Meet (a few) Our Members

To contact one of our members, follow this link to the directory or send us an e-mail and we’ll put you in touch.

Members, Don’t see yourself on this page? We’d love to add your photo and story.
Send us an email at hello@whatsnextbaltimore.org

Mollie Fein. Rural western Pennsylvania was a great place to grow up.  I had the opportunity with my two brothers to vanish for hours without anyone noticing. Lots to do. There were tree houses to build, monkey vines to swing on, baseball games to plan and Bouncy, my donkey, to attempt to ride. I grew up in a home filled with books, stories and a feminist mother. 

At the age of 10, no one would have guessed that as an adult I would become a public librarian (if you’ve been in a Baltimore County Public Library, I probably worked there sometime over a 34-year period). And speaking of Public Libraries. To me, they are important. They represent the best of our American Dream. Free access to information is what it is all about. Whether we live up to that vision is another matter, but its existence is the dream.

I enjoy the creative process. From crayons, to paint, to ideas, to clay.. I like it all.  New food, cultures, and dancing like no one is watching.

I moved to Upper Fells 20 years ago. At that time, I told myself that I wanted to “grow old in the city..to make a stand in Baltimore”.  I’ve never regretted that choice. Despite my rural origins I’m a city girl. I like the messiness, color, variety and diversity. At 70, looking back at my life, I feel like I’ve lived many different lives woven loosely together. Regardless, this I know, I’m here to stay now. Glad of it and happy to be building community with What’s Next.

Karyn Haasen. I’m a relative newcomer to Baltimore City, but am a Maryland native, born and raised in Towson, leaving briefly for 4 years at Gettysburg College, and then migrating north to Harford County where we raised two boys.  Looking for adventure as empty nesters, my husband Don and I decided to “try” city living since we found ourselves coming here regularly for festivals, restaurants, museums, and events.  That was in 2011, and here we are.  We love the community here!  

I’ve enjoyed volunteering with Wolfe Street Academy through UFPIA, and have become a Ukulala through What’s Next.  In the last four years our family has added two grandchildren, a second daughter-in-law, and have another grandbaby on the way.  Until very recently one son and his family lived just blocks away; our grandchildren are a major delight and focus of our time.  

My career has been in market research in the financial services industry; I now work part-time, conducting telephone and zoom IDIs for a Philadelphia market research firm.  My general interests include hubcap-painting (for an I Spy Game - identify my house by the hubcap on my door!), gardening, ukulele-playing, book-grouping, walking, any social gathering, and frequent travel to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  I’ve just joined the board of What’s Next Baltimore, and am excited to be more involved.

Sharon Moore. I grew up in Long Island, New York and attended college in Nashville, then got a job as a secretary to a missionary in Geneva, Switzerland, where I met my husband. We moved to a farming town in Oregon and then to New York City where we began raising our three children. After two decades in the New York area, we moved to New Hampshire in 1995, where I got my degree in French and began teaching French to Middle School students. Every year, I took eighth-graders to Paris. In 2015 we moved to Baltimore to be near children and grandchildren. I enjoy doing volunteer gardening in Patterson Park with What’s Next friends, strumming and singing with the UkuLaLas, creating in the kitchen, and hanging out with our five delightful grandchildren and with all our friends in Butcher’s Hill.
(Editor’s note: Sharon was elected to serve on the What’s Next Board for 2023 at our Annual Meeting in January 2023. Welcome!)

Beth Braun. Wow, where to start. I grew up in Southern California, lived in Texas for twenty plus years (my family is still there), and then moved to Maryland. I came to Butchers Hill after meeting Tom at Simon’s one night after COP. I have a bachelors in forestry, a masters in hotel restaurant management, worked in point-of-sale technology support for many years, and now work for the National Federation of the Blind. 

Tom and I will have been together for twenty years this spring. It was definitely a package deal – meeting him, the house on N. Collington (and that block in and of itself), the Butchers Hill neighborhood, and the city of Baltimore. I have been part of the BHA leadership team for most of the time I’ve been here – and have just started my (inconsecutive) third term as president. I also serve on the board of Baltimore Green Space (secretary), a land trust organization protecting green spaces here in Baltimore. And obviously am on the board of What’s Next*. 

