Trustees and Officers

Bess has a degree in Art History from DePauw University and a Masters in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Illinois Chicago. She worked for various non-profit arts organizations before having children and and then switched to volunteering. She has served as the Founding Board Chair of the Healthy Schools Campaign and Climate Cycle and has a deep interest in the health and wellness of our planet and its inhabitants. She has had the privilege of serving on the Board of the Lumpkin Family Foundation for 20 years.

Richard is a small-business owner and artist in Philadelphia. A graduate of Georgetown University, he has a background in fine art and business; he has served as a collector, appraiser, and Senior Vice President & Director of Fine Arts at Freeman’s Auction House. He is currently owner of Head House Books, an independent bookstore central to Philadelphia’s literary life, and has served as a trustee and officer on various Philadelphia-based nonprofit and school Boards. He believes “strongly in the foundational importance of vital, connected communities and the umbilical role we play in their future prosperity and resilience, or their shuttered decay and blight”. He is grateful and proud to serve the Lumpkin Family Foundation in any capacity needed.

Steve Shirar is the Chief Sales Officer at Consolidated Communications, Inc. (CCI) and also serves as Corporate Secretary of the Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc., Board of Directors.  Mr. Shirar joined the Consolidated Team in 1996, and has held a variety of executive positions at the company.

Steve was raised in Edgar County, Illinois, and graduated from Paris High School.  He received a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Rose Hulman (1980) and a Master of Business administration in marketing from Indiana University (1989).

Steve and his wife, Kim, have lived in St. Louis, Missouri since 1996, where they raised four children.  Steve has volunteered in a broad array of community causes including Habitat for Humanity, Kingdom House, Missouri Venture Advisors, the Highland Entrepreneurship program, and the Skandalaris Entrepreneurship program at Washington University in St. Louis.

Ila has been an active member of the Lumpkin Family Foundation since she was a teen and has been a trustee since 2016. Based in New York City, she is also a member leader in her local chapter of Resource Generation, organizing fellow young donors to support social justice movements. 

Outside of her philanthropic work, Ila is a writer and comic artist exploring the ways that stories and art can shape society, and putting her own spin on favorite pieces of media just for fun. She has a background in film production but has moved away from that work to make more space for organizing. Her role as a next-gen board member brought her to Resource Generation, seeking community with other young people in philanthropy, but their mission of redistributing wealth to support movements for social justice resonated so deeply that she now spends the majority of her time on that work.

The Lumpkin Family mourns the passing of our long-time mentor, family member and friend.   For more on his life click here, and view this video for his thoughts on family and philanthropy.