Our Board

Whitney Saunders practiced law in the cities of Hampton Roads for more than forty years before being elected as the President and CEO of The Blocker Foundation in 2020. 

Whitney is a graduate of Woodberry Forest School, Swarthmore College and the University of Virginia School of Law. He also received an English-Speaking Union Fellowship to St. Edmund’s School in Canterbury, England. Whitney has chaired the boards of Edmarc Hospice for Children, the Suffolk Center for the Cultural Arts, the YMCA of South Hampton Roads, the Planning Council, Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, the Virginia State Bar Disciplinary Board and the Suffolk Foundation. He is also a former member of the board of the Beasley Foundation. Whitney is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Sentara Healthcare, the Pruden Foundation, Community Action Coalition of Virginia and the Suffolk Foundation. In recognition of his record of community and professional service, Whitney has been the recipient of numerous awards, including designation as Suffolk’s First Citizen in 2006.

Fred Martin has accumulated a lifetime of experience in the world of institutional and private finance. Within a year of graduation from the University of Florida in 1959, Fred accepted a position at First National Bank of Atlanta, later becoming Director of Investment Research. While there, he obtained an M.B.A. at Georgia State University in 1966.

In 1967 Fred became a resident of Hampton Roads where he was named Vice President and Investment Officer at United Virginia Bank – Seaboard National. From 1972 to 2006 Fred assumed the titles of President and Senior Portfolio Manager for Virginia Investment Counselors, an independent financial services firm headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia. He continued to serve as a Portfolio Manager with Sandpiper Capital until his retirement.

For over 40 years Fred has contributed his time and expertise to many worthwhile Hampton Roads charitable organizations. He has served on the Board of Trustees of the City of Norfolk Employees Retirement System, Chrysler Museum of Art, EVMS Foundation, Norfolk Botanical Gardens, Norfolk Collegiate, Norfolk Public Library Foundation, Norfolk Forum, United Way Foundation and Virginia Wesleyan University.

Fred was a friend and advisor of Frank Blocker for over 50 years.

After graduating from Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, VA, and then serving in the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Bissett joined the family business, Bissett Realty, Inc., a residential sales and property management company located in Virginia Beach, VA.

He served as Property Manager, Principal Broker and eventually, as President of the Company. In 1976, Mr. Bissett was elected President of the Virginia Beach Board of Realtors. After more than 30 years in residential real estate, and looking for a new challenge, Mr. Bissett sold the business and pursued a commercial real estate career. He was employed by Old Dominion University to procure off-campus commercial facilities to accommodate the ever growing needs and development of the University’s programs. Later, at S.L. Nusbaum, Realty Co., he managed commercial office and shopping center portfolios in Virginia and North Carolina. It was during this time that Mr. Bissett had the opportunity to manage an office building for Mr. S. Frank Blocker. For more than 10 years, their professional relationship developed into a friendship as they shared many of the same values, both professionally and personally. Recognizing Mr. Bissett’s experience and ability, Mr. Blocker asked Mr. Bissett to serve on the Board of Directors of The Blocker Foundation.

Billy George served the YMCA movement for over 40 years, retiring in December of 2020. His career started with the YMCA of Greater Richmond at Camp Thunderbird in 1975.

He served that YMCA in many capacities and ended his tenure in Richmond as a Regional Vice President. Among numerous accomplishments, he played an instrumental roll in establishing the YMCA as the leader in school based child care in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas of Virginia.

Billy joined the YMCA of South Hampton Roads (YSHR) in 1991 as the Chief Operating Officer. During that time, the Association experienced unprecedented growth, adding multiple family centers to the service area. Additionally, the Y expanded into North Carolina, developed two regional day camps and Camp Silver Beach, the YSHR’s first resident camp.

After a national search, The Corporate Board of Directors of the YMCA, named Billy the President/CEO for the South Hampton Roads YMCA in 2012. He served as the CEO for over seven years and during his tenure, fostered the merger with the Portsmouth YMCA and expanded to South Boston, VA., to help a financially challenged Y regain its strength and community impact. Under his leadership, the Y established multiple collaborations and partnerships with local governments, universities, public schools and other non-profits to expand Y services and better meet community needs.

Billy holds a Bachelor of Science in Recreation Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a graduate of the Civic Leadership Institute, Class of 2009, a member of the Association of YMCA Professionals and served for 6 years as the Chair of the Virginia Alliance of YMCAs.

Billy makes his home in the city of Suffolk, with his wife of 40 years, Laura. They met when they were camp counselors at Camp Thunderbird. They have two adult sons, Christopher and Andrew. Billy is an avid bass and saltwater fisherman and enjoys golf and family trips.

Reginald Corinaldi is a graduate of Swarthmore College and earned his MBA from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Finance. Reggie has been a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER professional for over 25 years. He has been recognized by the Paladin Registry of Financial Advisors as a 5 star advisor, their highest rating.

Reggie’s career started with Phillip Morris Inc in New York. Upon leaving Phillip Morris, Reggie served as a Financial Advisor for Costello Group in New York, where is specialized in financial issues facing business owners, especially those in the medical industry. In 1984, Reggie moved to Virginia Beach and took a position as a Certified Financial Planner for Davenport-Dukes in Virginia Beach before founding Financial Security Management, Inc. As Partner and President of the firm, he has grown Financial Security into one of the largest financial firms in the Hampton Roads Area. Reggie now serves as partner for Financial Security Companies. Reggie provides advice to hundreds of families in Hampton Roads and has led seminars and workshops at Howard University Dental School, Chesapeake General Hospital, Virginia Power, Eastern Virginia Medical School and more.

Throughout his successful career, Reggie has been an active community supporter for many non-profits, including Edmarc Children’s Hospice, United Way of South Hampton Roads, and African American Leadership Giving Institute. Additionally, Reggie was the founding board member for the W.T. Mercer Foundation and Past Chair of The Planning Council. He continues his passion for community service with The Blocker Foundation. Reggie is married to Dr. Angela Mercer and has three children.

Jane R. Short is the Principal of JRS Consulting LLC, a private consulting practice focused on advising families, nonprofit organizations, and community leaders on philanthropy, governance, succession planning, and family legacy conversations which focus on family values and charitable giving.

Over the course of her career, Jane has held senior and executive leadership positions with UBS Financial Services, U.S. Trust, and Waypoint Advisors, where she advised affluent individuals and families on strategic wealth planning and long-term relationship management.

Jane is widely recognized for her leadership and community involvement throughout Hampton Roads and beyond. She currently serves as a Trustee of the Eastern Virginia Medical School Foundation where she chairs the Finance and Investment Committees. She serves on the Boards of the Tidewater Community College Real Estate Foundation, the Virginia Symphony Foundation and is a past Board Chair of the Virginia Symphony Orchestra. Jane also serves on the Women United Global Leadership Council for United Way Worldwide.

Her previous community leadership includes service on the Boards of the United Way South Hampton Roads, ACCESS College Foundation, YWCA South Hampton Roads, and the Junior League. Jane has served on the Professional Advisory Committee for the Hampton Roads Community Foundation and has facilitated governance, fundraising, and strategic planning initiatives for numerous educational and nonprofit organizations.

Jane earned her degree in English from Sweet Briar College, where she was a Benedict Scholar, Vice President of Student Government, and Captain of the tennis team.

Residing in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Jane enjoys painting, biking, skiing, reading, yoga, Tai Chi, travel, and time with her family and grandchildren.