The Coast Guard Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to the education and welfare of all Coast Guard members and their families, announced today the addition of six new trustees to its board. The Coast Guard Foundation Board of Directors and Trustees governs the organization and promotes the Foundation’s mission of support to the United States Coast Guard. Each will serve three-year terms, commencing in 2019. In addition, a Vice-Chair and Secretary were elected to serve one-year terms.
The new trustees and officers include:
Scott Cooper is president of Crescent Towing & Salvage Co., Inc. headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana and executive vice president of Cooper/T. Smith Corporation headquartered in Mobile, Alabama. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Crescent Towing & Salvage Co., Inc. and Cooper/T. Smith Corporation. Cooper is also a board member for the Billfish Foundation and serves on the Iberia Bank Mobile Advisory Board. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama. Cooper and his family call Point Clear, Alabama home.
John Doherty is a private wealth advisor with Goldman Sachs & Co, LLC. He is a graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY, holds a law degree from Fordham University School of Law and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to earning his MBA, he was deployed worldwide as a merchant marine engineering officer and served as counsel for Navios Corporation. Doherty is a member of the American Bureau of Shipping. He and his family reside in New Jersey.
John Parrott is president of Foss Maritime in Seattle, having previously served as president of TOTE Maritime Alaska, Foss’ sister company. Parrott serves on the Seaman’s Services Board of Directors and is the chairman for the Annie Wright Schools’ Board of Trustees. A strong believer in communities and education, Parrott is also active with The Boys & Girls Clubs of South Puget Sound’s Great Futures scholarship program. Parrott holds a bachelor’s degree in marine transportation from the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York and an MBA from Seattle University, and is a licensed master in the U.S. Merchant Marines. He and his family live in Tacoma, Washington.
Cory E. Quarles is president of SeaRiver Maritime, Inc. and has spent over twenty years with ExxonMobil and its affiliates in a variety of roles, most recently the ExxonMobil Alaska Production Manager, where he managed the company’s upstream business interests. Throughout his career, he has continued to serve on the boards of trade associations and non-profit community organizations. A native of Houston, Texas, Quarles holds a chemical engineering degree from Texas A&M University.
Jeffrey R. Scholz is the owner and manager of Scholz Associates, LLC, a property management company with interest in Florida, North Carolina, Maryland and the Washington DC area. Scholz served in the Coast Guard Reserves, is an avid sailor and is a member of several yacht clubs, including Annapolis, Eastport, Storm Trysail and Charlotte Harbor. He’s active in Annapolis-area and West Palm Beach, Florida civic and business organizations and is a member of US Sailing. A graduate of Lehigh University, he and his family reside in West Palm Beach and Annapolis, Maryland.
Richard M. Symons is a retired Coast Guard Reserve Commander, having served in the Coast Guard Reserve from 1979-2009. Returning to active duty in 1995, he was assigned to the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area Operations Staff, and later served as Chief of Personnel Serves at Integrated Support Command, San Pedro. His final assignment was Director of Auxiliary, Eleventh Coast Guard District southern region, where he was responsible for the promotion, operation and administration of Auxiliary affairs, for over 1,800 Coast Guard Auxiliary members in southern California, Arizona, Utah, and Nevada. Currently, Richard and his wife are owners/operators of Mannara Properties LLC which owns and manages multiple industrial properties in the Los Angeles area. They are also actively involved in the CHOC (Children’s Hospital of Orange County) Children’s Foundation. Mr. Symons resides in Irvine, California.
R. Christian Johnsen was elected to fill the role of Vice-Chair on the Coast Guard Foundation Board of Directors. He has served on the Board since 1998 and previously served as Secretary. He is the managing partner of the Washington office of Jones Walker LLP. Johnsen holds a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia, and he earned his Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Tulane University Law School in 1985. A native of New Orleans, Johnsen and his family now reside in the Washington, DC area.
Duncan C. Smith III was elected to fill the role of Secretary on the Coast Guard Foundation Board of Directors. He has been a member of the Coast Guard Foundation's board since 2011. He is President of Smith Advocacy Group, LLC where he engages primarily in a legislative and administrative government relations practice representing clients with business, legislative and regulatory challenges and opportunities in connection with a wide range of issues. He has decades of experience in the public arena, has taught appropriations and fiscal law, and previously was a staff counsel to the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee and a U.S. delegation congressional advisor to the International Maritime Organization. He is also a retired Coast Guard Reserve Rear Admiral and serves on the boards of and volunteers at several non-profit organizations. Smith splits his time between Washington DC and Alaska.
To learn more about the Coast Guard Foundation or to help support its work, please visit www.coastguardfoundation.org.
