Board Spotlight
Meet Dan Dellon
Giving Back to the Community He Calls Home
Once Dan Dellon arrived in Montgomery County, he never really left, and he's spent the last several years making sure that community has a little more support than it did before he showed up.
Dan was born in the Bronx, and his family moved around some before landing in Potomac in 1971 and then Gaithersburg in 1993. He went to Wootton High School, then the University of Maryland, and stayed local ever since. His father was an electrical engineer who worked for defense contractors in the area, including a stretch at the Applied Physics Lab at Johns Hopkins. Dan's older brother recently retired after a career as a gastroenterologist in Dayton, Ohio, and his younger sister lives in Rockville, where she works as a registered nurse.
As he moved toward the later stages of his career, Dan felt the pull to give something back to the place that had shaped his whole life. That instinct has since turned into a long list of commitments: 12 years as treasurer of the Gaithersburg Rotary, a board seat with the National Capital Area Paralegal Association, seven years on the City of Gaithersburg Economic Development Committee, and a role as treasurer for Jud Ashman's campaign for Montgomery County Council. He also serves on the board of the Gaithersburg-Germantown-Upcounty Chamber of Commerce, where he's chair-elect and will take over as chair on January 1, 2027.
"I hope that I am building a legacy of giving back to this community and the folks that I have built relationships with during my professional life," Dan reflects.
Dan joined Rainbow Place's board as treasurer about five years ago, drawn in by a fact that stopped him in his tracks: even in a county as affluent as ours, women were going without shelter. That realization pushed him to put his professional skills to work helping the organization grow. As Rainbow Place identified a similar need among young adults, Dan shifted some of his focus toward helping bring the Young Adult Shelter to life, a project set to open in 2027.
"I feel compelled to give my time to such a needed effort, and it is very satisfying to help the less fortunate and challenged members of the community," Dan explains, adding, "I always look forward to the night when the Board serves a meal at the shelter. I can see for myself the impact Rainbow has on the community."
Dan's approach to spreading the word is simple: he talks to people. With deep roots in the community, both personal and professional, he leans on the relationships he's built over the years, along with social media, to bring others into the fold.
His advice for anyone looking to get more involved echoes that same directness. If you can't give financially, give your time. Rainbow Place always needs volunteers, and parents can bring their kids along, exposing them to the needs in their own community while earning SSL hours in the process.
"Get involved and give back to our community," Dan says. "You will feel a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction knowing that you have helped others. Some may be your neighbors."