Comfort Cases’ Founder

Rob Scheer entered foster care at age 12 with only the clothes on his back and a torn trash bag to carry his belongings. At 18, he was a Senior in High School and homeless as he “aged out” of the foster care system.

Flash forward to 2009 – Rob and his husband Reece were ready to start a family and were notified of a brother and sister in foster care that were in need of a home. Shockingly, they arrived on Rob’s doorstep carrying their belongings…. in a very similar trash bag.

Comfort Cases was founded in 2013.

Now, Rob and Reece are the parents of five children, all adopted from the foster care system.

Annually presenting to hundreds of schools, universities, corporations and other organizations, Rob educates the community about foster care and to share his personal story. He also advocates fixing the broken foster care system by speaking at local and federal government forums.

Rob is the host of Fostering Change, rated for consecutive years as the #1 podcast for topics regarding foster care and adoption. He is the author of A Forever Family: Fostering Change One Family at a Time, his memoir published by Simon & Schuster, and is a frequent guest on national and local media. In 2022, Rob, who proudly states he doesn’t know the difference between “there”, their” and “they’re”, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree from Lynn University. He also was asked to deliver the Commencement speech to that year’s graduating class.

Associate Professor, Department of Surgery

Mira H. Ghneim (born May 18, 1983) is a Jordanian-American acute care surgeon and former Olympic swimmer who represented Jordan at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, competing in the women’s 200-meter individual medley at the age of 13.

As an Associate Professor of Surgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine with a primary appointment in the Department of Surgery, Ghneim specializes in acute care surgery, emergency general surgery, surgical critical care, and trauma management at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.[3] Her clinical practice focuses on high-acuity conditions such as shock trauma and emergency surgical interventions.

Ghneim’s educational background includes a BS in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (2004, summa cum laude), an MS in Physiology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore (2006), and an MD from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science’s Chicago Medical School (2010). She completed her general surgery residency at Baylor Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas (2011–2015) and a surgical critical care fellowship at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center (2016), followed by ongoing pursuit of an MPH from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (expected 2025).

Her research contributions emphasize geriatric surgical care, frailty assessment in older adults, and outcomes in emergency general surgery, with 247 citations on Google Scholar (as of 2023) for work addressing behavior change in aging populations, anticoagulation risks, and procedural disparities in elderly patients. Notable publications include a 2023 JAMA Surgery article on frailty assessment in surgical patients and a multicenter study in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery on anticoagulation in emergency surgery. A native speaker of Arabic, Ghneim bridges her athletic background with a career dedicated to advancing surgical care for vulnerable populations.

Comptroller, State of Maryland

Brooke Lierman is the 34th Comptroller of the state of Maryland and the first woman to be independently elected to one of our state’s constitutional offices. After running a strong, policy-focused and grassroots-led campaign, she was elected with over 60% of the vote in November 2022. She is an attorney by training, practicing as a civil rights and disability rights lawyer for many years, and prior to her election as Comptroller, she served for 8 years a member of the House of Delegates representing part of Baltimore City. While in the House, she spent time in leadership roles on both the Appropriations Committee and the Environment and Transportation Committee. She chaired the Oversight Committee on Pensions.

As Comptroller, she is leading an agency of 1,200 dedicated Maryland public servants in 12 offices around the state. She has focused on making government work better by modernizing the agency’s aging IT infrastructure and staff structure, and she has created an office of public engagement and taxpayer advocate to ensure that the resources of the agency are shared with Maryland businesses and residents. The office has published new and important research reports on Maryland’s economy, and Brooke’s acts as a fiscal watchdog on the Board of Public Works, focused on achieving best value for the state and meeting our MBE goals. Under her leadership, the office of the Comptroller is working to create a Maryland that is more equitable, more resilient, and more prosperous so that all Marylanders can reach their full potential.

Brooke grew up in Montgomery County and now lives in Baltimore City with her husband two school-age children.

CyberWire Podcast

Dave Bittner is the producer and host of the CyberWire podcast, a top-rated daily cyber security news program produced in Maryland. He’s been tinkering with electronics practically his whole life, cobbling together a computer system to dial in to pre-internet BBS systems at the age of ten with the money he saved from his paper route. After college (University of Maryland, Radio TV and Film) he was among the pioneers of desktop digital video, cofounding Pixel Workshop, an award winning digital media production company in Columbia, MD. His journey with N2K CyberWire began in early 2016, and since then he has been working with a talented team of creative and technical professionals to make sure N2K CyberWire maintains its leadership position in the industry for quality, integrity and relevance.

Dave Bittner lives in Columbia, MD with his wife and family.

Seamstresses of Peace in Bogata Columbia

Carlos Guizas is a Rotary Peace Fellow Alum, Rotary Club of Washington Global.

Renowned Cellist

Diego Carneiro is a Brazilian Cellist & Peace Ambassador. He has completed International performances & cultural exchange through the universal language of music. Bridging continents with the resonance of the cello.

Fighting Gun Violence in SE DC: a Public Health Approach

Kenneth Barnes M.S., is District 7620 Peace Champion Awardee in 2026, Co-Chair of District 7620 Peace Committee

Fighting Gun Violence in SE DC: a Public Health Approach

Donnie Shaw is Past President Rotary Club of Washington DC

Your Wellness Advisor

Kelly has been leading DisCon yoga since 2024 and teaching yoga in the Baltimore area since 2018. She has used yogic tools for relaxation, energizing, balance, focus, strength, and calm to help herself and others on their journeys in community centers, yoga studios, retirement homes, recovery centers, and pop up events around the beltway and beyond. She currently leads adult yoga therapy groups at the Sheppard Pratt Hospital System in Towson, MD. She is a Baltimore Rotarian and chairs the BRC International Service Committee. Find her on the mat Saturday and Sunday mornings and all throughout the conference weekend!