We are a vital and successful organization that has worked in the Richmond community for 40 years. Using a neighbor-helping-neighbor approach to address common challenges of growing older – such as lack of transportation, isolation and loneliness – The Shepherd’s Center of Richmond provides opportunities for meaning and purpose. Board leadership is integral to our success.
Mimi Sadler, President
Mimi is a retired historic preservation architect, wife, mother of two, and grandmother of three, who was born and raised in Richmond, where she attended school at St. Catherine’s. Before retiring she co-owned and operated a small business that advised historic property owners on how to use best practices to rehabilitate their buildings. She studied art history at Williams College and architecture at UVA. She has loved learning and teaching at The Shepherd’s Center’s Open University since the fall of 2022. Being a volunteer driver has also brought her a lot of pleasure. She is honored to hold this leadership position on the Center’s Board.
Lucy Torquato, Vice-President
Lucy was born and raised in Warminster, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia. She moved to Arizona and received her BA in Sociology from Arizona State University. She immediately was hired by the Internal Revenue Service and followed in her father’s footsteps with working in civil service. In 2010, her husband’s company relocated to Northern Virginia and Lucy transferred to IRS Headquarters in Washington, DC. She was accepted into the Frontline Management Program within the Taxpayer Advocate Service and in 2015, accepted a management position in Richmond, VA. She then went into the Senior Management Program and was the Local Taxpayer Advocate for the state of Virginia in 2018 and 2019. During 2020, Lucy decided (along with many federal employees) to retire, and officially became a retiree in November, 2020. She has two grown daughters, one granddaughter who just turned two and another grandbaby on the way. Lucy’s skills include community outreach, program management, policy analysis and public policy. Lucy is an avid hiker, as well as a runner who has participated in numerous 13.1 marathons. She is active with AFSP, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and has attended several Out of The Darkness Walks.
Hal Costley, Treasurer
Hal is a Richmond native having lived here since fourth grade with extended times away for college and Air Force. He received a BS in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech and a MS in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin. He was Vice-President of Design for TDFB, Inc., a Richmond Engineering-Architectural firm and then Vice-President of Engineering for Carpenter Co., a Richmond manufacturing firm from which he is now retired. Over the past thirty years, he has been involved as a volunteer with numerous non-profit organizations with Henrico County Public Schools and other associations. He enjoys, traveling, downhill snow skiing, golf, reading, hiking, and spending time with his two grandsons.
Pam Atwood, Secretary
Born in Kokomo, Indiana in 1951 and raised in Michigan where my family had a long history, I was the quintessential baby boomer. In 1973 I graduated with a BA in Michigan. I married in the 1970s and started a family. In 1988 we moved to Virginia. I have been a school secretary, traveling librarian, professional development assistant for schools, business class instructor, performed educational presentations for High School students, and finally, became a realtor. In my 50’s I returned to VCU and completed all my classes toward a Master’s in Gerontology but left at that point to follow my husband in his career as a contract computer programmer. While he performed short and long-term contracts we lived in many areas on the east and west coasts. This was a highlight in my life as I was free to fill my days with a myriad of museums, sights, educational experiences, and new friends. We ended up in Northern Virginia but ultimately returned to the Richmond area, as it felt like home to us. My hobbies continue to be educational endeavors, theater, writing, walking, painting, Scrabble, and my secret pleasure…video games! My volunteer history includes union negotiations, visiting the homebound, United Way campaign speaker and promoter, food bank helper, Christmas gift distribution for those in need, political campaigning, and most Inspiringly, an end-of-life care volunteer.
Peter Pettit, Immediate Past-President
Peter came to Richmond in 2006 from Dayton, Ohio when MeadWestvaco relocated its corporate headquarters here. A long-time Mead and MeadWestvaco IT professional, he retired at the end of 2012. Sometime after that, he found TSCOR’s Open University and saw it as a way to pursue his interest in the German language. At his first meeting, he picked up a brochure for TSCOR’s transportation program and thought it would be a great volunteer opportunity. An active participant in both programs, he is also serving on TSCOR’s client services committee. Born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, he is a graduate of The University of Michigan, with two degrees in Music and was for several years Principal Trombonist of the Toledo Symphony and Trombone Instructor at The University of Toledo. He also holds a MBA with an Information Systems specialization from The University of Toledo. It was in the Toledo Symphony that Peter met his wife of 42 years, Carol, a cellist. The pair have one son, Jeff, who currently lives in Los Angeles, California.
