NEWS

Anita McGinty is a longtime volunteer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia. Dr. McGinty comes to the Club with 20+ years of experience in education and research. She began her work as a speech-language pathologist and, after receiving her Ph.D. in 2009, has served as an academic and education leader, influencing practice and policy at local, state, and national levels. In 2021, Anita left her position as an Associate Research Professor within the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Virginia (UVA), having led the data and research agenda for two state education partnerships (spanning children birth to third grade).

Anita is currently co-founding Innate Health Research (IHR), a start-up nonprofit, empowering grassroots mental health innovations through science and partnership. Dr. McGinty is thrilled to blend her experience in applied research and organizational leadership with this personal interest. IHR program partners are in the U.S. and U.K. and offer mental health and wellbeing initiatives across schools, businesses, within prisons, drug rehabilitation centers, and homeless shelters. All the programs emphasize creativity, clarity, and internal wisdom as cornerstones for healing, growth and change. IHR seeks to share their lessons and perspective more broadly by strengthening programs through data and research, fueling the growth of an evidence base through expert collaborations, and building a collective voice across their work through outreach and dissemination.

Edward Warwick White began his involvement with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Virginia when he joined the Big Gig committee in 2014, later chairing the event in 2016 and co-chairing again in 2018. Edward has been active as a volunteer and Co-Chair of Club Investors. Edward currently serves as the Assistant Dean of the Full-time MBA Program and Student Affairs at the University of Virginia’s Darden Graduate School of Business. Edward earned a Bachelor of Science degree in interdisciplinary studies and elementary education from Radford University and a Masters of Education in Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education from the University of Virginia. Edward has worked for the University of Virginia since 2008—previously with the Office of the Dean of Students and the McIntire School of Commerce. Having resided in Charlottesville since 2007, Edward is active in the local community and performing arts scene—as a director, designer, actor, and volunteer. Edward has served on the board of directors for Four County Players–Central Virginia’s longest running community theater for over ten years, currently serving as the Vice President of the Arts. He resides in Forest Lakes with his husband Gary and their Golden Retriever, Gatsby.

Mike Milligan is the retired Chief Executive of a diversified investment and industrial operating company. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sue has over thirty-five years of experience in clinical research and public health. She has held positions involved with the management and oversight of medical device and IVD clinical trials, clinical research strategy, and business development.
She worked most recently at Medtronic as a Senior Program Director, Clinical Research, Medical Science & Regulatory Affairs. Prior to joining Medtronic, she worked with the medical device industry at three CROs (Contract Research Organizations): ICON, Aptiv Solutions, and MDCI. Prior to joining the CRO world, she coordinated cardiovascular drug trials at Boston University Medical Center and managed public health programs at the American Heart Association, Massachusetts Affiliate, where she worked closely with staff, volunteers, and the community.
Susan is an active member of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP), where she served two terms on the Board of Trustees, founded and is past president of the Virginia Chapter, and continues to serve on the chapter’s steering committee and organize educational programs.
She has been a regional selection committee chair for UVA’s Jefferson Scholarship Program for 25 years, leading committees in both Boston and the Commonwealth.
Susan started a mentoring program for pre-adolescent girls, Learning Circles, at two Central Virginia Boys & Girls Clubs in partnership with the Junior League of Charlottesville. Learning Circles is in its 15th year, and pre-pandemic involved 20-30 girls per year, 15-20 mentors, and averaged 600 volunteer hours per year.
She holds a M.Ed. in Health Education from Boston University and a B.A. in Biology from the University of Virginia.

Ernie was born and raised in Palo Alto, California.  Upon graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, in 1987, he was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps.  Ernie served in the Marines for 20 years, in various capacities and all over the world.  After serving as an artillery officer with the First Marine Division, Ernie earned his J.D. from The George Washington University School of Law in 1994, and served as a judge advocate in the Marine Corps.  Highlights of his service include shipboard deployment as the Staff Judge Advocate to the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), 2000 – 2002 and as Commanding Officer of Region 3, Embassy Security Group, commanding the U.S. Marines guarding U.S. Embassies and other diplomatic missions in Asia, 2005 -2007.  He retired from military service in 2007, with the rank of lieutenant colonel.

