Our Board of Directors
Robert B. Summerour, M.D., Chairman
Dr. Robert B. Summerour is a psychiatrist in Riverside, California, and founder of Riverside Psychiatric Medical Group and Riverside Center for Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Summerour graduated from the Loma Linda School of Medicine, and is board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is a clinical professor at the University of California, Riverside Division of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Summerour is an original member of the Wedgwood Trio, and says he counts that as one of the most significant opportunities in his lifetime.
Dr. Summerour is one of four founding AAF Board members, having started with the Foundation in 1995. He believes AAF leads the way in a movement for progress in Adventist education similar to how the Wedgwood Trio started a reformation in Christian music for Adventist youth in the 1960s.
He has an appreciation for golf, vintage car racing, videography, and musical performance. Dr. Summerour, and his late wife, Cheryl, have two adult children and three grandchildren.
Dave Briscoe
Dave Briscoe is principal of Health Dimensions Group (HDG) where his responsibilities include the coordination of the firm’s business development efforts in the areas of acquisitions and management contracts, developing business strategy, and serving on the board of directors. Briscoe brings over three decades of health care operations and business development experience to HDG. He has particular expertise and skill in managing start-up and turnaround projects. Since 1990, Briscoe has been instrumental in over 20 such projects, all yielding successful results. He is a speaker at state and national conferences related to turnaround management, and senior health care and housing issues.
Briscoe served as an officer for Care Providers of Minnesota, a long-term care industry trade association. In addition, he served for eight years on an Adventist school board in the Minneapolis area. He holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Union College.
He has served on the AAF Board since 2006. After building two multi-faceted businesses, Briscoe uses his experience building high-quality organizations to suggest ways AAF can help the Adventist school system thrive. Briscoe says his greatest accomplishment is raising three amazing children, all graduates of Walla Walla University, with his wife Patty.
Barbara Chipeur, D.D.S.
Gerald D. Chipeur, Q.C.
Dr. Barbara Chipeur is a dentist with a practice in Calgary, Alberta. She received her Education, Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Dental Surgery degrees from the University of Alberta. Dr. Chipeur taught junior high students at Coralwood Adventist Academy in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada for three years after graduating with her teaching degree. She continues to maintain her teacher’s license with the Alberta Government.
Gerald Chipeur is a lawyer with a practice in one of Canada’s national law firms, Miller Thomson, LLP. Chipeur has volunteered in political campaigns since the fifth grade at Stockton Junior Academy, an Adventist church school in Stockton, California. Most recently, he served as legal counsel in the campaign of Rob Ford to serve as Mayor of Toronto, Ontario. Chipeur received his Bachelor and Master of Laws degrees from the University of Alberta.
The Chipeurs have been AAF board members for 12 years because they believe that education is the basis for service. Dr. Chipeur says her science and healthcare background give her insight into how important excellence in education is to the success of a student, a faculty and a school. Mr. Chipeur’s legal training allows him to assist in the creation of an education system that aligns incentives to create efficiencies and promote excellence.
Together, Mr. and Dr. Chipeur enjoy golfing in the southern US, bicycle tourism in Europe and skiing in the Swiss Alps. Dr. Chipeur plays baritone saxophone in a Calgary jazz band, and Mr. Chipeur is a runner who has completed the New York Marathon and London Marathon on a number of occasions. They agree that their greatest accomplishment is raising two successful daughters.
Joan Coggin, M.D.
Dr. Joan Coggin is a retired cardiologist from Loma Linda University Medical Center and Professor Emeritus of Medicine from LLU School of Medicine. She received her Master of Public Health from LLU School of Public Health.
In the early 1960s, Dr. Coggin co-founded Loma Linda International Heart Surgery Foundation. The heart team under her direction has either initiated or upgraded open-heart surgery programs in at least 15 countries.
Dr. Coggin received the Outstanding Achievement in Education Award from the Alumni Awards Foundation in 1999, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Adventist Women in 2002, and the Zella Hobert Award from Columbia Union College in 2003.
She has been the recipient of numerous awards dating as far back as 1963, but says the award she treasures the most is a blanket given to her by the father of a young girl whom her team operated on in Greece. Despite complications, the girl miraculously survived. Years later during a visit, Dr. Coggin was presented with “the greatest award” – the red woolen blanket made on the family loom.
She is a member of various medical organizations, and has been involved with AAF since 1995, serving as a board member for 12 years. Dr. Coggin enjoys reading, theater, traveling, and music.
