Bios

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Christina Calhoun Zubowicz

Ship Sponsor, Calhoun (WMSL 759)

Christina Calhoun Zubowicz is the granddaughter of MCPOCG Charles L. Calhoun, the ship’s namesake. She graduated with a BBA in business management from Georgia State University, followed by obtaining a masters in psychology from the University of West Georgia.

Mrs. Zubowicz has held the position of business administrator at a surgery center for the past three years. She entered medical practice services more than eight years ago by working for her husband, Dr. Vincent Zubowicz, who is an Atlanta-based plastic and reconstructive surgeon.

Prior to her career in the medical field, Mrs. Zubowicz worked for more than 20 years in the restaurant and event industry, including serving on a team that achieved the Five Michelin star, Three Diamond and Relais & Chateaux title property. She is devoted and committed to caring for those in front of her while elevating those around her and applying ethical principles to make a difference in her home and professional environments. Looking to an old sailing quote, “You can’t control the wind, but you can adjust the sails!” helps her handle what is thrown at her on any given day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Linda Pyatt Broome

Matron of Honor, Calhoun (WMSL 759)

Linda Pyatt Broome is the oldest of six children born in the Portsmouth Naval Hospital.  Her father retired from the Navy. While raising her three daughters she worked part time in real estate, insurance and was the accountant for three businesses she and her husband owned in Georgia. Linda spent years serving as the Board of Elections Chairman for their county.  Later in her career, she graduated from Mercer University and became a law firm administrator and chief operating officer for over 20 years where she served on various professional boards.  She retired in 2018.  In retirement she has increased her volunteering efforts and leaned into her passions of visiting with her siblings, children and grandchildren, gardening, enjoying nature, and driving her 1989 blue Ford tractor at her property of the Albemarle Sound in North Carolina.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Admiral Linda L. Fagan

Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard

Admiral Linda L. Fagan assumed the duties as the 32nd Vice Commandant on June 18th, 2021. As the Vice Service Chief and Chief Operating Officer, Admiral Fagan executes the Commandant’s Strategic Intent, manages internal organizational governance and serves as the Component Acquisition Executive.

She reports to Coast Guard Headquarters from a tour as the Commander, Pacific Area, and Commander, Coast Guard Defense Force West.  Prior flag assignments include Deputy Commandant for Operations, Policy, and Capability; Commander, First Coast Guard District; and a joint assignment as Deputy Director of Operations for Headquarters, United States Northern Command.

Admiral Fagan has served on all seven continents, from the snows of Ross Island, Antarctica to the heart of Africa, from Tokyo to Geneva, and in many ports along the way. Operational tours include Commander, Sector New York, more than 15 years as a Marine Inspector, and sea duty in USCGC POLAR STAR, a 399ft heavy polar icebreaker.  Staff assignments include Executive Assistant to the Commandant and Vice Commandant, and Division Chief of the Foreign and Offshore Compliance Office.

Possessing extensive interagency as well as intergovernmental experience, Admiral Fagan has worked with both the International Maritime Organization and International Labor Organization on flag state and port state issues. This work includes the development of the International Ship and Port Security Code (ISPS), and the Consolidated Maritime Labor Convention.

Admiral Fagan holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Science degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a Master of Science in Marine Affairs degree from the University of Washington, and a Master in National Resource Strategy degree from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. She has earned numerous personal and team awards during her 36 years of Coast Guard service.  Admiral Fagan is the longest serving active duty Marine Safety Officer, which has earned her the distinction of being the Coast Guard’s first-ever Gold Ancient Trident.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Master Chief Heath B. Jones

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

U.S. Coast Guard

Master Chief Heath B. Jones assumed the duties of the 14th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard on May 19, 2022. Master Chief Jones is the senior enlisted member of the Coast Guard and the principal advisor to the Commandant on all enlisted personnel matters.

MCPOCG Jones is a native of Covington, La. He enlisted in the Coast Guard in August of 1995. Master Chief Jones’ previous assignments include Command Master Chief, Deputy Commandant for Mission Support; Command Master Chief, Pacific Area; Command Master Chief, 8th Coast Guard District; Command Master Chief, Sector Hampton Roads; Officer in Charge, USCGC SEA HORSE; Officer in Charge, Station Pensacola; Officer in Charge, USCGC Bollard; Officer in Charge, Station Cape Charles; Executive Petty Officer, Station Little Creek; Executive Petty Officer, USCGC SEAHAWK; Station New Orleans; USCGC KANAWHA.

