NIHS Board of Directors

Mr. J. C. Egnew
Mr. Egnew, a former NASA engineer, is the Chairman/President/CEO of Outdoor Venture Corporation. He is a co-founder of the company which is a major supplier of military tents to the U. S. Department of Defense. Mr. Egnew is a former chairman of the Industrial Fabrics Association International, a current director of the Industrial Fabrics Foundation and is responsible for the startup of four manufacturing facilities and the creation of more than 1,000 jobs in McCreary County, KY and the surrounding area. He earned an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Evansville and a graduate degree in industrial management from the University of Tennessee. Mr. Egnew is a director of the Bank of McCreary County and president of the McCreary County Education Foundation.

Mr. Gregory Jones
Greg Jones has served as the Executive Director of Southeast Kentucky Economic Development Corporation (SKED) since July 1992. As Executive Director, he is responsible for the marketing and industrial recruitment activities for a forty-two county area in southern and eastern Kentucky, managing a $9 million loan portfolio and providing economic and community development assistance to local communities in SKED's service area. Under his leadership, SKED has successfully assisted over 100 businesses and industries in starting or expanding their operations in the southern Kentucky region. Mr. Jones has served on numerous boards and commissions both locally and nationally. Mr. Jones earned his B.S. in Industrial Technology at Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky. He also holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. He has attended the Institute for Organization Management and Economic Development Institute. In 1995, he received the Certified Economic Developer designation from the American Economic Development Council.

Dr. Thomas D. Layzell
Dr. Tom Layzell is president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. He has served as president of the State Higher Education Executive Officers, a member of the National Commission on Accountability in Higher Education, president of the National Association of System Heads and a member of the Council of Presidents of the Association of Governing Boards. Dr. Layzell has also served as Mississippi’s Commissioner of Higher Education, and Chancellor of the Illinois Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities. He earned his undergraduate degree at Millikin University and his juris doctorate and MPA from the University of Illinois.

Ms. Sylvia L. Lovely
Sylvia Lovely is the Executive Director / CEO of the Kentucky League of Cities and President of the NewCities Institute. She is a nationally recognized champion of cities and the power of people to create positive change. The NewCities Institute is a national nonprofit organization that encourages citizens to get involved in helping their communities thrive in the rapid technological change and global challenges of the 21st century. Her commitment to the wellbeing and safety of our cities and the people that call them home has shown in her work as CEO of the Kentucky League of Cities and interim Executive Director of Kentucky’s new Office of Drug Control Policy. She was named one of Kentucky’s Top Women of Influence, Appalachian Woman of the Year, Communicator of the Year and one of Kentucky’s Power Elite. She was also a keynote speaker in the Dominican Republic at an international conference of women leaders. Ms. Lovely and her husband Bernie live in Lexington, KY. Ms. Lovely is a graduate of Morehead State University, where she is a member of the Board of Regents. She graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law and is an Adjunct Faculty Member of the UK Martin School of Public Policy and Administration.

Mr. John T. Preston
Mr. Preston is President and CEO of Atomic Ordered Materials LLC., (AOM) and Senior Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before joining AOM, Mr. Preston was the Director of Technology Development at M.I.T., where he was responsible for the commercialization of intellectual property developed at M.I.T. In this capacity he oversaw activities that led to the creation of over 250 new technology-based companies as well as the negotiation of thousands of licenses with existing companies. Prior appointments include director or advisory positions for the Governor of Massachusetts, the US Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science and Technology Board of Singapore and several others. Mr. Preston has testified seven times before the US Congress on issues related to technology commercialization and has chaired meetings of this subject for President George H. W. Bush and H.R.H. Prince Charles among others. Mr. Preston received a Bachelors of Science in physics from the University of Wisconsin and a Masters of Business Administration from Northwestern University.

Judge Eugene Siler Jr.
Judge Siler is Senior Judge, U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, a position he has held since 2001. He was appointed as an appellate judge for the Sixth Circuit in 1991. His prior service includes judge for the U. S. District Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Kentucky and chief judge of the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He was also United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. Judge Siler served in the U. S. Navy and retired from the United States Naval Reserve with the rank of Commander. Judge Siler has served as chairman and member of the board of trustees of Cumberland College and president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention. He has also served as chairman and member of the board of directors of Baptist Healthcare System. He earned degrees from Vanderbilt University, the University of Virginia and Georgetown University.

Mr. John S. Tritak
John S. Tritak is the former director of the U.S. Government's Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (CIAO), a federal interagency organization created by presidential directive in 1998 to coordinate the development and implementation of U.S. policy on securing the nation's critical infrastructures. His specific responsibilities included: coordinating the development of the Administration's National Strategy for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Cyberspace Security; assisting Federal departments and agencies in identifying their key assets and critical infrastructure dependencies; and coordinating national awareness and outreach efforts to private industry and State and Local governments. Before joining the CIAO, Mr. Tritak was an attorney, providing advice and counsel on a wide range of legal, legislative and policy matters, including critical infrastructure protection, to domestic and international clients in the defense, telecommunications, and transportation industries. Mr. Tritak previously served in numerous positions in the State Department's Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs. Mr. Tritak received a B.S. in political science from the State University of New York at Brockport and an M.A. in War Studies from the University of London, King's College. He earned his J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Dr. Samuel G. Varnado
Dr. Varnardo is the Chief Executive Officer of NIHS. Previously, he served as Chief of Staff, Executive Office, Sandia National Laboratories. In this role, he supervised the Labs’ strategic planning, government relations, corporate systems analysis and protocol activities. In addition, he supported the Lab Director and other Executives in the operation of the $2 billion Sandia enterprise. He has also served as Director of the Information Operations Center at Sandia National Laboratories. In this role, he led Sandia’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Program. He worked in a support role to the President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection. Other professional activities include part time service as a Senior Policy Advisory to the Deputy Secretary of Energy in the area of Energy Infrastructure Assurance. He earned his BS degree from Mississippi State University, an MS from the University of New Mexico and his doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin.

Maj. (Ret.) Alecia Webb-Edgington
Maj. (Ret.) Webb-Edgington is director of the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security. Prior to joining the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, she was the Chief Information Office for the Kentucky State Police. During her distinguished 20-year law enforcement career, Webb-Edgington has served in numerous capacities including Drug Enforcement, Executive Security, and has been honored with several awards including the KSP Commendation for Outstanding Achievement and the Kentucky Women’s Law Enforcement Network (KWLEN) Contributions to Law Enforcement Award. She is the past-president of the KWLEN and formally served on the Board of Directors for the National Consortium for Justice Information and Statistics. She holds a Masters of Science degree in Criminal Justice from Eastern Kentucky University as well as Bachelor of Arts in Sociology/Criminology from Western Kentucky University