DonateSunflower Celebration
Each Spring, Sunflower brings together our community to celebrate our graduates and honor community members who have helped Sunflower fulfill our mission or have made significant contributions towards equity and inclusion for people with learning differences.
Celebration 2026
Sunday, April 26th, 2026
7:00pm
Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center
7995 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Parking at 931 King Street
Culinary Graduates
Noni Copeland
Colin DeMarco
Max Harwood
Angelisa Lawson
Mikohl-Jay Lee
Nikita Makulov
Patrick Massey
Kristian Owens
Richard Parker
Marina Phelps
Vicu Schek
Michaela Teweles
Hospitality Graduates
Donnell Banks
Sam Benson
Elijah Ferguson
Lydia Ferguson
Casey Fomundam
Cameron Hall
Mateo Harp
Shakira Hill
Brittni Jenkins
Nicholas Klinger
Alaya Manning
Remy Mullen
Adam Reinhold
Jonathan Alexander Rodriguez
Ben Russ
Darya Sadeghi
Matt Schwab
Bidhan Shrestha
Asher Shuman
Arrey Takang
Alina Yin
Pastry Arts Graduates
Dalen Aikens
Andrew Bradley
Christopher Chappell
Alexa Cosby
David Dixon
Taylor Dudley
Tristan Ferrell
Taryn Goodwill
Trinity Kittrell
Kaleb Knight
Abigail Lawson
Camille Moore
Julia Phillips
Our Community Honorees
Excellence in Inclusive Service
Maryland Department of Service and Civic Innovation
Exemplary Employer Partner
Wegmans
Community Collaborator
Shayna Heller
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Erikk Bonner
Director, Maryland State Department of Education,
Assistant State Superintendent for Rehabilitation Services
Honorary Co-Chairs
Senator Cheryl Kagan
Senator Jeff Waldstreicher
Event Co-Chairs
Beryl and Ed Feinberg
Samantha Levin and Mitchell Smith
Host Committee
(in formation)
Mayor Monique Ashton
and George Ashton
Naomi and David Balto
Vivian and Ray Bass
Dottie Bennett
Cathy Bernard
Aliza Levine and Eric Brown
Sarah and David Feith
Paola Buitrago and Shai Fierst
Elissa and Saul Goldfarb
Lee Granados
Erin and Ben Gris
Marisa and Eitan Gruber
Carol Mates and Mark Kahan
Leslie and Samuel Kaplan
Councilmember Sidney Katz
and Sally Katz
Chani Bloom and Nate Lesser
Kathleen Maguire
Jessica and Andrew Mener
Rachel Engelhart
and Shaanan Meyerstein
Joy and Ron Paul
Rachel Weintraub and Scott Reiter
Lisa Stark and Harvey Rubenstein
Chuck and Charlie Short
Delegate Ryan Spiegel
Susan and Bradley Stillman
Miriam and Adam Szubin
Liz Tsakiris
Councilmember Adam Van Grack
and Dasha Vilimkova
Amy and Joel Weinberg
Ali and Ari Yares
Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center
Parking garage and surface lot
Please contact development@sunflowerbakery.
