Bob retired from a 30-year banking career in 2014 as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Risk Officer for Hampton Roads Bankshares and its affiliates. Bob has been very active in his community, including serving as Chairs for the Eastern Shore Community Services Board, YMCA of South Hampton Roads, and Melfa Rotary Club, and on various other boards. Bob is a graduate of Broadwater Academy and Virginia Tech.

Maureen was Professor of Adult Education at Eastern Shore Community College where she helped to grow the GED program which under her tenure graduated more people than the largest high school on the Shore. She began the ESL program, the SPARK family learning program, and the Student Success Center. As a volunteer, she helped start the Eastern Shore Literacy Council, and was a member of the founding board of the ES Family Y. As a member of the board of the Eastern Shore Public Library she helped to expand library services from the original library in Accomack to include the Station Library on Chincoteague and the Nassawadox and Cape Charles libraries.

Parker practiced at Eastern Shore Rural Health (ESRH) which he helped to grow as physician, medical director and board member. He was instrumental in securing funds for expansion and development of the dental program as well as for additional health care delivery sites up and down the Shore. ESRH now has 48 providers including dental practitioners and 128 clinical support staff. ESRH employs 325 people overall. Dr. Dooley has served on the board of Shore-Memorial Hospital and as Chair of the Accomack County Democratic Party.

Arthur M. Fournier is currently a Professor Emeritus - Departments of Family Medicine & Community Health and Internal Medicine, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Art graduated from Merrimack College in 1969 and Tufts University School of Medicine in 1973. His residency training at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine was followed by two years' service in the National Health Service Corps on Virginia’s Eastern Shore from 1976- 78. He has pioneered innovative primary care education models that bring preventive and primary health care to the underserved both in South Florida and Haiti. He has also published two books on Haiti and has a third book in production. On the Shore he serves on several boards, including Eastern Shore Rural Health, The Library Foundation, and The Historical Society.

Brittany has been working in higher education for a decade, serving in various roles at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she currently serves as the Executive MBA Associate Director. She received her B.A. in Foreign Language - Spanish, an M.B.A., and her Ed.D. in Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University. Before her work in higher education, she worked in K12 education, teaching English as a Second Language and assisting with Spanish-English translation and interpretation for Chesterfield County and Richmond Public Schools.

Brittany has been collaborating with the Shore U Foundation since 2021 and is currently serving on the dissertation committee for the Shore U Ed.D. capstone project.

Karen holds a doctorate in Biopsychology/Animal Behavior and a Masters in Social Work. Following her career as a psychotherapist, she joined the psychology departments of Hunter College (part of the City University of New York) and Hamilton College, teaching developmental psychology and ecology. In recent years, she has focused on medical writing, translating complex medical research into language accessible to the public, and a range of non-fiction and fiction books for younger readers. Several of the latter have been translated into multiple foreign languages, reaching a world-wide audience.

Kate has spent the majority of her career in the field of Education. She is currently a Secondary English teacher in Northern Virginia. Prior to her role in secondary education, she earned professional certificates from the Workforce Development Division of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) and taught English as a Second Language (ESL) at NOVA. While consulting for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Kate managed economic growth training projects. As an Information Technology Trainer for an international non-profit organization, Kate first witnessed the transformative power of education and technology in rural communities. Kate holds a masters degree in Educational Technology Leadership from The George Washington University and bachelors degrees in English Education and English Literature from Villanova University. It was during Kate’s 2019 trip to Wallops for a rocket launch that she first heard of and became involved with Shore U.

Born and raised in London, England, Terry was educated in Wales where he received a B.Sc. in Electronics from Bangor University. In 1970 he moved to the USA. Terry first worked at Westinghouse Electric Corporation where he received several patents for Power Electronics systems, including the world’s first production induction range. Later, Terry moved to Motorola where he worked as an engineer and studied for an MBA at Arizona State University. Still at Motorola, he became Sales V.P. for the company’s largest global customers. In 1999, he moved to the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Terry was the inspiration behind Shore U, and currently serves as President, University of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Foundation. Terry is a Chartered Engineer, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

Kris is a former federal, career public servant and charter member of the Senior Executive Service. She served in 10 federal agencies and departments. Kris worked on the establishment of the US Department of Education where she served as a Deputy Assistant Secretary. Other positions that Kris held included Chief Operating Officer of the Small Business Administration, Associate Deputy Attorney General (DOJ) and Assistant Director of the US Marshals Service. Following retirement from the federal government, Kris consulted in government relations for numerous private businesses and served as CEO of the National Academy of Public Administration. Kris received a BA from the University of Hawaii, a Masters of Foreign Service from Georgetown University and a JD from The George Washington University. Kris is a Member of the Bar of the District of Columbia. She has resided on the Shore for 20 years.

