Board of Trustees

Mr. Charlie Davidson

Charlie Davidson has served as Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of J.A. Jones Construction Company in Charlotte, NC. He also served as an office engineer at the Charles H. Tompkins Company in Washington, D.C., the vice president and manager at Metric Constructors in Charlotte, and the president at Tiber Construction Company, Fairfax, Virginia. In addition, Davidson has served on several boards and is formerly a member of the Construction Industry Roundtable. Currently, Charlie Davidson and his wife, Joanne, reside in Charlotte. They have three grown children.

Ms. H. Claire Efird

Ms. H. Claire Efird is the former owner of the Salt Shaker Bookstore & Café, a current resident of Wilmington, NC, and a homeowner in Montreat, NC. She is on the Missions Committee at Christ Community Church in Wilmington and volunteers at the Lifeline Pregnancy Center. Her other interests include reading, traveling, and Montreat. Ms. Efird also serves on the Montreat College’s Foundation Board.

Mrs. Leila N. Erwin

Le Erwin is the former president of Morris Investment Company and is the retired owner of a boutique in Morganton, N.C., after thirty years in retail and forty years in real estate. She graduated from Salem College and worked at Montreat College from 1974 to 1976. She and her husband, Clark, live in Morganton, close to their four grown children and grandchildren; and they attend Faith Presbyterian Church.

Ms. K. Anne Gant

Ms. Katherine “Anne” Gant is a former administrator and instructor at Montreat College. Her mother, Rose Ann Gant, served on the Montreat College Board of Trustees for over a decade. Ms. Gant lives in Burlington, North Carolina, and also owns a home in Montreat. She attends Church of the Redeemer in Greensboro, and serves on the board of the Alamance County Historical Museum. Ms. Gant’s other interests include crafting stained glass and wild flowering with her mother.

Mr. Edward Graham

Edward Graham graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served 16 years in the U.S. Army. While in service he spent time overseas in combat deployment with special operations and held various leadership positions. After experiencing a call to return home in the winter of 2019, Edward began working for Samaritan’s Purse, where he serves as the Chief Operating Officer. Graham is the son of Franklin and Jane Graham and the grandson of Billy Graham. He and his family reside in the mountains of North Carolina.

Dr. Jeffery E. Heck

Dr. Jeffery E. Heck is the former president and CEO of the Mountain Area Health Education Center (MAHEC) in Asheville, North Carolina. Dr. Heck is a professor of family medicine with UNC-Chapel Hill and associate dean for the Asheville campus of the UNC School of Medicine, which he founded in 2008. He currently serves on five regional or national boards. Dr. Heck and his wife, Cathy, have five children and 10 grandchildren. He serves as Chair of the Board of Trustees of Montreat College.

Mr. Tyler Johnson

Tyler Johnson, a native of NC, works for Hendrick Motors in Charlotte, the largest privately held automotive retail organization in the United States. There, he serves as general manager of the Hendrick Mercedes-Benz dealership and has successfully led the turnaround of that dealership. He also has a keen interest in Christian education and Christian apologetics and lives in Charlotte with his wife Emily and their six children.

Mr. Ned J. Kiser

Mr. Ned Kiser is principal of Ned J. Kiser Consulting, Inc., through which he is coordinating Montreat College’s facilities master planning process. He previously served as vice president for advancement at Huntington University in Indiana, where he led the University’s first major capital campaign—achieving commitments of more than $50 million. Mr. Kiser worked for 21 years in the electronics industry as an engineer and in various management roles. He and his wife, Robin, live in Lake Lure, N.C.

Ambassador Philip Kosnett (Ret.)

Ambassador Philip S. Kosnett retired from the U.S. Department of State in 2021 following a career representing the United States in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. In senior assignments including Ambassador to Kosovo and acting/deputy ambassador in Turkey, Uzbekistan, and Iceland, he developed a record of success as a strategist, negotiator, and leader. Since leaving federal service, he has taken on roles in consulting, policy analysis, higher education, and humanitarian crisis response. He has also recently re-embraced his first career, from his student days, as a board game designer.

Phil and his wife Alison, a development expert with extensive international experience, are also involved in the humanitarian effort to evacuate and resettle endangered Afghans. The Kosnetts have an adult son and daughter and share their Black Mountain home with rescue dogs from Kosovo and Uzbekistan.

Rev. Dr. George K. Logan

Rev. Dr. George K. Logan is a pastor at New Day Christian Church in Morganton, NC. He serves on the board of the Strategic Alliance for Burke Youth and is a hospice, youth coach, and school volunteer. His other interests include swimming, biking, and reading.

Mr. Steve McCay

Steve McCay is the Chief Operating Officer for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) in Charlotte. He also serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for Billy Graham Evangelistic Association LTD and Samaritan’s Purse LTD in the UK. Prior to BGEA, Steve spent most of his professional career with Sonoco Products Company in various finance and administrative positions. His experience includes mergers and acquisitions, business analysis and improvement, purchasing best practices, legal, information technology, and global organization management. Steve holds a BA degree in accounting from Tennessee Tech University. He and his wife, Linda, have two sons, who are both married, and four grandchildren.

Mr. Richard Milam

Richard Milam had a varied career, ranging from working with classified material in the Navy, to working for the inventor of the ATM as an implementer of ATM networks around the world. Over time, Richard’s specialty became Artificial Intelligence in the banking sector, helping to improve automation efficiency. Richard served as founder and CEO of EnableSoft, an Inc. 5000 company and developer of Robotic Process Automation “robot” software known as Foxtrot. Over 500 organizations use Foxtrot by EnableSoft technology to automate tasks inside of almost any software application. Milam and his wife, Katharine, share their time between Orlando, FL, and Burnsville, NC.

