Board of Governors Candidate Biographies

In February 2025 the Nominations Committee, composed of current members of the Board of Governors, convened to consider applications from qualified alumni to fill fourteen positions on the board. Applications were evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Volunteer Service to Georgetown University
2. Public Service and Community Involvement; and
3. Career Accomplishments

The Nominations Committee recommended ten current Governors to stand for election for a second term, and four alumni to stand for election for a first term. The candidates will begin their terms on July 1, 2025 after the Alumni Elections are held and the election results are certified.

All alumni are eligible to vote in the 2025 BOG Election. The election launched on Monday, April 28, 2025 and will close on Thursday, June 22 at 11:59pm EST. Please check your email for your username/password. The election website can be found here.

The Board will accept applications for its 2026 Election in the fall of 2025. Please check back for updates.

Karen DeSimone (D’89, Parent’28)

Karen DeSimone (D’89, Parent’28) was born at Georgetown University Hospital and found her way back to Georgetown to attend the dental school, after graduating from Brown University with degrees in theater and biology. As a dental student, she established Georgetown University’s Chapter of the American Association of Women Dentists and was honored with the Miriam DiRisi Award for academic and clinical excellence. She completed her orthodontic residency at Howard University College of Dentistry

For over 35 years, DeSimone has been practicing as a board-certified orthodontist at DeSimone Orthodontics in Pennington, NJ. She also taught at the orthodontic residency at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia for 25 years.

Drawn from her love of theater, biology, and board games, she created the game Dentalopoly. Proceeds from its sales help fund dental alumni events and support the So Others Might Eat dental clinic and food pantry in DC, well-known to Georgetown dental alumni who completed student externships there.

DeSimone created a social media forum for Hoya dentists, served as a member of Georgetown University’s Dental Alumni Board, and helped fundraise for the Tigani Dental Memorial Scholarship and the construction of the Dental Legacy Classroom. She received the Apollonian Alumni Award in 2020 and Distinguished Service Alumni Award in 2025.

Kathleen Gormley Johnson (C’90)

Kathleen Gormley Johnson (C’90) is the founder and CEO of PMR Life Care Plans, LLC, the nation’s largest woman‑owned, physician‑based life care planning firm. She leads a national team of academic physicians providing impartial forensic medical expertise in complex injury litigation. Her expertise builds on her prior experience as an assistant attorney general for Kentucky, and assistant professor of law and director of clinical programs at NKU’s Salmon P. Chase College of Law.

Her Georgetown service and leadership began as a freshman Georgetown University Student Association representative and continued through all four class committees, the Georgetown Lecture Fund, and major class‑wide programming, including the first Senior Parents Weekend. She later helped relaunch the Georgetown Club of Kentucky, served as vice president of the Georgetown Club of Cincinnati, and spent 14 years in the Alumni Admissions Program.

Johnson has remained a driving force for the Class of 1990 for nearly four decades. Classmates consistently describe her as fostering the “heart and soul” of the class, an energetic connector who rallies Hoyas, brings creative ideas, and puts in the hard work to make events succeed, from reunions to regional engagement.

David B. Hoppe (L’93, Parent’29)

David B. Hoppe (L’93, Parent’29) is a media/technology lawyer in San Francisco. He spent several years with international law firms practicing in Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, and two European offices and in-house with a Silicon Valley Nasdaq-listed internet company. Hoppe founded Gamma Law, a law firm focused on high-growth media/technology sectors. In addition to supporting clients in video games, blockchain, entertainment, and AI, a significant part of the firm’s practice involves international clients and cross-border transactions, particularly relating to Japan.

Hoppe is a frequent speaker in the United States and internationally on cutting-edge legal topics and is regularly quoted in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Bloomberg Law, ABC News, and CNBC. He has spoken on issues in media and technology law at Georgetown University Law Center and Harvard Law School and has been cited in numerous legal and academic publications, including The Harvard Journal of Law & Technology.

Hoppe is an adjunct professor at Georgetown Law, teaching a course he developed on practical skills in technology and media law. He currently serves as president of the Georgetown Alumni Club of Northern California.

