Meet the 2026-27 ESSCA Board candidates!

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Welcome to the 2025-26 ESSCA Elections! Here are the candidates.

President: David Schneider My name is David Schneider and I've lived in East Silver Spring since 2003. I am running for reelection as ESSCA President.

I’m proud of the work that we’ve done as a community over the past twelve months. Here is a summary of our accomplishments:

We’ve helped our community provide compassionate care for people experiencing mental health crises, addiction, and homelessness by reengaging with the Progress Place Neighborhood Discussion group, a partnership between Shepherd’s Table and local county agencies and nonprofits. The group’s goal is to ensure Progress Place and the surrounding neighborhood be safe, clean, and welcoming to all. This means treating people with dignity and respect, and advocating for better short- and long-term solutions, while also  addressing quality of life issues that can accompany people experiencing homelessness and/or mental illness. ESSCA now has community liaisons on the Discussion Group who provide the Group with neighborhood updates and who update us on the coalition’s work.

We’ve worked diligently to improve traffic safety in our neighborhood. Our efforts have included coordinating the Montgomery County Police Department to install speed warning signs to slow cut-through traffic during Purple Line construction on Wayne Avenue and Fenton Street last summer, working with Montgomery County Department of Transportation to install traffic calming measures at Thayer Avenue and Hartford Avenue, working with MCDOT and our elected officials to address speeding and safety issues on Sligo Avenue, and submitting proposals to the County’s Capital Budget for sidewalks around Bullis Park.  As a result of our advocacy, MCDOT has installed traffic controls at Thayer and Hartford and I’m optimistic there will be speed humps at this intersection as well as traffic controls on Sligo Avenue in the coming months.

We’ve donated $3,000 in excess funds from the ESSCA treasury to non-profit organizations serving our community and to support neighborhood projects and community building activities. Based on ESSCA feedback, we’re supporting the work of Shepherd’s Table, CKC Farming, Create Arts, the East Silver Spring PTA, Casa of Maryland, and Tommy’s Pantry.

We organized direct action such as the Grove Street Shovel brigade which cleared the Grove Street walking lane of “snowcrete” allowing safe foot traffic on the lane for days after the snowstorm, even as Grove Street remained impassable to vehicular traffic.

We’ve created opportunities to come together as a community and learn from our local leaders and from one another, build connections, and have fun. These efforts include in-person meetings with County Councilmembers, MCDOT, and non-profit organizations, neighborhood meetups, and a successful annual ESSCA Fest.

During my second year as President, I’d like to continue to follow through on work and commitments we’ve made this past year on traffic safety, philanthropy,  and community projects while expanding the number of people who volunteer for ESSCA and working with our community to identify issues you most care about and need our attention.

Thank you for your support

Vice-President: Dan Reed

Hi! I’m Dan (they/them), your ESSCA Vice President. I grew up in Silver Spring and moved to this neighborhood in 2019, and have served on the board since 2021. I’m proud of what we’ve been able to accomplish in that time: we rewrote the constitution, made dues voluntary, and have hosted rotating happy hours and meetups at several local businesses—all in the service of bringing more people into the fold and creating a neighborhood association that looks more like our neighborhood. 

This year, we've come together as a community to work with Montgomery County and push for traffic safety improvements after several recent crashes, including one where a driver hit me and my dog last spring. We've surveyed residents about their needs and concerns, and hosted county councilmembers and transportation officials at ESSCA meetings. I'm glad to say it's slowly bearing fruit: this spring, the county installed new crosswalks and a median at Thayer Avenue and Hartford Avenue, and speed bumps are likely to follow. We're anticipating more improvements on Sligo Avenue as well.

I'm grateful to be a part of this community and to have built relationships with so many of you over the years. If you see me and my dog Drizzy around the neighborhood, please say hi!

Treasurer: Chad Rector

I'm Chad Rector; I was the Treasurer last year and hope to serve in that role again next year. I have lived on Easley Street by Bullis Park since 2008; in my day job, I teach at Marymount University in Arlington. I chose to live in East Silver Spring because I wanted to be in a welcoming, diverse, walkable neighborhood, and I would like to use my time on the board to help advance those values. I'm really proud of the work we did this past year on pedestrian safety and on making new connections with local non-profits. My goals for the next year include: helping local residents and the county learn more from each other about the proposed Grove Street greenway project, helping residents who want to volunteer with existing - or start their own - local non-profits, and organizing the Associations finances.

Recording Secretary: Sandhya Mehta

Chesapeake Avenue has been home for over a decade, and I'm standing again as Recording Secretary — a role that turned out to be more honorary than administrative, so I focused on what I actually care about: bringing neighbors together.

The board has been doing important work — traffic safety, the spring fair, keeping the organization running — and I've been glad to support those efforts. My particular contribution has been initiating gatherings: this past year, a cooking demo and a game afternoon, both warmly received with requests for more. I'd love to build on that momentum — a potluck, a morning walk group, or a book club — whatever the neighborhood is up for.

Living across cultures has taught me that community is built one joyful gathering at a time. I'd love another year helping to create more of them.

Corresponding Secretary: No Nominees. Consider volunteering! Indicate your interest on the ballot, or email esscaprez@gmail.com

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