Board of Trustees

Bill Himmelsbach brings to the Board of Trustees 36 years of leadership experience in the health care field, mainly with not-for-profit hospitals and multi-hospital systems, including academic medical centers, around the country. In late 2012 he retired as the president & CEO of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, a not-for-profit academic research organization based in New York City. He is currently a guest lecturer in the MHA program at MUSC and in the BSN program at USC-Beaufort. He also serves on the advisory boards of two small private health care companies. Mr. Himmelsbach holds a B.A. in labor-management relations from Penn State University and an MPH in health care administration from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He and his wife, Gail, are residents of Spring Island.

A longtime board-certified ophthalmologist and BMH Medical Staff member, Dr. Jane Kokinakis is the owner of Beaufort Eye Center. A graduate of Michigan State University, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Kokinakis completed her residency in 2000 at Metropolitan Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She practiced four years in Pennsylvania and three in Michigan before moving to the Lowcountry. She also served six years on the board of the American Osteopathic Board of Ophthalmology & Otolaryngology, writing and administering written and oral board exams.

Vernita F. Dore, a native Beaufortonian, has dedicated her life to serving others. Dore is the former United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Deputy Under Secretary for Operations and Management. She brings more than 30 years of experience in the economic development of rural communities.

A graduate of the University of South Carolina, Dore also served as State Director of Rural Development. In this position she significantly increased economic opportunity and improved the quality of life for rural Americans by addressing the needs of communities in housing, water and environmental infrastructure, broadband and telecommunications.

During her tenure, she spearheaded the delivery of all agency products resulting in nearly $6 billion dollars invested in rural communities in South Carolina within six years.

Carolyn M. Banner, Ph.D., an experienced educational administrator and an expert in academic program development, joined the Beaufort Memorial Hospital (BMH) Board of Trustees in 2022. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Banner has spent time as a health educator and also worked extensively with diverse student populations. An adjunct professor at University of South Carolina Extended Campus, Coastal Region since 2008, she has also served in high-level administrative positions at the Beaufort campus, including as director of its Opportunity Scholars Program and of its adjunct faculty. Previously she was director of Student Services and Career Planning and Job Placement at Technical College of the Lowcountry in Beaufort. The St. Helena Island native holds a doctorate in education from Walden University in Minneapolis.

Board-certified interventional radiologist Dr. Eric Billig, a member of the hospital medical staff since 2006, graduated from Eastern Virginia Medical School and completed both his internship and residency at the Norfolk medical school. Following a fellowship in abdominal imaging at Emory University Hospital, he joined Beaufort Medical Imaging, the radiology group that provides all of Beaufort Memorial’s imaging services.

Tommy Harmon brings decades of healthcare governance experience to the BMH board. He spent nearly 15 years serving on the board of Southwestern Vermont Healthcare in Bennington, where he was finance committee chair before a five-year role as chairman of the board. He was designated Trustee Emeritus in 2022. Since that time, he has served as director of Broad River Healthcare and on Beaufort Memorial’s finance committee.

Mr. Harmon holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the former owner, CEO and Chairman of the Board for Sonnax Industries, Inc., a leading supplier of transmission components for vehicles worldwide. The Mooresville, North Carolina, native spent nearly 30 years in Vermont before retiring to Spring Island with his wife, Diane, in 2023.

Dr. Mary Christian, a leader dedicated to innovation, efficiency and collaboration in the pharmaceutical industry, joined the Beaufort Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees in 2025. For the last two decades, Dr. Christian has gathered experience in advancing medicine through regulatory and drug development, and has held leadership and advisory roles in biopharma organizations and patient advocacy firms.

Currently Senior Vice President with C4 Therapeutics, Dr. Christian has also been a key leader for organizations such as Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Ironwood Pharmaceuticals. She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Florida, and a Master of Business Administration in Pharmaceutical Business from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. Residing on Hilton Head Island, Dr. Christian prioritizes giving back and forward, having created a nonprofit organization matching first-generation college students to gain paid internships, and has held leadership roles on boards dedicated to innovation, strategic planning and community fundraising initiatives.

Stephen H. Marbut brings decades of executive leadership experience in sales, manufacturing , finance and marketing to the Beaufort Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees, which he joined in Oct. 2025. Currently residing in Bluffton, Mr. Marbut holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University and worked for 24 years with GE before taking his leadership role at Lummus Corporation, where he was at the helm as President and CEO for almost two decades.

Since 2021, Mr. Marbut has led a peer advisory board of 17 business owners, CEOs and Presidents in Savannah, Bluffton and on Hilton Head Island. This board is dedicated to building lifelong leadership excellence in the Lowcountry, fostering sustainable growth.