I used to say I was a weaver, and I hope to be able to say that again some day. But for now, there’s too much other stuff going on – and it is something I can’t just dip into and out of. So in my spare time I read, garden, oversee the tending of the rain gardens in Butchers Hill, and put together the BHA newsletter. 

*Beth didn’t mention it, but she also chairs the What’s Next Membership and Communications Committee, edits our newsletter and has just taken on organizing our Soup Exchange.

Ann Wolfe. I was born in Johnstown, PA, the home of the Pirates, the Steelers, and the Johnstown Flood. I went to college in Washington, DC, where I majored in Russian, and after graduation, I joined the National Security Agency (NSA). After a short sojourn in Carlisle, PA, where my husband was in law school, we moved to the Panama Canal Zone. We left the US as a two-some and returned as a three-some, joined by son Matthew. Back to Johnstown, and I joined the YWCA as director of adult education. After seven years, I moved to a consulting company and began working with outplaced people who had lost their jobs and needed help in finding their next opportunity. That's the work that brought me to Baltimore 34 years ago, after a sojourn in sweet home Chicago, and I fell in love with Butchers Hill-city living, rowhouses, close to the water (my husband had a sailing school and boat chartering business), and I've never regretted it.

I've been involved in the BHA for all the years I've lived here (BHA offices, newsletter distribution, Streetscape Committee, trash can patrol, the flea markets, the house tours, among others). When I'm not doing that, I'm running in Patterson Park, cooking, reading, and listening to music, particularly operas. I can’t wait to get back to being a docent at the Walters Art Museum, which I loved, when this plague is over. In the last two years, I’ve only been able to lead Zoom tours and I can’t wait to get back to live touring!

I have four grandchildren, two great nieces and a great nephew.

Lori and Scott Spencer.  Scott and I are newcomers to Baltimore City arriving here 4 years ago from McLean, Virginia. We found the perfect landing pad after moving with the Navy (submarines) for 29 years. We moved up here to join our older son, daughter in law and grandson and to be closer to our younger son and his family who live in New Jersey.  What’s Next is a large part of what makes this feel like our permanent home after calling so many other places home during our 45 years of marriage.  We both grew up in Rochester, New York.  

Pretty much anything having to do with water is what we love best.  After years of owning sailboats and then trawlers, we downsized to kayaks. Scott paddled the Erie Canal from end to end this summer while I rode my bike alongside on the mule path for much of it. You will see his blue kayak out on Baltimore Harbor most mornings when there is no ice or too much wind.  My passion is swimming and I regularly swim laps plus love swimming with our grandkids. 

My career, which I raised our 2 sons around, was nursing. My undergraduate degree is from SUNY Plattsburgh and I received my Master’s Degree from George Mason University. I was adjunct nursing faculty at Georgetown University the last 10 years I worked. Public Health was (and still is) my specialty and love.  

We both are very excited to be a part of What’s Next and to meet such a welcoming group of people!

Susan Sterret. I started hanging out with What’s Next folks in late 2023. Thanks to finding the gardeners, I’ve enjoyed weeding in Patterson Park, coffee, kayaking, hiking, ukulele, knitting, and weaving. Some are hobbies I had before (Is weeding a hobby?). Others I’m beginning (so I guess I’m up for learning new things).  I’m always happy to teach knitting. I moved to Baltimore in fall 2018. Since then, I’ve especially enjoyed walking in Oregon Ridge and Gunpowder Falls State Parks. So has my enthusiastic and hallenging dog Honey. I lived in NOVA between 2011 and 2018. My daughter lives in Northern Virginia, returning after graduating from college. Before moving east, I lived in Denver for 18 years.  I enjoy traveling to see friends and family. I love farmers’ markets and good food. Fortunately, Baltimore has plenty of both.

Nancy Supik. I’ve lived in the neighborhood since 1976, so I am officially an “old timer”. I’m happy to serve on the What’s Next board, volunteer in the Patterson Park gardens and play with the Ukulalas. I work part time (mostly from home) for my husband’s business. If I’m smiling in this photo, it’s because it’s a beautiful spring day in Baltimore and I’m in my backyard playing Irish tunes with some friends.

