Ward Petty, Chair
Mr. Petty is the Chair of the Institute’s Board of Directors. He and his wife, Nancy, chaired the StarNight fundraiser in 2007. Mr. Petty founded the local office of A.G. Edwards, now Wells Fargo Advisors, in 1991. He oversees more than $200 million of his clients’ assets and is a perennial member of the firm’s Chairman’s Council. Mr. Petty is a lifelong Chattanooga native and has served numerous service organizations since his days as a McCallie School student. He has served as president of McCallie School’s Alumni Council, a member of its Board of Trustees and Planned Giving Committee and was twice chairman of McCallie’s Annual Sustaining Fund. He is a past president of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Alumni Board, a former member of its Executive Committee and member of the UC Foundation. Mr. Petty was co-founder and former board member of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of East Tennessee/North Georgia. He also serves on the boards of Memorial Healthcare Foundation and WTCI, Chattanooga’s PBS affiliate station. In years past, he has served as a board member of Creative Discovery Museum, Bethel Bible Village and the American Red Cross and the Partnership for Families, Children & Adults, as well as president of the Fairyland Club and as a city councilman for the town of Lookout Mountain, Tenn.

F. Scott LeRoy, Esq., Vice Chair
Mr. LeRoy is an attorney with LeRoy Hurst & Bickerstaff PLLC, a legal practice covering a wide range of business ventures, insolvency matters, commercial litigation and small estate planning and administration. He is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association and the Chattanooga Bar Association.

Mr. LeRoy is president elect and a member of the Executive Committee of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) Alumni Board. He also serves on the UTC Advisory Board for the College of Business Administration and the UT Alumni Association Board of Governors. He is treasurer of the board of the Mid South Commercial Law Institute. Mr. LeRoy also served as a board member for RE:START – The Center for Adult Education (formerly READ Chattanooga) and is a former board chair of Saint Barnabas Nursing Home and Apartments.

Jo Ann Yates, Secretary 
Mrs. Yates is an active community volunteer, serving on the boards of Siskin Hospital for Rehabilitation, the University of Chattanooga Foundation and St. Nicholas School. 

Tom White, Treasurer
Mr. White is senior vice president of Investor Relations for Unum Group. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Chattanooga and his current board positions include United Way of Chattanooga, the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Chattanooga.  He previously was a member of the boards for the Urban League and The Partnership for Families, Children and Adults. 

David I. Binder, Immediate Past Chair
Mr. Binder is the Immediate Past Chair of the Institute’s Board of Directors and the grandson of Institute co-founder Mose Siskin. He is the assistant vice president of finance for Siskin Steel & Supply Company.

Senator Andy Berke
Senator Berke is a partner in the law firm of Berke, Berke & Berke.  Since November, 2007, he has been the Tennessee State Senator for 10^thDistrict. He serves on the Education Committee as well as being a member of the Transportation Committee.  In 2008, he was appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen to the State Workforce Development Board. He is also a member of the Tennessee Holocaust Commission. In addition, he was nominated by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation to attend its Emerging Leaders Program at the Darden School at the University of Virginia Business School and selected for the international Young Leader Program by the American Council on Germany. The Southeast Tennessee Development District selected him as Legislator of the Year for 2010 and he has won the Nature Votes Award from the Tennessee Conservation Voters and Outstanding Senator of the Year by the Tennessee County Officials Association.

Senator  Berke is a past President of the Chattanooga Trial Lawyers Association and was a charter member of the local chapter of the Inns of Court. Currently, he serves as a board member for the local public television station, WTCI, Goodwill Industries of Chattanooga, and the Chattanooga Nature Center.  At Normal Park Museum Magnet, he has been on the PTA board and worked on the Superintendent’s Parent Advisory Committee.  He has held volunteer positions at the Children’s Advocacy Center, the Creative Discovery Museum, and Allied Arts of Chattanooga.

Alexis Bogo
Mrs. Bogo is the executive director of Hamico Foundation, a charitable organization affiliated with Chattem, Inc. She previously served as the co-chair of StarNight, the Institute’s largest annual fundraiser. Mrs. Bogo currently serves on the boards for Memorial Health Care System Foundation, the Chattanooga Theatre Center and St. Peter’s Episcopal School. She previously held board positions for the Alexian Brothers Foundation, Creative Discovery Museum, the Hamilton County Humane Educational Society and the Children’s Home/Chambliss Shelter.

