Board of Directors

TOM O´BRIEN, TREASURER

Thomas M. O´Brien has been a principal in Morningside Group, LLC, a consultancy, since 2024.  Prior to that, since 2018, he was principally a private investor and entrepreneur. He was Chief Executive Officer and a board member of TravelCenters of America LLC, from 2007 until 2017, and a senior executive with the RMR Group from 1996 through 2017. Mr. O´Brien serves on the board of directors of VirnetX Holding Corporation, a public company engaged principally in internet communications security, and of BAYArts, a cultural non-profit based in Ohio. Mr. O´Brien joined the Christian Relief Services Charities Board of Directors in 2008.

Robert J. Hisel, Jr. 

Robert Joseph Hisel, Jr. is a co-founder of Seneca Resources, Inc., where he focuses primarily on strategic planning and corporate growth. Prior to co-founding Seneca Resources, Mr. Hisel was the founder, President and CEO of Preferred Systems Solutions in McLean, Virginia. Mr. Hisel, who is involved with several non-profit and organizations and other philanthropic activities including the National Defense Transportation Association and the Northern Virginia Technology Council, has been a member of the Christian Relief Services Charities Board of Directors since June 2007.

Frank L. Stitely, C.P.A.

Mr. Stitely is a partner at Stitely & Karstetter, CPA. He graduated summa cum laude from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and received the Elijah Watt Sells certificate in recognition of his performance on the CPA Exam. Mr. Stitely serves small businesses and individuals in the areas of taxation, financial reporting and software support services. He is a certified accounting software consultant and trainer working primarily with Sage Software products. He formerly served as an officer for the Dulles Area Chamber of Commerce.

Rear Admiral Eric C. Jones, USCG (Ret.)

Admiral Jones served in the active-duty U.S. Coast Guard for over 36 years, having commanded three cutters (ships) and the Seventh District in Miami, Florida. He also served in key positions directing Budget, Human Resources, Congressional Affairs, and Operations Policy. Admiral Jones is a 1987 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marine Engineering, a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics from Brown University, and a Master of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership. He is also a graduate of the Naval War College. Admiral Jones joined the Christian Relief Services Charities Board of Directors in 2014.

The Right Rev. Ketlen A. Solak

Rev. Dr. Solak graduated from the Virginia Theological Seminary in May, 2005 and was ordained in the Diocese of Virginia in June of that year. She served as Associate Rector at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church from August, 2005 to November, 2014. During her tenure at St. Luke’s, Rev. Solak was active in the Alexandria, Virginia area non-profit community and joined the Christian Relief Services Charities Board of Directors in 2014. She is currently serving as the Covenant Rector of three Episcopal churches in Wilmington, Delaware.

Colonel (Ret) John F. Williams

John works with the Veterans Administration (VA) as a Management and Program Analyst with the Veteran Experience Office focused on leading programs to improve the Veteran’s customer experience. After retiring from active duty and prior to joining the VA, John worked with the Coca-Cola company as a global project manager, supporting the development of a corporate-wide system economics tool, which provided improved efficiencies for the Coca-Cola system value chain. While on active duty, he was instrumental in the development and implementation of the revised Blended Retirement System as a part of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Additionally, he is a member of the Economic Development Authority board of the City of Douglasville, Georgia. John earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology (GA Tech) and a Master of Business Administration degree from Capital University.

Elayne Silversmith

Elayne Silversmith is the Librarian at the Vine Deloria, Jr. Library with the National Museum of the American Indian’s Cultural Resources Center (NMAI, CRC) in Suitland, Maryland. The Cultural Resources Center is the home for the museum, library and archives collections and serves as a place for respectful learning, understanding, and sharing of Native knowledge and lifeways. She feels fortunate to be in a place where the Native worldview guides the mission for the museum and library. To her this is one meaning of Indian Self-Determination.
 

Loretta Afraid of Bear Cook

An enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Nation of the Pine Ridge Reservation, SD, Loretta is an elder and Medicine Carrier for her tiospaye (extended family).

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Ashley Shultz

Ashley Shultz is from the Tuscarora Nation, Snipe Clan. A 2012 graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo with a Bachelor’s degree in History where she also served as President of the Native American People’s Alliance. She has worked in the commercial residential industry, including as a Leasing Consultant for Christian Relief Services Residential (CRSC), a Property Manager for Bozzuto Management Company, and as a Service Manager in Benefits and Financial Strategies for the TrueNorth Companies. Ashley joined the Running Strong Advisory Committee in September 2022 and the Christian Relief Services Charities Board of Directors in June 2023.