Ernie has been practicing law in Central Virginia since 2007, first with the firm Tremblay and Smith and then, in 2016, as a proud partner with the firm Royer, Caramanis and McDonough.  Ernie focuses on family law (divorce, custody, pre and post nuptial agreements, property settlements) as well as military law (military justice, command relations, administrative and judicial tribunals, security clearances).  Ernie’s practice is based upon the motto “No better friend, no worse enemy.”

Ernie is a member of the Charlottesville – Albemarle Bar Association; the Virginia State Bar, where he has served on the Board of Governors of the Military Law Section; the Veterans of Foreign Wars, where he served as an officer of Post 1827; the Virginia Gators swim club, where he served as President for six years; and ParadeRest, a veterans’ service organization where he currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Ernie is the proud father of three fine young adults – scholars, swimmers and good citizens. He has been happily married since 2015 to Amy, a nurse. He enjoys watching and playing nearly all sports, the outdoors (fly fishing in particular), good books and movies, working in the yard and a glass of fine Bourbon whiskey.

Butch Girdley grew up in Indianapolis, IN and graduated from Center Grove High School as a football and track athlete. He also served as editor of the school newspaper and learned carpentry from his father. Butch served in the U.S. Army 1961-1967. He started a career in construction by framing apartments in 1966 with clients in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Butch moved to Virginia in 1984 through his construction business, and the company added land clearing and excavating projects. Three of his five children took over his framing business in 2007. Butch built houses until 2018.

Butch has been a member of the Blue Ridge Mountains Rotary Club since 1995, including service as president. He describes three community passions: the Rotary, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the Boys & Girls Club. His first experience with the Boys Club was in 1978, where he coached wrestling and competed with other Boys Clubs and Catholic grade schools. He also coached Little League baseball while his boys competed, and the St. Catherine CYO wrestling team.

Butch has been a BGCCVA volunteer for 12 years. His hobbies include reading, golfing, and traveling because he loves to learn new things. He is married to Ida Simmons and they live in southern Albemarle County.

Gineane grew up in Charlottesville and graduated from UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce in 1992. Shortly after college, she and her husband, Sean Stalfort, moved to New York City where Gineane worked in investment banking and insurance (Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, FGIC, MBIA and ContiFinancial).  After returning to Charlottesville, she has provided part-time consulting services to small businesses in the areas of computer systems, invoicing, marketing and website maintenance. Gineane is a valued volunteer leader with various local organizations including the Contemporary Club of Albemarle, The Emergency Food Bank, US Lacrosse, WAHS Lacrosse Club, and the Special Olympics.

Gineane’s greatest joy has been being involved in her three boys’ schools, sports, and extracurricular activities. Gineane and her family are avid UVA sports fans, especially basketball, lacrosse and football. Gineane enjoys working with computers, listening to podcasts, reading, making home movies and throwing dinner and themed parties.

Jason Kapp is a producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist who has toured extensively throughout the US with multiple acts. Originally from Michigan, he attended the University of Virginia and graduated in 1994. Jason served on the board of the Music Resource Center in Charlottesville from 2016-2021 and was president for his last two years. He currently owns and operates a recording/post-production facility near North Garden, and lives in southern Albemarle with his wife Connie and two boys.

Dr. Karen Schulder Rheuban serves as Professor of Pediatrics, Senior Associate Dean for Continuing Medical Education and External Affairs, and Director of the University of Virginia Center for Telehealth, which she co-founded in 1995. The Center serves as the hub of a 155 site telemedicine network in the Commonwealth of Virginia, funded in part, by federal and state grants and contracts, and has supported ambulatory and specialty patient visits, e-consults, remote patient monitoring services and thousands of hours of health professional and patient education.  UVA is the home of the HRSA funded Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center.  Dr. Rheuban is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Telemedicine Association.  She recently concluded two terms of service as chair of the Virginia Board of Medical Assistance Services (Medicaid).  She chaired the 2020 Virginia Department of Health/Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association’s COVID-19 Response Telehealth Working Group.  She led the Institute of Medicine Workshop on Telehealth, serves on the American Medical Association’s Digital Medicine Payment Advisory Group, and the AAMC Telehealth Advisory Committee.  Dr. Rheuban has previously testified before the US Senate, the US House of Representatives and the Virginia General Assembly regarding telehealth.   With Dr. Elizabeth Krupinski, she co-edited the text “Understanding Telehealth”.  Dr. Rheuban is listed in the “Best Doctors in America” database, and was profiled in the National Library of Medicine’s exhibit “Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians.”  In 2017, the University of Virginia recognized her with its Thomas Jefferson Award.

