board since 2018 after meeting Suzie and Ben Bartel and learning of their loss and the life-saving purpose of the Foundation. Tom has been involved in Loudoun County community affairs for more than 30 years as a communications and management professional and volunteer. He currently serves as Director, Media Relations and Communications, for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. Tom previously served on the Board of the Middleburg Community Charter School and chair of its Governance Committee, chaired the Loudoun County Government Reform Commission, chaired the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce, and is past president of the Lansdowne Office Park Owners Association. Tom also spent 20 years as an executive of a North American trade association for the building products industry, the last 13 as its president. Tom earned a B.A. in Political Science from the Johns Hopkins University, and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School. He also earned graduate certificates from Leadership Fairfax and the ASAE School of Association Management. Tom’s oldest son is a graduate of Loudoun County public schools and writes and performs music as the artist Lucidious, with a focus on combating depression and promoting resilience among young people worldwide.

Joni was the school counselor at the Waterford Elementary School when Ryan was in the 5th grade. She remembers Ryan as an intelligent and enthusiastic student, with an impish grin and a kind heart. For Joni, Ryan’s death highlighted the need for both community education around youth mental health issues and personal involvement to forge relationships with teens that feel different, alone, stressed, and despondent. By participating in the Fort and other RBF community events, Joni is committed to offering teens kindness, acceptance, and support as they develop important resiliency and coping skills in the workshops offered. ​ Joni has over 25 years of specialized elementary education experience in both clinical and public school settings. With a BA in Elementary/Special Education and a MA in Psychological Services, Joni has taught and counseled students with learning and emotional disabilities in acute inpatient psychiatric care settings, and therapeutic day treatment programs in Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia, and most recently in LCPS, as a school counselor. Joni has been trained to administer the C-SSRS Suicide Assessment, and to respond to and de-escalate situations using MANDT principles.  ​ Having lived in Loudoun County with her husband, Paul, since 1988, Joni is meaningfully engaged with a variety of organizations. These include Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers, Loudoun Hunger Relief, Mobile Hope, and the Arc of Loudoun. Joni is a member of 100 Women Strong and the Loudoun Impact Fund. As a member of Catoctin Presbyterian Church, Joni has served in leadership roles with youth, seniors, and various mission projects. Within the community, Joni seeks to build relationships, improve quality of life, and foster resilience and problem-solving skills in those she serves.

Co-founder of the Ryan Bartel Foundation and father of Ryan, Ben’s goal for the Foundation is to honor Ryan’s memory by ensuring it provides programs that are based on listening to the audience it serves and fostering a culture where everyone matters. The Heart of Humanity Award is a scholarship close to his heart because it most closely reflects Ryan’s unique qualities of reaching out to those who feel like they don’t belong and are therefore struggling emotionally. Ben is a business entrepreneur, experienced in mergers and acquisitions, turnarounds, and management both domestically and internationally. He has a Bachelor’s Degree from Ohio University and an MBA in finance from New York University. Ben started his career in banking and in 1992 after the German reunification, he formed Kabelmedia Holdings, a cable TV company in Frankfurt, Germany, growing the customer base seven-fold. Returning to the United States after its public offering, Ben founded Flock Management LLC, a financial and management consulting company providing alternative financings to small, well-managed businesses and alternative investments to private individuals. Flock Management also provides aircraft management and worldwide aircraft ferry services.

Denisha was honored to be elected to the Ryan Bartel Foundation Board of Directors because helping teens build connections, providing a safe space for them to be themselves, and affirming that they matter are at the heart of her professional work. She joined the Board to be a part of a new wave of approaching the challenges that teens experience, through workshops directly aimed at building resilience in teens, support groups to help parents better understand and communicate with their teens, and helping our community with improving how we support our teenagers. As a Board member, she hopes to strengthen the Foundation's community involvement, improve the workshops delivered to teens and their parents, and be a resource to families who are struggling with loss or mental health concerns. Denisha entered the world of entrepreneurship and opened Journey to Wellness, a mental health private practice in 2017. Denisha has worked as a clinical director for a group mental health practice, as well as working for 11 years with Loudoun County Mental Health in a variety of positions. Starting as a residential counselor, she obtained her Masters in Social Work and her LCSW and transitioned to become an Outpatient Clinician specializing in adolescent treatment. In that role, she provided individual, group, and family therapy, as well as crisis intervention to children, adolescents, and adults. Denisha is well versed in dealing with issues of trauma, attachment disorder, anxiety and depression, gender, as well as a variety of other issues that impact children, teenagers, and adults. Denisha is a well-known therapist in Loudoun County. In 2016, she won Loudoun’s Best Counselor for Kids due to the excellent service she provides to local teenagers. In 2021, Denisha became one of Loudoun’s 40 under 40, honoring her business endeavors, community involvement, and professional development in the area of mental health. Denisha also attends conferences, and workshops, and engages in public speaking events, all with the goal of making taking care of our mental health a normal part of conversation.

