| Friends of Gwynns falls leakin park |
Staff
Mike Cross-BarnetExecutive DirectorMike had a long career as a newspaper journalist before following his heart into nonprofit work. He holds a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management and Social Entrepreneurship from the University of Baltimore and has spent the past decade working with community-based nonprofits, volunteering in his neighborhood, and dabbling in politics. Mike and his wife live in West Baltimore just one block from Druid Hill Park (since taking the job with FOGFLP, Mike says he is now “double-parked”). Mike has three adult children, two of whom are Baltimore City schoolteachers. He is an extrovert who enjoys meals with friends, bike riding, board games, watching the Orioles, reading the news, and playing the piano, cello, and mountain dulcimer. Feel free to contact Mike anytime at execdirect@friendsofgwynnsfallsleakinpark.org |
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Board
Anita CathcartMs. Anita Cathcart was born and raised in Baltimore. She is President of the Allendale Community Association, Inc., which ensures resident safety, works with city agencies to address issues such as illegal dumping and crime, creates events and activities, and collaborates with city schools, BCRP and the Baltimore police. She has organized monthly food distributions since August 2020 in collaboration with neighboring community leaders. She worked at the NSA for 25 years, including working with the recruitment office to ensure that African-Americans were fairly hired. Ms. Cathcart has organized and promoted live music acts locally and enjoys time with family and friends, community activities, playing cards, bowling, and dancing. As a young girl, her parents brought her and her siblings to Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park for picnics, winter sledding and other recreational activities. She has always loved the park’s greenery, colorful flowers, historic features, and streams. She plans to spend more time in the park and to offer her support to maintain its strength and beauty for all to enjoy. |
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 | Craig Close, TreasurerGrowing up in West Baltimore in the 1940s and 50s, Craig was introduced to the park very early in life. He attended Cub Scout picnics in Winans Meadows and flew model airplanes with his dad in the fields on Windsor Mill Drive. He is active with the Chesapeake and Allegheny Live Steamers, who keep several tracks in the park. He can often be seen at Second Sunday helping kids and their parents enjoy train rides. Craig has been a FOGFLP board member for nearly 10 years, and treasurer for the last four years. He envisions a well-kept park where folks can get out and enjoy the trails, or just sit on a bench and watch kids play. |
Tony CruteTony has lived in West Baltimore, at the edge of the park, for over 30 years. He spends much of his free time hiking in the park, viewing wildlife and combating invasive vines. Tony was compelled to join the board in 2018 in response to the deforestation caused by the Granite Pipeline project, and the threat of destruction by the upcoming stream restoration and stormwater projects. Tony envisions a park that includes pristine wilderness in the form of natural forests and healthy streams, and also serves the recreational needs of the community with well-maintained trails and a thriving Carrie Murray Nature Center. |
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| Peggy CummingsA longtime resident of Baltimore County, Peggy began bringing her kids to Second Sundays decades ago. After her retirement, she joined FOGFLP’s Tuesday morning trailwork group, and has done much to revitalize the many gardens around the park. Peggy is drawn to the unique blend of history and pristine environment present in the park. Peggy is a Master Gardener and was instrumental in creating the pollinator garden at the Cardin Pavilion. She believes that the park is an irreplaceable environmental, recreational and cultural resource. She joined the board in 2020 in order to advocate for the park to be recognized and properly supported so that all can enjoy its amenities. |
Jill JonnesJill was introduced to Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park while attending the Herb Festival in the late 1990s, and had no idea there was a thousand-acre woodland attached to the Crimea section of the park. As a member of the Baltimore City Forestry Board, she came to know the park far better, coming frequently to hike its 18 miles of trails. Jill began to work with FOGFLP in 2017 with a goal of preserving the park’s 800 wooded acres so it could become part of the Old Growth Forest Network. After becoming a board member in 2020, she began working to advance the state-city partnership park concept. Jill is also the author of several books, including Urban Forests: a Natural History of Trees and People in the American Cityscape. Jill's vision for GFLP is a world-class woodland park with plenty of rangers, programming, activities, a beautiful nature center, and a Jobs Corps center employing young people to work and learn in the beautiful stream valleys. |