Byron DeFoor
Byron DeFoor is the founder of DeFoor Developments, Inc., a premiere office and retail development company in Chattanooga and the Tri County area. He is also the founder of Grace Healthcare, LLC, a nationwide network of premier healthcare facilities. Focus Healthcare was also originated by DeFoor. Focus became a network of hospitals across the nation that treats chemical dependency and eating disorders. DeFoor co-founded Contemporary Healthcare Capital, specializing in lending to a wide range of healthcare providers across the country.
DeFoor traces his success as a businessman to the circle of influence and culture of the Adventist community that began at Georgia-Cumberland Academy and Southern Adventist University. He has served on the AAF Board for its entire 15 years, and his unique gift for playfulness and festivity has allowed him to grow the interest and net worth of the foundation since its establishment.
DeFoor is also known for collecting and racing historic sports cars. In 2009, he won 1stplace in the Rolex Endurance Series, and placed 2nd in class and 17th overall out of 130 cars from around the world in the LaCarrera Panamericana 2000-mile race in Mexico. When DeFoor’s business pursuits aren’t sending him across the country, he can be found relaxing on the farm in Tennessee with his wife, Susan. DeFoor has two married adult children and one adorable granddaughter.
CH De Haan
CH De Haan is owner of Sunland Insurance SPC, which provides medical malpractice insurance for healthcare-related companies. He has been a member of numerous school boards for over two decades, and believes this allowed him to gain perspective on issues in education. De Haan is known for his calm, steady approach to challenges and his unique ability to negotiate positive conclusions. He currently sits on several boards, including Thunderbird Adventist Academy, Arizona Conference Board of Education, Holbrook Indian School, and The National Cutting Horse Association. De Haan has served on the AAF Board for 13 years. He graduated from Union College and holds graduate degrees in biology and neurophysiology.
De Haan says his desire is to make a positive impact on the future of Adventist education. De Haan and his wife, Wendy, have two adult daughters who have chosen to live close to home in Scottsdale, Arizona. He enjoys scuba diving, racquet ball, basketball, historic car racing, and being a part-time cowboy competing in World and National Cutting Horse Association events.
George T. Harding IV, M.D.
Dr. George T. Harding IV is a psychiatrist and serves as chairman of the Harding Heritage Foundation in Worthington, Ohio. He is also currently a professor of psychiatry at Loma Linda University. Dr. Harding received his Doctor of Medicine in psychiatry from LLU School of Medicine, and spent two years in the United States Army Medical Corps.
Dr. Harding’s family history includes grandfather, George T. Harding II, who founded the Harding Hospital in 1916, and was the considered the first Seventh-day Adventist psychiatrist. His father, George T. Harding III, founded Worthington Foods in 1939 and also served as president of Loma Linda University.
Having served on the AAF Board since 2000, Dr. Harding says his training as a psychiatrist helps him to understand people and their motivations, and the obstacles that keep them from being able to do their best work. He feels that he has been able to be an encouragement to the AAF Board, and provide another linkage between church leadership and its members. Dr. Harding says his greatest contributions have been in bringing people together to accomplish good; but, his greatest accomplishment is a family that includes a wonderful wife, Joan, five daughters, and 12 grandchildren.
Carla Lidner Baum, D.D.S., M.S., F.A.C.D.
Dr. Carla Lidner Baum directs three very large (multi-million dollar) dental grants for low-income and disadvantaged children in the Riverside and San Bernardino Counties of southern California. She is an assistant professor of Dental Educational Services at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry, and an assistant professor in the University of California – Los Angeles Department of Public Health and Community Dentistry. Dr. Lidner received her Doctor of Dental Surgery from Loma Linda University. She co-authored Physicians Guide to Dental Emergencies, and has written many articles for dental publications. She has received numerous awards and honors including: the 2010 Soroptimist International – Gold Key Award, California Woman of the Year, Hometown Hero, Athena of the Inland Empire, and many others.
Dr. Lidner is currently a member of at least five community advisory boards, four boards of directors, is a member of the California State Dental Association, the American Dental Association, and is a Fellow of the American College of Dentists. Dr. Lidner joined the AAF Board in 2008.
Jeff Londis
Jeff Londis is business owner and managing partner of several health care businesses including BenchMark Physical Therapy in Ooltewah, Tennessee. BenchMark, an outpatient rehabilitation provider located throughout the Southeast, was recognized nationally in 2009 for Rehabilitation Case Management. Londis holds a Master of Business Administration with a dual concentration in health care and finance from Boston University, and graduated from Andrews University where he served as president of the Delta Mu Delta Chapter of the National Business and Honors Society. He is also a member of numerous professional organizations and has been the recipient of several small business awards presented by various chamber’s of business, as well as the Service, Achievement, and Leadership Award from Andrews University School of Business. Londis serves on the Greater Collegedale School System Board, which he joined in 2005, and most recently served as a committee chair.
