CINCINNATI, OH – The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center announces the appointment of five new members to its Board of Directors, as well as a two new National Advisory Council members.
Joining the Board of Directors are Stephen L. Hightower, Mona Malik, Ed Massey, Martin Mooney and Edgar L. Smith, Jr., Roy Bostock and Janet Hill are joining the National Advisory Council.
Stephen L. Hightower, of Middletown, Ohio, founded Hightowers Petroleum Co. (HPC), a full-service, licensed motor fuel dealer, in 1984 and currently serves as CEO. Mr. Hightower represents HPC on the National Petroleum Council and serves on the State of Ohio Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Release Compensation Board. Mr. Hightower also serves on the board of directors of the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers Association, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy. He sits on Wright State University’s board of directors and on the Wright State University Foundation’s board of trustees. Mr. Hightower is also an executive board member for ArtsWave, a corporate roundtable member for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, a member of the National Park Foundation board of directors, on the Legislative Committee for the National Association of Convenience Stores. Having been involved in the international community since 1984, Mr. Hightower sits on the Corporate Council on Africa, is an advisor to the Feed the Hungry Project and holds membership in the United National Global Compact.
Mona Malik, of Washington DC, is the president of Peaceful Families Project (PFP), an organization devoted to ending domestic violence in Muslim families. As social worker with over 15 years of experience, she has worked with abused children, recent immigrants, youth and victims of domestic violence. Under her leadership, PFP has expanded greatly by facilitating awareness workshops for Imams, mosque leaders and communities, providing cultural sensitivity trainings and technical assistance for professionals, conducting research and developing resources. She is a founding member of Muslim Mothers Against Violence (MMAV) and director of the Washington DC chapter. MMAV educates communities about bullying and teaches nonviolent conflict resolution skills to Muslim teenagers.A commissioner for the County Office of Human Rights in Fairfax County, Ms. Malik also served as the social worker for one of the largest mosques in America, and worked as a crisis counselor serving ADAMS under FEMA.
Ed Massey, of Northern Kentucky, has been a member of the Boone County Board of Education for 18 years. He is a 2004 graduate of Leadership Kentucky and a 2006 participant in the Harvard Institute of School Leadership. Mr. Massey has served as the past president of the Kentucky School Board Association and the National School Board Association as well as on the Board of Directors of the National PTA. He currently serves on the board of directors for the New York Says Thank You Foundation and the American Public Education Foundation.
Martin Mooney, of Cincinnati, Ohio is a member of Frost Brown Todd, LLC and practices in the corporate and personal planning and family business areas. He has extensive experience representing partnerships, limited liability companies and corporations on issues ranging from formation to exit strategies, including reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions and redemptions. Mr. Mooney also has broad experience assisting tax-exempt organizations with respect to federal income tax matters. In addition, he has extensive experience in representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service in private letter rulings, audits and appeals hearing.
Edgar L. Smith,Jr., of Cincinnati,Ohio is president and CEO of World Pac Paper, LLC and has more than 30 years of sales and marketing experience with Fortune 500 companies, recently serving as vice president, national sales with Coca-Cola North America. A dedicated community volunteer, he currently serves on the board of directors of various prominent local and national civic and community non-profit organizations, Americans for the Arts, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, ArtsWave, Cincinnati Arts Association, American Red Cross, Boy Scouts of America and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.
Roy J. Bostock, of New York City, worked in the advertising agency business for 38 years, retiring in 2002, and currently serves as non-executive vice chairman of Delta’s board of directors. He was chairman of the board of Yahoo! Inc. from 2008 through 2012. He has also served as a principal of Sealedge Investments, LLC, a diversified private investment company, since 2002. Mr. Bostock was chairman of B/Com3 from 2000 to 2002, and chairman and chief executive officer of the McManus Group from 1996 to 2000. Prior to 1996, Mr. Bostock served in a variety of senior executive positions in the advertising agency business, including chairman and chief executive officer of D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles, Inc. from 1990 to 1996. He was a director of Morgan Stanley from 2005 to 2013 and Northwest Airlines Corporation from 2005 to 2008.
Janet Hill, of Great Falls, Virginia, is a principal with Hill Family Advisors. She previously was owner and vice president of Alexander & Associates, Inc., a corporate consulting firm in Washington, D.C., providing corporate planning, advice and analyses to directors, executives and managers in the areas of human resource planning, corporate responsibility, corporate communications and government consultation. Mrs. Hill is a member of the corporate boards of The Wendy’s Company, Dean Foods, Inc. and Carlyle Group. She has non-profit board affiliations with the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, the Military Bowl, the Wellesley Business Leadership Council, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, appointed by President Obama, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. In addition, Mrs. Hill is a former chairwoman of the Women’s Campaign Fund, the only bipartisan national PAC raising money for women running for federal, state and local offices. Elected to the Duke University board of trustees in 2006, Mrs. Hill serves on the Institutional Advancement Committee and chairs the Honorary Degrees Committee.
“It is truly an exciting time for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center,” says Dr. Clarence G. Newsome, president. “The addition of these notable leaders, from right here in Cincinnati and across the nation, strengthens us as an institution – bringing together their unique professional expertise, as well as, their deep commitment to our mission and our future. It is with great pride that I welcome Steve, Mona, Ed, Martin, Edgar, Roy and Janet to the Freedom Center family.”
To learn more about the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center’s board of directors and National Advisory Council members, visit freedomenter.org