Peg Lahmeyer is our Executive Director and co-founder of The ARK. She started The ARK over 26 years ago as an outreach program to St. Lukes Lutheran Church. Before The ARK was started, Peg and her husband, Jim, were caregivers for her mother who had Alzheimer's.

In 2021, Peg was named The Trailblazer of the Year: Woman of Excellence Award by the Summerville Chamber of Commerce and Honorary Rotarian of The year by the Sumerville Rotary Club. 

When Peg is not at The ARK, she enjoys traveling to new places, reading mysteries and historical fiction, hiking, sightseeing, and spending time with family and her fur babies. 

Michel'le Cathey is our Associate Director at The ARK of SC. She implements the organization’s strategy, including oversight of member services, programs, operations, and financial management. 

Michel'le was a part of The ARK staff from 2016-2019 and has re-joined us after moving back to the area. In 2015, she received her Bachelors in Business Administration from the College of Charleston. Michel'le is a 2018 graduate of the Summerville Chamber of Commerce's Leadership Dorchester program, is a graduate of the 2023 class of Francis Marion's Nonprofit Leadership Institute and currently serves on the AFP SC Lowcountry Chapter Board of Directors. 

When not at The ARK, Michel'le enjoys spending time with her husband & fur babies, listening to true crime podcasts, heading off to the beach & hanging with friends.

Naomi Cills is our Family Caregiver Advocate. Naomi has been with The ARK since February 2014. She facilitates our support groups, our program intakes, caregiver consultations and educational classes. 

Naomi is a Licensed Master Social Worker with a concentration in Mental Health from the University of South Carolina, a Licensed Practical Nurse, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology/Sociology from Charleston Southern University. In her free time, 

Naomi enjoys traveling, watching reruns of Monk and The Golden Girls, touring museums, and spending quiet time on the beach. She treasures family time with her husband, 4 children, 3 grandchildren, and her grand pup Lyla Snow. 

Jan Hyatt is our NOAH (Neighborhood Outreach Alzheimer's Help) Director. Jan joined The ARK staff in June of 2018. She is a master trainer for Powerful Tools For Caregivers and facilitates our educational classes and outreach of our services. The NOAH Project is a community outreach effort to assist small towns and rural communities in developing their own services to help families coping with Alzheimer’s Disease. 

In her spare time, Jan and her husband love to ballroom dance and spend time with their children, grandchildren, and friends. Jan also enjoys traveling, reading, being outdoors, playing Mahjong, and loving her two precious dogs Maisie and Sadie. 

Meet Allie Suber our Special Events Coordinator at The ARK of SC. She plans, coordinates and produces the following signature events for The ARK: Dancing With The ARK’s Stars DWTAS (May), Race for The ARK (August) and the Ugly Sweater Dash (December).

Allie graduated from the University of Tennessee (UTK) in 2020 where she received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology. From 2016-2020, she was a director for Dance Marathon at UTK, a student-run organization raising money and awareness for the local Children's Miracle Network Hospital.   

When not at The ARK, Allie enjoys spending time with her friends and family, reading, and loving on her sweet dog and cat, Leia and Frankie. 

Debbie is our Program Director and joined The ARK staff in December of 2019. In her spare time, Debbie enjoys teaching ballroom dancing and has over 40 years of experience. 

Alesia Burns is our Office Manager. Alesia has over 35 years of experience in the administrative field.

In her spare time, her and her husband love to spend time with their children, grandchildren and family.  In additon, they love camping, boating, traveling and attending church.

Bambi Rushton is our Respite Coordinator for our Respite Care Program in Harleyville. Bambi joined the staff in 2016. Over the years, Bambi has taught hundreds of students how to ride and competently take care of their horses at the large farm she and her husband, Larry, own in St. George. In her free time, Bambi loves horseback riding. 

Tom is our Transportation Coordinator and joined The ARK in February of 2009. He is in charge of taking our wonderful club members to and from The ARK Monday-Friday. Tom also assists in the respite program and Navigation Club. 

Tom served in the US Army and worked as a HVAC tech for Halmark Cards for 28 years. Tom and his wife of 57 years relocated to Summerville, South Carolina. Both of them couldn’t handle being retired, so each of them got a part-time jobs. 

Accountant, Carolina First Tax & Accounting

Re/Max Pro Reality Pratt and Co Team

Retired, Santee Cooper

Retired, Dorchester County EMS 

Primary Care Physicians and Affinity Healthcare Solutions

Family Nurse Practitioner

Retired, HCA Healthcare

Dorchester County Council

Leviner Law Firm

ARGOS Cement

St. Paul's Anglican Church