I’m the one putting together this webpage, so if you don’t see your face here, let me know, we’d love to add your story and photo. hello@whatsnextbaltimore.org

Martha Simons. I grew up on a farm in Indiana where I was raised by a Border Collie named “Nora” and a paint horse named “Bambi”. Consequently, I am vegan with a lifelong love for animals. Currently, a demon cat named “Louise” and my heart bond “Sascha” live with me.  Upon graduating from Indiana University with a degree in Fine Art, I moved to the big cites of Syracuse, Philadelphia, and ultimately, Baltimore.

In comparison to my rural childhood, I thrive on the community that living in Butchers Hill has provided me for over thirty years.  I am the Chalk Lady, that instigates neighborhood communal sidewalk drawing sessions on Wednesday nights during non-pandemic times.  My response to the initial stay at home order was the creation of the crocheted Chester Street Critters that you might notice adorning local street poles.  I am the founding member of Halcott Hookers, a local fiber arts group and organize the annual Butchers Hill Window Solstice

When Covid ate my photography job, I enthusiastically retired and took up the ukulele.  I’m delighted to strum with the ukuLaLas.  Presently, I am also learning to play the xylophone. I would love to find members who would like to practice conversational Spanish.

You can interact with me on Facebook (Stella Simons) or on Instagram (stellamarthasi).  My artwork is on view at the Baltimore Art Gallery in Hampden and at https://bakerartist.org/portfolios/martha-simons  

Viv Thompson. Hi What’s Next! I was born and raised in a suburb of NYC, went to undergrad at Ohio Wesleyan, then grad school back in New York. Soon after marrying my now late husband Wes we spent 2 amazing years with the Peace Corps in Honduras. Eventually we ended up in Annapolis where we lived for over 20 years and raised our five children. I retired a few years ago from working as a Speech Pathologist in Anne Arundel County.

It has been four years since I moved up to Baltimore. I enjoy visiting my children and grandkids, travel, camping and biking. Playing Irish music (flute) brought me up to Baltimore and since arriving I added ukulele to the music mix thanks to What’s Next. I’m Looking forward to meeting more WN members!

Julie Robin Solomon.  I’m a long term married, dog- and cat-owning resident of Butcher’s Hill—since 1991. Former English Professor at American University, I left that profession in 2004 and took up psychiatric nursing. I now have a private practice where I work about 20 hours a week providing psychotherapy and medication management to clients through telehealth and in person.  A third (a)vocational chapter of my life is now—I am making art and writing poetry and prose.  I love gardening, reading, hiking, and apparently caring for others.  I’m not a surface, flirty person, you have to dig deeper to get to know me. But perhaps you may find that worth it! I am open to all comers. 

Trish White. I’m from Syracuse, New York and moved to Maryland in 1992 and to Baltimore in 2001.  No kids or grandkids, but currently 2 cats (Bob and Liam).  I met my husband Mark in Fells Point 12 years ago.

I started out of college working in banking and quickly realized that the cubicle life was not for me.  I’ve worked in the salon industry for a little over 30 years wearing a number of hats and for the last 20 years have owned and worked in my own salon, Tenpachi, in Fells Point.

I love to travel!  Internationally, Turkey has been my favorite trip, and in the USA, Hawaii has been my favorite destination. I enjoy gardening especially with native plants and cooking vegan/vegetarian meals. I enjoy walking and biking and Patterson Park can’t be beat.  I look forward to the 35 mile Greenway trail being completed here in the city. Halloween is my favorite holiday and I hope that next year I can resume our “haunted garage”.  In prior years we’ve given out candy to hundreds of kids on Halloween!

Geoffery Alan Moore. I grew up in New Mexico and Montana and met my wife Sharon in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1977 we moved to Manhattan where I got a job as a copywriter for ad agencies. We moved to Baltimore in 2015 to be near our three children and five grandchildren, who all live in the area. I’m semi-retired. I do volunteer editing for Heartbeat, a non-profit educational organization. I’ve written two children’s novels and I edit a philosophical blog. I like to read and enjoy walking in the city. We both like living here and enjoy eating out. I’ve enjoyed What’s Next meetings where we had a chance to share each other’s stories.

What advice would I give my younger self? Here goes: Why are you in such a hurry? Try a little harder to relax, enjoy the day, and take no person and nothing for granted.