Kerry McKeon (SFS’91)

Kerry McKeon (SFS’91, Parent’22, ’24, ’26) was a varsity letterman in football during his time on the Hilltop and represented Georgetown University when he matriculated at the University of Strasbourg in France during his junior year abroad. Since graduating in 1991, McKeon has stayed connected to Georgetown in multiple ways professionally and personally.

From 1996 to 2020, McKeon led on-campus recruiting efforts for his respective firms by giving presentations at the Cawley Career Center, interviewing, hiring, and providing ongoing mentoring to dozens of Hoyas. For almost 25 consecutive years, he has also participated in Alumni Admissions Program and interviewed more than 150 prospective students. In support of development and alumni initiatives, McKeon has been a member of Georgetown’s southeast regional philanthropy advisors and has enjoyed hosting development-sponsored alumni events.

For over 25 years, McKeon has been a CFO and international banker with a focus on energy, natural resources, and critical materials. After completing his role as CFO of a privately-held global sustainable energy business in 2022, he founded Resource Security Advisors LLC, helping public corporations, private investment firms, and family offices acquire, sell, and finance natural resources and materials globally.

McKeon and his wife, Paula, were married in Dahlgren Chapel and are proud parents of three Hoyas and reside in Potomac, Maryland, with their high school-aged daughter.

Lawrence Palumbo (B ’00)

Lawrence Palumbo (B ’00) began his alumni engagement by becoming an Alumni Admissions Program (AAP) interviewer. He later became a New Jersey Committee chairperson in 2018. Recently, he was invited to join the AAP Board of Advisors. In 2002, Palumbo was a member of the founding group to re-establish the Georgetown Club of Northern New Jersey, where he served as treasurer and board member for 10 years. Palumbo joined the board of Georgetown’s Steers Center for Global Real Assets in 2013. In that capacity, he founded and chaired the Georgetown Real Estate Alliance in 2015, which connects alumni in the real estate industry and helps students gain entry to the field. He is an adjunct professor for the McDonough School of Business where he teaches Real Estate Development and Real Estate Private Equity classes at the graduate level.

Palumbo has enjoyed a career in real estate investing since graduation. After a short time at PricewaterhouseCoopers, he joined BlackRock in 2002, where he led the Real Estate Separately Managed Account business as managing director until 2015. He co-founded Falcon Partners in 2015, which developed commercial real estate assets in New Jersey, and sold the portfolio in 2021. Currently, he consults on complex real estate valuation work in addition to managing LP3 Interests, a holding company that invests in real estate partnerships throughout the country.

In addition to graduating from Georgetown, Palumbo earned a Masters in Real Estate Finance from NYU. He is a full member of the Urban Land Institute, and serves as a volunteer for several nonprofit organizations. He resides in Madison, New Jersey, with his wife and two children.

Tim Seymour (B’88)

Tim Seymour (B’88) is founder and chief investment officer of Seymour Asset Management (SAM).
Seymour is also a co-host and trader on CNBC’s Fast Money program, now in his 19th year in that role.\

Seymour has nearly 30 years of investment experience as a hedge fund manager, asset allocator, and capital markets professional across multiple asset classes, with a focus on international equities. Seymour is currently a portfolio manager and sub-advisor to the Amplify CWP International Enhanced Dividend Fund $IDVO. Hewas co-founder and CIO of Triogem Asset Management, whose flagship product was a long/short global equity fund from 2008 to 2015.

Seymour has spent 20 years working with the Georgetown Wall Street Alliance in various roles, including board member, host of the annual event, and donor. He remains actively involved with the Georgetown Club of New York and has served for five years as an Alumni Admissions Program interviewer in the New York Area. In addition, he works with the Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy as an advisor and participant in the annual conference.

Seymour received his undergraduate degree at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and an MBA in International Finance from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

Nathan Simms (SFS’84)

Nathan Simms (SFS’84) has maintained longstanding involvement in the Georgetown community since his graduation. While at Georgetown, Simms was a three-year letterman of the Hoya football team, an officer in the Georgetown University Black Student Alliance, and a 4-year Vital Vittles member. He contributed to the Georgetown community from Chicago and North Carolina as an interviewer in the Alumni Admissions Program for over two decades. He is a 1984 class ambassador and has served on multiple 1984 Class Reunion Committees. A charter member of the Georgetown Club of the Research Triangle, Simms served as vice president for six years and presently holds the position of club president.

