Leadership

ISHPI is about innovation, success and reaching new heights.  Meet ISHPI’s growth team - the men and women who are driving ISHPI to new heights.  Highly regarded as top professionals in their fields, each is leading their respective part of the business to become closer to their customers, while finding and capitalizing on new and rewarding business opportunities and approaches for doing business and creating a better and safer tomorrow.

Noah T. Leask – President and CEO

Noah T. Leask, Co-Founder, President, and CEO of Ishpi Information Technologies, Inc., (DBA ISHPI) has over a decade of wartime service in the U.S. Navy conducting global operations supporting national defense. Mr. Leask has nearly a decade of experience starting, managing, and growing businesses, having recently been recognized as the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) 2009 Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year for South Carolina and Southeast Region, Region IV, for the work he is doing in support of veterans, wounded warriors, and veteran-owned businesses nationwide.  As CEO, his responsibilities include day-to-day management of ISHPI and its client and vendor relations where he has successful grown ISHPI’s business base by 200% annually.  Mr. Leask was formerly Executive Vice President and Director, Intelligence Enterprise Solutions (IES) for CommIT Enterprises, Inc. – a small defense contracting company.  He created IES and successfully grew this division to four programs and $3 million in revenue annually while continuing to provide award-winning direct client engineering support to a large Department of Defense Intelligence Community Agency and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Mr. Leask is an American Indian from The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Cheboygan, Michigan, and a wartime Service-Disabled Veteran. He is very active in his community, serving as the Chairman of the Board for Rein and Shine, an equine assisted therapy facility serving people with disabilities, as a member of the Board of Directors for Special Olympics South Carolina (SOSC), and as a member of the Lowcountry Special Olympics and Unified Athletics Committees. He is also the Town of Mt. Pleasant Unified and Special Olympics coach for several sports. He was awarded the 2008 Volunteer Coach of the Year and 2007 South Carolina Parent of The Year by the South Carolina Recreation and Parks Association for his work with Unified Athletics and the Special Olympics.

Mr. Leask is a member of the Charleston Defense Contractors Association (CDCA) (where he sits as a member of the Board of Directors), AFCEA, Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Advanced Security Technology Research Alliance (ASTRA), and Lowcountry CYBER Security Campaign where he is actively working with other businesses on developing a Cyber Security Center of Excellence to help provide employment opportunities in the Charleston, SC area.  He is also a member of the Board of Advisors for EPCI College of Technology where he focuses on the high tech educational requirements for veterans and students in the global market place.  He possesses a Bachelors of Science degree from Strayer University in Washington, D.C., graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Contact me: Noah.Leask@ishpi.net or 843-329-4100

Lisa Leask – Executive Vice President

Lisa Leask, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of ISHPI, is a former U.S. Naval Officer brings over twenty years administrative management experience supporting clients in the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. She has held the positions of Executive Officer, Human Resources Manager, Command Administrative Officer, and Office Manager. As Executive Vice President for Human Resources, Finance, and Office Management, she is responsible for day-to-day overall management of ISHPI’s offices, finance, accounting, payroll, and human resources activities.

Ms. Leask was assigned to U.S. Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA), Naples, Italy, as the Joint Operations Communications Lead with the responsibility of supporting the National Security Agency and Global Intelligence Operations. She had a direct impact on operations in the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM), Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR), and Commander 6th Fleet (COMSIXTHFLT) Areas of Responsibilities (AORs), working NATO Joint Forces communications to include support to Bosnia, Herzegovina and Somalia. Following her military career, Ms. Leask held the positions of Executive Assistant and Human Resources Assistant at Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) providing support to several Senior Corporate Vice Presidents and as Human Resources Manager at CommIT Enterprises, Inc., Arlington, Virginia, a position in which she gained several years of valuable experience managing a small business.

Ms. Leask is very active in her community and a founding member of the first Women in Defense (WID), Palmetto Chapter in Charleston, South Carolina. She assists Special Needs students in the local school district, serves in vital leadership roles with the Girl Scouts of America, is Treasurer for a Mount Pleasant Soccer Club (MPSC), is Special Olympics Swim Team coordinator for the Town of Mount Pleasant, and is a member of the Town of Mount Pleasant Unified Athletics committee.

Ms. Leask earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Political Science from the University of South Carolina in 1991. She serves as Secretary and Treasurer on the ISHPI Board of Directors.

