BOARD MEMBERS

Mr. James F. Babcock
Jim Babcock holds a degree in history and economics from Princeton University and an MBA from the Wharton School of Finance. He served three years in the U.S. Navy as a supply corps officer on a destroyer. Mr. Babcock was a Vice-President in international banking with Citibank in South America and Europe and later, the Chairman and CEO of the First Virginia Bank of Hampton Roads.

He has served on the Old Dominion University Board of Visitors and as Chairman of The Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, Forward Hampton Roads, The Governor's Regional Economic Development Advisory Council, The Virginia Symphony, WHRO Public Broadcasting and The Hampton Roads Plan 2007 regional visioning project. Currently he is on the board of the Hampton Roads Partnership, the Future of Hampton Roads and is the project manager for their "Hampton Roads Regional Structure Project."

Mr. Chris Bonney
Chris Bonney has more than thirty years of experience as a marketing researcher. During college at the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University, Chris worked for the Richmond News Leader. After college, he was assistant director of corporate research at Media General, then corporate research director at Lawler Ballard Advertising, followed by research director at the Earl Palmer Brown advertising agency.

In 1992, he opened Bonney and Company, an independent research consulting firm. His clients have included the AARP, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Agency for Health Care Research, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, The Virginian-Pilot, the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation and others. He facilitated discussions regarding the Virginia Beach Convention Center and for the Virginia Beach Citizen BRAC Committee. Throughout the years, he has been involved in a variety of initiatives related to community reconciliation, grassroots leadership development, transportation, healthcare and welfare services.

Ms. Mary Bunting
Mary Bunting is the Assistant City Manager of the City of Hampton, VA where she oversees the Public Safety and Human Services departments and the City's budget process. She is also the City liaison with the Hampton City Schools System. After working in most areas of the City of Hampton's operations, she was responsible for facilitating the reengineering program which resulted in a successful merger of several City departments and the implementation of the nationally-recognized 311 Call Center.

Mary Bunting earned her B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and her Masters in Public Administration from Syracuse University. She has served on the Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board, the Peninsula United Way, the Hampton Roads Regional Jail committee and the City of Hampton's Tax Review and Debt Set Off committee.

Ms. Minette Cooper
Minette Cooper is active at all levels in the community. She has been President of the Cultural Alliance of Greater Hampton Roads, The Virginia Symphony, and Ohef Sholom Temple, the Chair of the Norfolk Commission on the Arts and Humanities and Vice President for Virginians for the Arts. She is currently serving as the President of Young Audiences of Virginia and as a national board member for Young Audiences, Inc. and on the board of the Future of Hampton Roads. She also sings in the Virginia Symphony Chorus.

Minette Cooper is equally involved in education. She is currently a Trustee of Virginia Wesleyan College and a board member for the Institute for Southern Jewish Life in Jackson, Mississippi. She has been a Trustee of the Chrysler Museum, a board member of the Upward Bound Program at Norfolk State University, Director of the YWCA of South Hampton Roads and Director and Officer of the Jewish Community Center of Tidewater.

Ms. Lynn Gordon
Lynn Gordon graduated from the University of Miami with a B. S. in Education and from University of Denver with a J.D. She practiced juvenile and divorce law in Colorado and was the General Mediation Coordinator for the Community Mediation Center of Southeast Virginia.

Lynn Gordon is currently the Vice President of the League of Women Voters of Virginia, Action Chair for Young Audiences of Virginia and a board member of both the Future of Hampton Roads and the Virginia Fair Trial Project. She is also the representative to the Virginia Juvenile Coalition for the League of Women Voters of Virginia. She is a former President of the League of Women Voters of South Hampton Roads and a graduate of Lead Hampton Roads, Class of 2007.

Ms. Sallie Grant-Divenuti
Sallie Grant-Divenuti has extensive experience in marketing and the tourism industry. She is the current Executive Director of the Hampton Conventions & Visitor Bureau and previously worked with the Hampton Roads Convention Center, the Norfolk Convention Center & Visitors Bureau and various hotels.

Sallie Grant-Divenuti has served in various capacities for a variety of professional and civic organizations including; President of the Virginia Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus, Vice-Chair of the Hampton Roads Sports Commission and as a member of the Future of Hampton Roads Tourism Study Group and Civic Engagement Committee. She is an appointed Commissioner to the City of Portsmouth Commission on Architectural Review.