Simms pursued graduate studies at the University of Chicago Law School, earning his J.D. and admission to the Illinois Bar. His legal career includes practicing health care law at Sonnenschein, followed by a tenure as in-house counsel at GlaxoSmithKline. He subsequently moved into commercial business roles at GSK, holding leadership positions in sales, marketing, government relations, and public policy through 2017. Simms is currently the director of Compliance and Risk Management at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a board member of CMMB (Catholic Medical Mission Board), serving on its Programs and Audit and Compliance Committees.

Beyond his professional and alumni activities, Simms engages in the Chapel Hill community as an assistant coach for the local high school football team attended by his children, mentoring at-risk young African American men, and serving as treasurer for the Epsilon Gamma Boule service fraternity. His leisure activities include grilling, kayaking, and visiting family—his daughter Loren in Charleston, South Carolina, his son Kendall, daughter-in-law Bernadette, and grandson William in Chicago. Simms currently resides in Hillsborough with his fiancé, Tammy.

Fonda Sutton (SFS’87, L’95, G’15)

Fonda Sutton (SFS’87, L’95, G’15) is a social sector leader with more than 30 years of experience working at the intersection of policy, research, advocacy, and philanthropy. She currently advises nonprofit and philanthropic leaders as an independent strategic advisor, building on her most recent role as partner for public engagement and advocacy at Education Forward DC, where she led the development of a multi-year philanthropic investment strategy and managed a $30 million grant portfolio focused on improving education outcomes in Washington, DC.

Previously, Sutton served as the chief political advisor for DC Public Schools, managing the school district’s policy, legislative, and intergovernmental affairs. Since beginning her career in higher education at her alma mater, she has built a career spanning schools, nonprofits, government, and consulting, all grounded in a deep commitment to children, families, and underserved communities. Sutton serves on the boards of several youth-serving organizations, the community council of her local NPR affiliate, as well as the Black Alumni Council at Georgetown. Originally from Kinston, North Carolina—arguably one of the greatest producers of NBA talent in the country—Sutton has long channeled her love of basketball into cheering for the Hoyas and serving on the Hoya Hoop Club. After college, Sutton made Washington, DC, her home and now lives in the Manor Park neighborhood with her rescue Mastiff-mix, Bruno. A loyal daughter of Georgetown, Sutton holds degrees from the School of Foreign Service, the Law Center, and the McDonough School of Business.

Winoka “Wendy” Lennon-Wilkes (SFS ’91)

Winoka “Wendy” Lennon-Wilkes (SFS”91) came to Georgetown as a member of the Community Scholars Program for first-generation minority students, and is a very proud and active alumna.

After Georgetown, she spent several years working with developers to build out the waterfront in her hometown of Camden, New Jersey. She then went on to serve as marketing director for an enterprise-level software firm in Philadelphia where she was a part of the team that took the company public which led to the company being acquired by Hewlitt Packard. She decided to start her own marketing firm Winoka & Associates, and have spent over 25 years as an entrepreneur, speaker, and personal chef.

Lennon-Wilkes has devoted over 17 years to being of service to the Georgetown Black Alumni community. She is a co-founder and chair of the Soul Hoya Alumni Group founded in 2009, and together with seven other black Alumni leaders co-founder of Georgetown University’s first recognized Alumni Association Affinity group: Georgetown University Alumni Association Black Alumni Council (BAC).
Lennon-Wilkes continues to serve on both the BACl as a non-voting Emeritus vice chair (2023) and the Soul Hoya Committee as a member, and is an avid supporter and advocate of participation and presence at the Patrick Healy Dinner, John Carroll Weekend, Black Alumni Summit, Loyalty Society, and Soul Hoya Reunion Weekend.