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Eric Dewane Johnson graduated from the University of Virginia, where he majored in psychology. He served as the City of Charlottesville first coordinator of the Victim/Witness Assistance Program in which he provided crisis intervention services and court preparation to victims and witnesses of violent crimes. One of his responsibilities was to educate students about establishing healthy relationships to prevent domestic violence. Eric developed an affinity for teaching youth.

After earning his Masters of Education from James Madison University, Eric entered the teaching profession as a science and math teacher. In 2001, he became an assistant principal at Prospect Heights Middle School in Orange County and then at Sutherland Middle School in Albemarle County. In 2004, Eric was appointed principal of Walton Middle School. In 2007, Eric was appointed principal of Buford Middle School where he served in that capacity for 11 years. During his tenure at Buford, Eric has played an instrumental role in the creation and implementation of the Buford Lab School for Advanced Manufacturing, including major renovations of the science labs, curriculum, and the inclusion of an Engineering courses for middle school students. He partnered with community representatives to create a schoolyard garden at Buford, which serves as a model for gardens throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. During his tenure at Buford, he implemented an athletic program, which now includes 11 sports. Eric enjoys working with people, especially middle school students.

In July 2018, he accepted a position as the principal of the Hospital Education Program, which is located at the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital. Eric is an adjunct professor at Mary Baldwin University in which he teaches courses to prepare teachers for the classroom. He has been a guest presenter for several classes at UVA, Mary Baldwin University, and Piedmont Virginia Community College. He has presented at numerous conferences, churches, and community gatherings.

Eric works collaboratively with various community agencies to ensure a successful middle school experience for students and their families. One of his proudest accomplishments is serving as one of founders of the Zion Union Tutoring Program, which provides free tutorial services to local youth twice a week. He serves on several boards throughout Charlottesville and has been a guest presenter at numerous workshops. He has been recognized by several agencies, including receiving the Alton L. Taylor Leadership Award (2013) and the Golden Trowel Award (2013). In 2007, Eric was recognized as one of the Distinguished Dozen by the Daily Progress.

Zion Union Baptist Church is very special to Eric as this is the place where he met his wife, Marcia. He enjoys attending and working in church.

He is married to Marcia Jones and they are the proud parents of two sons and seven grandchildren. In his spare time, Eric enjoys officiating sports (basketball, baseball, softball) and watching Westerns.

A graduate of Mississippi State University, Amanda had a career in Fashion
Merchandising from 1986 through 1999 designing men’s, women’s and children’s wear. A
resident of Charlottesville since 2018, Amanda has also resided in New Orleans (until 2005),
followed by New York City. She is currently on the President’s Council for the Gilder Lehman
Institute of American History, serves as a board member of Boardman Cottage an assisted living
residence in Islesboro, ME, and as an Executive Council member of the Monday Fund for No Kid
Hungry. She serves on the Executive Committee of the Paramount Theater and is chair of the
gala for the African Diaspora Consortium. We are lucky to have Amanda as the current
chair of the James River Boys & Girls Club Advisory Council. She and her husband, Gladstone
Jones, have a daughter, Charlotte, who is currently in her 3rd year at UVA.

Basketball great Ralph Lee Sampson, Jr. was born on July 7, 1960 in Harrisonburg, VA to the proud parents of Ralph & Sarah Sampson and the eldest of three children. Sampson credits his sound, small town upbringing in Harrisonburg, Virginia, as well as the love and support of his parents and high school basketball coach, for his success today. At a young age, Sampson learned both the importance of teamwork and leadership, as he led his high school basketball team to three state championships, becoming the most heavily-recruited prospect of his generation.

