Roxanne Melgar, LCSW-C, Appointed by PBC Board to Steward Organization Transition
Baltimore, MD, August 22, 2024 – Roxanne Melgar, LCSW-C, has been appointed Interim Executive Director of Pro Bono Counseling (PBC), starting September 3, 2024. The interim executive director will steward the organization as it embarks on a leadership transition and will work to ensure successful continuity of services.
“We are honored to welcome Roxanne as our interim executive director. She brings a wealth of experience in the mental health field and a profound commitment to our mission,” stated PBC Board President Eboni Barksdale-Smith. “Roxanne will guide us through this transition with the same dedication and care that has been the hallmark of our organization.”
Since 2021, Roxanne has served as a member of PBC’s Board of Directors. She will step down from the board to fulfill this interim role. She brings extensive experience to the position as a program and clinical director with TurnAround and So Others Might Eat. Roxanne has been involved with PBC for over 20 years as a volunteer mental health therapist. As a native Spanish speaker originally from Central America, she has provided expert guidance over the years to PBC’s Terapias Initiative for Spanish speakers.
“I am honored to be selected for this role to support Pro Bono Counseling during this leadership transition,” stated Roxanne Melgar. “I look forward to working collaboratively with members of the board, staff, volunteers, supporters, and community partners to continue our efforts to meet the essential mental health care needs of Marylanders.”
In addition to appointing an interim executive director, PBC’s board has announced a transition plan that includes working with an executive search firm to recruit and select permanent executive leadership. The board is prepared for a six-to-nine-month search process, with a new executive director expected to begin by May 2025.
The Interim Executive Director replaces former PBC Executive Director Amy Greensfelder, who shared with the Board of Directors in July 2024, that she would be departing the organization to pursue a position at the University of Maryland Baltimore, School of Social Work. PBC’s board and staff members thank Amy for her commitment to the organization over the past seven years. During her time as executive director, Amy increased services to Marylanders by overhauling the client intake process, created a supportive workplace for organization staff, fostered relationships with volunteers, and responded quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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’s vision is the availability of quality mental health care for all those in need. The organization 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 900 volunteer licensed mental health counselors, covering a range of specialties, located all throughout Maryland. Counseling services are offered in person, and via video conferencing and telephone.
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