Board of Directors

Mr. Phillip W. Evans, President

Durham, NC
Phil is an attorney in private practice concentrating on juvenile and mental health law in Durham, NC. Previously he was a park ranger historian at the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, where he received the Freeman Tilden Award for education and interpretation from the National Parks and Conservation Association.

 

Dr. Eric Klingelhofer, Vice President for Research

Macon, GA
Eric is a retired professor of history at Mercer University. He was a senior archaeologist during the Colonial Williamsburg excavations under Ivor Noel Hume at the 1619 Wolstenholme Town site at Carter’s Grove Plantation near Williamsburg, VA. He has not only worked at Roanoke Island since the early 1990s, but has led archaeological research efforts at sites related to Sir Walter Raleigh in both Ireland and the Caribbean.

 

Mr. Nicholas M. Luccketti, Vice President for Research

Williamsburg, VA
Nick is one of the principals of the James River Institute for Archaeology. He has led numerous archaeological research efforts focusing on the early history of Virginia. In addition to working at Roanoke Island since the early 1990s, Nick was one of the “rediscoverers” of the 1607 Jamestown fort and the nearby Paspahegh Indian village.

 

Mr. Robert E. Davis, Secretary

Washington, DC
Bob is a Washington businessman with a life long interest in history. His participation on other non-profit boards brings his valuable experience to the First Colony Foundation. He combines his experience with his enthusiasm and thoughtful guidance.Bob is a Washington businessman (real estate) with a life-long interest in history. His participation on other non-profit boards brings his valuable experience to the First Colony Foundation. He combines his experience with his enthusiasm and thoughtful guidance.

 

Mr. Alastair Macdonald, Treasurer

Williamsburg, VA
Ale has a bachelors degree in Commerce from the University of Virginia and a masters degree in Finance from the University of Richmond along with a life-long interest in history. He received his training in archaeology at Colonial Williamsburg. A Virginian of long lineage and a board member of the James River Association, he participates regularly in archaeological fieldwork at Roanoke Island and Site X.

 

Other Members of the Board

Dr. James Horn

Richmond, VA
Jim is President and Chief Officer of the Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation. Jim is the author of “A Kingdom Strange: The Brief and Tragic History of the Lost Colony of Roanoke” and “A Land as God Made It: Jamestown and the Birth of America.”

Ms. lebame houston

Manteo, NC
lebame is a Roanoke Island native with a life-long love of the story of the Lost Colony. She is the author/director of a stage production on the life of Queen Elizabeth I titled “Elizabeth R.” She is the historian of the Roanoke Island Historical Association, which produces the outdoor drama “The Lost Colony.”

Dr. Gordon P. Watts, Jr.

Washington, NC
Retired from developing and teaching at East Carolina University’s Program in Maritime History and Underwater Archaeology, Gordon now directs the Institute for International Maritime Research. He was at the forefront of identifying the sunken remains of the ironclad USS Monitor off Cape Hatteras and Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama off the coast of France. He was North Carolina’s first underwater archaeologist.

Mr. J. Eric Deetz

Chapel Hill, NC
An original cast member of the PBS series Time Team America and now a lecturer at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Eric has 25 years of archaeological experience on 17th century sites such as Flowerdew Hundred and Jamestown in Virginia as well as in New England. In fact he grew up with historical archaeology as his father was the eminent American archaeologist James Deetz.

Mr. Edward Clay Swindell

A recent new member of the board is Edward Clay Swindell. Clay is a recognized expert on the subject of Carolina Algonquins. He formerly served as Collections Specialist and Assistant Curator at the Museum of the Albemarle. He is now the Chief Archaeologist for the US Navy, Mid-Atlantic Region, and serves as our prehistoric scholar.

Mr. Robert G. Anthony, Jr.

Mr. Anthony is the Curator of the North Carolina Collection and Director of the North Carolina Digital Heritage Center, based in Wilson Library at UNC in Chapel Hill.  Bob succeeded as curator the late North Carolina historian, author, and founding First Colony Foundation board member William S. Powell.  Since 1994 he has overseen the massive collection of books and artifacts pertaining to the state’s history and culture.  The collection even includes an axe head collected from Fort Raleigh during the Civil War.  A long-time supporter of FCF, his involvement became more significant when in 2018 he coordinated with Dr. Eric Klingelhofer to present a very successful symposium at Chapel Hill and Roanoke Island on the 400th anniversary of the death of Sir Walter Raleigh.

Dr. Carter Lee Hudgins

Dr. Hudgins is the Director Emeritus of the Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, jointly sponsored by Clemson University and the College of Charleston.  A native of Franklin, Virginia, he received his undergraduate degree at the University of Richmond and an MA at Wake Forest University, followed by a PhD in early American history and culture from the College of William and Mary.  He is the 2019 recipient of the prestigious Frances Edmunds Medal presented by Historic Charleston Foundation and Preservation South Carolina’s Governor’s Award for significant achievement in the support of historic preservation in South Carolina.  As evidenced by his prolific authorship of publications and research papers, Carter brings to our organization an extensive knowledge of history and archaeological experience in the Southeast and elsewhere.