VMI Alumni Agencies Announce New Board Members

After William C. Collier ’06 graduated from VMI, he commissioned in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant of transportation. Collier spent his platoon leader, executive officer, and initial command and staff time at Fort Eustis, Virginia, in the 7th Sustainment Brigade. Collier was then assigned to the 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas, and served as the assistant division transportation officer. From February 2012–March 2013, Collier commanded Delta Forward Support Company, 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. Following command, Collier was assigned as a contingency contracting officer in the 926th Contingency Contracting Battalion, Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland. Collier held this position until November 2014. He then joined the U.S. Army Reserve, 915th Contracting Battalion, 658th Contracting Team in Ohio and was medically retired in March 2018.

Collier then went to work for the chemical distributor Omya, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio, as its logistics operations manager for North America. From February 2020–February 2021, Collier was the vice president of the supply chain for RelaDyne, a fuel and lubricant distribution and specialty services company. Collier is now a contract manager for American Rheinmetall Munition, Inc., which produces small- to medium-caliber munitions and is headquartered in Stafford, Virginia.

His educational achievements include a Bachelor of Arts in history from VMI and a Master of Science degree in management with a concentration in contract management and procurement from the University of Maryland University College.

Collier is Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act Contracting Level II certified and the International Society of Logistics, Demonstrated Master Logistician certified. His professional organization memberships include USA Lacrosse, Sons of the American Revolution, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, AUSA, the National Eagle Scout Association, and Military Officers Association of America.

Collier serves as class agent for the Class of 2006 and is part of a legacy VMI family, along with his father, William C. Collier ’72, and brother, John C. Collier ’09.

Patrick J. Griffin ’80 graduated from VMI with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. After graduation, he served on active duty as a surface line officer until 1983. He entered the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1983 and retired as a commander.

He began his career with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in May 1987 at the OSHA office in Waltham, Massachusetts, as a compliance officer. In January 2000, Griffin was selected as the first compliance assistance specialist in New England. In April 2006, Griffin was selected as the area director for the Providence, Rhode Island, OSHA Area Office, where he oversaw all safety and health for the state of Rhode Island. Griffin retired from OSHA in June 2018. He currently works in the construction industry as a safety and health consultant.

Griffin also holds a degree in labor relations from Antioch University.

Griffin served as the New England Chapter president from 1990–96 and again from 2006–15. He was elected to the VMI Alumni Association Board of Directors in 2015 as the Northeast regional director. He chaired the Outreach Committee while on the board of directors. Upon completing his term in 2021, he was appointed a special appointee to the VMI Alumni Association Board of Directors to continue his work on the Networking Committee.

Griffin also serves as a member of the VMI Parents Council and on the board of the VMI Research Laboratories. He has two sons, Michael Griffin ’17 and John Griffin ’21.

Through his firm JEH Consulting, James E. Henry Jr. ’68 assisted federal government business executives and the businesses that support and serve the public sector with services including business strategy, business development, relationship development and maintenance, and creating a marketing strategy. He served for a short time as the chief operating officer of Leapfrog Solutions, a small woman-owned advertising agency, and led a major effort to win a large federal contract.

Henry also worked as a senior manager for business development and federal practices at Deloitte Consulting and Sapient Corporation. Earlier in his career, Henry worked for IBM in sales, marketing, and general management.

Henry earned a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from VMI and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Virginia.

He served in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and is a Vietnam veteran, awarded the Bronze Star.

Henry has served the VMI Alumni Association in various capacities at the chapter level and served as a regional director in Hampton Roads, Virginia. He has volunteered on multiple Alumni Association committees from 2011–present and served on the VMI Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2017–present. He has been an active supporter of “Old Corps” activities for the Williamsburg Chapter and has been deeply involved with alumni chapters wherever he has lived.

Anthony J. “Jamie” MacDonald ’83 serves as the director, Strategic Initiatives Group, for the deputy chief of staff for intelligence, G-2, on the U.S. Army staff. In this role, he is a strategist and adviser to the Army’s senior intelligence officer.

Commissioned as a second lieutenant of Infantry in 1983, McDonald transitioned into the Military Intelligence Corps in 1987. In more than 30 years of service, he served with airborne, armored cavalry, military intelligence, recruiting, and special operations commands and commanded at every level from platoon to group. MacDonald also served with the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Army and Joint Staffs. His overseas assignments include Germany, Afghanistan, and Iraq. In addition to his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from VMI, he earned a Master of Science degree in administration from Central Michigan University and a Master of Science degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College. Active in VMI alumni affairs, McDonald is a former president of the Potomac River Chapter.

