The Virginia Living Museum is governed by a board of elected and appointed trustees. Appointed trustees represent the Museum’s two founding organizations, the Warwick Rotary Club and the Junior League of Hampton Roads, plus the Newport News City Council and School Board, Hampton City Council and School Board, and young professionals.
Elected Trustees
President
Mrs. Sarah Messersmith
Kaufman & Canoles, P.C.
President-Elect
Mr. Melvin J. Ferebee
Director, Systems Analysis & Concepts (Retired) NASA Langley Research Center
Secretary
Mr. Steve Whetstine
Partner, KPMG, LLP
Treasurer
Mr. Godfrey Lewis Smith IV
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Bayport Credit Union
Trustees
Mr. Erling Amundson
Vice President of Member Experience, Langley Federal Credit Union
Mr. Kevin Banks
President, Innovative Vision Technologies, Inc.
Mr. Bryan Caccavale
Vice President, Naval Programs, Huntington Ingalls Industries
Mrs. Rebecca Francese
Senior Environmental Scientist, Waterway Survey and Engineering, Ltd.
Dr. Cary Mackey
Veterinarian, Denbigh Animal Hospital
Ms. Amy McCarthy
Director of Construction Accounting, W.M. Jordan Company
Mr. John Morgan
Manager, Electric Distribution Operations, Dominion Energy
Mr. Kenneth T. Radecki
Special Projects/Comprehensive Solutions Developer, Damuth Trane
Ms. Rachelle Rhodes
Director, HR Business Partner, Ferguson Enterprises, Inc.
Mr. Brian Skinner
President & Regional Banking Director, Virginia & Northeastern North Carolina, TowneBank
Mr. Chris Stephan
Chief of North Shore Interceptor, Hampton Roads Sanitation District
Ms. Tatrece Swann
Sr. Systems Engineering Manager, Northrup Grumman
Ms. Jill Verser
House Counsel Manager, Progressive Casualty Insurance Company
Appointed Members
Lorraine K. Hall
Junior League of Hampton Roads
Rebecca Aman
Newport News School Board
Many former trustees continue to serve the museum in an advisory capacity.
Carolyn S. Abbitt
Abbitt Realty & Abbitt Management
Randy Abbitt
CEO; National Exterminating Co.
Stephen Abbitt
Managing Director, Abbitt Realty & Abbitt Management
Mari Ann Banks
Gloucester
Bert Bateman
TowneBank
Alonzo Bell Jr.
Randolph Real Estate Services Co.CCIM, Principal Broker
Len Bennett
Founding Partner; Consumer Litigation Assoc. PC
John F. Biagas
CEO/President; Bay Electric Company, Inc.
Regina P. Brayboy
Executive Director; Suffolk Partnership for a Healthy Community
Thomas R. Brooks, CPA
PBMares, LLP
William S. Brundage
CFO; Ferguson Enterprises
James C. Burnett
Controller; W.M. Jordan Company, Inc.
Jeffrey R. Carlson, M.D.
President OSC Orthopaedic & Spine Center
Jerri Fuller Dickseski
Executive VP, Communications; HII
William B. Downey
Executive Vice Chairman and Special Advisor (Past President and CEO Riverside Health System)
William R. Ermatinger
Corporate VP & Chief HR Officer; HII, Inc.
Tommy A. Garner
President; Tommy Garner Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc.
John H. Garrett III
Ferguson Enterprises
John J. Gillespie
VP of Marketing; American Standard Brands
Ralph M. Goldstein
Jones, Blechman, Woltz & Kelly, P.C.
William M. Grace
Grace Industries, Inc
Lynn E. Hornsby
(Retired)
Willard D. Hoskins III
Merrill Lynch (Retired)
Katherine A. Howell
President/Creative Director; Howell Creative Group (Retired)
Herbert V. Kelly, Jr.
Vice President & Director; Jones, Blechman, Woltz & Kelly, P.C.
John R. Lawson II
President & CEO; W. M. Jordan Company, Inc.
Nancy L. Levin
President; Newport Management Company, Inc.
Cleon Maurice Long
Huntington Ingalls Industries
Jeffrey M. Luckman
President; Luckman Enterprises, LLC
Taylor Montgomery Mason
Senior Director for Community Affairs & Partnerships William & Mary (Past Senate of Virginia 2022)
Dr. John Q. A. Mattern II
Virginia Oncology Associates (retired)
Judy T. Morris
(Retired)
Ross Mugler
Commissioner of the Revenue; City of Hampton
Donald N. Patten
Partner; Patten, Wornom, Hatten & Diamnonstein, LLC
John F. Phillips
President; Phillips Energy, Inc.
Conway H. Sheild III
Chairman; Jones, Blechman, Woltz & Kelly, P.C.
James B. Thomas, Jr.
Wolseley PLC (Retired)
Karen Velkey
Corporate Vice President of Compensation & Benefits; HII
Molly Ward
City of Hampton (retired)
Joseph R. Witt
President of Financial Services and Chief Strategy Officer, OPNB
Charles W. Wornom
Abbitt Realty Group, Inc. (retired)
Herbert V. Kelly, Jr.
Charles W. Wornom