After high school, 7’4” Sampson went on to the University of Virginia where he posted an impressive 123-22 record, won a championship, and was voted National Player of the Year in three of his four seasons. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated an unprecedented six times in a span of less than four years. All the while, Sampson handled his fame with class and dignity, never putting himself above his teammates.

Upon receiving a B.A. in Communications, Sampson was selected by the Houston Rockets as the Number One pick in the NBA Draft. As a rookie, he averaged 21 points and 11 rebounds and won the NBA Rookie of the Year. A five-time All Star during his career with the Rockets, he led his team to the NBA Finals in 1986. He went on to play for the Golden State Warriors and completed his NBA career with the Sacramento Kings. He has been inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011, and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.

During his professional career and afterwards as a coach at James Madison University, Sampson began to realize his calling for teaching and mentoring children, beginning with the “Winners Circle,” an organization Sampson founded to help youth in various cities. Sampson trained and prepared children as both players and people. As he watched kids turn F’s into A’s, Sampson was inspired to create his trademark program: Motivation, Attitude, Plan for success [MAP].

Whether nurturing a business or working with kids, Ralph Sampson’s guiding principle is the same: give back and stand for something. This college basketball legend and retired NBA great has made a second career out of doing just that as the founder of the Winner’s Circle Enterprises & the Sampson Family Foundation, organizations devoted to consulting, business development, motivational speaking & more importantly; the support & mentoring of our youth in education, career & social development.

Damien Banks brings communities together through dance, sports, community organizations and media production. He is founder of the Banks Collage Basketball Association and co-founder (with his wife) of the dance company Elite Empire, as well as a football, track and basketball coach for more than a decade in and around Charlottesville. His work with hundreds of children through the Monticello Football League, City Basketball League, and Charlottesville Track Club resulted in league and state championship level competitions. Damien is known throughout the community as a videographer and frequently appears on Facebook Live, radio, and other media coverage in support of the BCBA and Elite Empire. For fun, Damien rides a longboard and lifts weights with his son. Damien lives in Albemarle County with his wife, Shawna, and their two
children.

Melissa has recently returned to the University of Virginia as the John Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business and Professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. She is the former Head of Global Diversity and Belonging at Airbnb, where she led the strategy and execution of their global internal diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging programs and retains an external senior advisor role focused on advancing connection and belonging research. Immediately prior to her role at Airbnb, Melissa served as Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence and Professor of Management in the Owen School of Management at Vanderbilt University. Prior to that, Melissa served as global chief diversity officer and faculty at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business where she led the Women in Leadership executive education program and was the founding academic director of the BRAD lab. She has also held faculty appointments at Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, where she was a member of the faculty for nine years, and also taught at Northwestern’s Kellogg School, Washington University’s Olin School of Business, and Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Melissa has been actively engaged in nonprofit board service. She currently serves on the board of Airbnb.org and has previously been a board member at The Center for Nonprofit Excellence, The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, Piedmont CASA, The Center for Dispute Resolution, and the Women’s Opportunity Center.

Dr. B. Cameron Webb is a physician and lawyer who works at the intersection of health and social justice. He is an Assistant Professor in the University of Virginia School of Medicine, where he serves as the Director of Health Policy and Equity and works as a hospitalist. His work at UVA includes a combination of clinical care, research and teaching courses in the MD and MPH programs. Previously, he completed a year as a 2016-17 White House Fellow. In his time at the White House spanning the Obama and Trump administrations, his portfolio included education, workforce and criminal justice reform work through President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative, as well as White House healthcare policy work in both administrations. Dr. Webb is a passionate champion for health equity and is committed to advocating for the health needs of underserved and marginalized communities. He has served on several non-profit boards and is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Doctors for America. He received a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies as an Echols Scholar at the University of Virginia, a J.D. and health law certificate from Loyola University Chicago School of Law, and an M.D. from Wake Forest School of Medicine.