OUR DIRECTORS
CAPT Carol Culbertson, USN(ret)
Chairperson
CAPT Carol Culbertson, USN(ret)
Captain Carol Culbertson was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1943. She enlisted in the Naval Reserve at Pearl Harbor in 1962. She attended the University of Hawaii, earned a BA in English, and was later commissioned as an Ensign in 1967, after completing her officer training at OCS in Newport, RI. During her active duty in the Navy, she was stationed in San Diego in support of antisubmarine warfare training. She joined the Naval Reserve in 1972 and retired as a Navy Captain, Reserve Intelligence, in 2003, with 36 years of service. As a civilian, Carol worked as a Civil Service employee for 33 years with the US Navy in Japan, the US Army in Kansas, the Forest Service, and with the Internal Revenue Service in California, Arizona, and Colorado.
In her retirement Carol provides business training programs to working women, and educational history programs which are open to the public. Carol is a community leader in 16 different organizations, including veteran/federal affairs with the Federally Employed Women, Retired Federal Employees, Association of Former Intelligence Officers, the American Legion, Arizona Veterans Hall of Fame and Society, Association of the U.S. Navy, the Cactus WAVES, the Naval Order of the U.S., and the Unified Arizona Veterans.
She is also active in Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Cross Roads Methodist Church, as well as the Phoenix Hawaiian Club and the American Aviation Historical Society. As a Big Sister, she has mentored three young women. As Church Team Leader, she serves meals to the homeless in Phoenix.
CAPT Pete Lumianski, USN(ret)
Director
CAPT Pete Lumianski, USN(ret)
Captain Pete Lumianski is the third son of an English professor at Michigan State University and grew up in central Michigan. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy and spent the next 24 years in the Navy as a helicopter pilot and leader-manager, ending his career in 1988 as a Captain and as the Commanding Officer of the Naval Reserve Center, Tampa, FL.
Along the way, he acquired an MBA in management from Bryant University and graduated with honors from the Naval War College in Newport, RI. Over the past 33+ years since moving to Phoenix, Pete has held positions in the hospitality industry as the Chief Human Resources person at both the Pointe Resorts and at Macayo Restaurants. He was the President of the Service Academy Alumni Association of Arizona for eight years.
Pete has been involved with the USS Phoenix (SSN 702) since 1989, first as a USS Phoenix Commission member, and for the past 28 years as a leader in the effort to save parts of the USS Phoenix and place them in a downtown Phoenix park as part of a Cold War monument. He and his wife Chris are both retired and have three daughters, eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren, all living in Phoenix.
Chuck Manuel USAF Vet and Firefighter (ret)
Director
Charles (Chuck) Manuel
Charles (Chuck) Manuel is a retired Phoenix Fire Department firefighter. He served in the USAF from 1968-1972, during which time he spent eighteen months in Vietnam as a foreign language interpreter (French) in both Vietnam and Cambodia.
After returning to the U.S., he joined the Phoenix Fire Department, where he served for 25 years and attained the rank of Captain/Paramedic. Along the way, he obtained both Bachelors and Masters degrees from Arizona State University in Tempe.
LCDR Lynn Bennett, USN(ret)
Director
LCDR Lynn Bennett, USN(ret)
LCDR Lynn Bennet is retired from the U.S. Naval Reserve and was a Public Affairs Officer. She worked mostly with the Navy Office of Community Outreach and Pacific Command and was prior enlisted.
She retired in 2016 after 22 years in the Navy. For the past 15 years, Lynn has been a Real Estate Agent in the Phoenix area, as well as a Property Manager. She has been the Vice President of the Association of the U.S. Navy – Phoenix Saguaro Chapter since 2003.
LCDR Ed Henry, USN(ret)
Director
Ed Henry
Enlisted in the Navy after graduating from high school in 1977. After completing bootcamp and various service schools concluding with Basic Enlisted Submarine School, Ed was ready for fleet assignment. Promoted to Senior Chief Petty Officer in 1992 and selected for commission through the US Navy’s Limited Duty Officer program in 1993. Sea duty assignments include USS SPERRY (AS 12), USS PHOENIX (SSN 702) (Plankowner), USS HENRY M. JACKSON (SSBN 730 (Blue)) (Plankowner), USS GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER (SSN 656), USS HOLLAND (AS 32), MYSTIC DSRV-1, USS TARAWA (LHA 1) and USS DOLPHIN (AGSS 555). Shore duty stations included assignment on the staffs of the Commander Submarine Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet and Commander, Submarine Squadron Seventeen. Ed ended his 30-year naval career in July 2007. Post Navy, Ed was employed by Phoenix International Holdings, Inc. as their Chief Engineer for the maintenance and operations crew supporting the US Navy’s Submarine Rescue Systems in San Diego, California. He was employed there until his recent retirement in December 2019. Ed and his wife Cheri live in the Phoenix area.