Dennis V. Maguire ’80 is the president and principal of Maguire Company, Inc., a 100-year-old mechanical contractor located in Newton, Massachusetts. He has been actively engaged with the company following his completion of his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from VMI.

Maguire served as a district representative, ward alderman, and citywide representative (at-large) for the City of Newton for six years. He served in a leadership position as chairman of public facilities, a committee reviewing all programs and expenditures on city-owned land, buildings, and roads within the city, with a budget of $275 million.

Maguire has served industry groups as a member of the boards of the Newton-Needham Chamber of Commerce and the Associated Builders and Contractors of Massachusetts and was the chairman of the latter. He has been active in politics in Massachusetts and numerous civic and charitable organizations, among them Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts, where he has been a member of the Business Advisory Board since 2012 and a trustee of the College since 2017.

Maguire has been active in the New England Chapter of the VMI Alumni Association for the last 30 years and recently served as vice president for the chapter. During his tenure, he worked closely with Patrick J. Griffin ’80, past president and regional director, in support of VMI, its alumni, and cadets.

Abigail L. Dawson ’14 has seven years of clinical research experience with six years in pharmacovigilance. She has managed global studies in all phases (Phase I-IV) throughout their lifecycle across various therapeutic areas such as oncology, neurology, rare disease, hepatology, hematology, and autoimmune disease.

Her community outreach includes 12 seasons of coaching local middle and/or high school-aged volleyball teams in school and club environments in Virginia, North Carolina, and New York.

During her time at VMI, Dawson’s extracurricular activities included cadre, Rat Challenge cadre, volleyball team CIC, Leadership Book Club, and working in the QMD. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. After VMI, she participated in local VMI Alumni Association chapter events in Northern Virginia and Charlottesville and served as Region VI director between 2019–21. Dawson currently resides in Fayetteville, New York, and now is the Region III director.

Guy F. Conte ’75 is a seasoned executive leader with 40 years of progressively increased sales, marketing, and field sales operations management, as well as profit and loss responsibility in the consumer products goods industry (Procter & Gamble, Frito-Lay, The Coca-Cola Co., Otis Spunkmeyer, Tate’s Bake Shop, and the U.S. Army). He is experienced with startups, private equity, and merger and acquisition implementation, along with overseas expertise through work with import/export distributors for France, China, Japan, Korea, and Mexico.

Conte was the president of his class and a member of the wrestling team. He is married and a father of two, including Christopher W. Conte ’11. His father was Daniel L. Conte, Class of 1936.

Conte is a former president of the Arizona Chapter and helped to reinvigorate that chapter.

Grant T. Harris ’06 is a diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility practitioner with more than 10 years of experience in facilitation, training, organizational development, and change management experience within K-12 and higher education, global corporations, and small nonprofits.

Harris facilitates small and large organizational transitions and is responsible for strategic planning, implementation, and maintenance of short to long-range DEIA goals and objectives. He has chaired and led several diversity committees at multiple institutions with governance oversight in integrating DEIA knowledge, skills, and abilities. He is currently an engagement and inclusion consultant at The Wheelhouse Group in Fairfax, Virginia.

Harris is also a past chair of the Equity Ad Hoc Committee at Lord Fairfax Community College and has also served as an admissions outreach specialist at the Academies of Loudoun.

Harris has taught special education at Sterling Middle School in Sterling, Virginia, and served as its Schools to Watch Committee co-chair. He is a member of the Workforce Development Committee for the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber in Winchester, Virginia.

Harris holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from VMI, a Master of Business Administration degree in organizational psychology and development from the American Intercontinental University, and a post-master’s certificate in educational leadership and administration from George Washington University.

Harris participates actively in Northern Virginia Chapter events and has been responsible for helping plan, coordinate, and execute recent rat send-off events. In addition, as a member of the VMI Alumni Association Board of Directors, he is serving as director at large for training and diversity and was the chairman of the diversity and inclusion subcommittee.

James G. “Jim” Joustra Jr. ’76 is the founder and president of Verkenner, LLC, which facilitates the adoption of new technology, primarily in the U.S. health care market. Jim served as director of mergers and acquisitions for Walgreens Boots Alliance, handling mergers and acquisitions responsibilities for approximately $30 billion in acquired, merged, and divested companies. He also served as an operations manager for Fujisawa Pharmaceuticals USA and Bristol Myers Squibb.

