Meet The Team
Our Board of Advisors & Our Board
Board of Advisors
The Rick Herrema Foundation is honored to have a distinguished and engaged Board of Advisors that is dedicated to supporting our mission of strong families, strong military, strong nation and protecting the national security of the United States. Their mentorship and support are testament to their leadership and a gift to our nation. This is a partial list as of February 2020.
Peter Bloom
Entrepreneur
New York
Chris Budnick
President, Vanguard Plastics
Connecticut
Mark Fauk
US Army (ret.)
Chick-Fil-A, Corp. (ret.)
Georgia
AMB Tom Foley
Chairman, Stevens Aerospace
Connecticut
Jon Gerold
USSOCOM (ret.)
North Carolina
Ron Haynes
Chief Strategy Officer, Phoenix Global Support
President, Joint Special Operations Association
North Carolina
GEN (ret.) Charlie Holland
Commander (ret.), USSOCOM
Colorado
Patrick Joyce
Virginia
COL (ret.) Joseph LeBoeuf
USMA (West Point) & Duke University, Emeritus
Thayer Leader Development Group
North Carolina
BGEN (ret.) Maureen LeBoeuf
Master of the Swords, USMA
Chair, USO North Carolina
Thayer Leader Development Group
North Carolina
Robert Mack
Entrepreneur
Washington
LTC George Pappas (ret.)
Senior Advisor
US House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
Washington, DC
Ed Petkovich
President & CEO, Walsingham Group, Inc.
North Carolina
Terry Ryan
President, Tenax Aerospace
Virginia
MAJ GEN Kurt Sonntag
Deputy Commander (ret.), USASOC
North Carolina
GEN Gordon R. Sullivan
32nd Chief of Staff (ret.)
United States Army
Virginia
Thomas Thayer
President, Frank Management Group, Inc
Virginia
Ken Thompson
Business Consultant
Georgia
LT GEN (ret.) Kenneth Tovo
Commanding General (ret.)
USASOC
North Carolina
HON Christine Todd Whitman
Governor NJ (1994-2001)
Administrator, EPA (2001-2003)
New Jersey/New York
Board Members
Darren
RHF’s Fundraising Committee member and one of RHF’s founding board members. Darren is the recently retired Founder of Alpine Training Services. ATS is a leading international specialty rigging (design/ build) & training company. For 20 years he served as the Chief Visionary Designer, Licensee & Business Developer for the Hit TV shows such as “American Ninja Warrior,” “Ultimate Beast Master,” “Titan Games” etc., also, stunt based games for shows like “ The Amazing Race,” “The Biggest Loser,” “Big Brother” and many more. Additionally, he serves as an advisor to the board for the Peak Rescue Institute and was previously a professional wild land firefighter.
Dick
RHF’s Finance Committee member and Rick Herrema’s father. He has been VP and Treasurer of Great Lakes Painting and Decorating Inc. for 30 years. He has served as an elder at Forest Grove Christian Reformed Church for the last 9 years and Treasurer for 3 years and Chairmen of the building and grounds committee. Dick is also a board member at Hudsonville Christian School and a member of the building and grounds committee.
Elisabeth
Chief of Protocol for US Forces Command.
Joanie
Vice President, Executive Committee and Fundraising Committee Co-Chair. Joanie is an entrepreneurial thought leader focused on the intersection of innovation, technology, and national security. She serves as Sr. SOF and IC Client Manager for Huntington Ingalls Industries-MDIS and is the co-founder of Strategic Link Partners. An international Eisenhower Fellow, Joanie serves as a Trustee on the National Small Business Association and on the Boards of Advisors for Innovate-Educate and The National TRUST Center, a not-for-profit focused on economic security she founded.
Joe
Joe is a Lieutenant Colonel with 20 years of active duty service, 16 of which have been with Army Special Operations Forces. Army life has taken Joe and his wife Patty to duty stations in Europe and across the US, where they have weathered many peacekeeping and combat deployments while raising their 5 kids. Joe worked side by side with Rick Herrema in the 101st Airborne Division, and is honored to serve the vision of RHF by helping to create a sanctuary in Fayetteville where families like his can come to find respite and renewal.
Joel
Executive Committee. Founded the original RHF’s Board of Advisors and helped cultivate RHF in its earliest days and continues to lead RHF as our organization matures. He served with distinction in the US Army before transitioning to civilian life. He is a successful lawyer in New Jersey. His business acumen and civic virtue have helped create numerous successful endeavors for many people across the globe. He currently co-chairs a $100 million capital campaign for Norwich University.
John A.
John B.
Building Committee member. A graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point (Engineering) and the University of Texas-Austin’s McCombs School of Business (MBA), John is an active-duty soldier. He, his wife, and four children serve military families through helping improve Rick’s Place infrastructure.
Josh
An active duty soldier who joined the Army before 9/11 and has been overseas multiple times since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He currently serves on the board of directors and he along with his wife and the invaluable assistance of other dedicated supporters founded the Rick Herrema Foundation (RHF). RHF is dedicated to the memory of Josh’s best friend, Rick Herrema, who was killed in action in Iraq in 2006. Josh has five children and, as a father and husband, knows first-hand the challenges of full time military service, Josh wanted to create a place that would honor his best friend by creating a retreat for still serving military families where they can come and spend fun, quality time with each other.
Kimberly
Treasurer and CFO, is an active duty military spouse. As a family, they have endured more than a dozen combat deployments. She is a beloved wife, friend and mother to two young daughters. She is also a former Army kid whose late father served in the Vietnam War. She has a degree in accounting and has spent most of her professional career working as an auditor and finance manager for local governments located near Ft. Lewis, WA and Ft. Bragg, NC.
Phil
Phil serves on RHF’s fundraising team. He has an extensive background in software and consulting sales as an entrepreneur and with large organizations such as Oracle and SAS. At SAS, he created the first leadership development program for sales organization members who wish to pursue a management career. A graduate of Norwich University, Phil mentors existing students and the local alumni group in Raleigh. He was a member of the Army National Guard from 1986 – 1991 as an M60A3 Tanker. He is also an active volunteer in children programs at Hope Community Church in Raleigh.
Rich
President of the Board. Rich serves as Inspector General for US Army Forces Command (750,000 Soldiers, $4.9 billion budget). Rich holds a BA in History from the University of Delaware and a MS in Strategic Planning from the National War College. Rich is a 30 year Army veteran with the majority of his career spent in Special Operations and he has multiple combat tours serving in command at every level from Lieutenant to Colonel. Rich has been married for 30 years and is a father of eight girls, two of whom are serving in the U.S. Army.
Sam
Sam, immediate past Board President, currently serves as a consultant to the U.S. Military. He is a U.S. Army veteran who spent his career in Special Operations serving multiple combat tours. Sam is married to author, teacher, and counselor Kathy. They are the parents of nine children and two grandchildren. Sam served with Rick Herrema.
Ted
Governance and Strategy committee chair, is an expert in organizational development. He served as a consultant to c-suite and senior leaders in NYC for 30 years before retiring to become an active executive coach and the Consulting Professor of Ethics and Leadership at Duke University. Of note, he currently advises the Central Park Conservancy of New York . He has degrees in cultural anthropology, religion and organizational psychology. He is married to Allegra, RHF’s executive director.
Trabue
Fundraising committee Co-Chair. Trabue is an executive in the financial services industry. He is the President of ICE Futures US, a leading exchange for energy, agricultural and financial products. Trabue and his family live in New York.
