Board Member Bios
Robert G. Miles, Chair. Bob was President and Chief Executive Officer of Lutheran Child and Family Service of Michigan. Dr. Miles is a graduate of Concordia University, River Forest, Illinois. He holds a Master of Science Degree in Exceptional Education from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, specializing in the care and education of emotionally disturbed children. In 1990, Concordia University, River Forest, Illinois, named him Alumnus of the Year. In May 2006, Concordia University, Ann Arbor, Michigan, recognized Dr. Miles and the work of the agency by conferring a Doctor of Law honoris causa (LL.D.). Dr. Miles holds various positions of leadership, both locally and nationally. He sits on a Michigan Statewise Taskforce for Permanency, Transition and Advocacy for Foster Care Youth. He is President of the Board of Directors of The Michigan Federation for Children and Families and is Immediate Past Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lutheran Services in America (LSA), one of the largest human care networks in America. Dr. Miles is Chairman of the Pension Advisory Board of United Way Southeast Michigan (UWSEM), and former Chairman of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod's National Task Force on Children at Risk/Welfare Reform. He is a member of the Immanuel Lutheran Church, Bay City. Dr. Miles has been a speaker in diverse settings including university commencements; presenter at The Trieschman Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts where he spoke on Building a Continuum of Care for America's Children; and routinely speaks to various business, service, and church organizations. In 1994, Governor Engler appointed Dr. Miles to the Michigan International Year of the Family Council.
Mary Mentaberry, Vice Chair Elect, is the retired Executive Director of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. She currently serves as a development and communications consultant, working in Organizational Leadership; Resource Development and Stewardship; Systems Change; Collaboration; Juvenile and Family Court Systems; and Judicial Leadership. She has extensive experience in State and Federal Lobbying and Government Relations.
Barbara Gilmore, Secretary, is an environmentalist and conservation supporter who is a member of Rachel's Network, an organization that promotes women as impassioned leaders and agents of change dedicated to the stewardship of the earth. She has also been a board member of too many organizations to name and most recently with the Task Force on Family Violence, Wisconsin Public Radio. She is also a teacher and travel specialist at the Riveredge Nature Center, in Madison, Wisconsin. Barbara has organized and led many trips all over the world including escorting nine people to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro (elevation 19,340 feet). When not volunteering or traveling the world, Barbara is the mother of an adopted daughter. Barbara received her BS in social work from the University of Madison in Wisconsin.
James R. Calvin, Ph.D. , is currently Associate Professor of Management and Organizational Systems, and Director of the Leadership Development Program (LDP) for Minority Managers at the Carey Business School, Johns Hopkins University. He is also an Executive Board Member of the Center for Africana Studies (CAS) and has taught in the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) in the Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts & Sciences at Johns Hopkins University. James has served in an advisory capacity to the Foundation for the National Capitol Region, the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Fellows Program and to other national and regional foundations. James has consulted in the areas of executive leadership development, executive coaching, global diversity, nonprofit management, and organizational development with many institutions including Fannie Mae, Verizon, the Brookings Institution, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, The World Bank, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and other organizations. He serves as Chair of the Academy of Management Membership Committee (AOM), he serves as a Board Member of the International Association for Community Development (IACD), he is a Board the Heartland Center for Leadership Development, and he is a member of the Executive Board of the International Society for Advancement of Management (SAM). James earned a B.F.A. from the Rochester Institute of Technology. His M.A. and Ph.D. (with distinction) with a concentration in phenomenology, culture and communication are from New York University.
Mary Jane Fales is a marketing consultant currently working for Bridges to Community . She has been involved with ISS for more than thirty years serving as an individually elected member of the International Council of the ISS world federation, a former executive director of ISS-USA, and board member of ISS for 12 years.
Gene Grabowski is one of the world's foremost authorities on litigation and crisis communications. As Senior Vice President of Levick Strategic Communications, he has earned a reputation for creating and implementing high-level strategic communications plans, conducting effective media training and working with the national news media for Fortune 500 companies, major law firms, professional services companies, and government agencies.
Robert Charles Hill is the founder of Hill Visa Law, a law firm focused on providing professional services to meet the special needs of global sports and entertainment organizations, international athletes, and other celebrities in U.S. immigration and visa matters. Mr. Hill was appointed by Congress to the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform ("the Jordan Commission") (1992-97) and served on President Reagan's White House Staff (1981 – 83) and in the Departments of State and Justice before going into private practice in 1989. He chaired the corporate immigration practice groups at two major Washington, D.C. law firms before opening his own firm in 2004. He is recognized nationally as a prominent authority on legal and public policy issues related to international migration. Mr. Hill is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center and the City University of New York. He is a member of the Virginia and District of Columbia Bars, the American Bar Association, the Sports Lawyers Association and the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He was a Visiting Researcher with the Institute for the Study of International Migration in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University from 2004-08. He has been a member of the ISS-USA Board of Directors since 2002 and served as President of the Board from 2007-2010.
James Paul has an active general litigation practice involving antitrust, mergers and acquisitions, insurance, employment, foreign corrupt practices, trusts and estates, tax, and products liability. He is a member of the Antitrust and Insurance Sections of the American Bar Association and the Committee on Professional and Judicial Conduct of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York; and is on the Advisory Committee of the America Bar Association's Ethics 2000 Committee. Mr. Paul also functions as general counsel to Clifford Chance. He attended Valparaiso University (BA, with honors) and University of Chicago School of Law (JD). Mr. Paul was Admitted in New York, and has been
Partner at Clifford Chance since 1978.
Trooper Sanders is founder of Wise Whisper, a social cause practice helping leaders, companies and non-profit organizations develop new and maximize the effectiveness of existing initiatives tackling critical social challenges. Most recently Trooper served as deputy director of policy to U.S. first lady Michelle Obama, managing Mrs. Obama’s efforts supporting America’s military families and her international efforts including engaging young people around the world and travels to Africa, Europe and Latin America. Previously, Trooper was domestic policy advisor to former U.S. President Bill Clinton and oversaw the William J. Clinton Foundation’s domestic initiatives on economic opportunity and children’s health.
Lonnie Taylor is a Managing Director in the Washington, DC office of Diversified Search where he leads the Government, Legal and Public Affairs Practice. With more than 20 years of experience in managing executives and recruiting talent, including service with two of the top ten largest global executive search firms, he is an established and highly regarded executive search professional. Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, he was Vice President, External Affairs at Sprint Nextel Corporation where he served as Vice President, Federal and State Relations. His government experience also included service as a senior staffer in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as a presidential appointment at the U.S. General Service Administration. He earned an undergraduate degree from George Washington University and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center.
David Thronson is Professor of Law at the Michigan State University College of Law where he is co-founder of the Immigration Law Clinic. His research and writing seeks to develop frameworks and critical perspectives for analyzing the intersection of family and immigration, with a particular focus on children. He also taught in Nepal as a Peace Corps volunteer and speaks excellent Nepali, conversational Spanish and survival Limbu.