Prior to his business career, Joustra was a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officer with successful roles in combat, civil works, and special program engineer units. His unit assignments included the 8th Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Engineer School, the 1st Engineer Battalion, and the National Training Center.

Joustra is a life member of the Military Officers Association of America and The Association of the United States Army. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from VMI, a Master of Business Administration degree from Niagara University and is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College and numerous other civil and military schools. He serves as a board member of the VMI Alumni Association and has been an active participant in Central Florida Chapter events. In addition, he is a board member of LocatorX and has served several other philanthropic organizations.

William R. Shannon ’10 is a dive medical officer in the U.S. Navy and is currently stationed in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He previously completed a transitional year internship at the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Portsmouth, Virginia, where he also served as program class treasurer.

Before entering medical school and joining the Navy, Shannon served for five years in the U.S. Marine Corps as an infantry officer, deploying twice.

During his cadetship, Shannon was a member of the Honor Court, a battalion commander, and participated in the Institute Honors program. He is a distinguished graduate of VMI who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics and a minor in modern languages and cultures (Arabic). He was also a Distinguished Naval Graduate.

He completed the post-baccalaureate pre-medical program at the University of Virginia and earned a Doctor of Medicine degree in 2019 from the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. His published research pertains primarily to the treatment of orthopedic injuries among service members.

Since graduation, he has done his best to maintain a high level of involvement with his local VMI alumni chapter and maintain close connections with brother rats.

Charles H. Story Jr. ’91 is a native of Lynchburg, Virginia, and has 30 years of experience in banking, finance, and the security and network infrastructure industries. He has been active with the Lynchburg Chapter for more than 30 years, ever since his rat send-off. He has been involved with other chapters as well since graduation, attending many events and supporting as a volunteer for various rat send-off events and other support as needed. He currently serves as co-class agent for his class.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies from VMI.

Story and his wife, Vicky, live in Forest, Virginia, and his youngest son, John Ian Evans ’25, is a rising 3rd Class cadet.

Christopher R. Gorman ’96 is currently a dermatologist at the Richmond Veterans Affairs Medical Center (where he will become chief of dermatology in 2023) and an associate clinical professor of dermatology at the VCU School of Medicine. An Institute Scholar and the First Jackson-Hope Medalist in 1996, he graduated with distinction with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. He was also a prosecutor on the Honor Court. After working in admissions at VMI for a year, he entered the University of Virginia School of Medicine as a U.S. Air Force Health Professions Scholar and graduated in 2001. He was inducted into The Raven Society while at UVA.

After completing his residency in dermatology at the University of Virginia in 2009, Gorman served as a staff dermatologist at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, as well as in private practice at Bethesda Dermatology. He has held clinical appointments at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences and George Washington University School of Medicine. A published author, Gorman also is a member of the American Academy of Dermatology and the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.

He served for four years in the Air Force Reserve while at medical school and then five years on active duty as a captain and flight surgeon. He currently serves on the board of St. Michael’s Episcopal School in Richmond and was senior warden of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church. He is the president of The Rotary Club of Bon Air, a director of the Richmond Dermatological Society, and a former and founding director of The Virginia Dermatology Society. He served as an alternate trustee from 2021-22 and was on his class reunion campaign committee from July 2020–December 2021.

Joseph P. Moan ’81 graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics with distinction. As a cadet, he was a member of the VMI Firefighters, the Society of Young Economists, and the International Relations Club, serving as the latter’s vice president and president in his 2nd and 1st Class years, respectively. He received a two-year Army ROTC scholarship. In his 1st Class year, he was vice president of the Officer of the Guard Association and was a lieutenant.

Now retired, Moan was employed by the Coca-Cola Co. for 18 years. His final position was as its chief ethics and compliance officer and associate general counsel. In that role, he oversaw all aspects of the company’s ethics and compliance programs globally and was responsible for the implementation and management of its ethics and compliance policies, procedures, and guidelines. Prior to coming to Coca-Cola, he was Texaco’s senior employment counsel.

Moan served for 26 years in the active and Reserve components of the Field Artillery and Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the U.S. Army and U.S. Air National Guard, retiring as a colonel in 2007. He holds numerous degrees, including a Juris Doctor degree and a certificate in veterans’ law, both from the William & Mary School of Law.

Moan is a member of the Institute Society’s George C. Marshall Order and the Marshall-Wythe Society and Dean’s Council at William & Mary. He has endowed scholarships at both institutions.