Gene Anderson
A graduate of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa (BA), and of the University of Iowa (MA, PhD), Gene taught in the Iowa public school system before moving to Winona State University in Winona, Minnesota, where he taught woodwinds and directed the jazz band. He later spent four years at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois teaching band, woodwinds, music theory and chairing the music department. He came to the University of Richmond in 1982 as the Director of Bands and instructor of music theory. At the University of Richmond he served many years as department chair and is presently Professor of Music. He has published numerous articles on early jazz and music analysis and has written a book on Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five recordings.
Jim Brown
Jim Brown was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, but began traveling to Richmond when he was 14 months old. Since at the time, his driving skills were not sufficient for the 550-mile trip, he and his mother would ride the rails every summer for a 10 week visit with his grandparents on Mosby St. It was there that he fell in love with the “City of Trees”, as it was known then. His visits to Richmond continued throughout his youth and into adulthood, spending time with family here and just driving the streets, in awe of the incredibly beautiful and diverse architecture. When he was not visiting here, he pursued higher education for over 20 years and had some incredibly rewarding professional adventures in the fields of Visual Arts, Education, and Psychology. Jim was also active in many community-oriented projects both in Michigan and Massachusetts, focusing on Fine Arts, people with disabilities, community art projects, producing music events, and assisting theater productions. His other interests include architectural renovation, making art, promoting young artists, and a commitment to a more egalitarian world. Jim has lived in Worcester and Cambridge MA, East Lansing, MI, and in the city of Detroit from 1985 to 2020, from which he moved to Richmond to fulfil his dream of living here, when he retired. He purchased a house here in 2019, planned major changes, and has been working on them ever since, only slowly realizing how demanding the work would be, for someone who was no longer 25 years old. Jim truly loves this city and is very happy to contribute what he can to The Shepherd Center and other organizations in the area. Teaching through the Open University and encountering so many students who are eager to learn has been icing on the cake for Jim, as was spending six months working with Peter Pettit to develop a new course last year. Thanks to all of you for welcoming me to The Shepherd’s Center of Richmond and the opportunity to serve on the Board.
Paula Butz
Though born and raised in New Castle Pennsylvania, I have now spent most of my life in Virginia. After graduating from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in 1979 with my B.A. in Math, I moved to Richmond. Eventually, I got an offer from VEPCO (now Dominion Energy) and worked there off and on for over 30 years. In 2006, I started going to St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church. It was there that I met Dave Vachet. Dave is who told me about The Shepherd’s Center. Volunteering to drive people to medical appointments or grocery shopping was a perfect activity for me! This occurred during a 7 year break from VEPCO. I returned to full time work with Dominion Energy in 2012 and had to stop the volunteer driving. Upon retirement in 2018, I was able to get back to driving for The Shepherd’s Center. I am currently serving on the St. Matthew’s Endowment Fund Board as well as my neighborhood Homeowners Association Board at The Cedars of Innsbrook. I am very active at St. Matthew’s, serving in 6 other ministries besides Endowment. I am in 1 or more Bible studies all the time and enjoy studying God’s Word. Other than those volunteer activities, I spend my time investigating health and wellness information, taking care of the house, yard, cat and myself. Also, a couple of 3 night escapes twice a year to the Outer Banks seems to satisfy my love for the beach.
Jamie Coomer
Jamie was born in Johnson City, Tennessee, and grew up in nearby Erwin, at the foot of the Unaka Mountains near the Appalachian Trail. She was in the Honors program at Carson-Newman College and graduated with a BS degree. That is where she met Rick Coomer from Evansville, Indiana, whom she married in 1975. Jamie and Rick moved to Richmond in 1981. For the first 6 years, she was Data Entry Supervisor at E.R. Carpenter Co. During that time, she earned a post-Baccalaureate degree in Computer Science from Virginia Commonwealth University. Jamie was employed by Owens & Minor, a medical supply distribution company, for 31 years – first as a Mainframe Developer and later as a Software Quality Assurance Analyst. After retiring in 2018, Jamie and Rick have enjoyed traveling to Japan, Spain, Portugal, France, and the American Southwest. She is currently serving on the Board of Directors of her homeowners’ association. Jamie enjoys reading, theatre, baking, genealogy research, and visiting wineries and cemeteries.
