SBC USA
Board of Directors
Pete Perkins
Board Chair
Pete joins the Sail Beyond Cancer® Newport board with a deep commitment to the healing power of the ocean, and a professional background rooted in over 30 years helping businesses grow and succeed. Over his career, Pete co-founded a boutique strategy consulting firm in Cambridge, as well as acquired and founded multiple businesses in the consumer products and retail space. Having walked in their shoes, Pete now brings a unique combination of experience, compassion and value to his clients as a CEO Advisor and sits on multiple for-profit and non-profit boards.
Pete’s love for the water began in college, sparked by a transformative journey where he and a group of friends sailed a 40' O'Day from Ft. Lauderdale to the Bahamas. Since those early days on the open sea, he has become an avid sailor who finds his greatest joy in sharing the wind and waves with friends and family.
For Pete, the mission of Sail Beyond Cancer is also deeply personal. Having watched his mother courageously face two bouts of breast cancer before passing away at the age of 68, he understands the physical and emotional toll the "cancer trail" takes on both patients and their loved ones. He is honored to help provide others with the same sense of peace and reprieve that sailing has always provided him, ensuring that those challenged by cancer can find a moment of joy and connection on the water.
Russ Matijevich
Board Member
Russ “Mr Wizard” Matijevich grew up with a love for the water and an appreciation for boating thanks to friends and family. He discovered sailing in the summer of 1984 just after high school graduation and instantly fell in love with the sport (the cute girl on the bow may have helped) but then he was off to college and the USAF where sailing opportunities were few and far between. After spending nearly 22 years as a US Air Force officer he retired with his final duty station at the Pentagon. He rediscovered sailing in 2009 and has been making up for lost time ever since to include amassing nearly 8000 miles of offshore sailing. He purchased his beloved 1988 C&C 44, Widow Maker, in 2021 and enjoys racing, cruising, and taking Sail Beyond Cancer honorees out on her creating a pocket of peace for them to escape and enjoy the healing power of sailing the Chesapeake Bay.
Ken Zemba
Board Member
Born and raised in Pittsburgh (and a lifelong Steelers fan), Ken discovered his love of the water during summers at Deep Creek, Maryland, where he sailed, boated, and even built his own custom slalom ski. That passion for boats has stayed with him, from restoring a sailboat to now helping others experience the healing power of sailing.
Ken enjoyed a distinguished career as a C-level executive in business and technology, holding leadership roles at PNC Bank, Bank of New York Mellon, ADP, and First Data Corporation. He also co-founded Billing Zone, a startup funded by Perot Systems and PNC Bank, working directly with Ross Perot.
As a cancer survivor who also lost his older brother to the disease, Ken views challenges as opportunities. His deep commitment to Sail Beyond Cancer USA is both personal and professional: he sails, supports operations, and applies his technical expertise to streamline processes so volunteers can focus on nominees. While rooted in Virginia, Ken is also helping expand SBC’s impact to other chapters.
Ken and his wife of 46 years live in Hayes, Virginia, where they enjoy time with their three children and five grandchildren.
Whit Wales
Board Secretary
Whit believes that resilience is fostered by acceptance and that acceptance often arises when an experience transcends our attachment to a given situation. He has come to understand that for many people sailing provides that transcendent experience.
"In my involvement in Sail Beyond Cancer, I have had the privilege to share and document through photography and film people whose perspective on their physical and mental state, as well as their relationship with others, has been transformed - and for the better - by simply being able to breathe and break bread with family members and friends on a boat powered by wind, water and sail. As current board chair, I am determined to create greater awareness and to help bring as many people in this region as possible to a Sail Beyond Cancer experience."
Pam Goetz
Board Member
Pam has dedicated her career to improving the lives of people facing cancer—not only during treatment, but throughout the survivorship journey. After more than a decade as Survivorship Program Manager at Sibley Memorial Hospital, part of Johns Hopkins Medicine, she recently retired from one of the region's most respected cancer survivorship programs.
Her experience extends well beyond a single hospital. Prior to Sibley, Pam directed survivorship programs for the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), helping develop national educational resources for cancer survivors through CDC-funded initiatives. Throughout her career, she has become a nationally recognized leader in oncology navigation, publishing extensively and serving on leadership councils that have helped shape cancer survivorship programs across the country.
What makes Pam's appointment especially meaningful is that her passion is deeply personal. Cancer has touched her own family, giving her firsthand insight into the emotional and practical challenges patients and caregivers face every day. That perspective has guided her life's work and aligns beautifully with Sail Beyond Cancer's belief that healing extends beyond medicine.
Carter Miller
Board Member
Carter's commitment to Sail Beyond Cancer is deeply personal. Since his partner, Mia, was diagnosed with stage IV adrenocortical carcinoma in 2024, he has witnessed firsthand the challenges cancer places on patients, caregivers, and families, as well as the importance of finding moments of peace and normalcy amid treatment. Inspired by Mia's resilience, Carter is honored to support Sail Beyond Cancer's mission of providing hope, healing, and meaningful experiences for those navigating the cancer journey.
Professionally, Carter is a Policy Associate at East Point Energy, where he works across policy, regulatory, and market strategy to assess the business impacts of evolving energy policies and support the company's engagement with policymakers and industry stakeholders. Prior to joining East Point, he worked as an energy and infrastructure paralegal, supporting regulatory strategy and proceedings for clients across the United States and internationally. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration with a double major in Political Science from the University of Richmond. Growing up in a waterman community and working as a commercial oysterman during college, Carter developed a lifelong appreciation for the restorative power of the water and is proud to help make those experiences possible for others.