Mr. Louis L. Guy, Jr.
Louis Guy, a Norfolk native, graduated from Virginia Tech with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and did graduate work at George Washington University. His environmental engineering career began in a private practice, based in Northern Virginia, serving municipalities in the Mid-Atlantic States. He returned to Hampton Roads in 1993 to become the Utilities Director for the City of Norfolk. He has been honored by several engineering societies and served as President of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers. He received a presidential appointment to the board of the National Institute of Building Sciences and multiple governors' appointments to the Virginia State Water Commission.

Louis Guy is currently the President of the Norfolk Historical Society and Treasurer of Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park. He was formerly a Vice President of the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Associations and Board Chair for Family Services of Tidewater and a Fairfax County Board appointee to the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Washington Regional Task Force on Water Supply.

Mr. Clyde R. Hoey II
Clyde Hoey is a native of North Carolina and graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Industrial Management. Following his work at two multi-national companies, he purchased a small manufacturing business and expanded it to a three-state operation.

After 23 years as the Owner and President of Grimsley & Grimsley, Inc. of Portsmouth, VA, he sold the business and accepted the position of President and CEO for the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce where he remained for 12 years. Clyde is now President of The Resource Group, an organization he founded to assist non-profit organizations and businesses with planning and fundraising. Hoey is also the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Peninsula Fine Arts Center.

Dr. Quentin Kidd, Ph.D.
Quentin Kidd is an Associate Professor of Political Science in the Department of Government at Christopher Newport University. He received a B.A and a M.A. in Political Science from the University of Arkansas and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Texas Tech University. His academic concentration was American Politics.

Quentin Kidd is a frequent speaker and media commentator on politics and the author of multiple surveys organized by the University's political center, which he manages. His research areas of interest include American Politics, Citizenship/Civic Participation, American Political Behavior, Virginia Politics and Southern U. S. Politics.

Mr. Ed Maroney
Ed Maroney has served in senior management in state and local government for 40 years. He has a B.A. in Public Administration and an A.S. in Business Administration from the University of New Haven. He also has an M.S. degree in Urban Affairs from Yale University and an M.A in Government from Trinity College. He served as Town Manager of Plainville, CT; City Manager of Lexington, KY; Chief of Intergovernmental Relations for the State of Florida; County Administrator of Sarasota, FL and City Manager of Newport News, VA.

Ed Maroney's career in government provided valuable understanding of the interaction between government and the private sector and the issues surrounding land use, urban renewal and the development of new towns and urban centers.

Mr. James B. Oliver, Jr.
Jim Oliver is the current Chairman of the Board for the Hampton Roads Center for Civic Engagement extending his long career in communications, senior government management and civic leadership. He received a B.A. in Communication Arts from the University of Notre Dame, a Masters Degree in Urban Services from Old Dominion University and attended Columbia University on a CBS Fellowship in Government. His early career was as a reporter and correspondent for newspaper, radio and television companies.

Jim Oliver started in government as a Public Information Officer for the City of Norfolk. He became Assistant City Manager for the City of Norfolk, County Administrator for James City County, City Manager for the City of Norfolk and later, the City of Portsmouth. He was a mediator for the Virginia Commission of Local Government, a consultant for the National Academy of Public Administration and a Coordinator of 'Crossroads' for the College of William & Mary and Vice President of CI Travel. He serves on multiple civic boards and is active in his church.

Mr. Robert J. O'Neill, Jr.
Bob O'Neill is the Executive Director of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), an organization founded in 1914 to create excellence in local government. He has a B.A. in Political Science from Old Dominion University and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University. Also, he graduated from the Executive Program of the Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia and received an honorary doctorate of Laws from Old Dominion University.

Bob O'Neill was the Virginia Director of Management Consulting Services for Coopers & Lybrand, regional manager for the Management Improvement Corporation of America, the City Manager of Hampton, VA, the Fairfax County Executive and President of the National Academy of Public Administration. He also had a temporary assignment at the U. S. Office of Management and Budget as a Counselor to the Director on management issues.

