Peter G. Kelly, Chairman

Senior principal of the law firm of Updike, Kelly and Spellacy, P.C. (Hartford, CT); former National Treasurer and National Finance Chairman of the Democratic National Party (among other party leadership posts); a founder and former Treasurer of the National Democratic Institute; former Chairman of the Center for Democracy; Trustee of the CNA Corporation (formerly the Center for Naval Analyses); and member of numerous boards, including that of the St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.

William J. Hybl, Vice-Chairman

Chairman and CEO of El Pomar Foundation in Colorado Springs, CO, one of the largest foundations in the Rocky Mountain region; Chairman of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy; President of the United States Olympic Committee during four Olympic Games and member of the International Olympic Committee; former member of the Colorado House of Representatives and Assistant District Attorney of the Fourth Judicial District of Colorado; former U.S. representative to the 56th General Assembly of the United Nations and Special Counsel to President Ronald Reagan.

The Honorable Leon J. Weil, Secretary

Currently associated with Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in New York; served as US Ambassador to Kingdom of Nepal (1984-87); previous partner and senior executive with Wall Street firms and Exchange Official on the American Stock Exchange; served on committees of New York Stock Exchange and Securities Industry Association; Reagan appointee to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports; special consultant to the United Nations Development Program, and an official international election observer in Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central and South America; developed capital market systems in Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine, and Armenia; past governor of the Foreign Policy Association; director/trustee of the Council of American Ambassadors, National Committee on American Foreign Policy, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Outward Bound USA, Media Research Center, Parent’s Television Council, The Fund for American Studies and the American Himalayan Foundation; trustee emeritus of the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts; served in US Navy in World War II.

Lesley Israel, Treasurer

American political consultant; former President and CEO of Politics, Inc; staff member in a number of presidential and other American campaigns; Senior Election Officer, Bosnia; consultant or monitor to numerous elections in Eastern Europe, Africa and Middle East; political party and candidate trainer in Russian Federation and Armenia, other training in Ukraine, Azerbaijan, U.S. and elsewhere. Serves on the boards of Bosnian Handicrafts, NCSJ, advocates for Jewry in the former Soviet Union, Ikumva Labantu (South African NGO).

The Honorable Howard Henry Baker Jr.

Advisor to the senior management of Citigroup on international matters; former United States Ambassador to Japan from 2001-2005; U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1967-1985 with two terms as Senate Majority Leader and two terms as Senate Minority Leader; influential minority member of the Senate committee that investigated the Watergate scandal; former Chief of Staff to U.S. President Ronald Reagan from 1987-1988; awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1984.

The Honorable Mary Banotti

Mediator for Transnationally Abducted Children for the President of the European Parliament; former member of the European Parliament (1984-2004); candidate for Ireland’s presidency (1997); European of the Year (1997); UNFPA’s Goodwill Ambassador (1999) working on issues of reproductive health; President of the Irish Centre for Parentally Abducted Children; Member, International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children; Co-founder, Rutland Centre for Alcoholic Treatment; worked as a nurse in the U.S., Canada, England, Italy and Africa, where she developed her life-long interest in development issues.

Judy A. Black

Legislative consultant, Brownstein, Hyatt & Farber; former Senior Vice President, Government Relations, for Ticketmaster; former Special Assistant to President Ronald Reagan for Intergovernmental Affairs and Treasurer of the National Federation of Republican Women; served as Director of Coalitions for the 1992 Bush/Quayle Republican National Convention; participated in delegations to China, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, South Korea and other countries as a representative of the American Council of Young Political Leaders, helping the organization to establish international exchange programs and/or new relationships with these countries.

Ken Blackwell

Senior Fellow for Family Empowerment at the Family Research Council and Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow for Public Policy at the Buckeye Institute in Columbus, Ohio; columnist for the New York Sun, contributing editor and columnist for Townhall.com, and public affairs commentator for the Salem Radio Network; Fellow at the National Academy of Public Administration and visiting fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the American Civil Rights Union; director of the Academy for Government Accountability and serves on the Board of Directors of various high-profile organization. Mr. Blackwell has a distinguished record of achievement as a finance executive, entrepreneur, diplomat, educator and independent corporate director and received numerous internationally and nationally recognized awards.

