Board of Directors WeAreOne Alliance

Sharon Dongarra’s life and career bridge human services, clinical practice, and social justice — reflecting a lifelong commitment to community healing. Born and raised on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, she now resides in Baltimore with her wife, Katie, and their two children. 


For more than a decade, Sharon dedicated her work to humanitarian and social service initiatives that supported individuals and families through crisis and transition. With the American Red Cross, she provided emergency communication support to U.S. military personnel both at home and abroad. In Baltimore’s underserved neighborhoods, she coordinated resident services with Housing Opportunities Unlimited, and later managed programs for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, where she was recognized for her leadership and dedication to improving the quality of life for people living with chronic illness.

Driven by a deep curiosity about the ways body, mind, and environment shape human potential, Sharon built upon her degree in Human Services by earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. She now operates a family-centered chiropractic practice in Baltimore, where her work integrates advanced training in pediatric and perinatal care with a holistic understanding of the nervous system and its role in resilience, regulation, and healing. 


Her clinical philosophy is grounded in the understanding that true healing—whether individual or collective—begins with safety, connection, and compassion. Drawing on polyvagal-informed principles, she emphasizes co-regulation, curiosity, and presence as essential pathways to trust and sustainable change. These same principles guide her approach to leadership and community engagement, where she seeks to cultivate spaces that honor vulnerability, courage, and shared humanity.

Sharon’s involvement with the WeAreOne Alliance reflects this integration of inner and outer work. She has participated in several offerings through Soul Force Politics, including White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, Unlearning Racism, and The Great Radical Race Read, where she served as part of Team SoulForce. In addition, she contributed to the Social Action Committee for Racial Justice Dialogue: Chestertown Unites to End Racism, and has benefited from HeartMath coaching with Heather Mizeur. 


These experiences deepened her understanding of how personal awareness and social action intersect to create lasting transformation — aligning profoundly with the core tenets of her profession: to do, to give, to love, and to serve. They continue to shape her vision for collaborative, heart-centered leadership that honors diversity, fosters empathy, and advances collective well-being.

Luke Peterson is the founder and managing member of Hayloft Advisors, a strategic communications and applied technology consultancy that helps organizations make thoughtful, evidence-based decisions in complex environments. Through Hayloft, Luke advises leaders across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors on issues ranging from national security and energy to social impact and organizational design. His work focuses on helping institutions grow resilience, build trust, and communicate with clarity and integrity during times of change. Before founding Hayloft Advisors, Luke served in senior leadership roles at Golin and Burson-Marsteller, where he led global measurement and insights programs for some of the world’s best-known brands. He developed data-driven approaches to reputation management, social intelligence, and audience research that reshaped how clients measured impact and demonstrated value. 


Previously, Luke spent nearly a decade at the U.S. Department of State, including as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Analytics in the Bureau of Global Public Affairs. In that role, he oversaw a worldwide network of researchers and analysts responsible for understanding how international audiences perceive the United States and for ensuring that U.S. communications abroad were grounded in evidence and cultural understanding. His team’s work informed communications strategy on issues such as global health, crisis response, and counter-disinformation—helping strengthen America’s credibility and connections around the world.

Luke’s career has long been shaped by a deep respect for those who serve. Having worked closely with military and national security leaders, he understands both the visible and invisible burdens that accompany service--and the importance of community and purpose in recovery. His commitment to that mission aligns naturally with Operation Thriving Acres’ vision of helping veterans and first responders heal through therapeutic horticulture and reconnection with the land.

Outside of his professional work, Luke is an active volunteer leader in youth scouting organizations. For over a decade, he has led multiple Girl Scouts troops and a Cub Scouts pack in Washington, D.C. and Takoma Park, Maryland. Through these organizations, he has helped young people (and their trusted adults) learn leadership, teamwork, and community stewardship through outdoor experiences and community service projects.

These experiences reinforce his belief that resilience grows through connection--to others, to nature, and to shared purpose.

Luke is a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Army War College, where he earned a Master of Strategic Studies, and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. An accomplished endurance athlete who also coaches teams of athletes raising funds for charity, he brings to his work the same focused discipline and determination that have carried him across finish lines from Ironman Florida to the Great Chesapeake Bay Swim and the Chicago Marathon (3x). 


Luke splits time between homes in Washington, D.C. and West Virginia, where he continues to explore how strategy, storytelling, and service can help both individuals and institutions thrive.

Dr. Katie Huffling is a Certified Nurse-Midwife and the Executive Director of the Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE), the leading global nursing organization focused on the intersection of human and planetary health. With ANHE, Katie works with nurses and nursing organizations to elevate environmental health issues, such as climate change, toxic chemicals, and sustainability in healthcare, amongst the nursing profession. Katie is a passionate supporter of nurse led advocacy in support of healthierenvironments for all.

While working as a nurse-midwife, Huffling created the first of its kind assessment tool for use by obstetrical providers to assess for environmental exposures and provide anticipatory guidance. She led the development of the innovative ANHE Environmental Health Nurse Fellowship program, which trains nurses to work with communities to tackle serious environmental health issues. 



Dr. Huffling received her DNP in Health Innovation and Leadership from the University of Minnesota. She is an appointed member of the US Environmental Protection Agency Children’s Health Protection Advisory Council and is a member of the National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative on Decarbonizing the U.S. Health Sector.

Sierra was the founding Board President for MizMaryland | Soul Force Politics (the precursor organization to the WeAreOne Alliance) and served in this role from 2017-2025. She is the Co-Founder and Director of Atlantis Institute for Consciousness and Music, which offers training courses for professionals who wish to incorporate music into their psychotherapy practice. 



