Beth Rafferty
Blair Decker
Bryan Caccavale
CAPT Chris Hanson
CAPT Jon Rucker
Charles Southall
Jason Ward
Keith Macdowall
Larry Runkle
RADM David Goggins
RADM Scott Pappano
Steven Dobos
Jennifer Navarro
Mike Cortese
Patricia Herschkowitz
Congressman Joe Courtney
Keith Macdowall
Beth Rafferty was appointed Vice President of Columbia Class Program in July 2019. In this position she is responsible for the U.S. Navy’s Columbia Class Submarine Program and collaborative support provided to the UK’s Dreadnaught Program. Prior to this assignment, Beth Rafferty was the director of Integrated Power Systems (IPS). In her current role as Director of IPS, Ms. Rafferty was responsible for leading a team of EB engineers and major suppliers responsible for developing and delivering the COLUMBIA Class submarine electric drive propulsion system. Ms. Rafferty began her career at Electric Boat in 1994 as a structural engineer in solids mechanics, supporting VIRGINIA Class design. In the past six years, she has held positions as Manager of Quality Assurance / Ship Certification, Manager of COLUMBIA Class Material Acquisition, including responsibility for procurement of electric drive components, and most recently as Director of Naval Architecture and Structural Engineering and Design.
T. Blair Decker became the vice president and chief supply officer in 2019. He leads the material and acquisition value stream across the business including design and engineering, construction, material conveyance, supply chain development, strategic sourcing and product life cycle. He has been instrumental in developing the procurement strategies that have helped secure the reputation of the Virginia-class as one of the nation's most successful shipbuilding programs. He was previously vice president for Quality and Material. Decker joined the company in 1979 as an associate buyer and has progressively advanced through multiple management positions. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Fairfield University and a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of New Haven.
Bryan Caccavale is vice president of Material, Manufacturing and Facilities for Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries. Named to this position in 2020, he is responsible for all procurement, material logistics, and manufacturing functions as well as the company’s facilities. Caccavale began his shipbuilding career in 2002 as a financial analyst and since then has held numerous positions of increasing responsibility including leadership roles in program finance, financial planning and reporting, and contracts. Prior to his current appointment, he served as vice president of Supply Chain Management where responsible for supply base development, procurement functions, and material logistics for the division.
Charles Southall is vice president of Columbia-Class Submarine Construction for Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries. Named to this position in 2020, Southall is responsible for company-wide management, leadership, and cost, schedule, and technical performance of the Columbia-Class Construction Program.
He joined NNS in 1988 as an engineer in the submarine program and has since held leadership positions of increasing responsibility, including director of Submarine Engineering, and director of Advanced Submarine programs where he established the Columbia-Class Submarine Program Office. From 2012 to 2017 he served as the company’s chief engineer and was responsible for leading engineering efforts across all Navy programs. Prior to his current appointment, Southall served as vice president of Engineering and Design, and was responsible for all ship design, construction engineering, fleet engineering services, and test engineering.
Southall earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology from Old Dominion University. He is a registered Professional Engineer (PE) in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Southall currently serves in an advisory capacity to the Old Dominion University College of Engineering, the Engineering Advisory Board at Hampton University, Norfolk State University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. Additionally, he serves as vice chair of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission Recreational Fisheries Advisory Board.
In addition, he co-chairs the bipartisan Congressional Shipbuilding Caucus along with Rep. Rob Wittman of Virginia. As a member of the House Education and Labor Committee, he serves on the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions subcommittee, as well as the Higher Education and Workforce Training subcommittee.
As a senior member of the Armed Services Committee, Congressman Courtney has worked to strengthen our nation's defense by leading the call for increased submarine production. When Courtney arrived in Congress, Electric Boat was facing significant workforce reductions, and, for the first time in 50 years, was not actively designing the next generation of submarine. Because of funding secured by Courtney through his committee work, the men and women of Electric Boat have been building two submarines per year since 2011. In addition, Courtney has secured critical resources for new design and engineering work on the replacement for the OHIO-class submarine, which has added thousands of jobs in southeastern Connecticut. This design and engineering work prompted Electric Boat to expand into the former Pfizer building in New London to accommodate its growing workforce.
Additionally, Congressman Courtney secured over $100 million federal funding outside the President's budget for SUBASE New London. This investment will ensure that New England's largest military installation will have an enduring mission for years to come. In recognition of his work, Courtney was awarded “The Distinguished Public Service Award” from Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, the highest civilian honor the Navy confers.
Since his swearing-in, Congressman Courtney has distinguished himself as a tireless advocate for both our nation's veterans and our men and women in uniform. He successfully fought to expand the Montgomery GI Bill for post-9/11 veterans and their families, and led the fight to extend TRICARE benefits to dependents under age 26. Congressman Courtney also fought and won support for an 18-unit supportive housing facility for homeless and at-risk veterans in Jewett City. He also partnered with Senator John McCain to introduce the Post-9/11 Troops to Teachers Enhancement Act to help members of the military transition into the teaching profession. In recognition of his efforts on behalf of veterans, Congressman Courtney has been awarded the Connecticut National Guard's highest honor, the Meritorious Service Award. He has also earned recognition from veterans organizations, including the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, which named him Legislator of the Year in 2009.