Marvin Hall, M.D.
Dr. Hall is medical director of T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga. He is also a pediatric intensivist and the clinical chairman for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga School of Medicine.

Kathleen Hunt, M.D.
Dr. Hunt graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Science in 1990. She later graduated from Vanderbilt University’s School of Medicine in 1994 and completed a residency and chief residency in pediatrics at the Baylor College of Medicine in 1999. She returned to Harvard and obtained an MBA in 2001.

Dr. Hunt is a pediatrician with Erlanger Medical Center and a faculty member at The University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga. She has served as a board member for Bright School, the Trust for Public Land and the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy.

Roy Keith, Ph.D. 
Dr. Keith is chairman of BLOC Global Services Group, LLC.  He previously served in executive positions with Almanac Capital Management, Stonington Partners and Carson Products Company. 

A graduate of Morehouse College, Dr. Keith holds master’s and doctorate degrees from Indiana University. He has served as chancellor of the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education, as the president of Morehouse College and as a vice president at the University of Maryland. He also served as an associate dean and assistant professor at Dartmouth College.

Locally, Dr. Keith is a member of the board of directors of the University of Chattanooga Foundation.  He is a past member of the board of directors of the Baylor School, the Hunter Museum of American Art, the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and the Chattanooga Zoo. In Savannah, he served on the boards of the Telfair Museum of Art, the Savannah Economic Development Authority, the United Way, the Savannah Symphony and the Community Foundation.  He was a charter member of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. Dr. Keith is also a board member of Mentor, a National Mentoring Program and a past member of the board of the National Committee for the Performing Arts of the John F. Kennedy Center. 

Carla Morgan
Mrs. Morgan is the co-owner and buyer for 2nds in Building Materials, Inc., which operates nine Southeastern Salvage Home Emporium locations. She previously served as the co-chair of StyleWorks, one of the Institute’s largest annual fundraisers. She serves on the boards of the Aim Center and the McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center, and she previously served on the board of the Chattanooga Theatre Center. 

Larry Parks
Mr. Parks is the president of T.U. Parks Construction Company in Chattanooga. He serves as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Tri State Carpenters Fringe Benefit Funds. He is a national life director of AGC of America, a member of the Rotary Club of Chattanooga and the chairman of the finance committee of Our Lady of the Mount Catholic Church. Mr. Parks is married and is the father of two sons. 

John Pregulman
Mr. Pregulman is a Chattanooga native, father of four and grandson of Garrison Siskin, co-founder of the Institute. He is a graduate of McCallie School and has a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Economics from Vanderbilt University. After college, he worked for Republic Steel Corporation in Cleveland, Ohio and as a professional photographer in New York City. In 1985, he returned to Chattanooga and rejoined Siskin Steel & Supply Company, ultimately becoming the president and COO and working for the company until 2004. While living in Chattanooga, Mr. Pregulman was involved in various civic and professional organizations. He was a Chattanooga Rotarian, is a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga, and served on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce, Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation, the Steel Service Center Institute, First Tennessee Bank, Bright School, Bnai Zion Synagogue and the Jewish Community Federation. He also is a past board member of Alpha Steel Corporation in Chicago, Ill.

He moved to Denver, Colo. in 2000. While living in Denver, he has had various business interests and now is a private investor and senior finance manager for the The Restaurant Source.

Currently, Mr. Pregulman is a member of the Board of the Allied Jewish Apartments, Anti-Defamation League, Shalom Park (a retirement community) and Citywide Banks. He also was a member of Leadership Denver and the Colorado Chapter of Young Presidents Organization.

Mervin Pregulman
Mr. Pregulman  is a former All-American football player for the University of Michigan Wolverines and for the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and New York Bulldogs. He went on to a successful business career as the president and CEO of Siskin Steel & Supply Co. in Chattanooga, Tenn. In 1982, Mr. Pregulman was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame, and he has received the Gerald R. Ford Award from the University of Michigan for Excellence in Scholarship, Sport & Society. 

James R. Shire, M.D., FACS
Dr. Shire is Board Certified by the American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, The American Board of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgeons, and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. For eight years Dr, Shire was in a private Facial Cosmetic Surgery practice in Boca Raton, Fla. He was also on the teaching faculty at the University of Miami Hospitals. Dr. Shire was then appointed Director of Facial Plastic Surgery at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center in New York, where he had an academic and private practice.
 