Brock Estes
Brock, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, served 4 years in the Air Force through late 1969. In 1972 he received a BS in Mathematics from Peabody College in Nashville, where he also played soccer, and most importantly, met his bride of now 50 years, who attended Peabody from her native hometown of Richmond VA. They are blessed with one son, one daughter, and 3 granddaughters. They live in Hanover County, along with their regal cat (see above photo), and attend Stony Point Church in Bon Air, where he also participates with the Hispanic Church there. The first 22 years of his career were with USF&G, serving as Manager of the Bond Department, both in Nashville and later in Richmond. In 1984, while working as a manager in Nashville, he earned his Executive MBA at Vanderbilt. Moving to Richmond with USF&G in 1987, he continued as a manager before becoming an Independent Rep. for the K-12 education market in 1995. He currently represents an online math program which helps students from Pre-K through 8th grade. He has participated in 7 mission trips to Honduras and 5 to Peru, serving in various assisting roles with construction, clinics, Vacation Bible School, pastor trainings, etc. He has also helped with a local church’s English Club for ESL adults here in Richmond. Upon discovering The Shepherd’s Center of Richmond a number of years ago, he took advantage of continuing his foreign language studies, attending courses in Spanish, French and Russian, which he continues to enjoy. His other interests, in addition to foreign languages, currently include flying, photography, Ham Radio and guitar.
Peter Goodman
Peter is a retired gastroenterologist who thoroughly enjoyed the practice of medicine in Richmond for 40 years. He attended the University of Virginia having majored in English and graduating with Distinction. He received his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia, internship at Sinai Hospital, residency at MCV and was a Gastroenterology Fellow at Georgetown. He is presently on the Advisory Council at the University of Richmond Osher Program and serves as a Board Member of the Torch Club and the 5400 Club. An enthusiastic gardener, he grows medicinal plants at his home for enjoyment and collects antique medicines and instruments.
Ralph H. Graner
Ralph grew up in seven cities in New York, Massachusetts, and Ohio. He graduated cum laude from Harvard College and spent two years as an active-duty Army lieutenant, mostly in and around Milwaukee. His primary career was 32 years in the U.S. Foreign Service – the youngest officer when he entered – serving five different times at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., in San Francisco, and successively in India, Burma (now Myanmar), Hong Kong (then a British crown colony), Algeria, Ghana, Mali, Germany, and Chad, with temporary duty stations in Switzerland and Cameroon. He finished that career as Consul General and as Deputy Chief of Mission (i.e., deputy ambassador). Then he worked in Wisconsin and finally Virginia state governments as state export promotion director, and at his third retirement in 1994 he and wife Jocelyne decided they really liked Richmond – and haven’t looked back. They have a son and daughter-in-law in Chesterfield, one grandson in the Los Angeles area, and two grandkids in Omaha. Ralph is active in his church and several other volunteer organizations, and served on the board and was treasurer of a small foundation dealing with education in Myanmar. He has been on The Shepherd’s Center of Richmond’s Board since July 2009 and was president 2014-2016.
Barbara Ingber
Free ice cream from her parents’ soda fountain made Barbara M. Ingber the most popular kid in Lynbrook, New York. She studied art and architecture in Granada, Spain; conducted field work in anthropology in Silvia, Colombia; and spent a summer as an au pair in Florence, Italy. After receiving her BA in Spanish Language and Literature from Colgate University, she moved to Manhattan, where she had careers in publishing and magazine distribution. In San Francisco, she became the assistant director of an art gallery. In Richmond, VA, she worked as a freelance editor and writer and taught English as a Second Language to adults; conflict mediation to fourth and fifth graders; writing to NCOs; comparative religions to high school students; and classes in cultural sensitivity and leadership. She was the liaison between Richmond Public Schools and families that did not speak English before taking a position at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as the assistant director of community outreach for VCU Globe, a living and learning program. Retired in 2020, she has kept busy by working on her book of personal essays; taking classes at The Shepherd’s Center’s Open University; making her debut as a standup comedian; dancing salsa and bachata; attending art openings, music and dance concerts, theater, and festivals; reading; hosting family, friends, and foreign visitors; and travelling with her second, best, current, and last husband, Robert (Bob) Rappold. Barbara and Bob often brag about their six children and nine grandchildren, as well as their daughters-of-the-heart from Uzbekistan, Iraq, and Russia. Barbara is honored and delighted to serve on the Board of Directors of The Shepherd’s Center of Richmond.
