Pro Bono Counseling Announces New Board Executive Positions
Eboni Barksdale-Smith Elected Board President
Baltimore, MD, July 25, 2023 – Pro Bono Counseling’s board members elected Eboni Barksdale-Smith, CRCCPA, as President at the June 2023 board meeting. Eboni succeeds Gil Bliss, LCSW-C, who served in the role from May 2021 until his recent retirement from the board.
“Since joining our board in 2020, Eboni has demonstrated her passion for Pro Bono Counseling’s mission to ensure all Marylanders have access to mental health care,” stated Pro Bono Counseling Executive Director Amy Greensfelder. “As president, we will all benefit from her vision and commitment to ensure the organization meets its strategic priorities and fundraising goals.”
Eboni Barksdale-Smith is a New York native who now resides in Baltimore County, Maryland. She is the founder of Gem Communities LLC and has excelled in the human services field. Possessing a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from University of Maryland Eastern Shore and a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology with a minor in Clinical Counseling from Capella University, she has actively invested in the enrichment of her communities. As an alumna of Associated Black Charities Board Pipeline program, Eboni has expanded her reach to support youth and families.
From providing direct care services to adults with disabilities and at-risk youth to case manager for youth, adults with mental illness and refugees, to directing youth residential programming and most recently serving as a Community School Program Manager with Anne Arundel County Public Schools, her experiences have allowed her to serve, empower and support families and children. Eboni continues to put her passion for human service at the forefront of what she does with a focus on mental wellness and empowerment in every relationship she builds.
During the June 2023 meeting, additional board executive position changes included electing Alex Ebstein as First Vice President, Amory Cockrell, CPRM, as Second Vice President, and Shane Tanzymore as Secretary. Dan Morrison, CFP, was re-elected to a second term as Treasurer.
Pro Bono Counseling (PBC), a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, was founded in 1991 to ensure that Marylanders with limited resources requesting mental health care are provided access to volunteer licensed mental health professionals and other necessary supportive services. Since then, PBC has helped match thousands of individuals and families throughout Maryland with the most appropriate counselors, based on their specific needs, and helped them obtain the mental health care they could not otherwise afford.
PBC serves anyone in Maryland who is facing difficulties paying for counseling – including individuals of all ages, as well as couples, and families– through connections to volunteer mental health therapists for free counseling to address mental health concerns, including stress, anxiety, sadness, grief, life transitions, relationship issues, or any other issue that can be addressed through therapy. PBC has a network of more than 800 volunteer licensed mental health counselors, covering a range of specialties, located all throughout Maryland. Counseling services are offered in person, where available, and via video conferencing and telephone.
If you’d like to support PBC, please click here to make an online, tax-deductible gift.