The courses lead to certification as a specialist in the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music, and the designation of Fellow by the Association for Music and Imagery. Sierra's career includes pioneering specializations in many areas and teaching through seminars, publications, and original music sequences. She has a private practice in Annapolis, MD and lives with her husband, Jay, and Golden retriever, Brandy, near Church Hill, Maryland.

Eric is a founding member of the Board of Directors. He enjoys serving as it helps Heather help other people on a much larger scale than he can at his current job as an IT consultant. Contributing to the WeAreOne Alliance feels good. :) 


He finds IT is rewarding in its own right and enjoys the diversity of organizations he supports, including most of the large music venues in the DC area! 


Eric has been working with Apple computers since the early 90’s, where he was first exposed to Macs while studying photography in Maine. He later moved to Boston and ended up working as a production artist and prepress manager at a large department store chain. While absorbing all of these new skills he became the defacto tech support for his entire department and decided that IT was more challenging (and rewarding) than pushing pixels around all day. 


After leaving the advertising world behind Eric managed all of the technology at a busy digital arts school in Georgetown, where he was responsible for the well being of hundreds of Macs. He enjoys being around creative people and helping them with their technology needs.

Stephen Hook, a Catonsville, Maryland native, is a 2025 graduate of Washington College with a B.A. in Political Science and Communication & Media Studies. 


Passionate about civic engagement, Stephen began his advocacy work in high school as a founding organizer of “Catonsville Youth for Black Lives Matter.” At Washington College, he served as Vice President of College Democrats before co-founding PoliTalks in 2023, a bipartisan student organization dedicated to reducing partisan polarization through dialogue. Under his leadership, PoliTalks hosted high-impact campus events such as “Disagreement is Democratic with Heather Mizeur,” engaging hundreds of students and community members in constructive discourse that transcended ideology.


Aside from political engagement, Stephen stayed busy at Washington College through his roles as Class President, Secretary of Service and Community Relations, Co-Chair of the Task Force on Free Expression, and Peer Mentor. Stephen recently began working in the political field and aspires to build a career in political communications.

Jaelon T. Moaney is a ruralist, historic resource steward and civic change agent whose Delmarva Peninsula roots date back to the early 1770s and anchor the 2025 One Maryland One Book. 


Through senior positions in both congressional chambers and the American Institute of Architects, his advocacy strategies have expanded the diversity of heritage areas, corridors, sanctuaries, parks, sites, museums, preservation policies and funding across the nation.


Moaney is the Deputy Director of the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience at Washington College, the first college chartered in the sovereign United States.


In 2023, Moaney was appointed by Governor Wes Moore to the Maryland Commission on African American History and Culture— founded in 1969 as the first statewide ethnic commission in the U.S.—as the State's youngest to serve and unanimously assume the Office of Vice Chair. 


Moaney and his wife are both proud graduates of Williams College, and enjoy Chesapeake living along the Choptank River.

Christina Stinchcomb is the owner and operator of Airy Hill Stables in Chestertown, Maryland, where she blends her lifelong love of horses with a deep passion for healing, personal growth, and community connection. 


She is honored to be a founding member of the Board of Directors since the WeAreOne Alliance originally began as MizMaryland | Soul Force Politics, serving as Vice President and helping to support its mission of bringing consciousness, compassion, and courage into civic life. Christina is also a founding member of the Chester River Wellness Alliance, now the Chestertown Wellness Collective, reflecting her dedication to creating spaces where people can come together to learn, grow, and heal. 


As the author of Riding with the Chakras and the creator of the Wisdom Through Horses program, Christina believes that “what we can learn from horses is infinitely more valuable than what we can teach them.” Her work invites riders and non-riders alike to explore the profound wisdom horses offer as guides on the path of self-discovery and connection. 


Drawing from Gestalt, somatics, yoga, tai chi, Reiki, and other consciousness practices, her programs use the chakra system as a map for cultivating awareness, inner alignment, clarity, and peace. 


A graduate of Cornell University with a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology, Christina loves supporting Heather in all of her endeavors and is continually inspired by her vision, integrity, heart, and the meaningful work she leads through the WeAreOne Alliance. She also cherishes the opportunity to spend time at Apotheosis Farm, where Heather and Deb have created such a beautiful and nurturing space. Christina is deeply grateful and honored to serve on the board in whatever capacity is in its highest interest, and to be part of this community of purpose, passion, and possibility.

TJ Thompson, a U.S. Army Veteran, recently retired after almost 20 years of service with federal Department of Veteran Affairs, helping Veterans attain meaningful jobs, health care, and housing opportunities through her roles at the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Veterans Benefit Administration (VBA). 


TJ is an LCPC (Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor) with a Masters in Clinical Psychology from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA and a Bachelor's degree in Behavioral Science from Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. She has over 40 years dedicated to the mental health community in multiple/various roles. 


Thompson is an Ordained Chaplain at Church of Spiritual Humanism for the past 10 years. She is known as a "Resourceror" and "Possibiltarian" — someone who has an optimistic outlook, focusing on the potential and possibilities in any situation, rather than dwelling on challenges or limitations (which includes a realistic acknowledgment of difficulties.) TJ believes in an empowering, proactive, and creative approach to life. Her long career has always been founded on the belief that meaningful change is always possible. Her service on the WAOA Board is driven by the desire to provide useful information, solutions, and support. Her inspiration comes from the opportunity to be helpful to individuals seeking answers and encouraging community connections. 


TJ is a founding member of the Board for MizMaryland | Soul Force Politics, now the WeAreOne Alliance, and is particularly interested in our work with Veterans through Operation Thriving Acres. During TJ’s service in the Army, she was a Medic and Behavioral Science Specialist focused on treating Veterans with PTSD.