CWO3 (SS) Chris Gahan, USN(ret)
Director
Chris Gahan
CWO 3 (SS) Christopher Gahan, USN (ret)
Chief Warrant Officer Chris Gahan’s naval career started right after high school with enlistment and bootcamp in December 1970. Selected to participate in the Navy’s Nuclear Power program, he graduated from the program in 1972. Promoted to Chief Petty Officer (E7) 1979 and earned a commission as a CWO in 1988. Sea duty assignments included the USS Sculpin (SSN-590), USS Patrick Henry (SSBN-599G) and the USS Drum (SSN-677) submarines. Shore duty assignments included Naval Support Center, Naples Italy, Submarine base Pearl Harbor, Puget Sound and Portsmouth Naval shipyards. Chris ended his 24-year naval career in August 1994 and considers himself as a Cold War Veteran.
Chris has degrees in Electronics and Facilities Maintenance. Post Navy, he has been employed as a facility engineer at couple of facilities in the Phoenix area but for the last 20 years was employed at ASU as a utility & energy engineer until his recent retirement from the university. Chris relocated to Mesa in 1994 with his wife Georgianne and both are retired. He has son and four grandchildren who also live in the Phoenix area.
ETN2 Dave Leclair USN(ret)
Director
ETN2 Dave Leclair USN(ret)
I spent six years in the US Navy from 1972 near the end of the Viet Nam conflict. My service included training in nuclear propulsion, a brief surface ship assignment (6 months on sub tender), then 5 deterrent patrols aboard a ballistic missile submarine and one partial Mediterranean cruise aboard a fast-attack submarine. My father’s WWII service in the Marines informed my decision to serve and my loyalty to the American flag.
After naval service I finished degrees and spent 6 years in agricultural non-profit work in two East African countries with my wife and two children. Following that I spent nearly thirty years at telecom companies, ultimately performing corporate training. For many years I led and grew to 1200 members the active employee veterans resource group of CenturyLink, which supports veterans’ interests and conducts community service across the Phoenix area and in many additional market areas through other states’ chapters.
I have served as a Big Brother, organized company goods drives with Packages From Home, volunteered at numerous StandDown events, Pats Run, mission trips abroad, and service projects through churches and corporate sponsors. I volunteer with Christ Church of the Valley (CCV) in retirement. I mentor men, lead small groups and extend Christ’s love into our city in that capacity.
It has been my privilege to serve with the Cold War Monument Museum (and USS Phoenix, SSN702) foundation since at least 2020 in furthering its important mission of providing Phoenix and visitors from everywhere the opportunity to learn, remember, honor.
I’m a proud grandfather of seven. On a touching personal note, the park in which our monument is being built (STEELE Indian School Park) is also where we held my late wife, Nancy’s, celebration of life service in 2014 in lovely Memorial Hall.
Carrie Thompson Jones
Treasurer
Carrie Thompson Jones
Carrie is a second-career attorney with an entrepreneurial bent who, prior to receiving her Juris Doctorate from Arizona State University in 2009, worked in manufacturing, import/export, and banking. Her diverse background has shaped her skillset as a legal professional.
Since 2010, Carrie has practiced as a trustee, a litigator, and a transactional attorney on behalf of lenders, servicers, and beneficiaries. Additionally, she has acted as general counsel in the fintech and late-stage startup space and is named on alternative dispute resolution rosters in service to the finance and securities industries.
Carrie is authorized to practice in Arizona in all state and federal courts, including the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Her expertise in alternative dispute resolution is showcased by her roles as a mediator for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona’s Mortgage Modification Mediation Program and as an arbitrator with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. In 2022, she achieved the Certified Regulatory Compliance Professional status from the FINRA Institute at Georgetown and is also ICC certified through the Association of Corporate Counsel. Additionally, she is a credentialed mediator, trained through the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Carrie has shared her expertise as a speaker at the Arizona Trustee’s Association Annual Conference on multiple occasions, covering insightful topics, including the Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act and the impact of blockchain and future technologies on fintech and proptech. She is actively involved in her community with volunteer contributions to the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services and Education’s Modest Means Program, and on other varied committees and councils within the state as they arise, from participating on judicial performance review panels, to answering televised hotlines supporting incoming callers with legal questions.
Beyond her professional endeavors, Carrie maintains a passion for travel, culture, and cuisine.
Please Support Our Monument!
Please help us raise the large amount of money needed to start construction. We’re counting on donors like you to help make this monument happen!
Thank-you!