RAP Board

Jim Hampshire, President

Jim is very excited to serve as the President of the Rally Against Parkinson’s program which allows him the ability to help others afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease. Jim has been active in the Rock Steady Boxing Program since 2021. Jim was formally diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2020, but his familiarity with Parkinson’s began much earlier. His mother was diagnosed with PD in the 80’s and his older brother was diagnosed in the early 2000’s. Because he has experienced first-hand the struggle of both his mother and brother, he was determined to manage the effects of PD and became active in the Rock Steady Boxing Program as soon as the
COVID restrictions were lifted. He is a strong believer in the power of exercise and the camaraderie experienced in the Rock Steady Boxing program.

Following his graduation from The Ohio State University School of Engineering in 1981, Jim went to work as a reliability and test engineer for the Department of the Army. Over his career Jim work on many high visibility programs to ensure safe and effective equipment for our soldiers. Jim retired from his Civil Service career in 2011 as the Test and Evaluation Technical Director for Future Combat System technologies.

Jim is happily married to Joyce and has 3 grown children and their first granddaughter. Jim is a licensed private pilot and enjoys everything aviation, is restoring a 1941 Dodge pickup and enjoys sport fencing (yes, playing with swords).

Steven R. Brill, Chief Operating Officer

Steven R. Brill is a social scientist with a diverse background in planning, systems engineering, information technology and knowledge management. He is a Vietnam Veteran (USAF 66-70), and was employed in the DoD and aerospace industries for 40 years. He retired from his position as senior systems engineer at NASA in 2013.

An Eagle Scout, Steve also served as a Cub, Boy Scout and Venture Crew leader for 11 years. An avid student of martial arts since childhood, studying in both the U.S. and Japan, he holds a black belt in Mushinoto JuJutsu and has been a volunteer teaching martial arts and self-defense classes at veteran centers and county senior centers. He is a husband, father and grandfather. Steve is the author of the book Fight Back Self Defense for Seniors and Everybody Else. He currently supports Rally Against Parkinson’s (RAP), helping to bring support to people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers.

Helene Dubay, Secretary

Helene Dubay, OTR/L has committed her life to helping others. She is a registered occupational therapist and driving rehabilitation specialist, currently specializing in working with disabled transitional-age youth interested in learning to drive. As an OT, Helene has 40+ years of experience working with people \ from birth to death, including inpatient, outpatient, nursing homes, home health and vocational rehabilitation settings, as well as being adjunct faculty for Towson University in the Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science Department. She has presented at the Maryland Rehabilitation Conference, Maryland Occupational Therapy Conference and EXPO for Transitional Youth.

Her mission of serving began as a teenager growing up in rural Wisconsin through her school, church and 4-H, continuing into college where she was president of her dorm and student OT organization. Additional volunteer endeavors have included being a Big Sister through Big Brothers & Sisters, scholarship chair for the Maryland OT Association, CCD teacher, school volunteer from grades K-12 and Cub Scout Advancement Chair pre- & post-computer interface. Helene has contributed locally as a commissioner on the Commission on Disabilities 2006-2018, being Chair of the EXPO for Transitioning Youth 2008-2018, an interagency collaborative effort to provide resources for youth and their families for life after high school. Since 2009, she has been a medical volunteer and client service team co-facilitator for Volunteers for Medical Engineering (aka VME or V-LINC), a Baltimore-based non-profit serving central Maryland providing customized solutions for people with disabilities.

When not working, Helene enjoys spending time with her family, supporting the local arts community, cooking, reading, traveling and all things quilting!

Malissa Cole, Treasurer

Welcome to Malissa Cole, our incoming Treasurer who is working with our current Treasurer, Dan Dubay who will retire from the board in March of 2023.

Malissa is extremely grateful to serve as the Treasurer for the Board of Directors. It’s an honor and privilege to be able to give back to a wonderful organization that helps so many in so many different ways.

She has worked in the Accounting & Finance sector close to 30 years where almost 15 years was spent with McCormick & Company performing various auditing, cash application, customer specific pricing, month end reporting functions as well as participating ,and in some cases, leading many cross functional process improvement projects. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown, PA.

She was diagnosed 10 years ago, at age 40, with Early Onset Parkinson’s Disease after noticing tremors in her left fingers as well as the inability to do simple tasks with the left hand such as washing her hair, picking up a utensil or pen, or frequently dropping things with the left hand. She quickly realized the profound affect this would have on her life and family and knew she had to make a decision on how she chose to live with this disease. Fight was the only thing that came to mind.

