During the October 27 meeting of the Union College Board of Trustees, the new slate of officers and members were elected. Mike Goss ’80 will serve as Chair, DJ Washington ’03 as Vice Chair, Terry Smallwood ’72 as Treasurer, Jessica Terry Bergman ’98 as Secretary, and Haley McCoy ’07 and Bob Mitchell as at-large members. Each position will last for a term of four years.

Chair

Mike Goss ’80 is General Manager of Social Innovation for Toyota USA and President of the Toyota USA Foundation, which supports STEM education. He leads a team of Toyota professionals who create positive social change and business opportunities by coalescing people, ideas and resources to address societal problems.

He is a board member of the Texas Rangers Foundation and the St. Bernard Project (SBP), a disaster resilience and recovery non-profit. He also represents Toyota on the Aspen Institute’s Business and Society Leaders Forum and the Conference Board’s Corporate Social Responsibility Council.

A native of Louisville, Goss earned degrees in journalism and English from Union and was inducted into the Union College Business & Professional Hall of Fame in 2023. He also played varsity tennis at Union and has been a long-time youth sports coach and volunteer since. His proudest moment at Union was marrying Ruth Hensley ’78 at Conway Boatman Chapel in 1980.

Vice Chair

DJ Washington ’03 became the University of Notre Dame’s first Director of Employer and Regional Engagement in the Meruelo Family Center for Career Development in September 2020. His team is responsible for increasing meaningful connections between students and alumni, particularly those from historically underrepresented backgrounds, and securing recruiting pathways with employers.

Washington is an instructor for the Moreau first-year student experience course and advisor to the First Gen Careers Initiative. He is an advocate for diverse student-led clubs and organizations on campus. He is also serving on strategic framework committees during the 2022-2023 academic year as part of the university’s strategic planning process.

Originally from Nashville, Washington received his communication and marketing degree from Union, where he also competed on the men’s basketball team. He has a master’s degree from Ball State University in public relations and a doctorate in higher educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Kansas.

Treasurer

Terry Smallwood ’72 is a financial advisor for the Cardinal Pointe Financial Group, a private wealth advisory practice of Ameriprise Financial Services, LLC., which was recently awarded the Ameriprise Client Experience Award. He has garnered 40 years in the financial services industry. Companies served include Wells Fargo, Prudential, Bluegrass Business Brokers Inc., and James River Coal Service Company. His areas of specialty are wealth preservation strategies, estate planning strategies, and investment management.

Smallwood is a member and former chair of the development committee for the Greater Kentucky & Southern Indiana Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. He is also a member of the Amethyst Association within the Alzheimer’s Association.

Smallwood earned his bachelor’s degrees with honors in accounting and business administration from Union while lettering in basketball, baseball, and tennis. He has served on the Board of Trustees since 2017.

Secretary

Jessica Terry Bergman ’98 is an analytical maximizer who likes to understand an individual’s or organization’s strengths to stimulate personal and group excellence. She is intrigued with the unique qualities of each person, culture, and group dynamic. She has a gift for figuring out how people who are different can work together peacefully and productively and is deeply committed to the people and organizations she serves along with the places they call home.

Bergman believes that leadership development, education and philanthropy are the keys to building organizations and communities that can thrive and sustainably grow. Additionally, Jessica loves nothing more than a “big fat crazy idea.” Ideas are fascinating to her and her ability to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena can lead her to unique solutions to everyday problems.

Over the course of her career, Bergman has worked with various schools and organizations in professional and volunteer capacities to assess their current strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to build a big picture assessment from which to move forward with best practices. She served in Union’s Office of Advancement for five years.

At-large members

Haley McCoy ’07 currently serves as the president and CEO of the Kentucky As­sociation for Economic Development (KAED) and is the first woman and person of color to do so. She has served as board director for numerous organizations, including the Foundation for Appalachian Kentucky, Christian Appalachian Project, and the Kentucky Historical Society. After earning her bachelor’s in mass communication from Union, McCoy went on to earn her master’s in theological studies from Lexington Theological Seminary as well as a joint MBA from the University of Louisville and the University of Kentucky, with an executive concentration.

Robert (Bob) Mitchell has served in many roles in Kentucky politics and is a retired district administrator for Congressman Hal Rogers, 5th Congressional District of Kentucky. He has also served on many boards throughout Kentucky and was a founding member of many, including the Center for Rural Development, Operation UNITE, Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Southern Kentucky Tourism, and Southeastern Kentucky Regional Industrial Authority (SOAR). In 2014, Mitchell received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Union. He is also the recipient of the Daniel Boone Visionary Award and the William Hacker M.D. Leader of the Year Award. In 2012, he was inducted into the 5th District Lincoln Club Hall of Fame.