Contact me: Lisa.Leask@ishpi.net or 843-329-4100

Michael Beadle – Executive Vice President

Mr. Beadle is a PMP certified Executive Vice President with ISHPI. In his executive capacities within ISHPI, Michael oversees the National Capital Region (NCR) operations as well as corporate recruiting and staffing, IT infrastructure, and supports ISHPI’s business development. As the NCR director Mr. Beadle is responsible for the lifecycle management of the programs that span the gambit of ISHPI’s core competencies. In his role as recruiting and staffing lead he is responsible for building and maintaining a customized solution for candidate identification and processing and sustaining relationships for future growth. In his role as the IT infrastructure manager Michael has primary responsibility to ensure the accessibility and reliable of key corporate assets from laptops to SharePoint. He is also responsible for the realization of the Southwest expansion of ISHPI’s solution deliveries.

In receunt years, Mr. Beadle has served in various roles with large systems integrators in the C4I area providing companies with PMO and Portfolio organizational systems, enterprise level technical planning, and Earned Value Management (EVM) leadership development. During his successful 10-year career tenure he has developed and implemented strategic business and operations plans leading to substantial revenue and profit growth. Furthermore, Michael excelled in creating both the structure and team necessary to guide his current and past programs and companies through the turbulence and uncertainty that accompanies growth. Michael has a long history in designing and implementing the changes necessary to create successful transitions to scalable EVM enterprise level systems that are cost effective and customizable to the needs of specific client both large and small.

Mr. Beadle is a distinguished graduate of Indiana Institute of Technology in Ft. Wayne, Indiana with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He received his Masters of Science, in Systems Engineering with a certificate of Technical Project Management from Johns Hopkins University while participating in Lockheed Martin’s Engineering Leadership Development Program. He is a practiced executioner of 6-sigma as a Greenbelt, and has been an active member of the Washington D.C. Chapter of the Program Management Institute since 2005.

Contact me: Mike.Beadle@ishpi.net or 703-304-2909

Pat Stanton – Director, Operations and Professional Development

Pat Stanton was named ISHPI’s Operations Manager and Director of Professional Development in June 2009 and was promoted to Director, Operations and Professional Development in February 2010. Mr. Stanton comes to ISHPI after completion of a 24-year career as a Navy submarine officer and having most recently served as Program Manager Principal Leader at Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) providing program management, workforce development, strategic and operational guidance to both SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic (SSC Atlantic) and the local CSC office. As operations manager and director of professional development, he works closely with the ISHPI executive leadership team to create competitive advantage, enable growth and deliver maximum business results through the professional development and retention of quality employees; and successful management of ongoing contracts and programs.

Mr. Stanton’s military career included several challenging sea and shore-duty assignments including tours as the Executive Assistant for Strategic Strike Targeting for the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Forces Policy; Anti-Terrorism/Force Protection Officer for Submarine Group NINE; Exercise Concepts Officer for the Exercise and Training Branch, USSTRATCOM; as well as operational deployments on four different submarines. Mr. Stanton's naval career culminated with a tour as the Executive Officer at Naval ROTC Unit, The Citadel, shaping future Navy and Marine Corps officers in all aspects of leadership, management, ethics, and personal and professional development.

Mr. Stanton graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of California, Los Angeles with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. He received a Master’s of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.

Contact me: Pat.Stanton@ishpi.net or 843-329-4100

Dr. VAN D. MILNE – DIRECTOR, SOUTHEAST AND TRAINING SERVICES

Dr. Milne brings extensive telecommunications and information systems technical knowledge, training and management experience to ISHPI. Dr. Milne possesses 35 years of industry and military experience in Information Technology Management and Telecommunications, and more than 30 years experience in education, training management, and Cyber Warrior training for the DoD. Dr. Milne is a Telecommunications and Information Systems Engineer, with a PhD in Information Systems and Telecommunications Engineering, Network Management Operations, a Masters degree in Education and several undergraduate degrees to include Marine Science, Biology, and Chemistry. He is well known throughout the Army Signal community, sought after by the US Army Reserve as the Subject Matter Expert in performing NETOPS and has provided NETOPS oversight as the Ground and or Joint Network Communications Center Chief for nearly all major USAR Signal exercises since 2001, to include two years as the Current Operations Chief and Technical Branch Chief at the SWA Theater Network Operations and Security Center from 2002-2004. His background includes over 35 years of military service, as both a non-commissioned and commissioned officer. Dr. Milne, a Bronze Star recipient, is a Viet Nam veteran of the United States Coast Guard and a current member of the U. S. Army Reserves, having served in several countries of Southwest Asia during Operations Noble Eagle, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom in support of the Global War on Terrorism.

