About Us
Our mission is to advance, support, and promote the natural, historic, and cultural resources of the region.
Chesapeake Crossroads Heritage Area, Inc. connects people to the rich history, culture, and landscapes of Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay region by fostering dynamic partnerships, supporting preservation, and advancing heritage tourism.
As a nonprofit and one of Maryland’s 13 certified heritage areas, we serve as a catalyst for economic development—creating and supporting experiences, programs, and places that celebrate our shared stories while strengthening local communities. Through technical and financial assistance to a diverse network of more than 60 partners, we ensure that the region’s historic, cultural, and natural resources are preserved, interpreted, and enjoyed for generations to come.
Established in 2001, we are a sought after heritage tourism destination on the Chesapeake Bay’s western shore. Framed by the Chesapeake Bay on the east and including spokes and special individual sites that stretch to the northern and western segments of of Anne Arundel County, Chesapeake Crossroads reflects Maryland’s rich historic, cultural, and natural legacy.
Interpretive Themes
The four Interpretive Themes of the Chesapeake Crossroads Heritage Area are related to our positioning, physically and conceptually, as a “Crossroads.”
For example, “Native American Archaeology in Anne Arundel County, Maryland: A Heritage Toolbox,” a project designed for students, teachers, and the curious public, which describes local archaeological discoveries with images of artifacts from the County’s archaeological holdings, and reveals insights about the deep history of indigenous peoples and their passages through the area that is known today as Anne Arundel County.
For example, an exhibit in Historic Annapolis’s Community Gallery that featured student works based on the traditional folk art of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Panama reflecting the unique cultural aesthetics of their local communities in Annapolis and celebrates and fosters a greater appreciation of Hispanic history, art, and culture.
For example, the Elktonia Beach Heritage Park, which shares the story of the community’s resiliency in the face of segregation at the original 180-acre amusement park, swimming area and concert pavilion that hosted famous artists like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Aretha Franklin. “The Beaches” had a prominent listing in the “Green Book,” the guidebook for Black travelers in the Jim Crow period.
For example, the Civil Rights Guide produced in February 2024 by Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, which includes a tour of 60 historically significant sites around the County that mark the social changes that have occurred since the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Our Board
Timothy Leahy
Chair
Lily Openshaw
Vice-Chair
Christine Dunham
Treasurer
Linnell Bowen
Secretary
Eric Elston, Ed.D.
Alice Estrada
Diane Nowak-Waring, APR
Emily Oland-Squires
Heather Skipper
Marcie Taylor-Thoma, Ph.D
Jean Russo, Ph.D. (EMERITUS)
Board materials can be found here (password protected).
Staff
C. Jane Cox, M.A. Executive Director
Katherine Gill, M.A., RPA Heritage Programs Manager & Digital Assets Manager
Coordinating Council
The Chesapeake Crossroads Heritage Area convenes a Coordinating Council quarterly that serves the Board and the Organization in an advisory role. Members are nominated by the Board to serve with no set term limits, nor is there a set size of the Council. The Council consists of key stakeholders with geographic range across the CCHA, and represent the diverse organizations, interests and communities from across the Heritage Area, to include practitioners or specialists in a range of fields including tourism, preservation, museums, historic research, archival studies, marketing, recreation, and/ or natural resource conservation.
Adetola Ajayi
City of Annapolis
Donna Anderson
Chesapeake Arts Center
Donald Bailey
At-Large Representative
Rebecca Benner
Goshen Farm Preservation Society
Karen Theimer Brown
Historic Annapolis
Jackie Coleman
Maryland Hall for Creative Arts
Darian Beverungen
Anne Arundel County Planning & Zoning
Patricia Delgado, Ph.D.
Jug Bay Sanctuary
Kristin DeMarco Historic London Town and Gardens
Heather Ersts
Visit Annapolis and Anne Arundel County
Erik Evans
Downtown Annapolis Partnership
Edmund Fleet
Highland Beach
Irving Gaither
North Arundel Cultural Preservation Society
Barbara Goyette
Hammond Harwood House
Lisa Hart
Hancock’s Resolution
Janice Hayes-Williams
At-Large Representative
Jake Iverson
Watermark
Chanel Johnson
Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum
Linda Páez
At-Large Representative
Heather Ritterpusch
Annapolis Maritime Museum
DeeDee Strum
Blacks of the Chesapeake Foundation
Dorothy Whitman
Galesville Heritage Society
Laura Wood
At-Large Representative