Gale F. Sommers ’72 played basketball for VMI, earning his letter in 1970 and 1971 and a letter in track in 1971. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics, participated in the Glee Club, and was a corporal in his 3rd Class year. He earned a master’s degree in accounting from Ball State University in 1976.

Sommers enjoyed a long career in the real estate and insurance services industry, as well as the financial services sector, and was a senior executive for many companies. He served as the CEO of Professional Warranty Service Corporation, as well as its senior vice president and chief financial officer, and a senior vice president and chief financial officer for the Reilly Mortgage Group, Inc., and a partner at Ernst & Young LLP. He is a past winner of the Washington Business Journal’s CFO of the Year Award. He currently serves on the board of directors of Landis Architects and Builders in Washington, D.C., and provides leadership training and assessments to senior executives. He has also served on the boards of a number of nonprofit organizations.

A member of the Class of 1972’s 50th Reunion Campaign Committee, an effort that has raised more than $6.1 million and been supported by more than 70% of the class, he previously served on the Keydet Club Board of Governors as an alternate from 2010-11 and as a voting member from 2011–17. He is also a member of the Institute Society and recently established the Gale F. Sommers Basketball Scholarship.

John P. Williams ’88 is the founder and principal of Powell Strategies, LLC, headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland. Established in 2012, the company focuses on providing analytic, management, and communication services to government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and corporations. Its clients have included the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Google, the George W. Bush Institute, Comcast NBCUniversal, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For its performance and service, the company has received awards from the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals and the U.S. secretary of labor. In 2020, it earned a place on the Vet 100 list that is compiled by Inc. Magazine, in partnership with Syracuse University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families, in recognition of the 100 fastest-growing veteran-owned or operated businesses in America.

During his time at VMI, Williams was an English major who was a member of the English Society and played rugby. He went in to serve for 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and retired as associate chair of the political science department at the U.S. Naval Academy. After his military service, Williams’ work experience includes leadership positions in the national security arena at the Naval Academy’s Center for Middle East & Islamic Studies, the National Security Analysis Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and the Institute for the Study of War.

Williams is a certified project management professional, a graduate of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce Veteran Institute for Procurement, and an alumnus of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program at Babson College, as well as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Seminar XXI program on national security. He also holds a master’s degree in national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School.

The first alumna to serve on the VMI Foundation Board of Trustees, Elise G. Jones Woodworth ’07 returns to the board after a one-year absence. She is the president of Woodworth Enterprises, LLC, an independent firm that provides leadership consulting and program adviser services focused on improving the performance of board members of nonprofit organizations. She is the best-selling author of “Business Not Battle for Non-Profit Boards,” a recently released book on the mindset board members can use “to ignite impact with their organization.”

Prior to establishing her company, Woodworth worked as a program manager with Acquisition, Research, & Logistics, Inc., providing support to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Woodworth graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology. As a cadet, she was active in the Air Force ROTC unit, cross-country and track, cheerleading, the Newman Club, and the VMI Theatre. She commissioned in the U.S. Air Force and served as a logistics officer from 2007–11.

She holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Capella University with a focus on project management. She is a member of the Institute Society, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and Toastmasters.

Dustin H. DeVore ’94 is an attorney in the Williamsburg, Virginia, office of Kaufman & Canoles, P.C. His practice focuses on commercial matters for financial institutions, businesses, real estate developers, and individuals. He heads the firm’s Lender Representation Practice Group and its Credit Union Team, which assists and advises a number of credit unions regarding lending and regulatory issues.

His performance as a lawyer has earned him widespread recognition, including being named as one of Virginia’s Legal Elite by Virginia Business Magazine several times. In 2020, Virginia Lawyers Weekly cited him as one of its “Go-To Lawyers” for business law as one of the top business lawyers in Virginia as selected by his peers.

DeVore participates in many civic activities in the Williamsburg area. He is on the board of the Greater Williamsburg Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Alliance and is involved with many other local organizations as an adviser, donor, and advocate.

Before attending William & Mary Law School, from which he graduated in 2001 and was a member of the Law Review, DeVore served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve. As a cadet, he graduated with distinction with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and received the Dillard Award. DeVore was a corporal and master sergeant in his 3rd and 2nd Class years, respectively. As a 1st Class cadet, he commanded 1st Battalion.

