The Aiken Technical College Foundation Board of Trustees guides the vision and mission of the nonprofit in alignment with the college’s strategic goals.
Members of the Board of Trustees are leaders from various industries and backgrounds who come together to support the educational and professional development needs of Aiken Tech’s students and employees.
Chair
Carl Henson, Ph.D is the Founder and CEO of MarZeka Consulting.
Henson brings more than 25 years of senior leadership experience across revenue, sales, marketing, innovation, transformation, and cross-functional execution. His work combines executive operating experience with doctoral research focused on AI adoption in business.
Through MarZeka Consulting, Henson helps organizations build AI-ready businesses through AI Literacy, AI Strategy, and AI Enablement. He works with leaders and teams to prioritize the right use cases, guide responsible adoption, and turn strategy into practical workflows, tools, assistants, agents, and operating practices that improve performance and support business transformation.
Henson holds a Doctorate in Marketing from the University of Florida, where he conducted doctoral research on AI.
Sean Alford, Ph.D. is the senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Savannah River Nuclear Solutions at the Savannah River Site.
In this role, he provides leadership for SRNS human capital and business management services, including mission excellence, workforce services, procurement, prime contract administration, work planning and integration, information technology, records management, and finance. His focus is on developing and maintaining pipelines to guarantee future resource needs at SRS and coordinating support functions for new and emerging missions.
Prior to joining SRNS, Alford was superintendent of Aiken County Public Schools, served as an assistant superintendent in Dorchester School District Two and as the chief instructional services officer in Beaufort County, South Carolina.
Alford has a Bachelor of Science in Education from The Citadel, a Master of Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Master of Business Administration from University of South Carolina Aiken, an Educational Specialist and Doctor of Philosophy, both in educational leadership from the University of South Carolina. He also is a Society of Human Resource Management Certified Professional.
Christopher Austin is a principal shareholder and Co-Managing Shareholder of Austin & Pethick Law Firm, PC.
He leads Austin & Pethick’s estate planning, probate, and tax practice. He has experience and focuses on assisting clients with various estate planning matters ranging from simple to the more advanced and complex estate planning, asset protection, estate and trust administration (domestic and international), business succession planning, and tax planning, involving the structuring of business organizations, commercial real estate transactions, and corporate transactions.
He has previously served as a board member of the SRP Federal Credit Union Advisory Board, Aiken Steeple Chase Association, and the Boys and Girls Club of Aiken Advisory Board.
He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in political science and a minor in business administration. Chris obtained his Juris Doctorate from Charlotte School of Law and received his LL.M. (Master of Laws) in taxation from the University of Alabama.
Bill Gutfarb is in his 54th year being affiliated with Yawkey family entities, currently serving as an active trustee. He began his career with the Boston Red Sox during the Yawkey family’s ownership, working his way up from grounds crew to the accounting department. He then served with the Yawkey Family Office for over 34 years as a trustee of the Jean. R. Yawkey Trust, where he provided oversight of trust and endowment portfolios and maintained and oversaw the accounting and financial compliance of Yawkey’s non-baseball entities.
In addition to serving on the ATC Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Gutfarb also serves as president of the Aiken Training Track, on the advisory committee for the Aiken Thoroughbred Racing Museum & Hall of Fame, and as a lifetime trustee of the Eaglebrook School in Deerfield, Mass. Gutfarb has a bachelor’s degree from Boston University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Babson College.
Bob Hottensen is a retired Wall Street veteran and former managing director at Goldman Sachs and senior vice president at a leading family business and investment enterprise with roots in the Middle East.
In addition to serving on the ATC Foundation’s Board of Trustees, he is the treasurer of the Aiken Horse Park Foundation board and is active in Venturesouth, a Greenville-based angel investment group, where he serves as a managing director, leading the Aiken group.
Isaac Kelly is a vice president with Augusta Staffing Associates. With a background in leadership development, training, coaching, and project management, Kelly has helped area organizations grow and adapt through services such as direct hiring, consulting, and hands-on support.
In addition to the ATC Foundation board, he serves as a board member with the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce and as the chair of the chamber’s foundation.
Kelly has a degree in marketing from Augusta University.
Lindsey Reeves, RN, BSN is the director of nursing at Superior Nursing Solutions, where she leads compassionate care efforts for former nuclear site workers.
Her commitment to patient care, community service, and healthcare leadership reflect her passion for improving lives both within and beyond the nursing profession. Reeves is a proud alumna of Aiken Technical College.