Andrea Marie Vernot

TRAPPE - A tireless advocate for Maryland and the Eastern Shore, Andréa Marie Vernot, 60, of Trappe, MD, died September 23, 2023, after a pitched battle with pancreatic cancer.

Andréa and her husband of 36 years, Brent Burkhardt, fulfilled their dream of living on the water and moved to Cambridge, MD in 2012. There she launched Choptank Communications, her own marketing and communications consultancy, with her husband joining her as strategic PR advisor. Her mission was to help local communities, companies and non-profits build brand awareness and celebrate their success stories.

She developed new branding for: Dorchester County (Water Moves Us), Worcester County (Maryland's Coast), Queen Anne's County (Where Shore Living Begins), Caroline County (You Belong Here), Downtown Cambridge (Soul of the Shore), Chesapeake College (Your Time. Your Place. Your Path.), Beach to Bay Heritage Area (Beaches, Bays & Waterways) and multiple businesses and non-profits, including Seed to Shuck, Ice Lab and Cambridge International.

"I met Andréa when she featured me and my company in the State campaign "Maryland of Opportunity," explained Tracy Tyler, former CEO, Cambridge International, and close friend. "Shortly afterwards, she moved to Cambridge, and we became Choptank Communications' first client. She set up an office in our factory to better understand our business and culture. Through her marketing brilliance, we transformed a leading American brand into a leading global brand."

Andréa never stopped trying to learn and experience new things. As the daughter of a naval officer, she lived all over the world and traveled throughout her life, including hiking the Andes in Peru, exploring ice caves in Iceland and biking in Normandy and Brittany on her last overseas trip in June. While she couldn't carry a tune, she journeyed to see the Foo Fighters, The Killers and Bruce Springsteen, singing throughout each concert.

Family was paramount as she traveled to New York City regularly to visit her daughter and first grandchild born this summer.

"My mother was your biggest cheerleader," said Alexandra Burkhardt. "She was inquisitive, thoughtful, and supportive. Her creative spark was unmatched- challenging you to think differently and inspiring you to be bold. She approached each day with gratitude and grace, teaching us to find beauty in the ordinary to live life to the fullest. She was also the best damn cook. Her crab cakes will be sorely missed."

Prior to moving to the Eastern Shore, Andréa's career bounced between non-profit and government agencies. She was the architect and first Director of the Governor's Office of Volunteerism under Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer in the late 80's/early 90's; State Director for U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski, 1999-2000; Deputy Assistant Secretary/COO, 2007-2009, and Chief Marketing Officer, 2010-2012, for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.

"Dedicated, driven, strategic, team-focused and strong, Andréa exemplified leading by example," said Christian Johansson, former Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business of Economic Development. "Receiving regional and national recognition, she played a pivotal role in many of the State's economic development initiatives and wrote the playbook for the Department of Business and Economic Development on how we market Maryland to the world."

She also worked for The Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts and two of its earlier incarnations: Tourism department, 1983-1987; Festival Director, 1997-1999, when she oversaw the Baltimore Waterfront Festival for the Whitbread Round the World Race; and COO, 2001-2007, when she guided the merging of two arts agencies into one and increased access to the arts, opening doors to free admissions at museums and cultural sites.

In addition to her husband and daughter, Andréa is survived by her son-in-law, Kyle Niner, and grandson, Brooks Niner, of Brooklyn, NY; her parents, George Andre and Rosalia (Lee) Vernot of Columbia, MD; and her sister and brother-in-law, Jeanne Marie (Gigi) and Jim Eggers of Baltimore, MD.

A celebration will be held next year when her ashes will be incorporated into a reef ball and buried in the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.