Hero Foundation Board Members

Our Active Board Members are committed leaders who actively guide the organization’s vision and strategy. Through their diverse expertise and ongoing involvement, they help ensure continued growth, innovation, and alignment with our mission.

Rick Conklin is the Treasurer of the Graf Dairy Hero Foundation. He is currently a Managing Director at the First Analysis Corp in Chicago, IL, which he joined in 2012. Rick’s responsibilities at First Analysis include capital raising and sell-side mandates in the enterprise productivity and human capital software verticals. Rick is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (BA Economics, 1986) and The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (MBA 1990).

Bruce’s extreme passion for everything related to superheroes began during childhood and has continued throughout his life. His love for Spider-man in particular has established Bruce as one of the world’s biggest Spider-Man fans.  For the past 55 years, he has immersed himself into every form of entertainment featuring his favorite hero while collecting massive amounts of Spider-Man comic books and memorabilia. More importantly, Bruce has experienced many meaningful and unique connections with the character, including living his entire life in the hometown of artist Steve Ditko, Spider-Man’s co-creator. Over the past few years Bruce has formed friendships with Ditko family members and has helped with projects honoring Mr. Ditko in his hometown, Johnstown, PA. Bruce’s collection and stories of connecting through Spider-Man have been featured in various national media, creating new opportunities for him to share his passion with the world. This mild-mannered husband, father of two, grandfather of one, and 30 year high school math teacher is now widely considered the premiere “ambassador” of Spider-Man. Bruce’s visual storytelling presentations of his “lifetime of Spidey” and Ditko connections are sought after by live audiences at comic book conventions and other events. www.spideyandme.com

Terry Stewart is a prominent leader in the entertainment industry, notably serving as the long-term President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where he significantly boosted visitor numbers and global recognition. He holds degrees in Engineering and Education from Rutgers University, and advanced degrees in Finance and Law from Cornell University.

Beginning his career in traditional business, Terry transitioned to Marvel Entertainment Group, contributing notably as President and later Vice Chairman. Post-retirement, he spearheaded the development of a major arts and entertainment district in El Dorado, Arkansas, and continues to consult on various cultural projects across the U.S.

Terry also actively participates in numerous cultural and philanthropic boards, demonstrating a strong commitment to music and arts preservation. His experience and dedication make him a valuable asset to the Graf Dairy Hero Foundation, supporting our mission to nurture heroic virtues in the community.

Stephen Graf is a lifelong resident of Michigan City, Indiana and the grandson of Fred Graf, the Owner/Operator of MC’s original “Graf Dairy” for which the Foundation is named. He has collected & enjoyed hero graphic novels & movies favoring the Marvel universe since his youth and will act as a key Foundation ambassador in the community. As an experienced retail expert with a demonstrated 26 year history of success in the consumer goods and grocery industries, Stephen’s skills will be essential in helping the foundation connect with the kids we are hoping to inspire. In Stephen’s current role as Area Sales Executive for the WK Kellogg Co., he leads a team of seasoned professionals across 7 States.

Aaron Sultan is thrilled to be a board member of the Graf Dairy Hero Foundation. He hails from North Carolina by way of New Jersey, and is married to Cheryl with six children and three grandchildren. He is a sinner and is saved through faith in Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior. A longtime fan of all things comics, Aaron collects pop culture memorabilia, toys, vintage Marvel and Spiderman collectibles, comics, original art and still enjoys reading from his trove of Silver and Bronze age tales. He has teamed with longtime pal Dewey Cassell to publish books on comic book legends George Tuska, Marie Severin and Herb Trimpe. He has interviewed dozens of golden, silver and bronze age greats, many of whom are no longer with us. In addition to a career in marketing at IBM and VMware, Aaron also has a book ministry where he shares missionary stories of the faith to help fund orphanages and gospel missions throughout the world.

L. Lee Hymn is considered one of the world’s most knowledgeable Marvel Memorabilia collectors and leads our Board’s “Valuation Committee” which assesses collectable donations to the Foundation. A lifetime Marvel fan, specifically in the Silver & Bronze Age genres, he was an early adaptor in using the Internet to build a quality collection of eclectic hero memorabilia while amassing a significant knowledge base of backstories on obscure and valuable items. Over the years, he has connected many collectors of superhero memorabilia (including several members on our Board!), thereby enhancing the knowledge and expertise of the entire collecting community. He has a background in I.T., is an expert on superhero ephemera valuation, and an avid evangelist in the preservation of Superhero memorabilia for future generations to be amazed, entertained and inspired.

With over two decades at the helm of her family’s natural food store, Mylese is a dedicated advocate for healthy living and brings entrepreneurial experience to her role as a board director. Serving on the boards of the Independent Natural Food Retailer’s Association (INFRA) and Discovery Charter School, she demonstrates a commitment to both her industry and local education. As a native of Michigan City, Mylese appreciates the charm and opportunities of Northern Indiana and is eager to contribute to the Dairy Hero Foundation’s initiatives.

