Hopkins Parents Council
Join the 60+ families from across the country and around the globe who serve on the Hopkins Parents Council. Members reach out to other families each year to encourage support, serve as university advocates, and meet with JHU leaders and administrators at the Homewood campus.
Hopkins Parents Council members are asked to:
- Support the Hopkins Parents Fund with an annual minimum gift at the Parents Leadership Circle-Leader Level.
- Attend at least one of the two campus meetings each year (Family Weekend and once during spring semester).
- Contact three to five Hopkins families to encourage support of the Parents Fund.
- Attend or host on-campus events and local receptions.
- Be an advocate for JHU in your home community.
The Hopkins Parents Council has paved the way for us to network with other Blue Jay Families. The work of the HPC provides students with an array of extracurricular activities, ways to build camaraderie, develop skills outside of the classroom, and get a break from their busy academic lives. How could we not want to be a part of that?
– Steve Vitcov and Ruby Ghadially P’17
Hopkins Parents Council Chairs
2019-2020
Bob and Jane Polansky P’19, Minnetonka, MN
A Message from the Chairs
We are very excited to lead the family volunteer and giving efforts for Johns Hopkins University. Whether you are new Class of 2023 parents or like us—seasoned Blue Jay parents with our son beginning his 5th year as a WSE graduate student, we want you to know that parents are highly valued and important members of the Hopkins family!
The Parents Programs and Giving office and the Hopkins Parents Council are here to assist and partner with you on your family’s extraordinary journey. We encourage you to fully integrate into the university community and get involved to create and enrich your own parallel Hopkins experience. We suggest:
- Volunteering on campus and/or at home
- Supporting your student’s experience
- Reading the Blue Jay Family Flyer and other JHU publications
- Attending regional and on-campus JHU events and programs
As fellow parents, we share a common interest in wanting the best and most rewarding Hopkins experience for all Blue Jays. Your impactful support and participation will ensure that happens. We look forward to meeting you and partnering to make this academic year the very best it can be.
– Bob and Jane
Program Chairs
2019-2020
Hopkins Parents Fund Chairs: Michael and Elizabeth Bacon P’22, New York, NY
Parents Internship Network Chairs: Gary and Kathy Bedard P’21, Frisco, TX
Class Co-Chairs
Class of 2020
Daniel and Inge’81 Damstra P’20, Newton Square, PA
Class of 2021
Jonathan and Nancy Lurie P’21, Los Angeles, CA
TBD
Class of 2022
Sandeep and Purvi Kunwar P’22, Woodside, CA
Alan Pardee and Sally Morris, P’22, New York, NY
Class of 2023
TBD
TBD
Members
2019-2020
- Manuel Abdala and Alexandra Arata P’18, P’20 Potomac, MD
- Misbah and Hind Ahdab P’15, P’22 Chevy Chase, MD
- Frank An and Shau Zhang, P’22, Wayland, MA
- Tizzy Bannister P’20 New York, NY
- Lauri Benton ’88, P’22, Redmond, WA
- David and Mary Boroughs P’22 Houston, TX
- David Caplan and Karen Wagner P’20 New York, NY
- Weiqi Ding and Taya Zhou P’21 Freemont, CA
- James Goldrick P’22 New York, NY
- Hector and Liliana Goncalves P’21 Miami, FL
- Tim and Alida Hanson P’21 Brookline, MA
- Kip Howlett ’67, P’22 McLean, VA
- Stephen and Joanne Jones P’20 Bronxville, NY
- Ejaz and Saba Kamboj P’21 Las Vegas, NV
- Robert Kenet and Stephanie Seligman P’22 New York, NY
- David and Tina Kind P’23 Winter Park, FL
- Carol and Glenn Lew P’19 Laguna Hills, CA
- Michael and Irina Merport P’22 Sharon, MA
- Carter and Tania Neild P’21 Bronxville, NY
- Scott and Terry Pavlak P’22 Watchung, NJ
- Monica Penner and Amnon Gires P’21 La Jolla, CA
- Andy and Kirsten Pitts P’21 Greenwich, CT
- Massimo and Farla Russo P’20 Brookline, MA
- Peter and Meme Scherr P’22 San Francisco, CA
- Steve Shen and Kathy Xie P’22 Beijing, China
- Chris and Elizabeth Steele P’20 Houston, TX
- John and Marcy Sznewajs P’21 Bloomfield, MI
- Bruce Tobey and Rae Sanchini P’20 Los Angeles, CA
- Michael and Jill Toporek P’22 New York, NY
- Nina Urban ’82, P’21 Washington, DC
- Manny and Alex Vera P’22 Miami, FL
- Patrick Weyer and Ling Zhang P’21 Medfield, MA
- Morris Wheeler and Joanne Cohen P’21 Shaker Heights, OH
- David Yeh and Qian Wang P’19 Mercer Island, WA
Parents Programs and Giving Contacts
- Carol Lorton, Director
- Margie Carney, Sr. Associate Director
- Kristina Snyder, Assistant Director
- Annie Koogle, Coordinator