JaLynn Prince, President and Founder

JaLynn Prince is the president and founder of Madison House Foundation. She is also founder and president of Times and Seasons, an arts management consulting firm emphasizing the arts, broadcasting, public policies, and public relations. JaLynn has also served as an instructor in the Evergreen Program at Johns Hopkins University, the public relations director for The Bicentennial Council of 13 Original States, and a management consultant for Hammond Associates in Los Angeles. Mrs. Prince’s varied background also included stints as press secretary to a U.S. congressman, radio announcer, theater critic, and producer and director for television and theater.

Within her community, JaLynn has been a pastoral care counselor, a Leadership Montgomery graduate, and an advocate for the Autism Society of America. She has worked to raise funds for children’s hospitals, Ronald McDonald houses, homes for battered women, inner-city educational programs, homeless shelters, and arts organizations including the National Philharmonic.

JaLynn serves on several boards, including Resource for Advancing Children’s Health (REACH), Southern Virginia University – National Advisory Council, Wesley Theological Seminary – Building Advisory Council, BlackRock Center for the Arts, National Philharmonic Board, Arts Gala Board for Montgomery College, Museum of Utah Arts & History, Brigham Young University Management Society, American Mothers Inc., and Rising Star Outreach – for untouchable children in India and the leprosy afflicted population.

JaLynn was named to the Who’s Who in Business 2005 list and was selected by the congressionally recognized American Mothers, Inc. as a National Mother of Young Children.

JaLynn and her husband, Dr. Gregory A. Prince have three children and live in Potomac, MD where she enjoys spending time with her family and pursuing her vivacious interest in the arts and music. JaLynn is known for using philanthropy to promote social awareness and goodwill. She has used her love of photography and travel to increase public awareness of important social issues in such places as India, Guatemala, Kenya, and Uganda.

She received her bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University, and pursued graduate studies at American University in arts administration and at Wesley Theological Seminary in theology.

Read about JaLynn being honored as 1999 National Mother of Young Children by American Mothers, Inc., the official sponsor of Mother’s Day and Mother of the Year awards.

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Megan Farrelly Hughes, Associate Executive Director

Megan Farrelly Hughes joined Madison House Foundation as Associate Executive Director in September 2008. Megan began her work in the field of autism as an applied behavioral analysis therapist while pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the University of Oregon. Throughout her education, Megan supported several non-profit organizations as a therapist and consultant to families of children with developmental disabilities.

In 2005 she relocated from her home state of Oregon to attend Brigham Young University for continued studies in developmental disorders.

At Madison House, Megan is responsible for coordinating and implementing all community programs including the annual Autism Training Seminar.  She also trains new staff members and assists the director in running the day to day affairs of the organization.

In her spare time she enjoys winter sports, white water rafting, various outdoor activities and the arts.

Megan holds a B.S. in Psychology, with an emphasis in developmental disorders from Brigham Young University.

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Nancy Almacy, Executive Secretary

Nancy Almacy was raised in Aberdeen, Maryland, and graduated from Aberdeen High  School. She is agraduate of Marjorie Webster Junior College, Washington, D.C., with an A.A. degree in Education and a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio, with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Education.Nancy is a longtime resident of Montgomery County.  She is a retiree of Verizon where she worked for 29 years on various types of challenging operations and staff assignments.  Her career began during the “Bell System” days and continued through divestiture, countless re-organizations and three mega-mergers.  She is most notably remembered by her colleagues for her leadership in budgets and finance.

Within her community, Nancy has served as president and treasurer on several association boards and continues to serve as a Chief Judge for Montgomery County’s gubernatorial and presidential elections as she has for many years.

Nancy enjoys spending time on the Delaware Shore with friends and family, especially with her son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters who live in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

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Desiree’ Kameka, Research & Community Outreach Specialist

Desiree’ Kameka graduated with a BA in Psychology with an emphasis in psychobiology and psychological & educational studies from the University of Miami. There she participated in research funded by NAAR, studying siblings of those on the spectrum to better identifiy red flags of a possible spectrum diagnosis before 18 months of age.

Desiree has been working with children and young adults on the autism spectrum for over 6 years. She most recently established a program at the University of Miami Center for Autism and Related Disabilities called Canes PLUS which used college students as mentors for teens on the spectrum while engaging them in team building and social skill enhancing activities on the University campus.

She is currently pursuing a Masters of Divinity at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC.