Thea Paul
Thea Paul is a native of Richmond, Virginia. She studied Spanish and Secondary Education and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from James Madison University. After several years of public education teaching, she resumed her coursework to earn her Master of Library and Information Science degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Paul is an award-winning educator, innovator, and author. She has been featured in and has published in notable periodicals like: The JMU Alumni Magazine, School Library Journal, Library Media Connections, and School Library Connections. She enjoys languages and has created a one-of-a-kind cultural anthem in four languages. In her free time, she enjoys partner dance – Chicago-style Steppin’ – and is a dance instructor with Chesterfield County’s Department of Parks and Recreation. Thea believes that lifelong learning is essential to longevity and looks forward to supporting the Shepherd’s Center’s initiative to bring learning opportunities to the Richmond community.
Walter Schoen
Walter was born in Philadelphia but grew up in the Langhorne area of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. After attending Penn State University where he received degrees in Speech Communication and Theatre, Walter worked at various professional, regional theatres throughout the country. He collected a graduate degree from the University of California, San Diego and worked on Broadway with Pulitzer Prize winning author Edward Albee. In addition to his professional work as an actor and director, Walter served as a Guest Artist at several universities. The Schoen family, now including wife Mary Nelson and sons Christopher and Eric, moved to Richmond in 1991. In addition to directing plays for the university, Walter continued his professional career in the U.S. and internationally. In addition to teaching theatre classes in acting and directing for UR, Walter taught numerous film classes. He retired in 2023 and thoroughly enjoys leading film classes for The Shepherd’s Center’s Open University and spending time with his year-old granddaughter.
Megan Shockley
Megan was a professor at Clemson until 2017, when she retired early to move back to Richmond. She is now a full-time Realtor with Compass, where she mainly helps downsizers and relocators with their life transitions. She learned about The Shepherd Center when one of her college mentors, John Gordon, asked her to teach a class. She has taught and taken several classes, and she serves on the education and events committees.
Susie Wiltshire
Susie was born in Danville, VA, but has spent most of her adult life in Richmond. She majored in French and German at Westhampton College of the University of Richmond and also received her masters in French from U. R. Her former Spanish teacher at the University introduced her to Charles Wiltshire at a foreign language conference in 1958. She and Charley were married for 57 years before his death in November 2016. They have one daughter, Beth. Before her retirement, Susie was an educator for 44 years, serving as an elementary school principal, director of studies, and teacher of French, German, and English. She spent 38 of those years at St. Catherine’s School, but also taught in the Richmond Public Schools, Hampton High School, the Collegiate Schools, and as an adjunct teacher at the University of Richmond. In the Community she has served as president of the Richmond Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, president and treasurer of NAMI-CVA (Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Central VA), president of the Friends of the Boatwright Library of the University of Richmond, president of the Alpha Epsilon chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma (an honorary education association), and as the founding president of the choral group CAFUR. She was a charter member of the Richmond Symphony Chorus and sang with it for 30 years. Along the way, she participated in La Comédie Richmondaine, which presented plays in French for the community. She enjoys travel, movies, plays, art, theology, and cats, and she is an avid puzzle fan. Since her retirement, Susie has relished her participation in Shepherd’s Center activities. Upon her election to the board in 2008, Susie became chairman of the Public Relations Committee and a member of the Education Committee, for which she formerly served as chairman of the lunch speaker subcommittee. She continues currently as a member of the Education Steering Committee. Since the fall of 2008, she has been teaching a French course for her peers in the Shepherd’s Center. Each year her class makes a donation to the Wiltshire Scholarship Fund, which the class established to help older students with tuition costs. She also helps TSCOR with proofreading and editing and previously served as Vice President and as a member of the nominating committee.
The Shepherd's Center Of Richmond 