COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The University of Maryland Alumni Association welcomes Laurie De Armond ’94 to serve as its next president of the Alumni Association Board of Governors, in addition to seven new at-large members. In their role, the Board of Governors provides foresight, oversight and insight that guides the Association in its mission to connect, cultivate and channel the power of its 405,000+ alums around the world to enrich themselves and advance the university.
De Armond received her bachelors of science in accounting from the university. With over 25 years of experience in client service and operations, she currently serves as the Market Managing Partner for assurance services in BDO Global’s Greater Washington, D.C. market. She also serves as the Executive Director of BDO’s Institute for Nonprofit Excellence, guiding the strategy and direction of the Institute’s thought leadership and resources nationally. In 2013, De Armond was awarded a Women to Watch Award by the Greater Washington Society of CPAs for her contributions to the profession.
De Armond started her service with the Alumni Association as a member of the board’s finance committee in 2018. She served as an at-large board member from 2018-21 and was the chair of the finance committee for two years and a chair of the governance committee for two years. She was approved as President-Elect in June 2021. Her tenure as president will last until June 2025.
The seven new at-large members completing their two-year term include:
Maria Louzon Ball ’12 is an Account Executive at Salesforce, based out of San Clemente, Calif. She is the former President of the Seattle Terps Alumni Network and currently serves as President of the San Diego Terps Alumni Network and Vice President of the BSOS Alumni Chapter Board. Ball earned her Bachelor of Arts in Government and Politics from UMD.
Phil Bass ’82 is a retired Ernst & Young (EY) partner, having worked there for 38 years after his graduation from UMD. After a short retirement, he joined BDO as a managing director in their private equity practice. Since graduating with a bachelor of science in accounting, Bass remained active with UMD, having served as president and board member of the UMD Business School, a member of the Terrapin Club, and more recently an advisory member to the Finance Committee of the Alumni Association.
Laura Crandon ’91 is the Founder and President of Touch4Life, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, whose mission is to increase the breast health IQ of people of color and underserved communities and eliminate breast cancer outcomes disparities. In 2023, she was appointed by Governor Wes Moore to serve on the Maryland Health Benefit Exchange Board. Crandon has been heavily involved with Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc as well as the Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering on campus.
Rocky Lopes ’80 worked as a professional Emergency Manager specializing in Disaster Preparedness for nearly 40 years before his retirement in 2019. After revising his will after his husband’s unfortunate death due to pancreatic cancer, Lopes established two endowed scholarships at UMD—one for students becoming classroom teachers and one for student leaders. He also endowed an award of an Alumni Association lifetime membership for every president and three-year memberships for vice presidents of the Student Alumni Leadership Council (SALC) upon their graduation.
Alethia Nancoo ’90, M.Ed. ’92 is a partner at Squire Patton Bogg’s in the Public & Infrastructure Finance Practice Group and a member of Squire’s Global Board. She was recognized as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Champion in Corporate Counsel Magazine’s 2021 Women, Influence & Power in Law and the Washington Business Journal’s 2020 Minority Business Leader Awards. Nancoo has participated in D.C. Terps Alumni Network events as well as attorney events through BSOS. She is also an active member of UMBA (University of Maryland Black Alumni Network).
Peter Polow ’95 is the CEO and Founder of P&G Equities, LLC, a boutique real estate development and management company in the tri-state area. Currently, Polow is on the board of the ANC (“Another National Championship”), which was created to help financially support the Maryland basketball program through networking and fundraising in hopes of winning another national championship. Polow has been active with many areas of the university since graduating in 1995.
Amy Yip ’04 is a Somatic Life Transformation and Mental Fitness coach, keynote speaker, author and self-confidence trainer. She works with women of color leaders to strengthen their mental fitness, heal intergenerational wounds, find their voice and the courage to speak up and have agency to let go of all the ‘shoulds’ so that they can be the authors of their own life stories. Yip is part of the Alumni Association’s Coaches Corner career coaching program, has been a speaker during Career Week, and taught a Maryland Alumni Association Masterclass.
Learn more about the Alumni Association Board of Governors full roster, including representatives from each school and college, at alumni.umd.edu/board.