Shane has been an advocate for raising awareness and funds to help support Mental Health Needs and Suicide Prevention since the loss of his Sister-In Law, Katie Marr. He is honored to serve on the Board of the Ryan Bartel Foundation.  Shane supports the Foundation in helping to build a stronger community by providing the much-needed support to help build better resiliency in Teens and providing Parents support with better comprehension and communication with their Teens.  Shane has over 20 years of experience working in the DC/Metro area and has expertise in sales, marketing, and training in the residential remodeling industry.  He is currently a Training and Development Manager for Masco focusing on developing, communicating, and executing training initiatives.  He leads learning initiatives in product knowledge and training, new hire onboarding, sales process, and presentation skills.  Shane, along with his wife Jessie, grew up in Loudoun County and currently lives in Western Loudoun with their 3 children.   He has been recognized by his company Masco with the Volunteer Award, nominated by his peers for his collaborative work with the Ryan Bartel Foundation and for organizing their golf tournament, Fairways for Hope. Shane also serves on the committee of a local golf society as the Charity Organizer, as well as the Development Committee for the Ryan Bartel Foundation.

Cameron (Dr. Cam) Caswell, PhD, “The Teen Translator,” is an adolescent psychologist, parent coach, and Director of Parent Education for the Thriving School Community, a revolutionary program she co-founded to improve student, educator, and parent well-being within the school system. Dr. Cam is on a mission to change the trajectory of youth mental health by helping parents build strong, positive relationships with their teens through improved communication, deeper understanding, and mutual respect. She has been working with the Ryan Bartel Foundation for the past several years to help them develop teen workshops and provide support and education to parents. She is honored to continue her partnership as a member of the Board of Directors and hopes to use this position to expand awareness and equip more parents and educators to better support teenagers and ultimately prevent mental health issues from arising in the first place. Dr. Cam received her doctorate in Developmental Psychology from George Mason University, where she was mentored by Dr. Susanne Denham and recognized for her superb teaching as a professor of Adolescent Psychology. She has been working with teens and parents for over two decades and launched her private practice in 2019, which was recognized as a Best of Loudoun Finalist. Since then, she has established herself as a TEDx speaker, host of the Parenting Teens with Dr. Cam podcast, author of Power Phrases for Parents: Teen Edition, and co-author of Improving School Mental Health: The Thriving School Community Solution. Dr. Cam speaks around the world at schools, national organizations, and conferences to inspire, encourage, and educate parents and educators on teen development and communication. After her presentation at the Nysmith School for the Gifted, the coordinator described it as, “The best Parent Education event the school has ever had.” She has also been featured as a parenting expert on television, radio, podcasts, and in publications including Newsweek, Grown & Flown, and HerMoney. Most importantly, Dr. Cam is a mom of a teen daughter, whom she adopted from Guatemala as a single parent. Together they love to travel to NYC to see Broadway shows and stage door; binge watch competitive “reality” shows; go to the gym; play board games with the family; and cuddle with their two cats, Dorothy and Oz.

Vito John Germinario is the CEO and Co-Owner of GPR, Inc., a commercial glazing company and Managing Principal of the LGV Group LLC, a commercial real estate development company. He is first generation Italian-American. He grew up in Hoboken, New Jersey and is the oldest of four children. His parents stressed education from an early age. He was taught by the sisters of Saint Francis in grammar school and by the Jesuits at St. Peter’s Prep and St. Peter’s University. Vito arrived in Washington from New York in 1994, to be part of the team that built the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Since then, Vito has been involved with such notable projects as the National Museum of the American Indian, The E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse and most recently, the GSA Headquarters Building, all in Washington D.C. He is very proud to have been associated with the building of the National Intrepid Center for Excellence at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Vito’s passion is helping children. He believes that all children should be given every opportunity to live a happy, healthy and productive life. He dedicates much of his time, energy and resources to several non-profit organizations, all to benefit children. Vito has supported the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation for many years. He was the honored recipient of the CFF Hitchcock Humanitarian Award in 2014 for his philanthropy. He serves on the Breath for Life gala committee and is fully committed to help find the cure. After six (6) years as Board Chairman, Vito is Chairman Emeritus at Excel Academy, an all-girls public charter school in Washington D.C. Vito is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors at Make-a-Wish Mid-Atlantic. In 2017, the ALS Association presented Vito with their Achievement Award for his philanthropy. Vito serves as a trustee and chairman of the finance committee at his alma mater, St. Peter’s Prep, in Jersey City, New Jersey. Vito is a founding member and board chair at Feathers from Devon, a New York based 501 c3 that gives children with developmental challenges the opportunity to engage in non-traditional therapies, to increase their quality of life. Vito is a member of the Board of Directors of the Northern Virginia Science Center. In 2019, Vito joined the Board of Directors at the Middleburg Community Charter. He serves as Board Chair. He is past Board Chair of the Lily Fund and past board vice chair of the Friends of Jaclyn. Both foundations worked to raise the quality of life for children and their families who are battling pediatric brain tumors. The Lido Club of Washington named Vito Man of the Year in 2018. He serves on the Executive Committee and has recently been named Chairman to the Lido Civic Charities Board. Most recently, Vito was named to the national board of Shelters to Shutters, a non-profit working to better the lives of the homeless. A Life Member of the NRA, Vito proudly serves on the Youth Services Committee Vito has been married to Kristi since 1997. They live in Bluemont, Virginia.

