There are some leaders who know their purpose in life early on, always planning their road to greatness. For others, they just happen upon it by circumstance, but then astound others by their natural ability and focused determination. Rhonda Ulmer of Odenton is one of those leaders, impressing her community and the whole country with her efforts.

Rhonda came to Maryland by chance. Living in Florida a few years ago, her son was having seizures, and physicians treating him suggested she take him to Johns Hopkins for a clear diagnosis and treatment.

“I asked who Johns Hopkins was,” Rhonda recalled. “That was a day that changed my life.”

An employee of Southwest Airlines, Rhonda transferred to the BWI site so her son could be treated by Hopkins. Her children, then young, attended Van Bokkelen Elementary.

In 2004, when the state threatened takeover of the school because of poor test scores, Rhonda went to then principal Rose Tasker and asked why this was happening.

“She told me that over the course of the year, they have close to 100% student population turnover,” Rhonda recalled. “She also said she could work with staff on instruction, but she needed help getting the support of parents.”

Thus was born Rhonda’s mission that shaped her life for years to come. She began by providing parents at Van Bokkelen with the skills and educational resources to help their children succeed in school.

“I understood and knew the challenges families in my community were facing because I was one of them,” she said.

Rhonda joined Volunteer Maryland, an AmeriCorps program of the Governor’s office. As a Volunteer Maryland Coordinator, she learned about nonprofit organizations and the many needs in the community. She also gained the skills and training on how to build and create successful volunteer programs that helped many nonprofits meet challenges with measurable outcomes.

Rhonda also formed a school team that consisted of parents, teachers, and community leaders called Van Bokkelen Family Network. She implemented the skills and training she received from AmeriCorps and the Maryland Parent Leadership Institute. The program provided local community resources to parents in the school to obtain their GED, housing, food, and health assistance.

Van Bokkelen Family Network developed many partnerships and collaborations, including local Boys and Girls Clubs, Southwest Airlines, Anne Arundel Community College, the YWCA, Maryland Food Bank, Community Action Partnership and others. The school became the hub of the community.

“We took the approach of meeting the basic needs of the family, so parents then could meet the academic needs of their children,” she explained. After three years of hard work, commitment and dedication of parents, teachers, and the community, the school is no longer at risk for being taken over by the state for poor test scores. In fact, the school has made Adequate Yearly Progress for four consecutive years.

But Rhonda didn’t stop there. She applied for the AmeriCorps Alum Eli J. Segal Entrepreneurship Award and was selected as the 2008 recipient, providing her the opportunity to share the Van Bokkelen success story across the country. In addition, it allowed the Van Bokkelen Family Network to expand into her new nonprofit organization called University for Parents whose mission is to provide educational resources and parent/family classes in Anne Arundel County and beyond.

“The goal is to train parent leaders to become parent educators in their communities,” Rhonda said.

Ronda is also still committed to Van Bokkelen. Just last month, her organization organized a Community Resource Night for the families of the school, providing food donations, as well as health screenings and other services for local families.

“I was just amazed when 450 people showed up,” said Ronda of the evening.

Now Ronda needs your help to keep the momentum going. She was recently selected out of 2,500 applications as one of only ten L’Oreal Paris Women of Worth National Honorees for her commitment and dedication to mentoring and educating families in the community. If she wins, her organization will receive a donation of $25,000 from L'Oréal Paris in her name as well as national recognition for both her cause and her efforts.

The national winner will be selected by online voting. Voters may vote everyday online. The voting runs from November 9 and ends November 24. Go to www.womenofworth.com to support this effort.

For more information on Ronda and her University for Parents, go to www.universityforparents.org.

To view photos, click on the thumbnail.

Captions:  Left to Right

1)  Rhonda poses with her children, her inspiration for all of her efforts.
2)  Parents perform a project during one of her training programs.
3)  AA County Executive John Leopold visits Rhonda at the recent Community Resources Night at Van Bokkelen Elementary School.
4)  Rhonda accepting the National PTA Award for her efforts at Van Bokkelen.
5)  Rhonda's volunteers at Van Bokkelen Elementary.