Carol Hartke. I grew up in Elkridge Maryland but escaped to Baltimore as soon as I could..In 1979 I moved to southeast living on Washington Street for eleven years.and for the past 32  as a Baltimore Street Madam. My passion, aside from the neighborhood, is my Border Terriers, scruffy little mutt-looking dogs who are independent thinkers with a sense of humor. Together we do Performance Events and if I'm not in the Park, well, I'm at a dog trial. Loving to bake and cook is something that I can pair with my obsession with Christmas involving decorating and baking fruitcake and zillions of cookies. My house is all decked out for Christmas Tea and the Easter Extravaganza. Retirement after 43+ years at JHU has translated into more Park volunteer options and volunteer time at School 27.See you in the Park!

Jacki Gilbert. I was born in Ashtabula, Ohio the northeast corner of the state.  I escaped that small town on Lake Erie when I went to Ohio State University, whose enrollment was more than double the population of my hometown.   At Ohio State I earned a B.A. in Business with a focus in Accounting.  GO BUCKS!  I do make tasty buckeyes during football season.

After college, I stayed in Columbus and went to work for Nationwide Insurance.  This is their corporate headquarters.  I worked as a group insurance underwriter then moved on to the Controllers office.  I left Nationwide in 1986 and after a short stint in Louisville, Kentucky, I landed in Baltimore in 1987, working for USF&G Insurance Company.  I left USF&G prior to their demise and did some insurance sales, wedding coordination, accounting jobs, dog walking and sitting, etc.

Canton is the only neighborhood I have lived in Baltimore.  I lived in the Shipyard Apartments prior to buying my home.  I was on the board of the Canton Community Association in it’s early days. I am currently the President of the Friends of the Canton Library.  I keep busy gardening at the library and in Patterson Park, reading, working on genealogy, and traveling.  I have been to Europe 5 times, many islands in the Caribbean, and to Mexico so many times I couldn’t give you an exact number, but I am sure it is well over a dozen different trips.  And yes, I have seen a lot of the United States also.   Someday, I may take my first cruise.  I look forward to doing some traveling again.  I plan on going back to both Paris and Mexico in addition to making my first trip to Denmark.

Kini Collins. I've been a resident of Baltimore for over 20 years, working odd jobs to support myself as a writer and artist. As one of the first staff members of The Friends of Patterson Park, I helped start the still on-going concert series and worked on the renovation of The Observatory and Marble Fountain. I am a proud founder of What's Next, now serving as the President of the Board. Prior to moving to Baltimore I lived in New York, Sarasota, San Francisco, Tokyo, Tulsa, DC,and Columbia MD. I am now totally happily settled on Pratt Street with my lovely partner Sue, and our little dog Bean.The link below will give you a ton of info about how I came to be a visual artist. The talk was given in conjunction with a solo show I had at Essex Community College in 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fD9zPM4bb4c&t=5s

I have lived in Butchers Hill since 1985 when my deceased husband Tom and I began investing in real estate here. The diversity, natural view of the harbor and location of the neighborhood appealed to us. Patterson Park was a huge plus for exercising and walking the dogs. We owned, renovated and rented a number of properties in BH, Fell’s Point and Canton before we retired in 2022. I am an avid photographer and am out most days with my camera looking for photo opportunities. I also enjoy visiting art galleries and museums, cooking and listening to various types of music. Other areas of interest include animal rights and nutrition.

George Frazier. In my past, there was an ice cream parlor I opened in a building I renovated at 629 S. Broadway called Beagles in ‘77, a gourmet store in the S. Broadway Market ‘80 called Fells Point Coffee & Cheese, and an antique store on Thames at that same time. I and now living on S. Dallas Street where I spent two years restoring an alley street house. Kurt Schiller, I will always be grateful to for guiding me through that work. Finished in 2011, I began hosting an Air BNB business in my guest room. It’s called “Bunnys in Fells Point”. I keep it affordable and have found an effective screening measure to partyers by not offering a shower, tub only, in a shared bathroom. I enjoy the diversity of guests from all over the world and have talked myself into believing it is like traveling without leaving home. Additionally, I sell baskets at the Sunday Farmer’s market and have for 12 years. Entrepreneurial challenges bring out the best in me, though they are not always successes. Other interests and pleasures are cooking, tinkering in the shed, and I would not want to live without some sort of garden. I have been single since 2009.