Our Team

Murat Aytekin, Ph.D
Board Director

Murat Aytekin earned a Ph.D in neuroscience and cognitive sciences while researching started his career as an electronics and telecommunication engineer with an interest in machine learning. He fell in love with biology, as an inspiration for engineering, and earned a while researching active perception. As a researcher, he studied bat echolocation, as well as human visual perception. Murat enjoyed designing and building experimental interfaces for sound and motion tracking, while pursuing a deeper understanding of artificial intelligence and its implications. His newest venture involves working as a data scientist leading teams of various sizes on multiple data science projects. Murat is also a certified Agile Scrum Master, trained community mediator and a musician playing baglama and kemane, two Turkish folk instruments.

Angeline Butler, MS
Board Co-Secretary/Treasurer

A resident of Greenbriar for more than thirty years, Angeline has been involved in community-oriented endeavors and activities such as organizing and administering the Phase III garden plots and member of the Phase III board of directors.  She enjoys inspiring community by helping people work together to enhance their lives. She strongly supports Dynamic Community Governance (DCG) because it ensures that everyone is heard and respected and is unlike any other approach she’s encountered.  She has taught middle school science in Prince George’s County and has been a systems programmer at Goddard Space Flight Center. Angeline has a BA in biology and a MS in Environmental Sciences and Policy. She also enjoys gardening and being in nature and was a board member for the  Western Shores Conservancy that cares for Beltwoods and has volunteered at the National Zoo.

John Buck, MA
Board Member, Trainer

John is the first person, not native to the Netherlands, to be certified in the circle-organization method called Dynamic Community Governance (also known as “sociocracy”). Certified by International Sociocracy Certification Board, John introduces Dynamic Community Governance to a wide range of businesses and organizations, assisting them in designing work and making group decisions effectively by “rewiring” their basic power structure. Since meeting Aileen Kroll in 2013, John has become an honorary Greenbelter. He spends a lot of time in Greenbelt, inspired by the number of community groups committed to social change. As such, Greenbelt is a prime location to implement and integrate dynamic community governance. John has an MA from George Washington University in quantitative sociology and is coauthor of We the People: Consenting to a Deeper Democracy. A second book, Company-wide Agility with Beyond Budgeting, Open Space, and Sociocracy is available. John is a co-founder of Greenbelt-based Center for Dynamic Community Governance, a 501(c)3 since 2015.

Monika Megyesi, MA
Senior Consultant

Monika brings to CDCG a background in entrepreneurship and business development. She specializes in organizational governance, group decision-making, corporate policy creation, knowledge management and feedback integration. Monika develops self-organizing systems and provides leadership development, strategic communication, dispute mediation, meeting facilitation, inclusive decision-making and creative problem solving services. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in Negotiations and Conflict Management from the University of Baltimore. A native of Hungary, Monika lived on three different continents and is fluent in multiple languages.

Aileen Kroll, JD
Trainer

Aileen has worked as an arbitrator, mediator, social worker, lawyer, legislative advocate, and recurring guest lecturer on patients’ rights for George Mason University School of Law.  Aileen is inspired by Greenbelt’s cooperative history and on-going passion for social justice and community engagement. She has been training on dynamic community governance since 2014 and is thrilled to share this empowering process. Aileen is co-founder of Greenbelt-based Center for Dynamic Community Governance, a 501(c)3 since 2015.

Denna Lambert, MS
Board Member Emeritus

Denna Lambert is a Project Manager with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center where she coordinates the Center’s efforts in developing and launching the GSFC’s Information and Collaboration Center (GIC2), a research center for NASA scientists and engineers.   During her 16 year career with NASA, Denna has completed multiple NASA Headquarters assignments that included supporting the budgetary cycle for LADEE, a lunar satellite mission launched in 2013.  In addition to her professional efforts, Denna supports community organizations from Greenbelt Mamas & Papas to Rivers of LIfe AME church.  Prior to adopting her son Kaleb, Denna served as a coach for a community based FIRST LEGO League team and previously served as a Girl Scout Troop Leader for three years.

Mike Carson
Web Accessibility Consultant & Interactive Designer

Mike Carson is a web accessibility specialist and multidisciplinary designer whose career focus has been branding, interactive development, and design for print and digital mediums. He has extensive experience working in all aspects of design and interactive product development for a diverse array of industries, including: Tech, Publishing, Real Estate, Medical, Fashion, Social Services, and Direct Marketing.

From 2007 to 2016, Mike owned and operated a boutique design firm which provided full service design and interactive development services to over 45 businesses and non-profit organizations. Prior to his first business venture, he worked for National Geographic and the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) as a web producer. From 2015 to 2018, he was the Sr. Product Designer for FastPencil — A cloud-based SaaS app for end-to-end book publishing and distribution.

Since leaving FastPencil, Mike has shifted his career towards providing web accessibility training and consulting, along with full service, accessible, interactive design and development. This new venture integrates his talents and experiences in traditional and interactive design and development with the ever expanding field of interactive accessibility.

Rev. Dr. Doris T. McGuffey
Board Member Emeritus

Dr. Doris is founder and chief executive officer of Dimensional Transformational Worldwide (DTW), an interfaith ministry. Its mission is to support citizens of the world with learning to peacefully live together on planet earth. Her expertise includes supervisory training, employee performance, recruitment and selection, employee training and development, and managing adverse actions. As an Interfaith Minister, Doris has extensive experience establishing interfaith programs, speaking and facilitating workshops on Life Change Management, Meditation and Prayer Practice, and Spiritual leadership Development, and as an Officiant of Ceremonies and Rituals. She was awarded International Public Management Association Honorary Life Membership for her contributions to the field of Public Personnel Management. She also received the State of Maryland Governor’s Citation for providing outstanding services to citizens and residents of the State of Maryland. Dr. Doris has extensive international travel experience, including professional trips to the Soviet Union, West Africa and South Africa, Cuba, and South Korea.

Patience Robbins, MA
Board Member Emeritus

Patience Robbins has been attracted to the work of the Center for Dynamic Community Governance since coming to Greenbelt in 2016.  She has an MA in Religious Studies and has been working in the area of spirituality for over 40 years, leading groups, mentoring people, teaching about prayer and offering spiritual guidance to people throughout the country.  Patience is inspired by the work of the Center because it is congruent with her values of listening to both self and others, claiming and speaking one’s wisdom and nurturing creativity and connection.

Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D.
Board Member Emeritus

Margaret Benefiel, Ph.D., serves as Executive Director of the Shalem Institute (Shalem.org). Prior to coming to Shalem, she ran her own consulting, speaking, training, and coaching business, Executive Soul, helping leaders and organizations nurture their souls and express their deepest values institutionally. At the same time, she taught as adjunct faculty at Andover Newton Theological School in the area of contemplative leadership. Margaret is a Quaker and holds a B.A. in History from Princeton University, an M.A. in Mathematics from Portland State University, an M.A. in Theology from Earlham School of Religion, and a PhD in Spirituality from Catholic University of America. She has written extensively on various aspects of contemplative leadership and spirituality at work, including The Soul of Higher Education; The Soul of Supervision; The Soul of a Leader, and Soul at Work.