Staff

Alex Rounds

Director

I owe much of my vision for this program to the youth I have mentored. As a carpenter and contractor for 40 years, I have employed young men who found their career footing by working with their hands. I have learned a great deal about the warmth, wisdom, and courage found in the hearts of young men, as well as the sadness many carry inside.

Statistics show that teen suicide has continued to climb over the past decade, along with drug use and addiction.  For the last 15 years, I worked with youth in prison as a facilitator for the Alternatives to Violence Project, as a volunteer in area Grief Camps, and as a teen leader for the Appalachian Service Project, but I felt I could do more.

I returned to school, receiving a Master’s degree from GWU’s School of Education and Human Development in 2014. For the last seven years, I have facilitated mentoring circles in schools and worked with the  Rites of Passages program for the Boys to Men Organization in VA, DC, and MD. In addition, I have been involved in the ManKind Project since 1996.

My work has taught me a great deal about myself and how older men need to grow into an elder who mentors young men.  I have been fortunate to have had good mentors (including my two older brothers ). But for a time, I was isolated by my pain, anger, and confusion. I eventually found and was welcomed into a wonderful family. Elmer and Ann Will of Dayton, Ohio, and their eight siblings welcomed me like a son and a brother. Their family love was a great gift, one that I needed later, to navigate my deeper psychological traumas around losing my mother at a very early age.

Lourdes Billingsley, MA

Team Facilitator

My life as a seeker and my passion for healing began when I was 18. I felt like something was missing, that life meant more than I understood it to mean, and so, I began my search for answers about who I was, what the purpose of life was and what my role in it would be. It was an incredibly seminal moment and in the moments that followed, the right people and situations presented themselves so I could answer the questions I was asking. Here I am 40 years later, feeling fulfilled and directed in my inner and outer work and with this opportunity to touch the lives of young men that I know are asking the same questions I did.  

My life journey has taken me across many empowering landscapes; academic, spiritual, emotional, familial, and career. Always a counselor, I was also a Montessori teacher, a High School counselor, a camp director, and now I have combined my counseling and healing skills with spiritual direction and somatic therapy. Working with individuals and groups my intention is to follow and meet the needs of the one asking for healing and transformation. I have a Masters in psychology, certificates in energetic healing, and I am a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, an evidence based method for healing trauma. For the past 20 or so years I have been a ManKind Project enthusiast. Attending many graduations to honor and cheer on the men who have chosen to look at themselves thus, creating another safe place on earth. I am honored to be working on this offshoot project for young men.  

Tim Chumley

Kitchen / Cooking

The greatest job I’ve ever had (and still have) is being a father to my three sons. They are all in their early thirties now, and I’m blessed to have an engaged, supportive and loving relationship with each of them. 

Another great love of mine is cooking. This passion began when I fried my first egg in fourth grade. Since then, I’ve made and served thousands of meals. Unsurprisingly, each of my sons has developed their own love of food, preparation and presentation. 

Whether teaching knife skills to my sons or showing a group of 15 men how to cook pasta, I find great joy in conveying my knowledge and love of cooking to others. The kitchen is a sacred, magnificent classroom where we continually learn and practice loving and nurturing those around us. While a meal is technically just a collection of ingredients, it is also an opportunity to express artistry, foster connection, and nurture a community.

Peter Ensign

Landscape Architect

I am an architectural and landscape designer and contractor for ecological services and green buildings. A LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited professional by the US Green Building Council and a certified Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional.

I managed several design-build firms and was the Executive Director of a DC-based non-profit focused on green roofs and green infrastructure technologies. In addition, I have trained young adults in green roof design, installation, and maintenance. I believe in bringing more nature into the built environment and people’s lives. By joining the ManKind Project, I have a group of men whom I call brothers, who I have been meeting with for almost twenty years.

I live in Silver Spring with my wife, daughter, and terrier. 

Rick Lundregan

Teamwork & Mentoring

I graduated from Salisbury State University in 1976 with a major in Psychology and a minor in business administration. After college, I began my career as a broker focused on large, mixed-use developments and multifamily investments in the Washington DC metro area commercial real estate sector.

Over a 27-year brokerage career, I received several awards as one of the most successful brokers in the Washington, DC, region. Afterward, I partnered with a local real estate owner and manager, Silverwood Companies, focussing on acquiring local mixed-use multifamily development properties as the investment partner.

Outside work, I was a youth baseball coach for Bethesda Chevy Chase (BCC) Baseball and served on the BCC Board for several years. My teams consistently had winning records, and I ensured every player had a chance to play in every game.

I also mentored many young men and women interested in careers in the commercial real estate industry. With my wife’s help, I assisted many of them in finding promising careers in the commercial real estate industry.

I have been a member of the ManKind Project since 2018 and remain dedicated to self-improvement, education, and helping others. I am an avid golfer, enjoy sports, and maintain an active, healthy lifestyle in retirement.

I am happily married to Patricia Earnest and a father of three adult children and two lovely dogs. I took a continually active role with our children and found immense joy and pride as a loving, involved father. Even though my three children are now successful adults, my priority remains to be the best dad and husband possible.

Lawton Rogers

Plants and Animals

I grew up in a pine forest with creeks, cliffs, and an abandoned stone mill nested among thousands of trees. I loved the forest. Today, few kids spend much time in the woods. Many of us have lost our spiritual connection to nature.

I taught in Montessori and a private alternative school. I learned from those experiences that I could navigate the public system more openly and lovingly. Children need to be allowed to make decisions about their lives from the start.

My adult life has mainly been in education as a Special Education teacher. I worked with students both on the spectrum as well as with behavior disorders. Although structure for these students is imperative, there are always avenues to greater self-responsibility and self-actualization to realize their future.

I am married and have two teenage children.

Greg Simone

Financial Skills

I began my business career as an accountant in 1978 after receiving a Bachelor of Computer Science from George Washington University and becoming a Certified Public Accountant in 1978.  I diligently worked up the ladder to become the Chief Financial officer of a company employing 400 people. I am now in an excellent place in my life to help others by giving back, having raised my children, who are now in their thirties.

I completed my Mentor training with Boys to Men in January 2019 and have been mentoring boys at the middle school level. I have been a tutor for Higher Achievement since 2019. I have trained and participated in Men Circles from 2001 to the present for the Mankind Project.

Bill Wilson

Facilitator for Sharing Circles

I retired in June of 2020 from Gonzaga College High School, where I worked as a college and personal counselor for fifty years, serving as the Director of Counseling and Advanced Placement Coordinator. In addition, I was a basketball coach for the Freshman, Junior Varsity, and Varsity levels.

While playing basketball at Catholic University, I received an undergraduate degree in Modern European History. I continued to earn a Master’s Degree in Counseling and Guidance from George Washington University.

In 2016, I finished my training as a Spiritual Companion and am currently a member of the Ignatian Spiritual Project. In the past, I have volunteered at homeless shelters at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Catholic Church and Elizabeth House in Laurel, Maryland. In addition, I am a member of the ManKind Project.

I have been married for over 50 years and have three adult sons. I live in Laurel, Maryland.