Board of Trustees

Since its inception, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship Trust Fund has extended it's reach to hundreds of scholars thanks in large part to its dedicated group of volunteer Board Members. The current board has combined over 120 years of service to the organization with tenure ranging from 47 years to under one year.

PRESIDENT

Birse Timmons

Head, Engineering and Fleet Support Division, Naval Undersea Warfare Center

VICE PRESIDENT
Rachelle Saliki
Associate Director Quality Assurance, Taconic Biosciences

TREASURER
Marie Carmenati
First Vice President/ Retail Lending Underwriting Manager,
Chelsea Groton Bank

FINANCIAL SECRETARY
Christine Conley
Attorney, McGann, Bartlett & Brown, LLC

RECORDING SECRETARY

Zakkyya Williams

Founder & Principal Consultant, Main Street Creative

TRUSTEE

James E. Mitchell, PhD

Superintendent, Groton Public Schools, Retired

TRUSTEE

Andrea Ackerman, EdD

Principal, Cutler Middle School, Retired

TRUSTEE

Joe Garcia

Manager of Engineering, Ship Control and Monitoring Systems, General Dynamics Electric Boat

TRUSTEE
Megan Gilbert
Vice President, Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut

TRUSTEE

Henry Kydd

Assistant Principal, East Lyme High School

TRUSTEE
Margaret Milnes
Vice President of Visitor Journey, Mystic Seaport Museum

TRUSTEE

Karen Walters, PhD

Associate Research Fellow, Pfizer Global Research and Development

TRUSTEE

Michael Shapiro

Attorney, Founding Member

EMERITI BOARD MEMBERS

Dr. David Blackwell, Director, Safety Sciences, Pfizer, Inc.

Jane Lassen Bobruff, Community Volunteer

Ulysses B. Hammond, Vice President of Administration, Connecticut College, Retired

Donetta Hodge, Compliance Officer, Sonalysts, Inc., Retired

Reid MacCluggage, Editor & Publisher, The Day, Retired

Marge Poulios, Regional Manager, VP, Chelsea Groton Bank, Retired

Verna Swann, Patient Relations Manager, L+M Hospital, Retired

James R. Vest, D.D.S., Retired

Ronald Williams, VP, MetLife Auto/Home, Retired

Marilyn Percy, United Technologies Corporation, Retired

Mary Jane McLaughlin, Interim Chief Human Resources Officer, Lesley University