David Reel, CAE – Gladstone Group Managing Partner whose primary practice area is associations
David has extensive experience in managing/leading not for profit organizations, public affairs, consulting and teaching. Most recently, he served concurrently as President/CEO at the Maryland Hotel and Lodging Association, the Maryland Tourism Council and the Maryland Tourism Educational Foundation. He currently serves as a Board member and as Secretary – Treasurer of the Melos Institute, an applied research and learning center for membership based organizations. He also currently serves as the Maryland Director for Quantum Communications, a public affairs/public relations consulting firm that provides counsel on strategy advocacy and media to businesses, trade associations, professional societies, chambers of commerce, and political campaigns. He has served as adjunct faculty at the University of Virginia’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, where he helped develop, launch, promote and execute a ten module on site not-for-profit management certificate program. At the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Organization Management, he taught Collaborative Leadership and Strong Associations for the Future. At the College of Southern Maryland’s Nonprofit Institute, he taught Maximizing Meeting Productivity. Not for profit organizations where he has served as the CEO have received awards for excellence from the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the International Society of Hotel Association Executives, the Executive Officers Council of the National Association of Home Builders and the Pennsylvania Builders Association. He earned and maintains the Certified Association Executive (CAE) professional designation from the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE). He is a past chair of the Central Chesapeake Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and is a past chai of PRSA’s Mid Atlantic District. He has a B.A. With Distinction in political science and an MPA in public administration from the Pennsylvania State University.
David F. Sheppard, Jr., CAE (ret.) — Partner — Primary practice areas are associations and religious organizations
Dave is a veteran non-profit executive who has served varied constituents for over 35 years. He brings a unique perspective to The Gladstone Group having served in both the trade association world and in the church world. Dave most recently served as Executive Vice President of the Home Builders Association of Metropolitan Harrisburg. Dave has also served as Deputy Executive Director of Mid Atlantic Builders Exchange, as Executive vice President of the Pennsylvania Builders Association and Chief of Staff at a church with 2000+ weekly attendees and a 40 person staff. He is an expert on building staff teams, strategic planning, non-profit finance, non-profit governance, leadership development and public policy advocacy. He earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) professional designation from the American Society of Association Executives, is a past president of the Executive Officers Council at the National Association of Home Builders and is a past president of the Pennsylvania Society of Association Executives. He has a B.A. from Gordon College.
Alan Silverstein, IOM – Gladstone Group Partner whose primary practice areas are chambers of commerce, economic development organizations and associations
Alan has served 38 years as The President and CEO of chambers of commerce in four states, serving the last twenty years as President and CEO of the Talbot County Chamber of Commerce in Easton, Maryland. He has also served as the Executive Director of the Chesapeake Leadership Foundation, also in Easton. Alan has a demonstrated ability to transform chambers of commerce, economic development and tourism organizations from good to great, increasing membership, finances, programs and political clout. Alan served as a board member of the South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Maryland Chamber of Commerce Executives. He was elected as president of the Maryland Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives and was honored by his peers by being named Chamber Executive of the year. Alan has served on numerous nonprofit boards of directors in leadership roles assisting them in successfully carrying out their mission including Eastern Shore Heritage Inc., United Fund of Talbot County and Talbot Historical Society. Alan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in secondary education from the University of Northern State, Aberdeen, South Dakota. He is a graduate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organizational Management at the University of Colorado Institute, and the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. He served as a Regent and class advisor for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute of Organizational Management at the University of Colorado Institute. Alan also served as an adjunct facility member at Barton County Community College, Great Bend, Kansas. Alan was elected to the Easton, Maryland Town Council in May 2015 and re-elected to a second term in May 2019. He has assisted a number of not-for-profits in leadership development, executive searches, volunteer management and strategic thinking.
Kathleen Snyder, CCE – Gladstone Group Partner whose primary practice areas are chambers of commerce and economic development organizations
Kathleen is a certified chamber of commerce executive with 28 years of service as a city, county and state chamber She has been recognized for her ability to “turn around” the membership, finances and legislative clout while serving as President/CEO of the Maryland State Chamber of Commerce the Alexandria, VA Chamber of Commerce and the Prince George’s County MD Chamber of Commerce. In each case she led those chambers to new levels of growth and effectiveness by adding new events and value-added membership programs. As a result she was recognized at each level for her leadership and management success. As Maryland Chamber President and CEO she built the first statewide coalition of 60 organizations to help Maryland become more competitive through a united business voice. In addition to earning her CCE designation as one of only 500 chamber executives in the US to be certified, she was named three times as one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women by the Daily Record, prompting her induction into Circle of Excellence. Her peers in Maryland and in Virginia each celebrated her leadership by naming her Chamber Executive of the Year. She served on several nonprofit boards of directors to help lead them to success, including Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), Maryland Works and Alexandria Scholarship Fund. Kathy earned a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Maryland-College Park and an M.S. in Public Relations from The American University in Washington, D.C. She has assisted a number of non-profits in executive searches, leadership development, volunteer management and strategic planning.
Shelley Reel, CCM – Gladstone Partner whose primary practice area is religious organizations
Shelley uses her extensive experience as a church musician and has helped numerous churches in a wide range of denominations to evaluate, design, plan and execute music and worship arts programs. She currently serves as Director of Music Ministries at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Dover, Delaware. She previously served as the founder and Artistic Director at Bells of The Bay, a community bell choir that served the Chesapeake Bay Region of Maryland. Articles she has written have been published in Creator Magazine (3 articles), posted on the website of the Fellowship of United Methodist Musicians in Music and Worship Arts and posted in e vibes, an e mail newsletter distributed by Jeffers Handbell Supply. Worship services she has written have been widely distributed to churches across the country. Shelley is a Certified Church Musician (CCM) and an ordained Elder in the Presbyterian Church USA. She is also a member of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. At the Handbell Musicians of America (HMA) she served as the Mid Shore Coordinator for Area III and taught handbell courses at an HMA youth handbell symposium and the annual Handbell Festival in Ocean City MD . She has a B.S. from Messiah College and has taken graduate coursework at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond VA.
Carl Lincoln – Gladstone Partner whose primary practice area is associations
Carl has extensive and varied experience with local, state and regional trade associations in all facets of association management, including government affairs, political action, education, governance, membership development, meetings and conventions, group insurance, chapter relations, strategic planning, publications, non-dues income, staff development and financial management. Based in Atlanta, Carl is currently engaged in marketing throughout the southeastern U.S. for a private sector firm. He has a B.A. from Thiel College and an M.A. from California University of Pennsylvania.