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MCDAA Announces FY2026 Executive Committee and New Board Members

Baltimore, MD — The Maryland Criminal Defense Attorneys' Association (MCDAA) is pleased to announce the Executive Committee and new members of the Board of Directors for Fiscal Year 2026, effective July 1, 2025. These appointments were approved by membership through an online vote held earlier this month and confirmed at the Annual Meeting on June 24^th.

Brian Shefferman will serve as President, with Andrew Alperstein as President-Elect. Dave Harbin has been named First Vice President, and Isabelle Raquin will serve as Second Vice President. New to the Executive Committee this year are John Phoebus, who will serve as Treasurer, and Matthew Connell, who will serve as Secretary. Outgoing President Christine DuFour will continue to serve in an advisory role on the Executive Committee as Immediate Past President.

In addition to these leadership changes, MCDAA welcomes three new board members: Kevin Collins, Elizabeth Long and Jeremy Widder.

MCDAA also extends its deepest appreciation to the outgoing board members for their dedicated service and leadership: Ron Earnest, Paul Mack, Brandon Mead, Mike Rothman, Ramon Rozas III, Raphael Santini, William Simmons and Mike Taylor.

For a complete list of the MCDAA Board of Directors, please visit www.mcdaa.org.

“I look forward to leading MCDAA over the next year and working closely with the Executive Committee, Board members, and individual members,” Shefferman said. “I think most people join MCDAA to become a better criminal defense lawyer. The collective knowledge of our members is on full display on our listserv. Take advantage of it. No matter how many years (or days) you have been practicing, we can all learn from each other. We also learn a lot from MCDAA’s continuing education programs at our dinner meetings and webinars.”

“Over the past few years we have stepped up our lobbying efforts in Annapolis and we will continue to do so in the 2026 session,” Shefferman added.

What topics do you want MCDAA to address in upcoming CLE programs? All ideas are welcome. You can post ideas on the listserv, send them directly any board member.