Stephen E. Hupp Sr. ’84 graduated with distinction from VMI with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. As a cadet, he was active in the Baptist Student Union, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. During his 1st Class year, he was the S-5 lieutenant for the 2nd Battalion. After graduation, he received a commission in the U.S. Army’s Corps of Engineers and served in the Army Reserve until 1998. From 1984–87, he worked as an engineer for the Virginia State Corporation Commission.

In March 1987, he went to work for Estes Express Lines, the largest privately owned freight carrier in North America, which does business in all 50 states, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean. Based in Richmond, Virginia, the company has more than 22,000 employees and annual sales of more than $4.5 billion. Beginning as an assistant terminal manager in Columbia, South Carolina, Hupp became the terminal manager in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1989. He became the assistant to the company’s president in 1992 and, in 1999, became its corporate secretary. He currently holds the position of chief financial officer and corporate secretary.

An active member of Hope Church, Hupp has been involved with many organizations such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Trinity Episcopal High School, and Banner Christian School.

The son of Henry Thomas Hupp ’44 and brother of William T. Hupp ’77, he also is the father of Stephen E. Hupp Jr. ’16 and Thomas B. Hupp ’20. His daughter, Dr. Rebekah L. Martin, is an assistant professor in VMI’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and she is married to Donald M. Martin ’13. His son, Thomas, is married to Kiley L. (Cropper) Hupp ’21. He has been married to his wife, Renee Petty Hupp, for 35 years.

Hupp has been a devoted servant of VMI for more than 16 years. He was a VMI Foundation trustee from 2006-21. While a trustee, he served on numerous committees and subcommittees and was also the organization’s vice president for administration and finance. He became the Foundation president in 2019 and served until 2021. As VMI Foundation president, he also was an ex-officio member of the VMI Alumni Association and the VMI Keydet Club boards, as well as the VMI Investments Holdings, LLC, board; Jackson-Hope Fund board; and the General J.H. Binford Peay III 1962 Endowment for Academic Excellence cabinet.

A native of Roanoke, Virginia, Michael B. Kemp ’90 played football for four years, graduating with a major in economics and a minor in psychology. He is currently a managing director and senior portfolio manager with the Roanoke, Virginia, office of RBC Wealth Management, Inc. Kemp has worked in the financial industry for almost 30 years.

Kemp started his career with PaineWebber in 1993. He later worked for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, where he co-founded The Meridian Group in 2002. He was a member of the firm’s President’s Council in 2003 and a member of the Chairman’s Council from 2004–11. He joined UBS in 2012, specializing in wealth management. Kemp has been recognized for his accomplishments by Virginia Business Magazine, which has placed him on its list of Top Wealth Advisers from 2019–21, and Forbes magazine, which named him as one of Virginia’s Best-In-State Wealth Advisers from 2018–21.

An active citizen, Kemp currently is a member of the YMCA of the Virginia Blue Ridge Board of Directors, executive committee, and finance committee. He has served as the organization’s chairman, was a member of the YMCA’s nominating and endowment committees, and was the chairman of the Virginia Blue Ridge Partners Campaign in 2019. He was the chairman of the Salem YMCA board of directors from 2012–14, and he chaired the Salem Partners Campaign in 2010 and 2011. Kemp also has served on the board of directors for the Roanoke Valley Fellowship of Christian Athletes for more than 10 years.

From 2003–09, he served on the Keydet Club Board of Governors. He currently is on the board of directors for VMI’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He also has been an active member of the Roanoke Chapter of the VMI Alumni Association, and for several years, he has hosted the chapter’s annual rat send-off event at his home. A generous and consistent supporter of VMI, he established the Richard R. Kemp & Michael B. Kemp ’90 Football Scholarship in late 2021.

David L. Wallenborn ’77 earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from VMI and a Master of Business Administration degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. After graduating from VMI, Wallenborn took a commission in the Army Reserve, trained at the Armor School at Fort Knox, and was a captain after 11 years of service. He is the president and chief executive officer of P1 Technologies in Roanoke County, Virginia, a medical component manufacturer with over 350 employees serving customers worldwide.

Wallenborn is a generous supporter of the Institute’s intercollegiate athletic programs and its cadet-athletes. He was not a team member but a big fan of athletics at VMI. He says he could not have made it through VMI without the spirit of sports. He calls the Keydet Club “the spirit of VMI.” Wallenborn and his wife, Becky, have endowed the David L. Wallenborn ’77 Athletic Scholarship and annually support the Keydet Club Scholarship Fund at the Scholarship level.