Five new trustees joined the Board in 2024 bringing our total number of active trustees and directors to 75. The Board is led by Chairman Thomas A. Allegretti.

David Houghton, Lindsay Malen-Habib, Kyra Phillips, Rear Admiral J. Timothy Riker, USCGR (Ret.) and Amy Vanderhaden will each serve three-year terms.

In addition, we welcomed Rear Admiral Duncan Smith, III USCGR (Ret.) to a new role as Vice Chairman of the Board.

The Coast Guard Foundation Board of Trustees and Directors governs the organization and promotes the Foundation’s mission of support to the Coast Guard.

David Houghton is a technology executive and business leader with over 30 years of experience in leading teams and deploying technology solutions in a variety of industries. He has been a technology executive for the past 12 years, and most recently worked at Ingram Barge Company in Nashville as senior vice president and chief information officer for the past 7 years. He currently serves on the board of the Nashville Technology Council, is past chairman of the Board of Directors at the Our Savior Lutheran Church. He holds a degree from the University of Texas.  

Lindsay Malen-Habib is the director of customer relations management at McAllister Towing & Transportation, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Lindsay is a past president of the American Salvage Association, where she was also the first woman in that role in the organization’s history; she currently sits on their executive committee. She was listed as one of the Top Women in Maritime by Marine Log in 2020. She is a member of the Women in International Shipping and Trade Association (WISTA), the Young Shipping Professionals of New York (YSPNY), and the Connecticut Maritime Association. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont. She serves on the Coast Guard Foundation’s Florida and New York event committees, helping to raise important support for the organization.

Kyra Phillips is a correspondent for ABC News and an anchor for ABC News Live, based in Washington, D.C.  Prior to joining ABC News, Kyra was an anchor for CNN’s “Live From,” “CNN Newsroom,” and “American Morning,” programs. She moved to HLN in 2012 to anchor “Raising America with Kyra Phillips” and was also a correspondent for the CNN investigative and documentary units. She has won Peabody Awards, Emmy Awards and Edward R. Murrow Awards for investigative journalism. She is a trustee of The Fisher House Foundation and serves on the Board for TAPS, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. She received the Global Down Syndrome Foundation’s Quincy Jones Exceptional Advocacy Award in 2013 and is now a Global Ambassador for the organization. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Southern California. Kyra is married to fellow journalist John Roberts and they are the proud parents of twins. 

Rear Admiral J. Timothy Riker, USCGR (Ret.) enlisted in 1970, and was commissioned through Officer Candidate School in 1971. His active-duty and reserve assignments included time aboard Cutters Hamilton and Unimak, and overseas duties in Operations Desert Storm and Uphold Democracy (Haiti). He retired in 2000 as the Reserve’s senior officer. In 2006 he returned to active status and performed a variety of flag assignments, including Deputy Director of Intelligence and Criminal Investigations, and Director of Response Policy.  He returned to inactive status in 2010. He is presently Regents Board Chair of the Foundation for Coast Guard History. A graduate of Capital University Law School, Columbus, Ohio, Rear Admiral Riker practices law in Cincinnati. 

Amy Vanderhaden has spent three decades as a military spouse and advocate for military families. From 2018-2022, Amy held the position of Ombudsman-at-Large for the U.S. Coast Guard, a position appointed by the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. Amy was a conduit for more than 50,000 military families, reserve and civilian employees. Amy was awarded the Distinguished Public Service Medal in 2022 for her work in this role.  Amy holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Homeland Security from Purdue University Global. Amy is a Coast Guard veteran and is married to Jason Vanderhaden, the 13th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, retired.  Amy and her husband reside in Tallahassee, Florida.  

In the picture featured at the top of this news post, Susan Ludwig and Coast Guard Foundation board members are pictured with Admiral Linda Fagan and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Heath Jones at a Coast Guard Foundation event honoring Coast Guard heroism and mission excellence.