Our volunteer Board of Directors and Officers

---

Brigadier General Pete Green retired after a distinguished 41-year career with the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard, where he held senior leadership positions spanning Security Forces, Mission Support, Aircraft Maintenance, Wing Command, and Joint Force Headquarters organizations. His military service was complemented by a successful corporate career in senior leadership, human resources, organizational management, marketing, and communications.  Pete and his family moved to Carolina Beach in 2020, but retirement did not mean stepping away from service. He quickly embraced the Pleasure Island community and began looking for ways to put his experience and leadership to work on behalf of his new community.

Pete previously served on the Carolina Beach Police Advocacy Committee and is the Founder and President of the Carolina Beach Police Foundation. Working alongside his fellow Board members, Pete has helped establish the Foundation as a community resource dedicated to supporting the Carolina Beach Police Department and investing in initiatives that enhance officer safety and training, recruitment and retention, and the health and wellness of officers and their families.

Pete also serves as Past Commander of American Legion Post 129, following two years as Commander, and continues to support local veterans and the community. He volunteers with The Island Men and previously spent two years as a volunteer Executive Coach with The Honor Foundation, helping Marine Special Operations Command Marines successfully transition from active-duty military service to the private sector.

Pete’s commitment to service also continues at the national level through his role on the Board of Directors of Skyline Nav AI, Inc., a technology company developing advanced navigation capabilities in support of our nation’s warfighting mission.

Throughout his military, professional, and community life, Pete’s leadership has been defined by a consistent commitment to service—to his country, to those who served alongside him, and now to the community he calls home.  Pete and his wife, Kathy, are proud to call Carolina Beach home and grateful to be part of the Pleasure Island community.

Wayne is a local Realtor and has lived in Carolina Beach for the last  twenty years.  Prior to moving to Carolina Beach, he spent over two decades in the medical device industry. Wayne served in numerous executive management roles with multinational companies before forming his own surgical device distribution company, specializing in orthopedic spine, trauma and biological implants. Wayne currently serves as the chairman of Carolina Beach Planning and Zoning commission and has served the commission for seven years. Wayne also leads a local nonprofit Crawl for Paws, dedicated to serving rescue animals. 

Vince and his wife Kim have been full time residents of Carolina Beach for the past 5 years.  Vince retired after an over 30 year career as a Corporate Controller of a multinational consumer packaged goods company in 2019, consulted for a year and worked at 3 start-up organizations thereafter.  Vince and Kim have now opened their own Tax and Accounting business called ATAX - Masonboro Commons.  He is also a board member of the Carolina Beach Mural Project and a member of the town’s Centennial Committee.  Vince and Kim both love the beauty that is Carolina Beach. 

John Coleman has lived in Carolina Beach with his family for the past 15 years and loves his beach community. He began his career as an Assistant District Attorney for the State of North Carolina in New Hanover County and is currently a partner at Whitley Coleman Attorneys. John is former Chairman of the Carolina Beach Police Advisory Committee.

Deputy Chief Mitch Cunningham (ret.) has been a police officer for 37 years, most  recently as Deputy Chief for the Wilmington North Carolina Police Department. Prior to that he was a police officer for the Montgomery County Department of Police, in Maryland. There he started a number of crime fighting initiatives including the first Career Criminal Unit, the first regional auto theft team and started the regional data sharing system NCR LInX, in the National Capitol Region which connects hundreds of police agencies, leading to countless arrests and supporting anti-terrorism efforts in the wake of 9-11.

As Deputy Chief for Support Services and later Patrol Bureau at WPD, he started a number of successful efforts to drive down gang violence plaguing the city. He also started the agency’s first Peer Support team, a college scholarship fundraiser Send a Cop to College to assist with the professionalization of its future leaders and implemented the second program in North Carolina that outfitted WPD officers with naloxone. He also began the LEAD program, a pre-arrest diversion program and helped to create the Quick Response Team for the region to help reduce opioid addiction.

He is a certified training instructor who worked as a law enforcement training coordinator for Cape Fear Community College as well as teaching for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and Louisiana State University. He is currently the Chief Law Enforcement Advisor for the National Sheriffs Association.