Ron is a retired college professor and administrator. He graduated from a community college and continued his education through a doctorate in higher education at Indiana University-Bloomington. He then served as a professor and administrator until his retirement in 2016. His area of expertise is Public Policy in Higher Education. His career permitted him to serve both public and private colleges and universities. Fourteen years of his career was spent as president of two small private two-year colleges. In retirement, he continues to serve his community as a volunteer and board member of a variety of organizations.

Malaika has very strong connections to the Eastern Shore through family and residence. As a lifelong activist in social justice movements, it is her belief that education is key in the effort to obtain equity for underserved populations. She believes that making a 4-year degree available on the Shore would be a giant step in the right direction. Malaika has worked as a journalist and editor. For the last 16 years, she has been a Case Manager for Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia, Inc. in their Guardianship program.

Ed is retired from the National Science Foundation. For 24 years he worked in various capacities within the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) where he served as Deputy Director. For some of this time, he was involved with collaborative programs involving US and Japanese researchers and was the Director of the NSF office in Tokyo. From 2009-2016, he taught Marine Biology at The George Washington University. He currently teaches at the Academy of Lifelong Learning. Murdy received a B.S. and a M.S. in Biology from Old Dominion University and a Ph.D. in Wildlife & Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University. He has 50 publications including four books, two of which deal with fish of the Chesapeake Bay. Murdy has resided on the Eastern Shore since 2016.

Leads the weekend executive programs in Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Business and is an adjunct in the Marketing Department. He founded EBMP LLC, a digital marketing company, in 2012. Prior to VCU, he served as a consultant, GM for a technology firm, and in leadership roles at Media General and other companies. He has led product development that has produced over $50M in sales at big box retailers and online.

He has a BA and MBA from Old Dominion University and is a US Army veteran. Butch has been collaborating with the Shore U Foundation since 2021.

Carol Van Dessel Vaughn has been a local newspaper journalist on the Eastern Shore since 2004 and has received a number of Virginia Press Association awards for her writing. Prior to then, she worked in the field of Adult Education at Eastern Shore Community College and in library services at the Eastern Shore Public Library. A Shore resident from age 7, Carol is a member of the Alpha chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. She earned a Master's degree in American Studies from the College of William and Mary (also her undergraduate alma mater) and a Master's degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Salisbury University.

Joey is the Vice President for Academic, Student, and Workforce Education at Eastern Shore Community College in Melfa, Virginia. Prior to joining the YES! Team at ESCC, Joey served as the Dean of Business, Industry, and Technology for Tallahassee Community College in Tallahassee, FL, the Dean of Workforce Education, Transitional Studies, and Continuing Education at Wenatchee Valley College in Wenatchee, WA and a Program Advisor for the Arkansas Department of Career Education, Adult Education Division in Little Rock, AR.

He holds a Doctorate in Educational Leadership, and a Specialist degree in Community College Administration from Arkansas State University, a Master's degree in Workforce Development Education, and a Bachelor's in Human Resource Development from the University of Arkansas.

Joey has extensive experience in curriculum development, budget management, conflict resolution, team building, increasing morale, leading multiple projects and strategic initiatives, developing relationships with business, industry, and education partners, while utilizing servant and transformative leadership.

His current focus includes Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, workforce development, student motivation, increasing student success, recruitment, retention, and building relationships among faculty, staff and students.

Tom is an Eastern Shore “born-here.” He studied at William & Mary, Campbell University, and the University of North Carolina (Theater Design). Tom has managed theaters at Duke, created kitchens, and worked as a chef. He is also a master cabinet maker, and his conference tables grace boardrooms up and down the Eastern Seaboard. He co-founded the Artisans Guild of the Eastern Shore of Virginia and served as Vice-Chair. He plays bluegrass guitar.