Board of Directors

Richard and Susan Goff, Ex-Officio Directors

Rick and Sue are Denise’s parents.

Nathan Lee, President/Founder

Nathan is the widowed husband of Denise.  Inspired by the outpouring of community support in the aftermath of his wife’s murder in 2008, Nathan launched the Denise Amber Lee Foundation in June of 2008.  He has made it his life’s work to honor his courageous wife by promoting better training, standardized protocols, and technological advances for 9-1-1 so that it meets the expectations of all citizens.  Upon graduation from high school, Nathan was honored with a Congressional nomination to the United States Naval Academy but was unable to attend.  An accomplished musician Nathan attended Jacksonville University on a music and Naval ROTC scholarships.  He later attended the University of South Florida.

Nathan and the work of the foundation were recently honored by five national public safety organizations and the Congressional E9-1-1 Caucus as a testament to his determination to be a positive force for change.

Nathan is a longtime employee of Best Buy and currently resides in Englewood, Florida with his two sons, Adam and Noah.

Ronald Bonneau, Senior Communications Consultant

Ron is a recognized voice among public safety professionals on a national and international level.  His passion and dedication is demonstrated in over 40 years of public service beginning as an Air Marshall with the U.S. Dept. of the Treasury.  This led to 27 years of service with the Village of Riverdale, Illinois Police Dept. beginning as a Police Officer and retiring with the rank of Captain.

Ron was invited to oversee the planning and implementation of consolidating four individual 9-1-1 dispatch centers into South Com Dispatch.  He then served as Executive Director of this multi-jurisdictional dispatch center for 9 years managing 24 dispatchers and 2 support staff.

On a national level, Ron is honored as the longest serving Executive Board member of the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) as well as serving as the National President of NENA in 2009.  He has also served as the National Chairman of the joint NENA and APCO Telecommunicator Emergency Response Team initiative.  This commitment to public safety led to his induction into the NENA Hall of Fame in 2007.

A resident of Riverdale Illinois, Ron holds a Masters Degree from Western Illinois University and completed his undergraduate studies at Northern Illinois University.

Kyle R. Tarrance, Comerica Bank

Kyle brings to the Foundation a diverse background in communications, government service, international relations, media relations, advertising and political consulting. Currently, he serves as a vice president for Comerica Bank, the largest U.S. bank headquartered in Texas and among the 25 largest U.S. holding companies.

His professional career has included working on political campaigns –from presidential races down to municipal elections, service at the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in the White House and for one of Dallas’ premier public relations and advertising agencies.

Kyle graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Affairs and Corporate Communications with an emphasis in Non-Profit Management and a minor in Spanish. In addition, he studied Spanish at the Forester International Institute in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Kyle and his wife, Darla, and son Luke currently live in Dallas, Texas.

David M. Dignam, Key Agency, Inc.

David brings a lifelong passion for community service to the foundation.  Currently David serves as President of Key Agency, Inc. in Englewood, Florida; a three generation family owned insurance agency.  He is also a banker and founded Florida Shores Bank with several other business leaders.  David’s community service includes founding board member of the Community Caring Council, the Englewood YMCA, the Charlotte County Police Athletic League, and the Charlotte County Boys and Girls Club.  He has served two terms as Chairman of the largest community foundation in Florida, the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice and was on the Board for six years.  His visionary leadership took him to a national level when he served on the Community Foundations of America national board of directors.

After graduating from the University of South Florida, David was asked to serve as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff for Florida Governor Bob Martinez.  His success led to his appointment as the Legislative Director of the Florida Department of Professional Regulation.  He also served a term on the Charlotte County Development Authority and the Charlotte County School Board.  As his continuing commitment to his university, David is currently a member of the University of South Florida Community Leadership Council for the Sarasota/Manatee Campus and is a Director of the USF Bull’s Club Athletic Dept. Board.  His lifelong interest in scouting has David as the current Vice President of the Southwest Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America and he is a founding and current Director of the South County Tiger Bay and Englewood Community Care Clinic.

David and his wife, Laurie, currently live in Englewood, Florida.

Paul Fahey, Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America Company

Paul is the Director of Business Development for Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America Company.  He has over a decade of experience in public safety emergency communications in both the private and public sectors, including five years as Executive Director of the Massachusetts 9-1-1 Department and service as Executive Director and Secretary of the Board of the 9-1-1 Industry Alliance.  Prior to joining the Board of Directors of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation, Paul served in leadership in APCO, NENA, NASSNA, and the E9-1-1 Institute.

Paul has extensive experience in state and local government in his home state of Massachusetts, including five years as a senior advisor in the Massachusetts Legislature and terms of service on the Watertown Town Council, School Committee, Planning Board, and Town Meeting.  He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts Boston, a Master of Public Administration degree from Suffolk University, and is a candidate for a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Golden Gate University.

Paul lives in his hometown of Watertown, Massachusetts.

David J. Garofalo Sr., City Commissioner/Fire Captain

David brings a unique perspective and passion to the Foundation as a City Commissioner of North Port, Florida where Denise was murdered.  He also has been on the front lines of public safety for 16 years as a Florida State Certified Fire Fighter and currently serves as Fire Captain and Paramedic for the Pasco County, Florida Fire Department.  David’s commitment to public service is further demonstrated in his current position as Chairman of the Metropolitan Planning Organization for Sarasota/Manatee Counties Florida, board member for the Tourist Development Council as well as the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority.

As a member of the Public Safety and Crime Prevention Board of the National League of Cities, David intends to be a national voice for the foundation and their mission of promoting standardized training and certification for all 9-1-1 telecommunicators.  Commissioner Garofalo adds, “I can’t think of a more important cause to be part of than assuring that all persons in that first link of the Chain of Survival are properly trained and certified and that sufficient funding is provided for this purpose.  Denise’s life was taken way too early in my city and I can’t allow her death to be in vain.”

David’s wife Dawn is a nurse practitioner.  They currently reside in North Port, Florida with their two children, David Jr. and Theresa.

Capt. Mark Adamshick, US Navy Retired, Ph.D.

Captain Mark Adamshick, USN, Ph.D. is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy class of 1981 and has been a commissioned officer in the United States Navy for over 29 years.  Captain Adamshick is a naval flight officer and test pilot school graduate and has accumulated over 3000 flight hours in over 25 different aircraft.  A “TOPGUN” graduate, he has over 1000 carrier arrested landings in fighter aircraft and has flown over 100 combat missions over Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia.  He has commanded an F-14D “Tomcat” squadron (VF-213) and an F-18E/F “Super Hornet” squadron (VFA-122) and was the operations officer of the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt CVN-70.

He has served in a variety of high level staff positions including the deputy flag officer assignment officer to the Chief of Naval Personnel and the head aviation warfare policy officer to the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon.  Captain Adamshick has a Masters degree in public administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and earned his Ph.D. in policy studies, specializing in management, finance and leadership, from the University of Maryland, School of Public Policy.

Mark currently resides in Severna Park, Maryland along with his wife and three children.