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Shelley Pumphrey, Project Manager

Shelley Pumphrey is a Washington area native. She graduated from Holton-Arms School, Brigham Young University, and received a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Tennessee.  As a Presidential Management Intern, she secured a job as a Program  Analyst at NASA, working at NASA Headquarters on Shuttle Payload Test and Integration.  As a NASA contractor, she had the opportunity to manage a software development team dedicated to Space Station project management; write speeches for the Deputy Administrator of NASA; and managed a $6 million systems support contract for the Earth Observing System division of the Office of Space Science and Applications.
Shelley has also managed a mid-sized medical practice in Washington DC; was the CFO and Director of Human Relations of a local HUD contracting firm; and had a small but busy real estate practice.
Shelley brings to Madison House Foundation a strong background in program and project management.  Having raised four children in Montgomery County, she understands parental issues and the sometimes difficult time parents can have in getting local resources to work for and with them.
Shelley’s hobbies include water skiing, snow skiing, tennis, and reading.  Her passion, however, remains her children.

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Advisory Board Members

Rene Carlson, LCSW  

Renee Carlson, a Utah native, has been a resident of the D.C. area for over 30 years.  Renee is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and ran a private practice for sixteen years in Potomac, MD.  Renee has also managed a successful real estate development business in Maryland and in the District of Columbia.  In addition to her work in family therapy and real estate, Renee is also the author of two books: a children’s book entitled, Fenwick Falcon at the Air Academy, and a political biography entitled, The Best Man Doesn’t Always Win.

An active member of the community in Montgomery County, Renee is a member of Leadership Montgomery and is a former a board member of Black Rock Center for Performing Arts.  Renee currently sits on the Madison House Foundation Advisory Board.

Renee is the proud mother of seven children and grandmother of twenty-seven.  She has a B.A. from George Washington University and a MSW from Catholic University.

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Faith E. Frankel, M.D.

Dr. Faith Frankel is a pediatrician with special interests in autism and pediatric Chiari.  She currently teaches physical diagnosis as a clinical instructor at Georgetown University Medical School in Washington, DC.  She also is a member of the Madison House Foundation Advisory Board.  Dr. Frankel received her Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University (1987) where she was a member of the Ho Nun De Kah Honor Society.  She received her medical degree from the University at Buffalo School of Medicine (191) where she graduated Cum Laude and received a Women in Medicine Award.  Dr. Frankel completed her pediatric internship and residency at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC in 1994.  Upon graduation, she joined Children’s Medical Associates in Alexandria, Virginia where she practiced pediatrics.  Dr. Frankel has been board certified in pediatrics since 1995.

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Gonzalo Laje, M.D., MHS

After completing his medical education at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, Dr. Laje moved to the U.S. and worked at the Anxiety Disorders Clinic at Columbia University. He completed his training in general psychiatry at New York University/Bellevue Hospital in New York City, and his training in child and adolescent psychiatry through the combined program NIMH/Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. Dr. Laje has a Master of Health Sciences in Clinical Research from Duke University.
Dr. Laje has been the recipient of multiple awards including: American Academy of Child and Ado

lescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Outstanding Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Resident; the AACAP Outstanding General Psychiatry Resident; the International Medical Graduate Mentorship Program in Psychiatry by the American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training (AADPRT); the American Psychiatric Association – New York District Branch – Resident Research Award; the APA – Janssen Research Scholar on Severe Mental Illness and the NCDEU-NIMH New Investigator Award.
He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Society of Human Genetics and the International Society of Psychiatric Genetics.

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Gordon W. Mella, M.D. – Bio Coming Soon   

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Steven A Robins, Esq.

Principal; Lerch, Early & Brewer, Chtd

Steven A. Robins chairs the firm’s Land Use & Zoning practice group. He has extensive experience representing a diverse group of clients including developers, contractors, lenders, businesses, technology firms, landlords and property owners in all areas of real estate law, land use, zoning and development law, commercial law, administrative law and lobbying.

Steve has advised clients on numerous complex zoning map and text amendments, optional method of development applications, master plan amendments, comprehensive land use planning and zoning analyses, special exception and variance applications, preliminary and final plans of subdivisions, site plan review, condemnation matters, historic preservation and urban renewal issues, transit-oriented Smart Growth development, and on all aspects of regulatory permitting and licensing process. Steve often lectures on Smart Growth and other related topics.

Steve served on the Character Committee for the Court of Appeals of Maryland. He was Chairman of the Board of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce and currently serves as a life board member. He is a graduate of the Leadership Montgomery Class of 1991 and an active member in the Urban Land Institute and the Maryland-National Capital Building Industry Association.  Steve also served as Counselor to the Board of the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington and as President of the Ring House, a senior housing facility. Since 2001, he has served as Chair of the Montgomery County Public Safety Awards.

Steve received his undergraduate degree in political science, with distinction, in 1983 from the University of Michigan. He received his law degree in 1986 from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as an editor of the American Criminal Law Review.

Steve is admitted to practice law in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia and is a member of the Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, and Montgomery County Bar Associations.

Steve has been named to the current edition of Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession for his work in the area of Land Use and Zoning Law. He has been named every year since 2007.

Steve recently was named the region’s “Top Lawyer for Land Use and Zoning” by The Washington Business Journal for his work in transit-oriented development.