MBM Board Officers
Keith Sydnor,
President
Mayor, Laurel
PG County, MD
Keith Sydnor has been City of Laurel’s Mayor since 2023; he was first elected in 2017, as Council member, and served three terms.
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Sydnor is a PGCPS substitute teacher and worked in law enforcement. He was a Pretrial Services Officer in DC, a Correctional Officer for the Federal Bureau of Prisons and for the VA Department of Corrections, and he was Deputy Sheriff for the Petersburg, VA Sheriff. As well, Sydnor is a retired US Navy Chief Petty Officer.
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In 2019, he graduated from the UofM's Academy for Excellence in Local Governance; he’s VA State University alumnus. Sydnor was also VP of the Vistas II Laurel Lakes Condo Association Board.
Cynthia Miller,
Vice President
Mayor, District Heights
PG County, MD
Cynthia Miller, was elected City of District Heights Mayor in 2022. She entered into political office in May 2014, when she was elected Commissioner, Ward 1 and was appointed Vice Mayor in June 2021.
Mayor Miller served as Liaison for general government and has 38 years of combined experience working in the federal, non-profit, private and public sectors; she has lived in District Heights for 24 years.
Miller is a 2015 Fellow graduate of UofM's Academy for Excellence in Local Governance, MML. She's Former President (2018-2019), and current Policy Chair, of PG's Municipal Association. She currently serves on the Marlboro Pike Corridor Stakeholders Committee, which focuses on the revitalization of Marlboro Pike area.
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Monica Casanas, Secretary
Mayor, Colmar Manor
PG County, MD
Monica Casañas is Colmar Manor’s first Hispanic Mayor. Born in Bogota, Colombia and raised in Queens, NY, Monica moved to Maryland in 2005.She is deeply passionate and committed to social justice and equity issues: a community activist, influencer and communications professional who works to build and strengthen community.
In 2022, Casañas’s work on building inclusive communities energized her run for Mayor, and expand voting to non-citizens in Colmar Manor.
Casañas has a bachelor’s degree from the UofM and a master’s degree from American University. She serves on the executive board of the Maryland Black Mayors. She lives with her husband, daughter, dog and two cats.
Talisha Searcy,
Treasurer
Mayor, Takoma Park
PG County, MD
Talisha Searcy, Takoma Park’s first Black mayor, was elected in 2022. Her major initiatives: library expansion, major land rezoning efforts, and deploying a $1.4M Direct Cash Assistance Program. She also serves on the Council of Governments Board.
From 2017 to 2022, Searcy was a Takoma Park Council member.
Searcy has a master’s in economics and public administration from Syracuse University.
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In addition to being Mayor, she works for the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Assistant Secretary for Tech Policy. At home, Searcy takes walks with her dog Duke, and spends time with her eight nieces and nephews.
Petrella Robinson, Finance Chair
Mayor, North Brentwood
PG County, MD
Petrella Robinson has been Mayor of North Brentwood, MD (the first incorporated African American municipality in PG County Maryland) since 2007! She grew up in North Brentwood and has raised her own family there, after taking accounting courses at UofM College Park.
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Her activism in North Brentwood in 1977: Councilmember, Clerk, and President of the town Recreation Council. For decades, the Mayor has worked to bring the Town's history and auspices to county and state government.
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Robinson is a member of: North Brentwood Citizens Association, its Historical Society, and the African American Mayors Association. She is a board member of PG's Arts and Humanities Council, and PG County Municipal Association.