Ms. Vivian J. Paige
Vivian Paige is President of Vivian J. Paige, CPA, PC, a local accounting firm established in 1986 that serves clients throughout the country. She has a Masters in Business Administration and has been an Adjunct Instructor in Accounting at Old Dominion University. Her affiliations include; the American Institute of CPAs, the Virginia Society of CPAs, the League of Women Voters, the Urban League of Hampton Roads, the Economics Club of Hampton Roads, the NAACP, the National Association for Female Executives, NOW and the American Association of University Women.

Vivian Paige is currently a member of the YWCA of Hampton Roads Finance Committee and the ODU Department of Accounting Advisory Council. She is a former board member of the St. Columba Ecumenical Ministries, Inc. and the circuit court-appointed President of the Board of Review for Real Estate Assessments. She is a trained community facilitator and co-founder of Norfolk Facing Race, an organization that conducts small group dialogues on race, reconciliation and responsibility.

Ms. Anita Owings Poston
Anita Poston is a Partner in civil practice with Vandeventer Black LLP. Currently, she's on the Board of Visitors for the College of William and Mary, the General Counsel for the Norfolk Airport Authority, and on the boards of the Norfolk Division of TowneBank, the Norfolk Hospital Authority, the ACCESS Scholarship Foundation, the WHRO Foundation and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

Anita Poston is Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees for the United Way of South Hampton Roads Foundation and on the Virginia Board of Bar Examiners. In 2007, she received the Barron F. Black Community Builder Award from the Norfolk Foundation.

Ms. Suzanne Puryear
Suzanne Puryear is President of the Planning Council, a regional non-profit organization that plans, develops and manages human services. Prior to that, she was the Director of Human Services for the City of Norfolk. She has a B.A. and Masters Degree in Public Administration from Old Dominion University and is an alumnus of the Senior Executive Institute of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia and of the CIVIC Leadership Institute.

Suzanne Puryear currently serves on the Board of Trustees for St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children, the Board of Hospitality for the Homeless and on the boards for Future of Hampton Roads and Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads. In 2005, she was appointed by the governor to the Council on Human Resources.

Dr. Roger Richman, PhD
Roger Richman is Professor Emeritus of Urban Studies and Public Administration at Old Dominion University where he served on the faculty full-time from 1976 until 2006. Prior to that, he was Chair of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Hartford.

Roger Richman is founder of Public Mediation Services, Inc. an organization that has worked for two decades, under the auspices of the Virginia Commission on Local Government, to mediate municipal annexation disputes in Virginia. He is the author of numerous papers and writings on alternative dispute resolution in public administration and policy.

Mr. Bert Schmidt
Bert Schmidt is the President and Chief Executive of WHRO. He has a B.S. in Accounting and Finance from Alfred University, a law degree from Syracuse University College of Law and an MBA from Syracuse University School of Management. He was the President and General Manager of WVPT in Harrisonburg, VA, Executive Vice President of WCNY-TV/FM in Syracuse, NY, Vice President of Mark R. Switz, Inc., and a tax attorney with Price Waterhouse.

Bert Schmidt is currently the Chair of the Virginia Association of Public Television Stations and a board member of the National Educational Telecommunications Association, the Virginia Network of Nonprofit Organizations, The Hampton Roads Partnership, the Greater Norfolk Council, Smart Beginnings South Hampton Roads, Future of Hampton Roads, and The Virginia Arts Festival. He is on Governor Kaine's Broadband Roundtable and is the past Chair of the Public Broadcasting Management Association.

Rear Admiral Raynor A. K. Taylor, USN (ret)
Ray Taylor completed 33 years of naval service retiring as a Rear Admiral. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Engineering from the U. S. Naval Academy, Masters Degrees, as an Olmsted Scholar from l'Institute d'Etudes Politiques de l'Universite de Grenoble, France in Political Science and from the American University in Washington, DC in International Relations.

Admiral Taylor served as Commander, Naval Forces, U. S. Central Command and Commander, Middle East Forces during the Persian Gulf episodes. At sea, he commanded a destroyer, cruiser and battle groups. Ashore, he served as Director of Operations, U.S. European Command and as Commanding Officer of the Surface Warfare Officers School Command. After his naval service, Ray Taylor was Manager of the Innovation Center at Newport News Shipbuilding. Since his second retirement, he served as President of theWorld Affairs Council of Greater Hampton Roads and is currently the President of the Future of Hampton Roads.