He was previously a member of Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the National Capitol Region and is currently the Vice Chairman of the Board for Soaring as Eagles a community outreach non profit serving families of Title 1 schools.

 John Query has lived in the Wilmington area since 2001 majoring in Finance and Marketing at UNCW. He and his wife have two grammar aged children. He has spent the majority of his work life in banking, and a corporate finance position in a pharmaceutical development startup.  He started his life career in 2018 with Edward Jones Investments, and opened his financial advising office in Carolina Beach in 2021 and later obtained his CFP®️ designation.  He’s been a member of several charitable organizations in Carolina Beach for many years. 

Jim Scandura and family have lived in Carolina Beach since 2001. He is from a military background having served in the US Navy Submarine Force as well as a diverse business background including senior management roles in the Pharmaceutical Industry ranging from large project management to business unit general management. He is now co-founder of TriRx Pharmaceutical Services based in Norwalk CT. His hobbies include boating and travel from home in Federal Point Yacht Club.

Lary Ellis is originally from Northern California and was raised on military bases until the 8th grade, when he met his future wife, Cory. After High School, he went to work for an Armored Car company.  He was recruited into the California Department of Corrections as a Law Enforcement Officer, where he worked at several of the Level 4 prisons in California.  He spent most of his career serving at Folsom State Prison.  He has also been a serial entrepreneur all of his life, mainly focused on real estate. He has owned commercial and residential properties, as well as launched a construction company specializing in roofing, windows, HVAC, and solar. 

Around 2017-2018, Lary and Cory came to Carolina Beach to do a TV show for HGTV called The Bargain Beach Hunt. They purchased their first home in Kure Beach, and then they started to build their forever home in Carolina Beach.  They live there today with their 2 French Bulldogs and 2 cats.

Lary and Cory launched Salty Shorts Real Estate in North Carolina, along with a cleaning company and a property management company. 

Sunshine Matthews is a proud Carolina Beach resident and Boston, Massachusetts native who brings a diverse background in leadership, healthcare, and finance to the Carolina Beach Police Foundation Board.

Her professional experience includes more than 10 years in financial services and banking management, along with 20 years in dermatologic surgery and surgical pathology management. She is also a licensed mortgage professional, helping individuals and families navigate the home-financing process with confidence.

Sunshine has called Carolina Beach home for the past two years and is passionate about being involved in the community she loves. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family, relaxing at the beach, gardening, beekeeping, and life with her three Yorkies.

She is excited to serve on the Carolina Beach Police Foundation Board and looks forward to supporting local law enforcement while helping strengthen the connection between officers and the community they serve.,

Kevin Wilson is a senior business executive with more than 30 years of leadership experience working with organizations across the financial services, technology, and commercial real estate industries. Throughout his career, he has led large, customer-focused organizations and partnered with some of the world’s largest Fortune 500 companies, helping businesses build stronger relationships, navigate complex challenges, and deliver meaningful outcomes.

Kevin and his wife, Tracy, moved to the Carolina Beach four years ago from Frisco, Texas, and have quickly come to consider the Cape Fear region home. They have two children who attend UNCW, further strengthening their family’s connection to the community.

Kevin believes strongly in servant leadership, giving back, and supporting those who dedicate themselves to making their communities better and safer. That commitment, along with his family’s connection to the area, led him to become involved with the Carolina Beach Police Foundation and its mission to support the men and women of the Carolina Beach Police Department.

As a member of the Carolina Beach Police Foundation Board of Directors, Kevin looks forward to bringing his leadership, business, and relationship-building experience to the Foundation, helping strengthen its connection with the community and supporting resources and initiatives that benefit CBPD officers and the Carolina Beach community they serve.

Joe Starks is a Marine Corps veteran who has over 40 years of technology, telecommunications, and business experience. As the founder of ECC, he has developed and managed, from startup, a consulting group that has been responsible for the development of over $3 billion in infrastructure and technology programs throughout North America. This includes programs and plans for education, corporate, community, healthcare, and energy environments. Joe has extensive experience in developing, managing, and growing start-up opportunities across each of these verticals, including startups for energy, healthcare, and over a dozen open access fiber and Broadband opportunities, each still operating successfully today. His experience includes the development of business models and is a proven visionary effective in diverse environments, with a strong technical and business background.