Contact: Fatima Ali,
[email protected], 972-489-3713
Dallas, Texas (Feb. 26, 2018) – Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and its National Board of Directors will welcome a new chairman, new vice chair and two new board members during MADD’s first board meeting of 2018 on March 1-2.
The Board Changes:
- Christopher Mann will preside over MADD’s 18-member National Board of Directors, as board chair, replacing David Strickland, whose term ended in December 2017. A former Lawrence, Kan., police officer, Chris sustained extensive injuries in a drunk driving crash in the line of duty, bringing his law enforcement career to an end in 2004. Following years of intense physical therapy, Chris courageously pursued his law degree and served as a county prosecutor before opening his law firm, Mann Law Firm, P.A., where he represents drunk driving victims and their families. Chris began volunteering with MADD in 2010 and has served on the board since 2015.
- Heather Geronemus becomes the new vice chair of the board. She is an award-winning community leader and communications professional who joined MADD after losing her father, Dr. Robert Geronemus, in a drunk driving crash in 2009. Heather established the Annual Walk Like MADD & MADD Dash Fort Lauderdale in 2011 and has since then continually chaired the event. The walk has raised more than $1.5 million to date. Heather has been recognized by MADD and outside organizations on local and national levels for her work with MADD and other charitable organizations. She is employed by Ultimate Software in Fort Lauderdale, where she oversees Media and Community Relations as part of the Public Relations Team.
- Season Atkinson, a personal injury attorney at Tatum & Atkinson, PLLC in Raleigh, North Carolina, joins the board. Season takes special interest in helping victims of impaired drivers pursue compensation and justice against their offenders. Her father, James F. White, was killed in a drunk driving crash when she was 6 years old and this loss later motivated Season to join MADD and commit to eliminating drunk driving within her lifetime. Season also assists MADD North Carolina by advocating for tougher DWI laws and raising funds to serve North Carolina victims. She is married to Highway Patrol Trooper Derek DelCastilho, who has been recognized by MADD for his work with the troop’s DWI task force.
- Martha Frye, a Certified Public Accountant joins the board. Martha, whose husband was seriously injured in a drunk driving crash has been Senior Regional Vice President for the Southeastern Regional Operations for Nationwide since 2013. She previously served as Senior Vice President of Property & Casualty Customer Service and as Sales Solutions for Nationwide and as Enterprise Controller and Chief Accounting Officer. She has an extensive background in insurance, including strategic business planning, finance and business operations. Martha also serves on the Board of Directors for the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and the Raleigh Edge for Economic Development.
Longtime Board Member Retires
MADD also extends heartfelt appreciation to former National Board Member Arkie Koehl, who served on the National Board of Directors for three years before retiring Dec. 31, 2017. Arkie brought a wealth of knowledge to the MADD National Board from his extensive experience in the advertising industry. He joined MADD Hawaii’s Advisory Board of Directors in 2004 and later served a two-year stint as chairman of MADD HI. He has pushed Hawaii legislators to pass stronger impaired driving laws, and he monitored DUI cases for many years. Arkie was most notably involved in MADD’s successful effort to secure unanimous legislative passage for Hawaii’s 2011 all-offender ignition interlock law.
To read the full bios of MADD’s National Board of Directors, please visit https://www.madd.org/about-us/leadership/.
About Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Founded in 1980 by a mother whose daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Mothers Against Drunk Driving® (MADD) is the nation’s largest nonprofit working to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking. MADD changed American culture by promoting the “designated driver” in 1986 and related red ribbon awareness campaign Tie One On For Safety®. MADD’s Campaign to Eliminate Drunk Driving® has reduced drunk driving fatalities by 25 percent since its launch. MADD supports drunk and drugged driving victims and survivors at no charge, providing a service every four minutes through local victim advocates and the 24-Hour Victim Help Line 1-877-MADD-HELP. Power of Parents® and Power of Youth® programs reduce underage drinking. Learn more by visiting madd.org or calling 1-877-ASK-MADD.