Mr. Jim Moore

Jim Moore was a turnaround executive in the soft drink bottling business. Throughout his time as president and COO, spanning from 1987 to his retirement in 2000, Moore led a remarkable resurrection of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated (CCBCC). He brings seasoned executive leadership experience, particularly as a turnaround CEO/COO, as well as a strong expertise in finance and an analytical mind regarding risk management and strategic planning. Moore has also served on the Museum of the Bible Board and adds to the growing number of strong trustees in the Charlotte metro area, where he retired with his wife, Sue.

Mr. Roger A. Oxendale

Roger Oxendale is the recently retired president and CEO of the Covenant Ministries of Benevolence in Chicago, IL. He has also served as the founding president of Nemours Children’s Hospital, senior vice president for Nemours Foundation, CEO of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, president of the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, and senior consultant for strategic partnerships at MAHEC. Roger currently serves on the Covenant Trust Company board and as the chair of the Blood Science Foundation board, a research fund raising subsidiary of Vitalant. He has served on several other boards in the past. He and his wife, Diane, reside in Nebo, NC. Mr. Oxendale is currently the vice chair of the Board of Trustees.

Mr. Bill Shipley

Mr. Bill Shipley is a former businessman who was involved with the founding of several companies such as Shipley Enterprises, Inc., Incon-Therapy, American Direct Response Corporation, Cordura Marketing Inc., National Liberty Marketing, and Baker, Rakich, Shipley and Politzer, Inc. He also served as the president for many of these companies. Mr. Shipley began his career in 1954 and rose from salesman to become the youngest national sales/marketing manager in Procter & Gamble’s history. He has served on boards of various organizations which include Fuller Theological Seminary, Youth for Christ USA, Montreat-Anderson College, Stony Brook School, and the Board of Visitors at Davidson College, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. Mr. Shipley and his late wife Peggy were married for 61 years and together had four children. He now also has eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren and currently lives in Charlotte where he is a Ruling Elder at Forest Hill Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Ed Skoudis

Ed Skoudis is a security consultant with International Network Services. He has performed numerous security assessments, designed secure network architectures, and responded to computer attacks for clients in financial, high technology, healthcare, and other industries. Ed has conducted a demonstration of hacker techniques against financial institutions for the United States Senate and is a frequent speaker on issues associated with hacker tools and defenses. He is the founder of the SANS Penetration Testing Curriculum and Counter Hack and serves as President of SANS Technology Institute. He has published several articles on cybersecurity and is the author of Counter Hack: A Step-by-Step Guide to Computer Attacks and Effective Defenses and Malware: Fighting Malicious Code.

Mrs. Suzanne Ross Sloan

Mrs. Suzanne Sloan resides in Montreat, North Carolina. She is a member of Christ Community Church (EPC) in Montreat and is a retired elder of the PCUSA church. She is also a past president of the Women of the Church (PCUSA) and served on the Missions Committee of the PCUSA. She serves on the board of directors for Bible Study Fellowship International. Her other interests include her two children and four grandchildren, bridge, walking, and the Montreat community.

Rev. Dr. David Swanson

The Rev. Dr. David D. Swanson is the Senior Pastor and Head of Staff at First Presbyterian Church of Orlando, FL. Born and raised in Dallas, TX, Dr. Swanson received his Master of Divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and his Doctor of Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. An active community leader, Dr. Swanson serves on numerous boards. He is the author of four books and is active in speaking for conferences and retreats around the country, especially in the area of marriage and family. He and his wife, Leigh, have been married for more than 30 years and have three adult children: John David, Alex, and Kaylee.

Rev. Dr. Mark Toone

Rev. Dr. Mark Toone serves as the senior pastor of Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church (EPC) in Gig Harbor, Washington. Dr. Toone is a leader within the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) and served for 23 years as a trustee at Whitworth University, a fellow institution in the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). Mark is deeply committed to Christ-centered education and its strategic role for the Church. He has been married to his wife, Cyndi for 33 years. They have two adult children, including their daughter, Rev. Rachel Toone, who serves as Montreat College’s Dean of Spiritual Formation.

Mrs. Lynne P. Veerman

Mrs. Lynne P. Veerman is a retired office manager and bookkeeper and manages their family trusts. She is a current resident of Orlando, Florida. She has been an elder and mentor for young moms at First Presbyterian Church, Orlando, and is currently a welcome team member. She is also a member of the Homeowners Association Board in both Florida and Colorado and a tutor at Legends Academy and Frontline Outreach in Orlando. She previously served on the Montreat College Board of Trustees from 1995-2005 and 2006-2015 before re-joining the board in 2016. Her interests include gardening, golf, hiking, and biking. Lynne and her husband, Ralph, have four children and 10 grandchildren, including one married granddaughter, who are located in Florida, Virginia and Washington.

Mr. Yasser Youssef

Yasser Youssef has over three decades of experience in leadership, development, management, and strategic planning, including more than 15 years as a staffing industry executive with Fortune 1000 companies. Today, he is the president and CEO of The Budd Group. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Yasser has served on the board of the Building Service Contractors Association International (BSCAI) since 2010. He also serves on the board of the National Service Alliance (NSA). Yasser is involved in a variety of community activities such as Love Out Loud and his local church. He also speaks and writes on various topics related to leadership, which can be viewed on his blog, “The Path to Lead.