CMC Jones’s personal awards include five Meritorious Service Medals, five Coast Guard Commendation Medals, two Coast Guard Achievement Medals, the Command Afloat and Ashore Devices, and the permanent Cutterman, Coxswain, and Advance Boat Forces insignia. He is the recipient of the 2012 Signalman First Class Douglas Munro Inspirational Leadership Award and the 2006 Master Chief Petty Officer Angela McShan Inspirational Leadership Award.

CMC Jones is a proud graduate of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Academy Class 124, the Coast Guard Senior Enlisted Leadership Course class 48, and he is a Keystone 18-1 Fellow. He holds both a Bachelor and a Master of Arts Degree in Organizational Management with a specialty in Human Resource Management. He also holds a Certificate of Apprenticeship as a Master Homeland Security Specialist from USMAP.

He has been married to the former Carol Ann Clarke of Folsom, La since 1996. They are the very proud parents of son Christian, attending Graduate School at The University of New Orleans, and daughter Sidney, attending Louisiana State University Medical School in New Orleans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rear Admiral Chad L. Jacoby

Director of Acquisition Programs & Program Executive Officer (CG-93)

U.S. Coast Guard

Rear Admiral Jacoby currently serves as the U.S. Coast Guard’s Director of Acquisition Programs and Program Executive Officer (PEO). His duties include management oversight of all Coast Guard acquisition programs and projects for the modernization and recapitalization of surface, air, command and control, and logistics assets in support of the Coast Guard’s multiple maritime missions.

Rear Admiral Jacoby previously served as Chief of Mission Support Integration responsible for integration of logistics, engineering support, training, and personnel support for the Coast Guard’s global operations.

Rear Admiral Jacoby’s career includes a mix of cutter engineering afloat, cutter support ashore, and new cutter design and acquisition assignments. He served as Commander, Surface Forces Logistics Center (SFLC) in Curtis Bay, MD, where he headed the single logistics center for the Coast Guard surface fleet providing engineering, maintenance, casualty repair, supply, and technical information services to 242 cutters and over 1,800 boats stationed throughout the United States. A long-time member of the Coast Guard’s acquisition workforce, he holds a DHS Level III program management certification and served as Assistant Program Executive Officer (PEO) for C4ISR and Cyber Acquisitions and Deputy Surface Program Manager at Coast Guard Headquarters.

His prior assignments include service as Assistant Engineering Officer aboard CGC SHERMAN (WHEC-720) and Engineering Officer aboard CGC MORGENTHAU (WHEC-722), Engineer Officer at Group Key West, Executive Officer at Naval Engineering Support Unit Honolulu, Logistics Department Head and Commanding Officer of enlisted personnel at Sector St. Petersburg, and Patrol Boat Product Line Manager at Surface Forces Logistics Center.

A native of Corning, New York, he graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1992 with a Bachelors of Engineering and holds a Masters of Mechanical Engineering Design and Manufacturing from Old Dominion University and a Masters of Engineering Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a licensed Professional Engineer and has been a DHS Level III certified Program Manager since 2006.

Rear Admiral Jacoby’s military awards include two Legion of Merit awards, three Meritorious Service Medals, four Coast Guard Commendation Medals, three Coast Guard Achievement Medals, and multiple unit awards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Captain Peter M. Morisseau, Jr.

Commanding Officer, Project Resident Office Gulf Coast

U.S. Coast Guard

A Permanent Cutterman and Naval Engineer, Captain Morisseau’s afloat tours include first serving in USCGC GALLATIN (WHEC 721) as Damage Control Assistant and Student Engineer in the High Endurance Cutter homeported in Charleston, SC.  He completed follow-on operational tours as Engineer Officer in USCGC DILIGENCE (WMEC 616) and most recently as plankowner Executive Officer in USCGC KIMBALL (WMSL 756), bringing the cutter from delivery through commissioning to fully operational.

Captain Morisseau is an established Acquisition Professional, certified as a DHS level 3 Program Manager.  His staff assignments include: Technical Manager for the 87’ Coastal Patrol Boat project, Executive Officer at Project Resident Office Lockport, delivering the first 6 Fast Response Cutters, and Post-Delivery Manager and Technical Director for the National Security Cutter Program Office.

