Rehoboth Beach Main Street welcomes four new board members

Rehoboth Beach Main Street has announced the appointment of four new board members, each with special skills to help deliver more for its members. The appointments, all to three-year terms and effective immediately, were made by the board at its June 17 meeting. 

Jen Carroll and her husband Allen bought their home in Rehoboth Beach in 1999 and retired here in 2008. Throughout her career, Carroll specialized in retail, operating stores in Maryland and Virginia. In Rehoboth Beach, she owned and operated the retail shop Tickled Pink, and was a member of Rehoboth Beach Main Street for 13 years. As a full-time resident, she has been an active volunteer with Rehoboth Beach Main Street and now, as a board member, is the co-chair of the Organization Committee.

Carroll has worked with many charities and has served on many organization boards taking active roles in coordinating large events and fundraising, including hosting the Beebe Bash to being a board member of Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation, Make Wish Foundation and Living in Pink foundation. She is currently serving on the Beebe Medical Foundation and Big Fish Charitable Foundation boards. 

Peter Pizzolongo and his spouse Carlos Prugue have been full-time Rehoboth Beach area residents since their 2018 retirement from positions in Washington, D.C., following 40 years of vacationing and part-time residency in Rehoboth. As a member of the Rehoboth Beach Main Street Board, Pizzolongo will serve as the co-chair of the Communications Committee and editor of the RBMS Newsletter.

Currently, Pizzolongo is president of Early Education Consulting. He has held several positions with responsibilities for teaching-staff training for government-funded, military, and private agencies. He has over 30 years’ experience as an author, training and technical assistance provider, program evaluator, Head Start and childcare agency administrator and teacher, and human services program manager. He has authored or co-authored more than 30 publications, digital programs, and other resources, including serving as co-author of Caring for Preschool Children and Ethics and the Early Childhood Educator - 2nd Edition. He was recently named a leader for the Child Care Exchange Leadership Initiative.

As a volunteer, Pizzolongo has been a member of the UD College of Education and Human Development Dean’s Advisory Council since 2015. He is a member of and former vice president of the Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children Governing Board and member of the DeAEYC COVID Task Force. Peter has been a member of the Clear Space Theatre Producer’s Circle and Development Committee since 2018. He is a member of the Rehoboth Beach Film Society and CAMP Rehoboth, and was coordinator for CAMP’s Living a Positive Life: Project for People Living with HIV in 2019-2020.

In 2016 Suzie Martin and her husband, Jeff, became a full-time resident in Rehoboth Beach. After meeting at the Bottle and Cork, living throughout the country and Asia, they continued to make Rehoboth Beach a part of every summer. Martin’s career included serving as the Congressional District Manager for Congresswoman Marge Roukema, in the Governor of Illinois’s Capitol Hill office, and as staff for Congressman Tom Evans of Delaware. The fitness and wellness industry has been a part of her life for 35 years. Currently, she teaches Pilates and the MELT Method at Forever Fit Foundation in Rehoboth Beach.

For over three years, Martin has been the chair of The Cottage and Town Awards for Rehoboth Beach Main Street and, in addition, is now the co-chair of the design committee. She is also an active volunteer with the P.E.O. Sisterhood, an international organization that provides funding for women to further their education. Currently, she is the state chair of the Cottey College Committee and serves as the recording secretary for her local P.E.O. Chapter. Her in-laws were original founders of the Rehoboth Beach Homeowners Association. Her son Jack works for Dogfish Head and son Adam, a paralegal and IT technician, is in the process of relocating to the area, and daughter Laura lives in Maynard, Mass. 

David Root brings over 25 years of business experience to Rehoboth Beach Main Street and will co-chair the Economic Vitality Committee. His focus has been in strategic management, organizational development, entrepreneurship, and knowledge in economic development. He holds a MSW from Salisbury University and a M.Ed. from Temple University. Since 2017, he has been with the University of Delaware as the Center Director for the Delaware Small Business Development Center. He is responsible for operations of the southern Delaware office located in Georgetown. Prior to the SBDC he worked for the Delaware Economic Development Office as the state’s workforce development representative and as business development leader for DEDO in Sussex County. His career, prior to coming to Delaware, included director of professional skills and management training at Harrisburg Area Community College and similar roles with AMP Incorporated (a Fortune 500 company, now Tyco Electronics) and owned his own business.