Dr. Milne is one of the foremost training authorities in Telecommunications and Information Technology. He has a variety of experience within corporate America and the defense industry. He was previously a Human Factors Engineer for WIN-T development while working for Sytex, Inc. and Lockheed Martin Corporation. Dr. Milne’s background also includes being the Senior Engineer and Primary Instructor for the Telecommunications Systems Engineer Course for the US Army Signal Corps at Fort Gordon, GA with USfalcon Inc.; where he later performed as the Site Lead providing Program Management and Business Development functions; eventually becoming the Director of Operations for Training, Information Technology, and Networking. His many years of experience provide him with intuitive insights into client areas of concern and issues, to include best business practices, techniques and procedures, program management, cutting edge information technology, and solutions for issue resolution.

Contact me: van.milne@ishpi.net or 251-709-3080

Rick Miller – Director, Special Programs

Mr. Miller was named ISHPI’s Director, Special Programs in February 2010. Mr. Miller has over 28 years experience as a procurement specialist and small business advocate for the US Small Business Administration (SBA) and the University of South Carolina Small Business Development Center. His 26 year career with the Federal Government performing Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) compliance oversight of Department of Defense (DoD) buying activities and assisting small businesses with resolving contract disputes provided him with extensive knowledge of the Federal Acquisition Regulations. A former CPA, Mr. Miller was a Commercial loan officer and Financial Analyst with the Federal Government, several Commercial Banks and a large power company.

Mr. Miller is an active volunteer with his church and the local community. His many community activities include; promoting boating safety with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, conducting business workshops for the University of South Carolina Small Business Development Center and giving tours on African-American history at a Charleston, SC historical site.

Mr. Miller obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from Towson University in Baltimore, MD.

Mr. Miller served in the US Army during the Vietnam conflict in the Army Security Agency and also as a Counter-Intelligence Special Agent.

Contact me: Rick.Miller@ishpi.net or 843-329-4100

Joe W. Barnard – Director, Finance

Joe W. Barnard was named ISHPI's Finance and Control Manager in June 2009 and was promoted to Director, Finance in February 2010. He joins ISHPI with a decade of finance experience, after most recently serving as Senior Financial Operations Analyst with The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).  Mr. Barnard is a seasoned financial manager with an extensive background in budget administration, financial supervision and the implementation of sound financial procedures and accounting systems that meet cost accounting standards. He is knowledgeable in all aspects of financial management and is experienced in managing the various types of fixed price, cost reimbursable, and time and material contracts.  As controller, his responsibilities include day-to-day management of ISHPI financial analysis, budget development and administration, competitive analysis, cash-flow management, audit and internal review, financial forecasting, resource allocation, general accounting and control.

Mr. Barnard’s background includes valuable executive-level consulting experience, having advised community banks for several years in asset/liability management and budget administration.  In 2006, he worked as Director of Finance in Kabul, Afghanistan for a $11M non-governmental organization (NGO) managing multiple infrastructure-development projects across the country.  Most recently, Mr. Barnard reported directly to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of IFES in Washington, D.C. This $65M NGO is performing upwards of 60 projects across the world focused on providing professional support to electoral democracy.  In this capacity, Mr. Barnard performed as a senior aid and problem solver, implementing the COGNOS family of budgeting and reporting tools and reviewing and auditing the accounting data post-conversion of the agencies accounting system migration.

Mr. Barnard earned a bachelor's degree in Economics in 1998 and a Master’s of Business Administration in Banking and Finance in 2000, both from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Mr. Barnard is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

Contact me: Joe.Barnard@ishpi.net or 843-329-4100

Claire Murchison – Director, Human Resources

Claire Murchison was named ISHPI’s Human Resources and Corporate Office Manager in June 2009 and was promoted to Director, Human Resources in February 2010. Ms Murchison joins ISHPI with a decade of experience on the administrative level. In her role, Ms. Murchison provides company-wide hiring support, conducts new employee indoctrinations, maintains personnel files, manages all employee benefit plans, plays a key role in the development and administration of HR policies and procedures, and oversees day-to-day office management of ISHPI’s headquarters in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

Ms. Murchison began her career at The Price Group, a nationally recognized educational consulting firm in Columbia, SC, as their Intake Director and Psychometrist. Her role involved intake coordination, administration of psychological testing, client invoicing, benefits and payroll administration, staffing, and general office management. She then went on to serve as Director of Admissions at The Carlbrook School, a co-educational boarding school, in Halifax, VA. There, she was responsible for the management of the admissions department, development and maintenance of relationships with referral sources, supervision of the enrollment and acclimation process of the student population, participation in the staffing process, and the development and enactment of school policies on the executive level.

Ms. Murchison earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology in 2000 and a Master of Human Resources degree in 2004, both from the University of South Carolina. White attending graduate school, Ms. Murchison was selected to participate in a highly sought after Human Resources internship at Harcourt Assessment in San Antonio, TX.

Contact me: Claire.Murchison@ishpi.net or 843-329-4100