Captain Morisseau is a graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy in 2000, where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering.  He subsequently earned Master of Science Degrees from the University of Michigan in 2004 for Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering and Industrial & Operations Engineering.  He also earned a Masters of Business Administration from Naval Postgraduate School in 2014.  Just recently, he completed the senior service school program at National Defense University’s Eisenhower school, earning a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Captain Timothy C. Sommella

Pre-Commissioning Detachment Commanding Officer

USCGC Calhoun (WMSL 759)

Captain Timothy C. Sommella is the Pre-Commissioning Detachment Commanding Officer of USCGC Charles L. Calhoun (WSML 759) homeported in Charleston, South Carolina.

He has held a variety of sea-going command and staff positions throughout his career, including ten years on six Coast Guard and Navy warships. Most recently, he served as Executive Assistant to the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Commander and Defense Force East.  He previously served as the Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security.

His shipboard operational assignments include Commanding Officer of USCGC Dauntless (WMEC 624) homeported out of Galveston, Texas, and Pensacola, Florida.  He also served as Executive Officer of USCGC Valiant (WMEC 621) and Deck Watch Officer on the USCGC Venturous (WMEC 621). He is the former Navigator and Force Protection Officer of the USS O’Brien (DD 975) forwarded deployed to Japan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.  He commanded USCGC Wrangell (WPB 1332) in the Arabian Gulf during Operation Iraqi Freedom and USCGC Padre (WPB 1328) as a 123-foot patrol craft in Key West, Florida.

Captain Sommella has completed a number of staff positions throughout his career specializing in public policy, budgeting, performance management, and human capital planning. He was a program examiner in the White House with the Office of Management and Budget where he focused on veteran employment and defense health initiatives.  He served as a reviewer with the U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of Budget and Programs responsible for coordination of legislative analysis and policy evaluation of the service’s Presidential and Congressional Budget submissions.  He was also a planning officer with responsibility for defining operational requirements and manpower staffing levels for shore-side units across the nation.

He graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2000 with high honors earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Government and completed his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2007. He recently completed a Masters in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College in 2020 where he earned his Joint Professional Military Education certificate, served as an Arleigh Burke International Fellow, and focused on humanitarian assistance and disaster response. Captain Sommella is a member of the Association of Government Accountants and Certified Government Financial Manager.

Captain Sommella’s personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy Commendation Medal, Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Coast Guard Commendation and Achievement Medals, and Military Volunteer Service Medal. He is a former Abshire-Inamori Fellow at the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC.  He is a qualified Navy Surface Warfare Officer and permanent Coast Guard Cuttermen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kari Wilkinson

President, Ingalls Shipbuilding

Executive Vice President, HII

Kari Wilkinson is executive vice president of Huntington Ingalls Industries and president of Ingalls Shipbuilding. Named to this position in April 2021, she is responsible for all programs and operations at Ingalls, including the U.S. Navy’s amphibious assault and surface combatant ship programs and the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter program.

Wilkinson most recently served as the vice president of Program Management at Ingalls where she had profit and loss responsibility for all elements of program execution and served as the principal liaison to the Navy and Coast Guard for all platforms in the Ingalls portfolio.

Wilkinson began her career with Ingalls as an associate naval architect in 1996. Since then, she has supported major shipbuilding production events and milestones from positions in Engineering, has worked closely with Business Development on requirements and preliminary ship designs for both domestic and international customers, and also coordinated the prioritization of equipment and processes in Operations during the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort. In 2007, she moved into the Program Office as a ship program manager within the San Antonio-class LPD program.

Originally from Jenison, Michigan, Wilkinson earned a bachelor of science in naval architecture and marine engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Temple University.

Wilkinson serves on the Boards of Directors for the Mississippi Economic Council, Gulf Coast Business Council and the Jackson County Economic Development Foundation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Honorable Steven Palazzo

U.S. Representative for Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District

Congressman Steven M. Palazzo is proud to serve the people of South Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District. As a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, current member of the Mississippi National Guard, and former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, Congressman Palazzo has a record of service that began long before he was first sworn into office on January 5, 2011.

Steven currently serves as the Senior Appropriator for South MS, where he sits on subcommittees: Homeland Security, and Commerce, Justice, and Science.

Since his first term, he has spent five years as the Chairman of the Space Committee Subcommittee. His military experience has provided the opportunity for Steven to lead the House National Guard Caucus, where he remains chairman. In 2016, he also took the helm of the House Aerospace Caucus. He is an advocate for strong national defense, a leader on veteran’s issues and a champion for fiscal common sense.

Steven’s prior life includes experience working on oil rigs, serving on active duty overseas, and starting and owning his own small business. A Gulf Coast native, Steven is the proud father of three children: Barrett, Aubrey and Bennett.