Londis says he especially values the relationships in his life: a 27-year marriage to wife, Yolanda, two children, close extended family, and many long-term friends. As a school board member, and a parent of two children in Adventist schools, Londis is passionately committed to quality education and helping to achieve excellence through working with Adventist schools. He joined the AAF Board in 2004.
John P. O’Brien, Jr.
John P. O’Brien, Jr. is a principal of both Grace Healthcare, LLC, and Contemporary Healthcare Capital, LLC. He received his Bachelor of Science in accounting from Southern Adventist University, and holds a C.P.A. license for the state of Tennessee. O’Brien was named Business Alumni of the Year by Southern’s School of Business and Management in 1995. By age 36, O’Brien worked his way up to president of Life Care Centers of America, a company with over 20,000 employees and over $1 billion of revenue. He is a competitive triathlete and ultra-endurance trail runner. O’Brien has qualified and competed in both the half and full Ironman World Championships.
O’Brien has served on the AAF Board since 2004. As a business leader and entrepreneur, he sees a great need to effectuate change in the Adventist education system to improve the overall quality and financial accountability. He and his wife, Georgia, have three children.
Kathryn Proffitt, M.A.
Kathryn Proffitt served as the U.S. Ambassador to Malta under the Clinton administration from November 1997-2001. Prior to serving as ambassador, Proffitt was president and chief executive officer of Call-America, a telecommunications enterprise, which she founded in 1982. She was actively involved with the legislative process that resulted in the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
Proffitt, a former registered dental hygienist, worked for Farm Workers’ Family Health Center in Toppenish, Washington, and served as the Acting Director of Dental Hygiene at Yakima Valley College. She is co-founder and past president of the East Valley Dental Hygiene Society in Arizona.
Among Ambassador Proffitt’s many awards of recognition, the Association of Adventist Women selected her as Woman of the Year for Outstanding Achievement in 1998. In 2001, the president of the Republic of Malta, presented her with the Grant Thornton Award for Enterprise and Foreign Direct Investment. In 2002, Proffitt was inducted into the Competitive Telecommunication’s Association’s Champions of Competition Hall of Fame.
Proffitt has served on the AAF Board since 2001. She has four adult children and is the proud grandmother of five grandchildren.
Arpad Karoly Soo
Arpad Karoly Soo, a builder and developer, and plumbing contractor, is president for Cal Coast Building & Plumbing Inc., as well as president for Cypress Gardens and Cypress Ridge Elder Care facilities. He belongs to various construction related organizations and boards, and is former co-chair of the Central California Conference Capital Campaign Board of Trustees. Soo is also co-author of In His Hands published by Pacific Press in 2002. He studied at the Bucharest Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary in Romania.
Soo says his highest triumph has been adjusting to a new life in America after leaving Romania, and keeping his faith through many adversities. He has served on the AAF Board for 13 years, and actively participates annually in presenting teachers with the Excellence in Teaching Award. Soo has been involved with school boards in many capacities for 18 years. He raised his three sons, with wife Adela, through the Adventist education system. He enjoys traveling, motorcycling, cars, and sports.
Keith Edward White, Sr.
Keith Edward White, Sr. is owner and a licensed administrator of The Vindobona Nursing Home, formerly a hotel retreat for prestigious guests such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Located in Braddock Heights, Maryland, the historic Vindobona offers patients a bed-and-breakfast ambiance while providing both short- and long-term services. White acquired The Vindobona in 2004. A recipient of the Rudolph Guiliani Award, he was recognized for displaying outstanding coordination of talents and strong leadership at Vaiden Community Living Center, where he served as administrator the three years prior to Vindobona. He attended both Columbia Union College and Southern Missionary College (Southern Adventist University).
White has served on the AAF Board for six years, and says he enjoys working alongside friends who share a common interest: to generate a program that affords students the opportunity to develop into successful Adventist adults. He is married to Joyce, and has three adult children, whom he claims as his greatest accomplishment. White enjoys traveling, antique automobiles, and riding, collecting and building Harley Davidsons.
Gary Wilt
Gary Wilt is co-president and owner of TAG Manufacturing, Inc., a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based manufacturer of sub-assembled steel parts for the construction, industrial and agricultural markets. Wilt received his Bachelor of Science in business from Southern Adventist University. He has served on the AAF Board since 2000, and uses his expertise of starting and running a business to suggest ways AAF can make the Adventist education system financially solvent. Wilt and his wife, Anita, have two daughters in Adventist education. They enjoy family traditions, entertaining friends, trips to the beach, traveling, and golf.
Ted Ramirez, Esq., Advisor to the AAF Board