ARLINGTON
CHAPTER
BOARD
Gabby Kubinyi
President
Brigitte Caboteja
Vice President
Brigitte Caboteja is the widow of SSgt. Nicanor Caboteja Jr. A Marine that died on active duty on March 2010 from the effects while serving on Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Brigitte is a former Project Coordinator and Accountant of shipping registry LISCR, LLC, however, left to better focus on her family, education, and volunteer work. Brigitte is a parent of two daughters, one daughter is a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, VA and the other a seventh grader at St. Francis Catholic School. Brigitte has an Associates from Strayer University, however, is currently working on her bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and lives in the Washington DC area.
Kristen Santos-Silva
Historian
Kristen became a post 9/11 widow to SFC Carlos M. Santos-Silva, United States Army. She became a Gold Star Wife on March 22, 2010 when SFC Carlos M. Santos-Silva, 32 was Killed in Action [KIA], serving on his 4th deployment in Afghanistan with 82nd ABN, Fort Bragg, NC. She resides in Suffolk, Virginia area with their adult son, Cameron.
Kristen is also a 2015 graduate from University of Southern California, where she received her Master of Social Work (MSW) with a concentration in Mental Health and a sub concentration in Military Social Work. She is currently a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
Currently, Kristen is a Military Family Life Counselor (MFLC) working with military children in the public school system within Norfolk Naval Shipyard, VA.
She is also a veteran of the United States Armed Forces, where her service was in the U.S. Army. Advocate work with the military has included working with the Chief of Staff of the Army [CSA] Survivor Advisor Workgroup, Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors [TAPS] as a peer mentor, and care group leader. She is a Board member for Arlington, VA: Gold Star Wives of America, Inc., as current Historian and held a prior position as treasurer. Other volunteer work has included Survivor Outreach Services Volunteer for Fort Meade, MD and American Legion in TN.
She is honored to serve within these different positions as a Gold Star Spouse to raise awareness and social justice support for military survivors while continuing the legacy and respect due to fallen service members within the military. In Kristen’s free-time she enjoys spending time at Virginia Beach oceanfront, reading, exploring nature, spending time with her son and their Labrador-mix dog.
Deborah May
Treasurer
Deborah May is the mother of three. Her hero is SSgt. Donald C. May, Jr., who was killed in action on March 25, 2003.
Deborah has a B.S. in Art from Illinois State University and studied abroad at the Lorenzo de’ Medici School in Florence, Italy. She teaches painting to children and adults. Deborah currently lives in Utah.
Catherine Richardson
Secretary
Mrs. Catherine Richardson served on active duty in the United States Marine Corps for more than 21 years and is an Afghanistan War veteran. In 2017, Mrs. Richardson retired from the Marine Corps at the rank of Major. Mrs. Richardson is the surviving spouse of Marine Staff Sergeant William D. “Doug” Richardson. She met Doug while serving together on the same Military Police platoon as young Lance Corporal’s. On November 30, 2005, Mrs. Richardson, then a First Lieutenant working on Camp Pendleton, was notified of Doug’s death, halfway through his second combat deployment to Iraq. Shortly thereafter, she joined Gold Star Wives. Mrs. Richardson continued serving on active duty holding a variety of positions including Manpower Officer, Operations Officer, Executive Officer and Information Operations Officer. Mrs. Richardson is a school trained Adjutant, an expert and an instructor of the casualty process - including follow on support for Gold Star families. She holds a Bachelors of Science from Texas A&M University. In 2011, she married Chief Warrant Officer 4 Tony B. D. Richardson, United States Marine Corps (Retired). The Richardson’s are the parents of four young children and reside in Connecticut.
Appointees
Ursula Palmer
Co-Founder, Advisor, Website Manager
Ursula B. Palmer works at the Department of Energy, Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs supporting the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary. She is the co-founder of DOE’s emerging Military Spouse Employment Resource Group, and Deputy Director of Engagement for the Interagency Veterans Advisory Council, Federal Military Family Network. Ursula is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) with more than nineteen years of experience in program management, marketing, communications, operations, policy, and procedure. For more than a decade, she has dedicated her life to various veteran and military family causes gaining recognition as an advocate and leader in the space.