Malissa and her family started participating in fundraising such as the Baltimore Running Festival through Johns Hopkins and The Michael J. Fox Foundation. It’s through these events she learned about the importance of exercising the mind and body in order to feel better and live her best life possible. That is also when she learned about Rock Steady Boxing and was “hook”ed. Listening to other “parkies” stories, their struggles yet maintaining the will and need to fight this disease is inspiring. People always ask “how are you doing” and her reply is always the same- “there are good days, bad days and everything else in between”. We keep going because we have to, we lead by example, and our children no matter how young or old are always watching.

Malissa is married and she has two grown adult children.

Debbie Umbarger, Fundraising Director

Debbie currently serves as editor for the local magazine Harford’s Heart. She is still an active Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor. Her enthusiasm for helping others and a firm belief that excellence is achieved through commitment and effort are behind Debbie’s personal and professional life choices. The energy that she brought in her career as a teacher at Homestead-Wakefield for over 24 years, personal trainer and group fitness instructor, field hockey coach, Rock Steady Boxing Coach and health columnist for Harford’s Heart is a testament to her passion for a healthy, active lifestyle.

Debbie serves as the grant writer for Rally Against Parkinson’s. Her involvement with Rock Steady Boxing began seven years ago when a friend at the gym she was working in asked her if she could start a boxing class. There were only five people in this small group with one thing in common, Parkinson’s Disease. Having a group fitness boxing certification, she agreed. As word spread, so did the number of members. Debbie received her Rock Steady Boxing certification from the national training center in Indianapolis in 2016. From a humble beginning, the class grew into what is now the thriving program currently offered.

In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, golf and traveling with her husband and daughters.

Tricia Stecklair, Volunteer Coordinator

A graduate of Towson University, Tricia has worked for Element Fleet Management for the past 24 years as a Senior Business Consultant, helping major corporate customers like Home Depot and Travelers Insurance reduce their vehicle fleet costs. In the past, she has led many fundraisers for several schools and charities.

Like so many people afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease, the initial symptoms were thought to be muscle and tendon strains that affected her range of movement. But as the years passed and the symptoms grew worse, Tricia was referred to a Neurologist and Movement Specialist who confirmed she had Parkinson’s. It was her Movement Specialist who recommended Rock Steady Boxing and Tricia began attending classes in early 2021.

“Taking RSB was the best advice I’ve gotten for dealing with my movement issues and mental well-being. The camaraderie, the workouts and the new friendships have made such a huge difference in my life,” says Tricia. Wanting to give back, Tricia has joined the RAP Board as the Volunteer Coordinator.

Tricia and her husband, Rich, live in Bel Air and have one son, who lives nearby. Tricia loves spending time with her family, friends and extended family, her stepchildren and 3 grandchildren, working out and decorating.

Mary Beth Craig-Buckholtz, M.D.

Mary Beth (MB) is proud and honored to serve on the Board as a consultant for outreach. She hopes her background and connections in the local medical community will help with the worthy cause of RAP.

Mary Beth grew up in Harford County, attending Aberdeen High School, where she served as a student leader. She received a scholarship to attend Western Maryland College and majored in Biology and Biochemistry, completed the Honors program, served as the editor of the yearbook and graduated summa cum laude. Her next move was to the University of Maryland at Baltimore School of Medicine, where she realized primary care was her future.

After completing a residency in family medicine at Franklin Square hospital, she launched her career in 1999 in a small practice in Jarrettsville. She still remains there today as the lead provider with the practice now being a part of GBMC. She is active on several GBMC committees, including the Innovations Committee and the Primary Care Task Force Committee.

Over the years, Mary Beth has been involved with volunteerism from Girl Scouts and 4H as a child to student government in high school and Circle K and CAPboard in college. Once her children, Gavin and Cassidy, came along, she became cookie mom for Girl Scouts, treasurer for Cub Scounts, a PTA volunteer spending many nights at the booster club concession stand and bingos, and a coach for field hockey for eight years.

Her experience with Parkinson’s sadly is more than professional. Her beloved father passed away from PD in 2018, and now her father-in-law is fighting the disease. She has a strong belief in the support, both physical and emotional, gained from the Rock Steady Boxing program.

In her (small amount of) spare time, MB enjoys spending time with her husband, Chris and their four kids, traveling, working out, reading, cooking, and watching hockey, baseball and football.