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| Erica Lewis, PresidentBorn and raised in Baltimore City, Erica spent most of her childhood outside, with her grandfather and cousins, learning to ride bikes and play tennis and golf. These experiences informed Erica's belief that everyone deserves access to nature, and in 2017 she started a hiking group with the goal of getting more folks out on the trails. Erica joined the board in 2020 became president in 2024. Erica's favorite thing to do at the park is watch her kids enjoy the simple joys of the natural world, such as the arrival of flowers in the spring. Erica is committed to seeing the park flourish with families, and to making the park a centerpiece of community in West Baltimore. |
Bridget McCusker, Vice PresidentLooking for Bridget? She's in the park, either hiking, volunteering with Leakin Park parkrun, or picking up trash. After moving around every corner of Baltimore City, she found her home in Hunting Ridge, within a minute's walk of the trails. Like many of our board members, she was recruited by Jo and Ed Orser, and keeps up their tradition of steadfast devotion to West Baltimore's gem. Bridget has been a board member since 2014, and served as FOGFLP president from 2018 to 2022. |
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| Brenda PinkneyBrenda raised her two children in West Baltimore, where she has lived nearly all of her life. Brenda attended summer programs in the park, and can recall standing on the Orianda House porch and looking through the railings into the park. She was reintroduced to the park later in life, when she began walking around the Crimea area with her family. She and her husband were inspired to create the Sacred Labyrinth and Meditation Garden in the field adjacent to Orianda House, in part to honor her husband's indigenous ancestry. Brenda has been a board member since 2020. Brenda views the park as a sanctuary of peace where people can feel safe, connect to the Earth, and experience the beauty in nature. |
Amy Stump, SecretaryA lifelong lover of the natural world, Amy was drawn to Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park soon after moving to Baltimore in 2005. She joined the board in 2018, and served as FOGFLP's president from 2022 to 2024. She envisions the park as a sanctuary for all of the plants, bugs, fungi, and critters that have been crowded out of urban areas. Living next to the park, she knows firsthand how the forest cleans the air and cools the climate. A native plant enthusiast, she can often be found off-trail eradicating invasive plants and seeking out spring ephemerals. In her vision of the park, humans act as well-behaved guests, always seeking to leave the park better than they found it. |
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| Christopher WhartonWith more than 20 years of experience in the environmental field, Christopher Wharton brings a wide range of knowledge and experience. Born in Baltimore in the 1980s and raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, he has traveled extensively, working with small communities to large organizations, researching complex ecosystems. He has a bachelor’s degree in Geography and Environmental Science from UMBC and a number of professional certificates. He has helped to increase STEM in Baltimore schools and has created geospatial applications for local governments and the U.S. EPA. His efforts have helped to bridge the gap between scientific research and real-world implementation. He previously served on the FOGFLP board and as president of the Dickeyville Community Association and a member of the Forest Park Action Council, and he currently serves on the board for the Howard County Watershed Stewards Academy. He enjoys flyfishing and hiking with his family and friends. He lives in Dickeyville along the Gwynns Falls with his wife, three sons and daughter. |
Zachary White, Second Vice PresidentZachary White is a graduate of Dartmouth College (Biochemistry/Chemistry) and holds a PhD in Chemistry from Howard University. He has spent most of his career involved in research at the University of Maryland System Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnology and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. His work in education includes evaluation of HBCU science and math programs; Director of Education at The Columbus Center; and The Park School. He has lived in West Baltimore for 30 years and stumbled upon Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park as a place his dogs fell in love with. He has found exploring park flora and fauna engaging and intellectually satisfying. He also discovered he could use the park to encourage his grandkids to explore and challenge their limits. He has been a member of the FOGFLP Board for 12 years and views GFLP as an inheritance and center of pride for a part of the city that has been severely neglected. He believes GFLP can serve as a focal point for enhancing the educational experiences of children on the west side and the surrounding region. |
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On the western edge of Baltimore, right where Interstate 70 terminates.
| Major areas/entrances (links to Google maps)
| Mailing Address: Friends of Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park |
Where is the park?