The current staff and Board of Directors is committed to honoring the spirit and history of the Bay Center while leading this beloved organization into the future. The vision and work continue thanks to all the dedicated volunteers and visitors who have contributed to the making of The Bay Center. Please join us and be part of our journey.
Board of Directors
Clay Dingledine, President
Clay Dingledine is passionate about connecting with Nature. He is the owner/operator of Sail & Surf Adventures, offering sailing charters and lessons on the Chesapeake Bay. He is an avid traveller, surfer, climber, and enjoys practicing yoga. A native Northern Necker, his roots run deep in this community, as does his enthusiasm for the spiritual and wellness programs supported by the Bay Center.
Tom COye, Treasurer
Tom Coye has been part of the Northern Neck since 1988 when he became pastor of the newly formed St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Kilmarnock. Though he has recently retired from full time church service, he continues to serve various community ministries, most notably Linking Hope and Help, Inc. His enduring theme of ministry is the importance of service to God and people. Tom's range of hobbies include music of all kinds, hiking, cycling, and computers. He and his spouse, Linda, have one child, Tim, who lives in Seattle.
Valerie DEItz
Valerie is a Northern Neck Native and loves the beauty of the area and the spirit of the Northern Neck community.
For 43 years, Valerie lived in Wicomico Church with her husband David and they raised their family there. She was the Founding Director of Kingdom Kids Preschool and Childcare Center in Burgess and she served families there for 24 years.
First introduced to The Bay Center as it was being created by Carol Burke, Valerie followed its growth, from afar for years. In 2023, Valerie’s husband passed away just days after her mother’s passing. It was then that she learned first hand what a treasure The Bay Center truly is for the Northern Neck and Middlesex County communities.
“The Bay Center was a lifeline during the most difficult time in my life. I am so grateful to be a part of that same organization that helped me so much.”
Valerie loves new adventures, reading, sewing and creating in between spending any moment she can with her two children and five grandchildren.
Kristin Ruark, Secretary
Kristin is a new resident of the Northern Neck, having moved there in 2024. After she attended college and received her MBA, at Trinity College and Yale respectively, she married her husband, Keith. They settled in Raleigh, North Carolina for 24 years. They raised two children, one who now lives in Arlington, Virginia and one in college at Lehigh University. While in NC, Kristin did healthcare contract work, as well as volunteer work.
Kristin learned of the Bay Center when searching for a support group after her husband’s sudden passing in 2023. She wanted to give back to the community and go back to her interests in non-profit so joined forces with the Bay Center.
Sophie scott
Sophie Scott is a Northern Neck local. In 2019, she left the area in order to study creative writing and art history at the University of Virginia, only to eagerly return in 2023, planting roots again in her hometown and starting her career in the nonprofit world. In addition to serving on the board of The Bay Center for Spiritual Development and assisting with their grants, Sophie also currently works with the organizations Jacob’s Ladder and Rappahannock Foundation for the Arts. She loves to make visual art, write poetry, catch up with friends over a good cup of coffee, and spend time on the Rappahannock River. You can often find her working on grants or her creative writing in any of the local coffee shops. Sophie is passionate about building community, fostering creative expression, helping others, and finding spiritual insight, all things she can do in the company of her Bay Center peers!
claire salkowski
Claire J. Salkowski, M.S. is the Principal Consultant for C. J. Consulting and Services, a field consultant for the Center for Guided Montessori Studies, an ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution) practitioner and a Montessori educator having worked both nationally and internationally for
over 40 years.
She was also the Director of the Montessori Education Program at Delaware State University and Mediation and Educational Programs at the North Baltimore Center of Mosaic Community Services. She served with Montessori,
Quaker, Restorative Justice and other non-profit organizations and now serves on the board for Friends School of Baltimore and the Bay Center.
Claire is a certified facilitator for retreats and Circles of Trust with the Center for Renewal and Wholeness and has led retreats and peacemaking circles for over ten years. Her passion for peace education, conflict resolution and lifelong learning has informed her work and writing throughout her career and her belief in the importance of personal growth
and spiritual development leads her to work with others in this next stage in life.
Cheri Bennett
Cheri came to the Northern Neck after living and raising a family in Northern Virginia, and retiring as the Health Promotion & Communications Manager of an international organization in 2014. After the sudden passing of her 23 year old son Jeremy, and her father in 2017, Cheri sought and found the much needed support of The Bay Center Grief Support Group, joined the Board in 2021, and is a Grief Group Support Facilitator. “I am honored to give back to a community that has and continues to help me through the most difficult season of my life.” She treasures spending time with her husband Jim, singing, cooking, praying and visiting people in need, and volunteering with many community & church activities. She also loves kayaking, treasure hunting to repurpose items into art, and having friends & family visit often to reconnect. She summed up her life in the Northern Neck now: “I was a come-here, but now I belong-here!”