Executive Team and Board

Over five years ago Mary was introduced to the Encore movement – a movement that inspired individuals in the 50s to view this stage of life as an opportunity to build purposeful engagements that align with their time, talent and treasure. As co-founder and co-Executive Director of This Point Forward, she is excited to see her and Pat’s vision of a safe space to explore these opportunities come to fruition.

Mary recently became a 2nd act entrepreneur. In 2019, she founded ReFrame Financial Planning, a fee-only Financial Planning and Advisory firm in Howard County. Mary started ReFrame Financial Planning to help individuals build financial and purpose-driven transition plans for retirement. Mary specializes in guiding clients through the next chapter of their lives by balancing their financial and personal resources to align their values, passions, and purpose. Prior to founding ReFrame, Mary worked for over 10 years at a local Advisory firm where she was a Partner and Senior Advisor. Financial Planning is a mid-life career change for Mary. Prior to beginning a career in the financial advisory industry, Mary spent 10 wonderful years at home with her children. Before becoming a stay-at-home mom, Mary was an Assistance Vice President for Putnam Investments where she was responsible for the management of IT operations at the main headquarters in Boston and two international offices. She was the client services liaison between the Investment Management group and the IT division responsible for managing business partners’ expectations for the implementation and delivery of new IT initiatives.

Mary received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics with minors in Business and Computer Science from the University at Albany, SUNY. She holds the prestigious CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER TM certification. Mary is also a graduate of the Leadership Howard County, Premier Class of 2015.

Mary lives in Ellicott City, MD with her husband and two children. She is active in her community where she volunteers regularly. Mary is an Advisory Board member for the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County and Conscious Capitalism of Maryland.

Ellen Flynn Giles has been an independent data analyst and technical editor for more than 30 years. Over that same period, she served the Howard County Public School System – including 20 years on system advisory committees and the PTA Executive Boards at her four children’s schools, 10 years as Chair of the BOE’s Community Advisory Committee, and, most recently, three terms as an elected member of Board of Education. She now sits on the board of the Bright Minds Foundation and continues her longtime commitment to supporting student opportunities through Battle of the Books, National History Day, the Spelling Bee, Simulated Congressional Hearings, and Unheard Perspectives, and on advisory committees for HCPSS Local CTE, Apprenticeship MD, and Fine Arts programs.

A graduate of Leadership Howard County, Ellen serves as a member of LHC’s General Membership Committee. A strong advocate for the arts, humanities, and service in the community, she currently serves on the boards of directors of the Friends & Foundation of the HC Library System, HC Arts Council, HC Historical Society, and Inner Arbor Trust, and as an active member of the HC League of Women Voters and Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County.

In contemplating retirement and her next adventure, Ellen is looking forward to exploring options and opportunities for her own time and talents, and to helping others do the same.

Tanya helps clients work towards financial security as a Senior Financial Advisor at Arthur Stein Financial. She has been a Certified Financial Planner™ since the year 2000. She also provides as-needed financial advice to the local military community. In addition, she mediates and facilitates as a consultant to business owners.

Tanya is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Howard County. She is also on the board of Conscious Capitalism of Central Maryland and serves as chair of the Governance and Membership committees. She has previously served on the boards of Project Literacy of Watertown, Massachusetts, and Wellesley Student’s Aid Society, both as director and as chair of the investment committee.

She lives in Ellicott City with her husband and two children. She enjoys hiking, biking, and birding.

Tanya advocates planning for longer life expectancies and making these longer retirements as satisfying as possible. She sees working with This Point Forward as an opportunity to help retirees in our community explore options for meaningful paid and unpaid work.

In 1990, Marci founded Creative Marketing Concepts, Inc., an outsource marketing department for owners, developers and managers of apartment communities. The company soon became a “go to” resource for anyone needing marketing consulting, trouble shooting, training and marketing assistance (both print and digital). In 2020, Marci and her all female team of talented marketing warriors celebrated the company’s 30th anniversary by starting a division dedicated to assisting small to mid size businesses to grow and thrive. Creative Solutions CMC provides the advantage of 30+ years of marketing and business development experience combined with a track record of innovative problem solving skills.

In 2020, Marci also trained and certified as a High Performance Coach and now helps clients discover the clarity needed to get to the next level of performance in their business and personal lives.

Passionate about helping women achieve their goals, Marci was named an Emerging Leader by the SBA in 2018 and most recently was nominated for the Forbes 50 over 50, celebrating women who have taken on new challenges and new directions after the age of 50.