Retired Rear Admiral Merrill Ruck became the Executive Director of the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation on October 1, 2005. He moved to the Monterey Peninsula from North Carolina after serving 34 years as a Naval Officer. During his time in the Navy, RADM Ruck served as officer in charge of a Swift Boat in Vietnam, Commanding Officer of USS Bagley FF1069, Engineering Officer USS Coral Sea CV43, Commander Destroyer Squadron 31, Assistant Deputy Director Political Military Affairs in the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Commander Naval Base San Francisco. [view full bio]
Cathy Bachl is the Director of Membership Programs for the NPS Foundation and has been with the NPS Foundation since August 2009. Ms. Bachl graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Business/Marketing. Ms. Bachl worked as a Marketing Coordinator for Doctors Hospital and Houghston Sports Medicine Hospital while in Columbus, GA and then transitioned to a career in Architecture/Engineering marketing with Gresham, Smith and Partners in Nashville, TN. Ms. Bachl then served as the Director of Marketing for five years with BCRA Architecture/Engineering Firm headquartered in Tacoma, Washington. [view full bio]
Natasha Merkle is a Communications Consultant for the NPS Foundation. She served as the Director of Communications for the NPS Foundation from March 2009 to June 2010. Since moving to Virginia in June 2010, Ms. Merkle maintains all NPS Foundation web networks and print communications remotely from the Northern Virginia area. [view full bio]
Giovanna Kha Marino became the Programming Coordinator at the Naval Postgraduate School Foundation in May of 2010. She was born in BàRa–Vung Tàu, Vietnam and immigrated to New York in 1989. While a student at Ballard High School, she also simultaneously attended Seattle Central Community College and earned both her high school diploma and an Associates of Arts Degree by the age of 18. She went on to pursue her Bachelor of Arts Degree from University of Washington, majoring in English with double minors in Human Rights and Philosophy. [view full bio]
Patricia Little-Auguston is the Executive Assistant for the NPS Foundation and has been with the NPS Foundation since June 2008. Ms. Little-Auguston has had worked in several different fields over her career. She graduated with a Bachelors degree in English from U.C. Berkeley and started working as a technical editor and writer for the University at Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore Labs. After a stint in Silicon Valley, which included teaching and technical writing to engineering students at San Jose State, she served as a copy editor for the U.S. Federation of Fly Fisherman. Ms. Little-Auguston came to the Monterey Peninsula over 25 years ago to undertake a full-time job as the mother to three children and a menagerie of pets, and to enjoy gorgeous sunsets at the water's edge. [view full bio]