Dr. Shire has published papers in professional journals and written many chapters for books on facial plastic surgery. Dr. Shire's national reputation keeps him in demand for lectures, personal appearances, and private consultations.
 
In an effort for an improved lifestyle in addition to searching for a community to raise a family in, Dr. Shire relocated to Chattanooga. He has served on the boards of a variety of philanthropic organizations, including FACES: The National Craniofacial Association, the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Florida. Dr. Shire also is a member of several professional organizations including the Tennessee Medical Association, the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Survey and the American College of Surgeons.

Robert Siskin
Mr. Siskin is the son of Institute co-founder Mose Siskin, and previously served in positions at Siskin Steel & Supply Co., the Chattanooga Jewish Federation and the B’nai Zion Synagogue. He is a board member of the Urban League of Chattanooga, the Public Education Foundation, the B’nai Zion Synagogue and the Chattanooga Jewish Federation.

Robert Snetman
Mr. Snetman is the senior director of peripheral property for CBL & Associates Properties, Inc., one of the largest developers of retail shopping centers in the United States. He serves as chair of the Institute’s Development Committee and as past chairman of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Chattanooga.

Bill Wilder
Mr. Wilder is a native of Chattanooga and graduate of Chattanooga High School and Middle Tennessee State University. He began his career in the insurance industry in 1975 at Huffaker & Associates, later serving as CEO of Huffaker & Trimble until the local company was acquired by BB&T Bank in February 2005. Currently Mr. Wilder serves as VP./agency manger of BB&T Huffaker & Trimble. He serves on the boards of the United Way, the Chamber of Commerce, Bible in the Schools and the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga. Mr. Wilder is an elder at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church.

Advisory Committee

Claire Siskin Binder
Mrs. Binder is an active community volunteer, serving in board positions with the B’nai Zion Synagogue and Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation. She is a past board member of the Chattanooga Symphony Opera Association and a past president of the Jewish Community Federation of Greater Chattanooga.

A.V. “Terry” Blunt
Mr. Blunt is the vice president of Human Resources for Olan Mills, Inc. He serves as an elder for Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church.

Peter T. Cooper
Mr. Cooper served as treasurer of the Siskin Foundation for 29 years. He is a member of a number of advisory committees as well as serving as president of the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, Inc., and the chairman of the board of the Chattanooga Tumor Clinic at Erlanger Medical Center. Mr. Cooper previously served on the boards of the University of Chattanooga Foundation and a number of other charities.

Carl Henderson
Mr. Henderson began his career in public accounting 1975 and is now a partner in the firm of Henderson Hutcherson & McCullough, PLLC. He has served as an expert witness before the U.S. Tax Court and U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Mr. Henderson is a former revenue agent for the Internal Revenue Service. His professional and civic affiliations include the American Institute of CPAs, the Tennessee Society of CPAs, a member of the TSCPA Federal Tax Committee and a past president and board member of the Estate Planning Council of Chattanooga.

Sam E. Miles, Jr.
Mr. Miles is a past board member of the Siskin Foundation, Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation and Pioneer Bank. He is a past treasurer and member of the Board of Trustees of the Hunter Museum of American Art and a past president of the Chattanooga Symphony Association. Mr. Miles retired as vice president of Mortgage Loans and Real Estate for Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company.

C.A. “Red” Parks
Mr. Parks is a second generation contractor and chairman of the board of T. U. Parks Construction Company, a regional construction firm headquartered in Chattanooga. He is a past chairman of the board of Siskin Children’s Institute and been involved with the foundation and institute for many years. Mr. Parks is a graduate of Central High School and a World War II veteran. He is a past president of the Cherokee Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America and was active in the Associated General Contractors of America at the local, state and national level during his construction career.

Ross I. Schram II
Mr. Schram is a lawyer and shareholder of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC. He currently serves as an elder and trustee at Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church in addition to being vice chairman of the boards of The Childrens' Home/Chambliss Shelter, Fortwood Center and Volunteer Community School. Mr. Schram also chairs the Allocations Committee of the United Way and serves on its Board and Executive Committee.  He is a past chairman of the Institute’s Board of Directors.