Advisory Board

16th Chairman,Joint Chiefs of Staff

"These children have already sacrificed more for our country than most of us do in a lifetime. They deserve all the support we can provide. It is an honor for me to be a small part of that support via Snowball Express"

Snowball Express is honored to have Ernni Di Massa, Jr. join our Advisory Board team to provide guidance and energy to this year's project.

'Erni' brings over three decades of experience as an EMMY® winning producer, writer and television executive to the organization. As Senior Vice President of the most successful independent syndication company in the history of television, KingWolrd he was in charge of all programming and development for shows from Oprah to Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! as well as several shows he helped create including Inside Edition. He also produced, The Mike Douglas Show, The Regis Philbin Show, Hollywood Squares and shows for NBC, CBS, ABC and Fox. He is an active member of the Writer Guild of America, the Producers Guild of America, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and has been named to Who's Who In America every year since 2000.

Al Krueger has graciously offered to serve on the Advisory Board. Last year, Al was the key Snowball Express contact for Oakley Corporation and he currently serves as Director - Government Affairs. Al actively gives back to his community in many other non-profit organizations. Currently the President of the Foothill Business Association, he has served on many other community and charitable foundations boards. Al is an avid skydiver and was awarded in 2003 with the United States Parachuting Association's Lifetime Achievement Award. He inspires others with his incredible powers to overcome adversity. A Vietnam veteran, Al believes strongly in the Snowball Express and its mission.

- Al Krueger, Director - Government Affairs, Oakley

Ms. Carroll is currently the President of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). TAPS is the national non-profit peer-based veterans’ service organization addressing the emotional, psychological, and administrative needs of military survivors. Ms Carroll also serves as the civilian Co-Chair of the Department of Defense (DoD) Task Force on Suicide Prevention by Members of the Armed Forces. Ms. Carroll is an Army widow and a Reserve Major in the U.S. Air Force. In her civilian career, she has served as Deputy Senior Advisor for Programs, Ministry of Communications, Baghdad, Iraq; Deputy White House Liaison, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA); Deputy Director, Governor’s Office, Anchorage, Alaska; and Executive Assistant for Cabinet Affairs, West Wing, The White House. She is a graduate of several Service schools, including the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute and USAF Logistics Officer Course. Ms. Carroll holds a B.A. in Public Administration/Political Science from American University in Washington, DC, and completed the JFK School of Government Executive Leadership Program at Harvard University (2003). Her military experience includes service as Chief, HQ USAF Casualty Operations. Ms Carroll also serves on the DoD Military Family Readiness Council, Board of the Association of Death Education and Counseling, VA Advisory Committee on Disability Compensation, and Sesame Street Advisory Board for the national “Talk, Listen, Learn” campaign. She has co-authored several books that address coping with traumatic loss, including Living with Grief After Sudden Loss; Living with Grief, Children and Adolescents; and Living with Grief, Who We Are, How We Grieve.

Mary Jean Eisenhower, President and CEO of People to People International (PTPI), was born in Washington, DC during her grandfather, Dwight Eisenhower’s first term as US President. Her PTPI experiences have included everything from meeting first families to diverse cultural, educational and humanitarian exchanges at home and abroad. In 1999, she established PTPI’s International Friendship Fund, inspired by a visit to an orphanage in Morocco. The Fund is a way to assist PTPI in global humanitarian efforts. Mary received an Honorary Doctorate in Letter of Humane from Schiller International University. She also was awarded the Knight of Peace Award from the International University in Assisi, Italy.

Mark Kelsey, M SHS, Field Researcher, The National Military Family Bereavement Study

Mark retired from American Airlines as a Supervisor in Weight & Balance Planning in 2004. In 2006, Mark was mobilized on Active Duty with the Army where he served as a Casualty Notification/Casualty Assistance Officer for the Fort Hood Casualty Assistance Center at Fort Hood, TX, until his retirement in July, 2010. Prior to joining the Advisory Board, Mark served on the Snowball Express Board of Directors as the Volunteer Coordinator.  In his civilian career, Mark currently works with our surviving military family members gathering data in support of The National Military Family Bereavement Study.

During Mark’s 33 year career in the U. S. Army Reserves he was honored with many awards and special recognition. In 2007, Mark was named as an Honorable Mention in the Army Times Soldier of the Year competition for his work in the casualty field. In 2008, Mark was presented with The Ancient Order of Saint Christopher award for his distinguished career in the Transportation Corps, and in 2009, the Honorable Governor Rick Perry, recognizing Mark’s work with our surviving family members in the North Texas area, commissioned him an Admiral in the Texas Navy.

Mark is a proud member of the Patriot Guard Riders of North Texas, works on lowering his handicap at Rolling Hills Golf Club, is a Board of Director of the Eagle Mountain Classic Boat Club, and serves as the Commander of the Chester W. Nimitz Squadron of the Texas Navy.  Mark resides in Pantego, TX with his wife Michele, daughter Molly, and dog Kirby.

“Unfortunately, I have had to notify many children of the death of their parent. I know from firsthand experience how children do not get the full measure of attention they deserve during this most tragic time. This is why I am so completely drawn to Snowball Express.  When children attend Snowball Express they are transported to a place where they can share their stories with one another and develop lasting memories of fun, fellowship and communal healing. I am deeply honored to be able to be part of the effort to provide these children with a comfortable place to find a moment of happiness and hope.”

Aside from continuing to proudly serve on Snowball’s Board of Directors, Trisha serves as National Co-Chair for Snowflake events. These are events already planned that our families are invited to enjoy all year long throughout the Nation in cities where they live.  Please go to the Snowflake Link on the homepage to see what they are all about and how you or your corporation might participate.

Trisha is presently a Residential Real Estate specialist with Coldwell Banker in Orange County.  She enjoyed a lengthy career with a major airline as an In-Flight Service Manager, Flight Attendant Instructor and Corporate speaker.

Her commitment to “Service Above Self” is further exemplified as a Rotarian.  Trisha’s Newport-Irvine Rotary was one of the co-sponsors of the first Snowball Express which was held in 2006 in California.  “The fact that we were successful in our first year in providing hope, healing and creating new memories for close to 917 Snowball Express attendees was a miracle and the experience has continued to , well, “Snowball”!!

Trisha’s father and brother have both proudly served in the Marine Corp and Snowball Express is especially meaningful to Trisha, as she and her six younger siblings lost their mom to a heart attack at a very young age and she knows full well the impact and challenge of having only one parent for support, love and guidance.  One of the joys of her life is her daughter, Meghan, who will complete her third year of Law School this year.

“It has been my honor for the last four years, along with thousands of volunteers, corporations and fellow Rotarians and countless other service groups to help provide this opportunity of healing for these deserving children of our fallen heroes.  The experience of feeling the joy and the cathartic bonding of child with child, widow with widow throughout this special time together is life-changing and is etched in my heart."
“Together we can make a difference not only for a weekend but for a lifetime."