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Staff DirectoryWilliam (Bill) A. Armbruster Phone: 757-637-7778 William A. Armbruster is the executive director of the Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority. Before joining the FMFADA, Mr. Armbruster was Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army where he headed up a section of the Army entitled "Privatization and Partnerships." Armbruster led a staff of 40 and leveraged some $970 million in initial equity into more than $9.8 billion in additional private capital. He has been responsible for policy and oversight of the Army-Community Heritage Partnership Program, the Office of Historic Properties, and partnerships with local governments. For the past six years, Mr. Armbruster has been working with more than 25 other military installations all across the country that, like Fort Monroe, have been affected by (the Pentagon's Base Realignment and Closure plan) actions. Before joining the Department of the Army, Mr. Armbruster worked from 1994 to 2001 on Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) matters affecting Fort Pickett, VA. From 1994 to 1996 he was executive director of the five-county reuse authority and then from 1996 through 2001 served as executive director of the Fort Pickett Redevelopment Authority. Mr. Armbruster was executive vice president of Roanoke Lumber International from 1991 to 1996, executive director of Emporia Downtown Redevelopment Corporation from 1989 to 1991 and served as a Blackstone town councilman from 1992 to 1995. Armbruster served 26 years in the Navy. He retired as a captain and Naval Intelligence Officer. He received the Legion of Merit with Gold Star, the Bronze Star with 'V' for combat valor, the Meritorious Service Medal, a Joint Service Commendation, a Navy Commendation, the National Defense Service Medal, a Combat Action Ribbon and Republic of Vietnam Theatre Ribbons. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from the College of William & Mary and a Master of Science in international affairs from George Washington University. Conover Hunt Phone: 757-637-7778 ext. 101 A native of Hampton, Conover holds a BA in Art History cum laude from Newcomb College, Tulane University, where she was named a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. In 1971 she graduated with an MA in Early American Culture from the Winterthur Museum Program at the University of Delaware. During her 35 year career, she has worked for more than 40 non profits and political agencies on a national basis, has published seven books, and lectures widely on management, American history and art, historic preservation, tourism development and the interpretation of American material culture. Her work in leading the preservation of the Kennedy Assassination site and creating the Sixth Floor Museum there gave her extensive experience in effectively dealing with international media on a controversial and highly charged emotional subject. She has directed museums and historical agencies in Richmond, Washington, D.C, Dallas, Harrison County, Texas and Philadelphia, and most recently served as the Executive Director of the Historic Richmond Foundation. From May 2007 until March 2008, she served as Interim Executive Director of the Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority. Conover has won local, state and national awards for her work in cultural planning, administration and interpretation. As Interim director of the FMFADA, she supervised the transition from the Hampton FADA to the expanded FMFADA, organized a permanent headquarters for the authority at Fort Monroe, and laid the foundation to move forward with revisions to the draft reuse plan developed by the Hampton FADA between 2005-2007. Joshua Gillespie Phone: 757-637-7778 ext 105 Josh Gillespie is quick to spotlight the opportunities that accompany sensitive stewardship of historic Fort Monroe. He says, “Its public appeal includes a varied collection of fine architectural traditions deserving smart reuse and thoughtful community planning." Josh is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and was most recently Senior Planner for the City of Spartanburg, SC before coming to the FMFADA. In addition he directed preservation activities and services for foundations in Richmond, Virginia and Columbia, South Carolina upon completion of graduate coursework in Historic Preservation at the University of Georgia. Josh studied historic site management and government policies in Croatia in 2005, supported by a historic preservation travel grant from the Kress Foundation. Before attending graduate school, he was employed by the Greenville County Planning Commission, a multi-jurisdiction planning agency, during a period of rapid community development. He was a member of the team responsible for the in-house creation in 1998 of a twenty year comprehensive plan that earned an award for public participation from the state chapter of the American Planning Association. His planning responsibilities included work as liaison for the county’s planning and historic preservation commissions. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science from Furman University in his hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. Joan Baker Phone: 757-637-7778 ext. 100 Crystal L. DeAngelis Phone: 757.637.7778 Yvonne Cash Phone: 757-637-7778 ext. 104 Melissa Farrington Phone: 757-637-7778 ext. 107 |