Erica first started competing in Odyssey of the Mind in 2008 in Charlotte, North Carolina. In her seven years as a team member, she competed in the Technical, Classics, and Performance Problems. Her team went to World Finals thrice and competed in six problems total, placing second in the Performance Problem in 2015. Since then, Erica has stayed active as a Performance Problem Long-Term and Head Judge in the Central and Eastern Regions of NCOM and a Problem Judge at World Finals. She moved to DC in 2019 and joined the Maryland Board, serving in a number of roles over the course of her tenure. Erica graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2019 and currently works in health policy at NIH.

Starting in fourth grade, Val spent 9 years competing in OM primarily in the Classics problem, but would also in the Technical and Performance problems. Val’s team made it to World Finals three times. After graduating high school, he spent 2 years coaching a division 3 team in the Technical problem, making it to Worlds both times. Since 2016, he has judged for various associations and regions in almost every problem and division, including judging at World Finals in 2019 and 2023. In the fall of 2020, Val joined the MD-DC board, first as the Spontaneous Problem Captain, and then as Membership Director and Problem 2 Problem Captain. Having recently moved to Anne Arundel County, Val spends free time outside of OM exploring the area and trying to figure out why Maryland is so obsessed with Crabs.

Helen joined Odyssey of the Mind in California as a fourth grader, competing for nine years across the Vehicle, Classics, and Performance problems. She and her team competed in World Finals four times and following her time as a team member, Helen has spent four years judging at the regional and state level. Working as an environmental engineer, Helen uses skills she learned in Odyssey of the Mind to continue thinking outside the box every day. She is excited to be involved with OMers again and recently joined Maryland and Washington DC Odyssey of the Mind as the Communications Director in 2023.

Lydia grew up in New York and joined her first Odyssey team at the age of 5, starting as a kindergartner and competing every year after that until her senior year of high school. During that time, she participated in the Primary, Technical, Classics, and Performance problems, but spent most of her years competing in the Balsa problem. While in college, her Division IV team, with members from Ithaca College, Cornell University, and Dartmouth College, placed first at World Finals. After graduating from Dartmouth, Lydia judged in New York before moving to DC, where she joined the MD-DC board in 2023. She is currently a researcher working in sustainable transportation and vehicle electrification. Lydia is an OMer through and through and is excited to help grow the number of OMers in MD-DC!

Joy first competed in Odyssey in 2002, where her team came in dead last. Over the next 10 years she competed in Vehicle, Technical, Classics, and Performance problems in Divisions II, III, and IV. She represented her home state of Delaware at World Finals six times, and returned to the University of Delaware with trophies in 2010 and 2012. Joy started volunteering as an official in 2009 and joined the World Finals Score Room team in 2014. Over the past decade, Joy has been Maryland’s Problem Captain for Primary, Classics, and Performance. She currently serves as the Score Room Problem Captain.

Beth has been involved with Odyssey of the Mind since 2002. She started as a competitor but has since judged, coached, been a Regional Director, and is the current Problem 3 Problem Captain for Maryland Odyssey of the Mind. When Beth is not thinking about Maryland Odyssey, you can find her in Philadelphia trying new restaurants, playing ultimate frisbee, and rock climbing.

Hailing from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Gezelle competed in Odyssey of the Mind from 1989 through 1992. During those three years, she competed in the Balsa/Structure problem and eventually became her team’s primary structure engineer. Her team went to the World Finals in 1992 as Oklahoma’s Division 3 representative. Gezelle graduated from Rice University in 1998 and moved to the Washington DC area in 2000. She serves as the Problem 4 Balsa/Structure Captain for the Maryland Board and currently develops mortgage loan products for Freddie Mac.

Ryan began competing in Odyssey of the Mind in 1996 in Northeastern Pennsylvania. In his 9 years as a team member, he competed in numerous problems, including three trips to World Finals. In 2005, Ryan’s Division 4 team came home to Shippensburg University with three trophies, including two world championships. Shortly after graduating, Ryan began volunteering as a regional problem captain in Pennsylvania. He has been a regional/state Problem Captain since 2008, judging at World Finals for over a decade including recent stints as a WF Head Judge for Problem 5. He moved to Virginia in 2014 and has been judging up and down the East Coast, joining the Maryland Board in 2022. Ryan works in Financial Planning, and looks forward to his two daughters becoming OMers.