We welcome our new Board President Liz Spears! Langton Green is fortunate to have dedicated, talented leadership and is grateful for the contributions of its board members.
Liz Spears, Board President & Parent
Liz is a longtime parent and volunteer at Langton Green. She is a retired math teacher, an educator who enjoyed a long career at Old Mill high school. She moved with her husband, Garry, to Crownsville in 1956, where she raised her family. Liz is an active member of Our Lady of the Fields. Liz first served on the board as a parent representative in 2017. In 2025 she became board president.
How did you get connected with Langton Green?
When my daughter, Katie, who is blind, was a teenager, she needed help with psychological issues as well as her disability. At the time I wondered: Can a mentally ill person have a dual diagnosis? She was a teenager and had difficult behaviors. A dual diagnosis is not always recognized. She lived at home then and received day services from Bello Machre. Through this network, I was referred by a staff member at Langton Green to a professional. Langton had a psychiatrist who treated mood disorders. It was not easy at the time to find this kind of support. Langton Green offered support related to Katie’s dual diagnosis. They are amazing—everyone at Langton is amazing!
What advice can you offer other parents?
My advice to anyone facing this is to not wait until a crisis to place your disabled adult child in a residential setting. It’s a journey. My husband had health issues and I began to realize that we needed a plan for Katie as we got older. I remember putting my daughter on the state of Maryland’s waiting list and thinking, “I’ll never give up my child.” Yet it was good thing I had put her on the wait list when she was a teenager. It was several years before a spot opened up at Langton—she was in day programs until she was 29.
It’s not easy to let your child go. You feel like a failure. You ask yourself: “Why couldn’t I do that?” You have to trust. I trust that process and its better through the years. As a parent you have to trust that the staff are overseeing what’s going on, whether in a campus apartment or an offsite group home. It’s a lot like letting your child be with a teacher all day–you trust them. Some of the agencies I had dealt with did not feel they could handle my daughter.
At Langton, I felt that the staff were truly caring people—Kim, Karen, Beth—I got to know them and many others. They are so sincere in what they do. I trust the staff at Langton. It’s about more than meeting basic needs. It’s about treating my daughter like a person, talking to her, including her. She needs people who talk to her; she’s blind and nonverbal. We don’t always know what’s she absorbs. She had corneal transplants when she was younger that were rejected. The stress of those experiences influences how she reacts—she hangs on to me tight. We took her everywhere with us when she was little. I still say, “She’s happiest in a reclining chair!” At Langton she is surrounded by people who truly care about her.
What is Langton Green’s greatest strength?
The Team! Langton has such an amazing —Christopher, Kimberly, Karen—many others. They are a family. They like each other and are a blessing to all of us. The kidding and ease they have for each other is so refreshing. The team is exceptional. They treat everyone on the staff well, and offer professional benefits liked an employer-matched 401 K plan. At Langton the staff respect the clients and show true professionalism. They have 100 some people to take care of and so many different issues to manage on a daily basis. As a Board member I have a bird’s eye view. They are so excellent!
What challenges does Langton face?
Like any agency in the human services field, Langton faces challenges like budget management and hiring the right staff. In terms of budget, the staff plans ahead. Langton is prepared for the worst the state can do in terms of budget cuts. To oversee the hiring people to take care of vulnerable people is a huge challenge. Langton offers extensive training and mentoring to help new staff grow in their positions. I’m also impressed by the way that Langton Green shows leadership in the field. This is not a challenge but shows Langton’s resilience, excellence and ability to handle challenges. The executive team at Langton share their knowledge with other agencies. They are recognized leaders.
What is it like to be a parent on the board of directors?
As a parent I have a viewpoint about what will impact my own child, and others in a similar situation. As parents, we’re the ones, if something is not right, we can speak up on the board. I was so impressed with the team at Langton Green after joining the Board of directors. The clients are important and are treated that way. The staff are always looking for ways to accommodate them. The farm offers such opportunities for those that choose to be there—you can hold a chicken! They are always doing the right thing at Langton Green.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I’m a bone marrow and stem cell courier internationally. I volunteer as a courier for NMDP—I recently went to a small town in the mountains of Italy. I often pick up from hospitals and deliver to a donor center or a lab. You have about 48 hours to deliver the “biologics” – bone marrow. This is how I honor my brother. He had a 100 percent family match for his transplant, but other disease complications, so he did not survive. My friend’s daughter had leukemia and she told me about the need for volunteers.
When I interviewed to volunteer that asked me If I could handle stress. I said, “I have a severely disabled child, am a high school teacher, and I live with Gary Spears. I like to laugh.” What choice do you have in life but to treat people well and have a sense of humor? I’ve got to make some good of it all. “
Of what are you most proud?
My family. I have wonderful children, including Katie. She helped her siblings learn compassion and humor. When you have a sibling like her you learn about life. I’m fortunate; I have two daughters nearby. My daughter Shawna Mudd is a Dean at the John’s Hopkins School of Nursing; my other daughter, Lauren Procaccini, is a nurse anesthetist. My son Christian owns a brewery in Nashville, Tennessee—every father’s dream. Garry, my husband of almost 54 years, passed away in June 2023. Katie comes home every Sunday and we all have dinner together.
What might the wider community be interested to know about Langton Green?
You don’t need to be a parent to be a volunteer at Langton. It’s a welcoming community. Many choose to help at the farm and in other ways. As a parent, I volunteered to review incident reports (It’s protocol for someone outside the organization to review them). I came away so impressed with the staff and their professionalism. The team is amazing. It’s a special place.