Her prior roles include Executive Director of Military & Veteran Programs at Cybercrime Support Network; HillVets Fellow at the United States House of Representatives working on Veterans issues; Program Manager for Links to Freedom, a non-profit that uses the game of golf as a rehabilitation tool for Wounded Warriors, Disabled Veterans and Gold Star Families; and Director of Marketing for Auction Brokers, a real estate auction company.
Ursula is a Gold Star Spouse. Her late husband died on 14 March, 2008 of wounds incurred in action while serving in Afghanistan. She is the co-founder of the Gold Star Wives, Arlington Chapter, and also serves in the Arlington National Cemetery Advisory Committee. Ursula's dedication and resiliency have positioned her as a strong leader among her peers, and was chosen to have her story nationally televised during the National Memorial Day Concert.
Renice Zimmerman
Volunteer Coordinator
Renice Zimmerman is a registered nurse working with both active duty and veteran wounded warriors for the Semper Fi Fund Americas Fund. She herself is an Army Veteran and married to Colonel Douglas Kent Zimmerman II, who died unexpectedly after his 3rd deployment while running at Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in Suffolk,Va JUne 2006. The Zimmermans have one son, Douglas Kent Zimmerman III, JD who is a professor at George Mason's International Campus Inchon South Korea.
Besides working with her beloved Wounded Warriors, Renice is an avid dog enthusiasts in the sport of dogs, a passion she shared with her late husband . Besides generations of Grand Champion Rottweilers and whippets, her greatest love is therapy work. One of her rottweilers, AKC ptd Andele's Wynd Beneath Eagle Wings, CS,TDI, THD,CGC,RN was the American Kennel Club's Therapy Dog of the Year for her work with wounded warriors and children of the fallen at TAPS for years. Other Zimmerman rottweilers carry the therapy work forward and are also Crisis Response Canines-bringing comfort during catastrophic events.
She is honored to serve with her fellow Gold Star Spouses, who were a major presence in her life moving forward.
MAJ Lisa Doring (Ret.)
Veterans' representative
Lisa Doring is the proud wife of Capt Nathanael J. Doring, USMC. They met at a Marine Corps pilot party the very day that Nate arrived in San Diego for Cobra attack helicopter training at Camp Pendleton where Lisa was currently stationed as a Marine lieutenant.
Nate volunteered to extend his eight month deployment to Iraq to a year so that he could be with Lisa during her deployment to Iraq. He met Lisa at Camp Taqaddum, Iraq the moment that she landed 26 Feb 2006. On May 27th 2006, only three days before his 31st birthday, Nate died during a Functional Check Flight of the AH-1W Cobra helicopter he was piloting. Lisa stayed at the location until Nate was recovered then she escorted her husband and his fellow Marine back to the United States to Dover Air Force Base. Nate had a seven year old son, Alex, when he died.
Lisa Doring has been a Marine Corps officer since May of 1998 after graduating with Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Boston University. She is currently serving as a company commanding officer at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.
Lisa has been an advocate for dual active duty widows and widowers since Nate has died in an attempt to raise awareness of the unique issues that affect the dual active duty surviving spouse and their families. She is proud to be a charter member of the Arlington chapter of Gold Star Wives.
Contributors and past Members
Dr. Vivianne Wersel, Founder, President 2012-2023
MAJ Lisa Doring (Ret.), Parliamentarian
Miriam Hamilton, Historian
Ursula Palmer, Vice-President, Website Manager
Danielle Zion, Secretary
Kristen Santos-Silva, Treasurer 2012-2017
Dr. Jill Lamorie, Chaplain 2012-2016
Dr. Tracey Lynn Perez-Koehlmoos, President 2015-2017
Renice Zimmerman, Vice President 2015-2016
Patty Slingerland-Stubenhofer, Secretary 2012-2014
Rosalie Horton, Secretary 2014-2018
© All Rights reserved, Arlington Chapter, 2023.
Arlington, VA