Having served as a member of the House Agriculture Committee, Congressman Courtney is a vocal proponent for nearly 2,500 farmers across eastern Connecticut. Courtney is the founding co-chairman of the Congressional Dairy Farmers Caucus, and has worked tirelessly to protect family farms from foreclosure and fix the flawed milk pricing system.
Dedicated to preserving our green space and protecting the environment, Courtney introduced and won passage of a law that designated the Eightmile River in Connecticut as a part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Thanks to his efforts, this pristine and scenic watershed will be preserved for generations to come.
Before serving in the House of Representatives, Joe Courtney represented the citizens of Vernon in the Connecticut General Assembly from 1987 to 1994. During this tenure, then state-Rep. Courtney served as House Chairman for both the Public Health and Human Services Committees.
Courtney was recognized in a legislative poll in 1994 by Connecticut Magazine for his bipartisan efforts, and named the ""Most Conscientious"" and the ""Democrat Most Admired by Republicans."" Since he came to Congress, Courtney has received numerous awards from several national organizations including the National Patient Advocate Foundation's 2010 Healthcare Hero award, The International Brotherhood of Boilermakers' Legislator of the Year Award, and the American Farm Bureau's Friend of the Farm Bureau award.
Ward joined the NNS in 2014 as the deputy program director of AP1000 Shield Building Fabrication at Newport News Industrial. In this role, he was responsible for oversight of all business, program and operational initiatives of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Nuclear Quality Assurance (NQA-1) – commercial nuclear program. He served as director of Integrated Digital Shipbuilding (iDS), where he was responsible for leading development, funding and execution of digital projects to support deployment of an integrated operational plan. He also served as director of Columbia-Class Submarine Construction.
Prior to his current appointment, Ward served as vice president of Columbia-Class Construction Program since 2018, where he was responsible for the design, engineering, program management, planning and construction of the U.S. Navy’s next ballistic missile submarine. Before joining NNS, Ward was vice president for Geodesicx, a technology solutions company, and held numerous leadership roles for General Dynamics Electric Boat.
Prior to joining General Dynamics in 2009, Ms. Navarro was a consultant at Blank Rome Government Relations LLC. She advised local, state, non-profit and for-profit clients in areas of defense and national security, space, energy, and maritime. Ms. Navarro was successful in assisting clients with both legislative language and funding initiatives. Additionally, she supported business development priorities of several clients, aiding them with teaming opportunities; grant opportunities, strategic company growth, and opening doors to federal and state opportunities.
Ms. Navarro also served as an officer in the United States Navy Surface Nuclear Power community. Her military career includes service as a Congressional Liaison in the U.S. Senate as well as several tours at sea. Her operational experiences include an assignment as Air Defense Officer for a Carrier Strike Group and Nuclear Engineering Officer onboard the aircraft carrier USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73) during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Ms. Navarro holds a Master’s of Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business where she majored in finance, a Master’s of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, and a Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Larry Runkle became vice president of the Virginia Program in May 2020. In this role, he is responsible for design, construction, final assembly, test and delivery of Virginia-class submarines for the U.S. Navy. Prior to this assignment, Larry was Director of Virginia Class Submarine Construction Programs and Director of Maintenance and Modernization, where he was responsible for submarine repair work, modernization and site operations. Earlier in his career, Larry served as program manager for several highly successful Electric Boat programs. Larry joined Electric Boat in 1984 after earning a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Pennsylvania State University.
Mike Cortese is Electric Boat’s Senior Manager for Washington Operations. He is responsible for customer relations, strategic analysis, managing Electric Boat’s Washington facility, and managing Submarine Industrial Base Council activities. He joined the company in April 2008 following a 26-year career in the U.S. Navy.
A career submarine officer, Cortese served in both fast attack and ballistic missile submarines and commanded USS West Virginia (SSBN 736).
Cortese is a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy where he earned a BS in Mathematics. He later earned a Masters of Engineering Management from Old Dominion University, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, graduating with Highest Distinction.
Goggins served as major program manager of the Virginia Class Program and the Columbia Class Program. Under his leadership and guidance, the Virginia Program delivered three submarines to the fleet, started the initial design work on the Virginia Payload Module and Acoustic Superiority, and won the DoD Value Engineering Award and the David A. Packard Award for acquisition excellence. As the Columbia program manager, the program completed milestone B, awarded the Detail Design and Construction Readiness Contract, and started prototyping efforts.
Goggins became program executive officer for submarines in August 2018.
Assignments ashore include duty with Commander, Submarine Development Squadron 12 Tactical Action Group; onboard X-Daniel Webster (MTS 626) at Naval Nuclear Power Training Unit Charleston, South Carolina military assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy; and executive assistant to the Director, Programming Division (N80) on the Navy Staff.
After selection as an acquisition professional, Pappano served in the Special Operations Forces Mobility Program Office (PMS 399); as executive assistant to Commander, Naval Sea Systems Command; and as major program manager for the Strategic and Attack Submarine Program Office (PMS 392).
