Meet the Founder
Barbara Pinnock CPRS, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist and the Founder and Executive Director of the Community of Grace Organization (COGO). She is a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and a woman in long-term recovery with more than three decades of lived experience rooted in healing, service, and community leadership.
After a 26-year career in Montgomery County government, Barbara continued her path of service through holistic wellness and peer support, guided by a simple truth: recovery is not only about surviving, it's about rebuilding a life with stability, dignity, and purpose. In the aftermath of COVID, she saw a painful gap in the community: too few safe, supportive spaces for women, especially mothers with children to stabilize, heal, and begin again. That need became the foundation for COGO.
COGO was created from Barbara’s life experience and a mission that is deeply personal. After enduring a long season of grief following the loss of her son to gun violence, she committed herself to working even harder to protect the next generation. Barbara believes generational trauma does not stop on its own; it must be interrupted with safety, support, and love. When mothers are carrying pain without resources, children feel it. But when mothers receive peer-led, trauma-informed care and tools for wellness, families stabilize—and children have a real chance to thrive.
Through COGO, Barbara leads peer-led, trauma-informed, recovery-oriented wellness programs grounded in the Eight Dimensions of Wellness creating spaces where women, youth, and families can build connection, stability, and new beginnings. Her mission is simple and urgent: when we support mothers in healing, we protect children, strengthen families, and change what’s possible for the next generation.
About COGO
Community of Grace Organization (COGO) is a trauma-informed, community-based nonprofit organization serving Frederick County, Maryland. We empower youth, young adults, women, and families to heal, grow, and thrive through non-clinical peer support, wellness education, mentoring, prevention, resource navigation, and community-based programs.
Grounded in the Eight Dimensions of Wellness, COGO provides supportive spaces where individuals can build resilience, develop life skills, strengthen healthy relationships, and increase their overall well-being. We connect participants with trusted community and government resources, helping them navigate services that support education, employment, housing, behavioral health, recovery, and other essential needs.
Through collaboration with schools, healthcare providers, behavioral health agencies, nonprofits, and community partners, Community of Grace Organization helps individuals and families build lasting connections, access opportunities, and create pathways toward hope, stability, and lifelong wellness.
Values
✔ Peer-led support and dignity
✔ Non-clinical wellness education and support
✔ Compassionate, community-grounded care
✔ Respect, confidentiality, and choice
✔ Strength-based support and empowerment
✔ Strength-based support and empowerment
Our Board
COGO is guided by a board that brings lived experience, professional skills, and a deep commitment to healing our community.
Arlene Henry, Treasurer/Board Chair (Interim)
Arlene Henry brings over 40 years of experience in tax preparation and financial services. With a degree in Accounting, she is a Certified Bookkeeper and a licensed tax preparer registered with the IRS and the State of Maryland.
Arlene is the Treasurer of the Community of Grace Organization (COGO), where she supports strong financial oversight and sustainable growth for programs serving women and children in recovery.
She founded About-Face Tax Group LLC in 2019 with a mission to support freelancers, solopreneurs, and underserved communities. After the COVID pandemic, Arlene began traveling and working remotely, offering mobile financial services to fellow nomads and professionals on the move.
Her approach blends professionalism with empathy, equity, and real-world strategy. At About-Face, your pivot is your power—because balance, like nature, is both a science and an art.
Amutul Mwanje, Board Secretary
Amutul serves as the board secretary. She is a recent graduate with a bachelor’s in Integrated Marketing Communications from Hood College. As a part of the COGO team, she facilitates communication experiences to strengthen visibility and help advance our mission to support women and children in recovery.
Help Keep COGO Programs Going
Donations help us provide online wellness support and build partnerships that connect women and families to trusted community and government resources.
COGO is a 501(c)(3). Donations may be tax-deductible.
*COGO is not a crisis service. If you are in danger, call 911. If you need immediate emotional support, call or text 988.