Liberal Men of the Lowcountry
Connect, Engage, Discuss, Act
2023 LML Board of Directors
President: Richard Hammes
Richard is originally from Wisconsin but resided in the Chicago area for over 50 years. He has degrees from the University of Wisconsin, University of Chicago and Northern Illinois University. First 15 years of career he worked for the Illinois Dept. of Mental Health and the last 30 years as a management consultant focused on leadership, communication, performance and a range of other programs. He has resided in Hilton Head fulltime since late 2018. He was a founder of the LML in January 2014 and led the organization for five years. He volunteers with many organizations including VIM, Hopeful Horizons and Moms Demand Action.
Former Chair: Richard Moniuszko (ex-oficio, non-voting member)
Dr. Richard Moniuszko is a career educator, with more than 40 years serving public schools of Virginia, NC and SC, who happily retired to Hilton Head Island in 2016. His previous lives include:
· Associate Professor in Educational Leadership at George Mason University in Fairfax Virginia
· Interim Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent of Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools (the 10th largest and one of the highest performing school districts in the country)
· Interim Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent in Richland School District One in Columbia, SC, School and district leadership positions in Charlotte, NC, and Spartanburg (SC)
· He has been a consultant other school districts and to the College Board and served on the board of numerous non-profits, including his current 5-year tenure with Liberal Men of the Lowcountry.
Treasurer: Mark O'Neill
Expertise:
Leadership, leader education and development, national security, leading organizational change, strategic planning, expeditionary logistics, China and East Asia.
Experience:
Mark is a tested leader with extensive domestic and international experience in military, diplomatic, and corporate arenas. During a thirty-year career in the United States Army, he served in leadership positions from platoon through multi-national division level, with peacekeeping and combat deployments to Haiti, Afghanistan and Iraq. Pentagon service on the Army Staff honed skills in the development and implementation of strategic plans and policy. Mark also served in political-military assignments as an Army Foreign Area Officer in Hong Kong and as a Defense Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, China. He concluded his military career developing the nation’s future military leadership at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.
In business, he served in executive positions in the defense industry crafting corporate strategies in response to a rapidly changing global business environment. In 2015-2016, he led the massive logistics support effort (LOGCAP) for coalition forces in Afghanistan. As a business owner, he is a leadership development and organizational growth consultant assisting business leaders in their efforts to adapt and better serve their clients.
Mark serves as a Director on the board of Alphapointe, a non-profit corporation that is a national leader in providing rehabilitation services, training and career opportunities for blind Americans. He also serves on the advisory board of Dynamic Planning and Response, a leading veteran owned small business based in Hawaii.
Scholarly Work/Publications/Awards:
Mark led the U.S. Army’s effort to capture the lessons of the first phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the results of which were published in On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom (Fontenot et. al., Combat Studies Institute Press, 2004). He is the author of On Perspective and the United States Army (Military Review, July-August 1997). He has spoken to numerous U.S. and International military, business and government audiences on developing the transformational leaders required in dynamic and challenging environments. He has received numerous military awards.
Education:
National Security Fellow, Maxwell School, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York
CAPSTONE, U.S. National Defense University, Fort McNair, Washington DC
M.A., National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California
U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania
U.K. Ministry of Defence Chinese Language School (MODCLS), Hong Kong
U.S. Defense Language Institute, Monterey, California
U.S. Joint Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia
B.S., United States Military Academy, West Point, New York
Secretary: Michael Weingarten
My wife Janet and I have been married for 54 years and have 2 children and 4 grandchildren. We purchased our house in Port Royal Plantation in 2003 and became permanent South Carolina residents in 2009. I have a mathematics degree from the University of Pittsburgh. My corporate 30 year career was with IBM where I was a senior manager in their services organization followed by 17 years as a management instructor for Learning Tree International. I have volunteered in many of Hilton Head organizations including Habit for Humanity, Community Foundation Finance Committee, Congregation Beth Yam where I was president and also treasurer, Back Pack Buddies where I was treasurer and remain on their board, VIM, and LML where I have been a long time member and now am delighted to be secretary.
Member at Large: Jeff Ernico
Jeff is also a Pennsylvania native, originally from Allentown. He’s lived in the Lowcountry for four years and been a member of LML for that same amount of time. He’s a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh (Go Panthers!) and Temple University Law School. His career in PA includes serving as Deputy Attorney General for the PA Human Relations Commission, and Deputy AG for the Bureau of Consumer Protection as well as private law practice. He’s currently on the Board of Directors of Ashbury Atlantic Senior Services and currently serves on the LML Steering Committee as Chair of Community Outreach.
Member at Large: Beau Patterson
Judge Beau Patterson served as the Presiding Judge of the Denver County Court (the first African American Chief Presiding Judge in the Court’s history) He supervised the Court’s management team of 15, was hiring authority for the 300 court employees and 32 full and part-time judicial officers. J.D. University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado. 1974. B.A. Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. 1968. Licensed to practice law in the State of Colorado 1975. Martin Luther King Graduate Fellowship Recipient Colorado State University1969. Toastmaster’s International, Downtown Speakeasy Club “Toastmaster of the Year” Award. 2003. Sam Cary Bar Association Distinguished Jurist Award 2003.Member, Denver and Colorado Bar Associations (1975-2011)Chair, the Mayor of Denver’s Justice Center Planning Committee (1999-2000); Panelist on the American Bar Association’s “Ethics in the Public Sector” Seminar (1996); Chief Trial Judge, Hoffman Moot Court, University of Denver College of Law (1987); Trial Judge, National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA) Regional Institute (1991).Judge Patterson coached youth soccer for the Northeast Soccer Association for 13 seasons. Board of Directors of the Colorado Youth Soccer Association (1988-1990); Chair of the Selection Committee for the Denver Public Schools Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Denver, CO (1989-1994).
Member at Large: Mark Levy
Mark is another Philadelphia guy, although born in North Jersey. A graduate of University of Maryland and the Medical College of Pennsylvania, he practiced Internal Medicine for 42 years in Paoli, a suburb of Philadelphia. He and his wife, Linda, purchased their home here in 1986 and after Mark finally retired, they moved here in 2020. Shortly after that, Mark joined the LML so he would find friends with whom to have an intelligent conversation.
Member at Large: Doug Oblander
Doug Oblander spent his career in colleges and universities in a variety of administrative roles. He has worked at schools in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and South Carolina. In those roles he focused on Student Success and issues of how institutions could foster that success. He holds BSE and MS degrees from Emporia State University and an EdD from Indiana University. In 2019 he retired as the Vice Chancellor for Student Development at the University of South Carolina Beaufort
Member at Large: Frank Ward
Frank grew up in Queens, NY and Atlantic City, NJ. He majored in American History and would teach on every level from middle school through graduate school. He eventually got his Ph.D. from Columbia, but then switched to a thirty-plus year career as a Foreign Service Officer. He served in the U. S. Information Agency, USAID, and the State Department in such places as Afghanistan, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, India, Turkey, and El Salvador. Like Frank, his wife, Bonnie, is a retired Foreign Service Officer. They have children and grandchildren in Virginia and New Orleans, have owned a home in Hilton Head Plantation for over four years, but divide their time between HHI and Washington DC.
Member at Large: Doug Luba
High School physics teacher 1969-1976
HVAC contractor on Long Island 1976-2004
Semi -retired to Hilton Head 2004
Facility Engineer - Outpatient Surgery Center 2008-2016
Main interests - Tennis, Bridge, Biking, Family and Grandchildren. 2 Golden doodles