Doug Donohue (B’89, Parent’16, ’19, ’22, ’23)

Doug Donohue (B’89, Parent’16, ’19, ’22, ’23) is the proud parent of three Hoyas. He is an investment banker in New York City, where he lives with his wife Courtney.

Donohue has remained connected to Georgetown through his participation in the Alumni Admissions Program for over 20 years. In addition to conducting interviews, he has hosted numerous accepted student receptions and represented Georgetown at several high school college fairs and Exploring College Options panels. He is a dedicated alumnus of the rowing team, and he continues to row with the Georgetown alumni in races each autumn. He has been a fundraiser for the crew, as well as Campus Ministry.

Outside of Georgetown, Donohue has been very active in his community. He is the past chairman of the parish council of his church, his children’s grammar school, and his local YMCA. In addition, he has served on the boards of his local library and a food pantry/soup kitchen. Donohue is currently a volunteer guide for runners with disabilities through Achilles International.

Chris Lucey (B’01, SCS’12)

Chris Lucey (B’01, SCS’12) is a lifelong Washingtonian, growing up in Holy Trinity Parish and graduating from Gonzaga College High School. He continued his Jesuit education and commitment to being “people for others” on the Hilltop graduating from the McDonough School of Business in 2001 and going back to Georgetown for a master’s in Real Estate Development in 2012. His family is longtime Hoya basketball fan holding season tickets since 1981.

Lucey is a managing director at Newmark’s Washington, DC, office where he is a commercial real estate broker with over 20 years of experience. He provides tenant representation services to a wide array of corporate and non profit organizations, including associations, embassies, financial services firms, government affairs offices, government contractors, higher education, life sciences, law firms, and technology companies. Lucey specializes in insightful strategic planning, financial analysis, and negotiating business terms in the leasing and purchase/sale of commercial real estate including office, flex, industrial, multifamily, retail, and lab space.

Lucey is on the Board of Directors of the Father McKenna Center and is an active volunteer with Holy Trinity School and Parish, Washington Jesuit Academy, The Ireland Funds, So Others Might Eat (SOME), and The Society of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick.

Lucey, his wife, Katie, and two children, Jack and Charlotte, live in McLean, Virginia.

William Oppenheim (M’70)

William Oppenheim (M’70) is professor emeritus of David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he is on recall as a continuing faculty member in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. He has been active in the local Georgetown Los Angeles club, and as a member of the Medical Alumni Board since 2000 . He received the 1851 Medical Alumni Award in 2025. He and his wife Patty endowed an Oppenheim Chair and Lectureship position in the Georgetown Department of Orthopaedics in 2025. He is also a member of the Loyalty, Warwick Evans, and 1789 Societies.

Oppenheim serves as the current h istorian, and is former president of American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine as well as the current ecretary of Momentum Wheels for Humanity, an international provider of free wheelchairs for underprivileged in South America, Africa, and Ukraine. He and his wife reside in Marina Del Rey and enjoy traveling and spending time at their Lake Arrowhead cabin in the mountains of Los Angeles.

Carrie Sullivan Walker (C’97)

After spending years in the event planning world, Carrie decided to pursue a career that better allowed her to spend time with her growing family. In 2009, she started Golden Peak Partners; a real estate investment and management company specializing in short-term and long-term residential leasing across the US. In 2018, she joined as a co-owner of Five Oceans Capital; a commercial and multi-family real estate investment firm. Aside from a love of real estate, Carrie also enjoys working as an EMT and volunteer in the Emergency Department of Huntington Hospital in Pasadena. In addition to hospital volunteering, Carrie also serves on the boards of several non-profits including Kidspace Children’s Museum, Young & Healthy, CS Arts – SGV Foundation, Words2Action, and Las Madrinas (serving Children’s Hospital Los Angeles). Giving back has been an integral part of Carrie’s life since her days at Georgetown. As an alumna, she has served as a member of the Alumni Admissions Program for 19 years, planned pre-reunion events, served on her Class of 1997 committee, and is now excited to join the GU Board of Governors. When not busy working or volunteering, Carrie loves spending time with her husband of 22 years and three, teenage children.