Past Events
Celebration 2025
Pastry Arts Graduates |
||
| Anna Aminzadeh Siham Amir Jalen Bain Theodore Breder Darius Brown Jordan Brown |
Emily Calderon Christianna Carter Joshua Coe Harold Dossou Lisa Katz Amelia Luna |
Jessica Rose Orthman Sabrina Sandoval Daniel Schnell Elaina Soriano Emma Ward David William Wilkinson |
Hospitality Graduates |
||
| Julia Ahrens Ilana Barzel Diana Dang Tyson Feliciana Teresa Flores |
Amari Hall Sandhya Jain Charlotte Jones David Mckay Michael Elias Merhi Alexander Salvador |
Jon (Jack) Shero Hannah-Molly Susswein Emory Wells LeaVonne Williams Madison Wilson |
CulinaryGraduates |
||
| Jarod Briscoe Ben Katz Shiloh Khalfani Cameron Shorter Caleb Sterling |
Our Community Honorees
Building Community Inclusion
Eva Cowen
Inclusion Consultant
Outstanding Community Collaborator
Sheila Bellack
Executive Director Emerita, Congregation Beth El of Montgomery County
& Volunteer Coordinator, Sunflower Bakery
Exemplary Employer Partner
Tatte Bakery & Cafe
Celebration 2024
Pastry Arts Graduates |
||
| Kareem Arnaout Jarod Briscoe Kaleiff Coleman Jason Epps Frankie Fallon Andres Figueroa |
Anna Frattarelli Sameera Gray Cameron Hall Almanda Renee Shannel Johnson Ben Katz Celine Krempp Cesar Leon Madeline Lessner |
Douglas Castillo Molina Chana Reingold Alex Stapleton Peter Weber Ian Winters Nico Yepez |
Hospitality Graduates |
||
| Liam Aaron Basil Ali Emmanuel Alvarez Leah Fleischer Sam Fratantoni |
Sky Eagle Hawk Timeah Jones Mohammed Joof Roxy Kaur Josiah Kollie |
Oscar Lemus DJ London Miles Prather Lily Christina Rowhani Amelia Turkewitz |
Our Community Honorees
Excellence in Leadership
Scott Reiter
Sunflower Bakery Board Member and Former Board Chair
Building Community Inclusion
Patricia K. Cochrane
Montgomery County Public School
Supervisor for the Transition Services Unit
Exemplary Employer Partner
Harris Teeter
Celebration 2023
Pastry Arts Graduates |
||
| Josephine Adams Ana Beaulieu Avital Chefitz Ryan Connell Mark Cruse Gillian Eisenberg Andrew Gates |
Darius Henderson Roland Hudson Alejandro Ifarraguerri Jamison Kilgore Gavin Kutz Alexandra Miller Ryan Pollock |
Brian Salewski Jordan Scott-Geason Caleb Sterling Ryan Swayze Zienna Tampe Bravo Tyree Walters Jasmine Woody |
Hospitality Graduates |
||
| Abigail Albrittain Ty’Asia Bryant Michael Casey |
Hilary Greenwald Melissa Mantua Jeremy Miller Rachael Rabinovitz |
Ian Shorter Jeremy Soled Aiden Tisch |
Our Community Honorees
Excellence in Leadership
Daphna Raskas
Former Sunflower Board Chair, Executive Director, and Development Director
Building Community Inclusion
Chuck Short
Retired, 50 Years of Public Service in Montgomery County
Exemplary Employer Partner
The Pretzel Bakery
Celebration 2022
Pastry Arts Graduates |
||
| Leora Cherry Dishon Scott Paul Smith Christian Garcia Vicky Adams |
Drew White Ethan Bailey Maia West Julia Kraft Joshua Blount |
Reese Branham Rachel Hamm Kai Shuman Dahneesha Whyte Jahi Sibert |
Hospitality Graduates |
||
| Juan Jose Campero Jessica Lipsher Josh Rubin Noah Plitt |
Webb Kavanagh Haydee Alonzo Herrera Jessica Morissette Tierney Caulfield |
Josef Klausner Alessandro Spilimbergo Toby Edelschick |
Our Unsung Heroes
Shaping Inclusive Futures
Sara Portman Milner
Co-Founder and Director of Student Services
Building Community Impact
Maharat Ruth Balinsky Friedman and Ohev Sholom – The National Synagogue
Spiritual Leader and Community Partner
Exemplary Employer Partner
Adventist Healthcare, Shady Grove
Appreciation and Graduation 2021
Pastry Arts Graduates |
Hospitality Graduates |
||
| Austin Agrofiotis Osemen Aigbedion Jolie Band Demba Cisse Ethan Edwards |
Catrina Hainer Mike Kelly Luis Neimand Connor Pennanen Ellis Rodgers-Archer Cam Shorter |
Ashley Thompson Hana Tsegaye Andrew Tucker Jacob Van Houter Moire Wright |
Alvaro Cervantes Gary Copeland Kylie Huntington Michael Pesin Jessie Wiley |
Our Unsung Heroes
Making Dreams Happen
Cathy Bernard
Business executive and community arts entrepreneur
Building Community Impact
Ron Halber
Executive Director, Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington
Fostering Confidence to Succeed
Susan Belsky
Speech/language pathologist and Sunflower volunteer
Developing Skilled Employees
Elizabeth Hutter
Culinary Director, Sunflower Bakery