Jim Bonfils is a Principal Information Technology Specialist with IBM Federal with more than 30 years of experience as an IT and data center specialist and local community leader. Jim has been actively involved in youth based community efforts over the past 30 years with the goal of empowering young people to be their best selves. He is a founding board member and Treasurer of Loudoun Youth, Inc.; and one of two Loudoun County representatives on NOVA Parks Board of Directors. Jim is also a past member of the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and continues to serve on Loudoun Water’s Board of Directors. Jim earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Dayton and is a member of IEEE and the Northern Virginia Technology Council, among other professional groups. In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his family of three grown daughters and their five grandchildren.

Kathy has been a volunteer and supporter of the Ryan Bartel Foundation since its inception. As a neighbor and friend of the Bartel family, whose children grew up together, Ryan's tragic suicide was a devastating reminder of the immediate need for more programs to support struggling teens and the parents who are trying to help them find the community and treatment they could benefit from most. Watching the Foundation grow from the original peer-led support groups for teens at the high school Ryan attended, to the current comprehensive programs that encourage resilience and positively impact teens all over Loudoun County has been awe-inspiring for Kathy. She views the opportunity to contribute to the continued innovation and growth of the Foundation as an immense privilege. Kathy is an entrepreneur and business executive with 35 years of experience in marketing, business operations, and finance. Currently, she serves as a Corporate Vice President at Landrum Talent Solutions, which she joined after the marketing consulting and staffing firm she founded, Ceres Talent, was acquired in 2022. Prior to Ceres Talent, Kathy worked in senior-level product management and marketing roles for DC area technology companies. She began her career in finance roles with Boeing and Verizon. Kathy's strengths lie in strategic planning, business operations, financial oversight, product development, and project management, with a proven track record of helping companies and organizations reach maximum potential through efficiency and growth of offerings. Living in Loudoun County since 1996, Kathy and her husband Dave raised two wonderful children who are now young professionals. Kathy grew up in southern West Virginia and attended West Virginia University, where she earned a degree in Finance.

Michelle Nichols is the Senior Director of Governance, Risk & Compliance at the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (Farmer Mac). Her team is responsible for the company’s overall compliance foundation (code, hotline, investigations, board and management policies/procedures, training), SOX Compliance, conflicts of interest, enterprise change management and records retention. She is the primary point of contact for all regulatory requests and exams. She is a Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP) with over 30 years of experience in the compliance industry. She has held in-house compliance leadership roles at two large, international, publicly traded organizations and has also been a compliance consultant, providing services to over 60 large, multi-national clients. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Mason University and a law degree from Emory University in Atlanta, GA. She is also a certified Risk Manager holding the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) Professional designation and manages the company’s business insurance program. She was sworn in as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in Fairfax County in July 2023. She is a widow and has two teenage sons at Fairfax High School.

Jason Balser is an accomplished IT executive with a passion for leveraging technology to empower people and organizations. Known for his innovative, results-oriented approach, Jason has a track record of successfully guiding organizations through transformative initiatives. Jason has spearheaded key strategic programs, including implementations of Microsoft Dynamics, the design of global business intelligence platforms, and the deployment of cloud-native solutions. Jason approaches each challenge with a people-first mindset by carefully considering the needs and impacts on all individuals and groups involved, bringing clarity and structure to complex situations. A Clemson University graduate with a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science, Jason remains committed to continuous learning and community engagement. He regularly shares his insights through speaking engagements and outreach programs, helping individuals and families better understand and utilize technology. Based in Northern Virginia, where he and his wife have raised two daughters, Jason brings a blend of professional expertise and personal values to his role as a board member. His goal is to contribute to RFB's vision of creating a community where young people have the tools to thrive and can see multiple pathways to a successful life. Jason's unique combination of technical knowledge, strategic thinking, and genuine care for people makes him a valuable asset in today's rapidly evolving digital landscape.