Barry Nothstine, a Michigan City native, has a lifelong passion for comics, art, and fostering character in young people via Junior Achievement and other outreach programs. At age 12, he published a comic strip about his dog Charlie in the Michigan City News Dispatch.

After a dynamic 20+ year career in wireless telecom and marketing, Barry reignited his creativity, honing drawing and digitization skills to create and restore comic art. A longtime supporter of the Graf Dairy Hero Foundation, he digitized their logos and designed posters for their 2024 debut at the Lubeznik Art Center. His work appears on the Foundation’s website and store. Barry and his wife, Lyndy, have four children and eight grandchildren.

As the president of the Bov Foundation, a nonprofit established in 2020, Mark Bovenizer overseas daily operations, asset management, compliance and reporting. He implements the mission statement for trustees by verifying donors and grantee performance. The Bov Foundation supports causes such as spiritual & religious organizations, youth sports & education, first responders, environment conservation, animal refuge, and medical health & research. With two decades of experience in financial analysis, budgeting, forecasting, and data analytics, Mark has worked in leverage buyouts, mergers and acquisitions, and commercial real estate in both the public and private arenas. Mark’s philanthropy stretches further than The Bov Foundation. He currently serves as the board President of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, New Jersey Chapter and Vice President of the Hopewell Old School Baptist MeetingHouse. Mark is also a lieutenant and treasurer of the Hopewell Fire Department. Mark lives with his two daughter’s in Hopewell, New Jersey.

John Vode is the CEO of Precision Maintenance Solutions of Chesterton, Indiana. An expert in data analysis, he also teaches classes at Purdue university Northwest and other area universities on such subjects as entrepreneurship, business intelligence & analytics, computer information systems and AI. He is a former board member of Lubeznik Center for the Arts and several other area boards and a sought-after business coach. John is active in the Catholic Church and, as a strong supporter of early character development in children, has been a great patron to the GDH Foundation. Among other support, John’s company fabricated all HEROES signage which has received rave reviews by other store owners in the mall.

Werner Graf is the Founder & Operations Advisor for the Graf Dairy Hero Foundation. As a C-Level business executive, life-long supporter of youth education and avid collector of hero memorabilia, Werner established the Foundation to help promote traditional virtues in America’s youth. His background in global operations, technology consulting and sales has made him a trusted partner for C-Level Executives and he now continues to align the strategic needs of the community with creative solutions.

Werner began his career at Procter & Gamble before moving to a successful career in strategy consulting for Ernst & Young and IBM. The third stage of his career leveraged progressive executive roles at such global blue chip companies as Wipro, Tata, NTT Data, and finally at Visionet’s as their Chief Customer Officer. He has completed Tata’s Executive Leadership training in Pune, India and IBM’s Executive Program at Harvard. He has an accounting degree from the University of Notre Dame, a Secondary Teaching degree from Saint Mary’s College and participated in Tulane’s MBA Program. He has served on his community’s school board and Chicago’s board of Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Our Board Member Emeritus honors individuals who have made significant, lasting contributions to the organization. Their leadership, dedication, and expertise continue to guide and inspire our mission, even beyond their active service on the board.

DOUG LYNCH has three decades of experience in the clinical nutrition and wellness industries. Doug has an award- winning product background in sales and marketing of dietary supplements, medical foods, functional foods, cosmetics, animal nutrition, and proprietary actives. He’s held global executive roles in the proprietary ingredient companies such as Unigen, Lycored, and Cott Beverages. He has developed and marketed scores of consumer products over his career, and in 2020 won a NEXTY award for best supplement/functional food in the category. He won the Editor’s Choice for Marketing at Expo West 2014, and developed the first online dietary supplements for Sam’s Club and Walmart. Doug also created the inaugural supplements for Estee Lauder Companies (ELC) and licensed a topical ingredient which led to an ELC megabrand. Today, Doug partners with universities to commercialize their unique technologies for health: Wake Forest Medical School, Morsani Medical School (University of South Florida), and Florida Atlantic University. Doug also works as an industry mentor to the iCorps Program of the National Science Foundation and serves on a number of boards in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and China.

Sy Winnie has been a music instructor since 1979, and is currently on staff at The Forte’ Music School in Toledo, Ohio. He can also be found as the keyboardist for “The Chris Shutters Band”, and the house pianist at Angelo’s Northwood Villa. In the past he has performed in opening acts for music artists such as Eric Burdon, The Smithereens, Alex Bugnon, Spyro Gyra, Norman Brown, and others. Sy has been a collector of all things Spider-Man since the sixties. The collection has been featured in several publications, and books. They include Marvel’s Spider-Man Encyclopedia, The Spider-Man Vault, Spider-Man The Icon, TV Guide, and Forbes magazine to name a few.