Hank Brown

Senior Counsel in Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s Denver office; member of the Government Relations and Natural Resources groups; former president of the University of Colorado (CU); involved at CU as the Quigg and Virginia S. Newton Endowed Chair; former president and CEO of the Daniels Fund and former president of the University of Northern Colorado; public office positions in the U.S. Senate, five consecutive terms in the U.S. House representing Colorado’s 4th Congressional District and four years in the Colorado Senate; former vice president of Monfort of Colorado.

Sean Cleary

Founder and Executive vice-chair of the Future World Foundation, Chairman of Strategic Concepts (Pty) Ltd, Managing Director of the Centre for Advanced Governance, and a Director of Companies; Guest Lecturer on global corporate strategy at the Gordon Institute of Business Science at the University of Pretoria, Wits Business School, Stellenbosch University, Henley Management College and the Wharton School; Guest lecturer on strategic challenges of globalisation and conflict resolution at defence colleges, universities and institutes; Fellow and Strategic Adviser to the Chairman of the World Economic Forum and a Faculty Member of the Parmenides Foundation; former member of member of the Facilitating and Preparatory Committees of the South African Peace Accord and Chairman of the Working Group on the Code of Conduct for Political Parties and Organizations; former EXCO Member of the NEPAD (New Programme for Africa’s Development) Business Steering Group, and served on national Advisory Committees in Namibia.

Frederick P. Furth, Esq.

Founder and Senior Partner with the San Francisco-based Furth Firm, an internationally recognized law firm specializing in complex business litigation; CEO of Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards and Winery in Sonoma County, California; founder and Chairman of the Furth Family Foundation, which sponsors an annual international conference on judicial systems and, in the past, sponsored an international competition for the most innovative, practical solution to achieving Russian ruble convertibility, the so-called Furth Ruble Prize.

Jeffrey L. Glassman

Managing Director of Covington Capital Management; Chairman of the Board of Directors of American Jewish University (formerly known as University of Judaism); Board of Director for the Wallis Foundation, Jewish Home for the Aging, the Los Angeles Police Foundation, Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission; Co-chair of the Advisory Board of the UCLA School of Public Affairs.

Stuart Holliday

President of Meridian International; United States Ambassador for Special Political Affairs at the United Nations; Coordinator of the State Department's Bureau of International Information Programs and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs; Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel at the White House; policy advisor to Vice Presidential candidate Dick Cheney during the 2000 Presidential campaign; Assistant Policy Director to Governor George W. Bush in Texas; Executive Director of the Dallas Council on World Affairs; Regional Director for North Africa, the Middle East and Turkey at the International Republican Institute; United States Naval reserve officer.

Steny Hoyer

United States Representative of Maryland’s Fifth Congressional District; House Majority Leader; former Chairman of the Democratic Caucus, former Co-Chairman of the Democratic Steering Committee; member of the House Appropriations Committee; Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury and Housing; Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies; former Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe; Naval Academy Board of Visitors, St. Mary’s College Board of Trustees.

Barbara Kennelly

President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare since April 2002, after a distinguished 23-year career in elected public office; served eight terms in the United States House of Representatives representing the First District of Connecticut; after serving in Congress, was appointed to the position of Counselor to the Commissioner at the Social Security Administration (SSA) and later joined the law firm of Baker & Hostetler LLP.

Maureen Kindel

President and founder of Rose & Kindel Public Affairs Advocacy; civic leader in government; former Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Los Angeles; member of the 1984 United States Olympic Committee; founder and member of the board of the International Women’s Forum.

Kathleen M. Linehan, Esq.

Vice President of Altria Corporate Services in Washington, DC; served from 1995 to 2001 as Vice President, Corporate Affairs, at Philip Morris International’s European Headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland; held various positions on Capitol Hill and with the federal government, including Executive Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Energy, John F. O’Leary, during the Carter Administration.

The Honorable Robert L. Livingston

President of the Livingston Group, a consulting firm he founded after 22 years in Congress; first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election in 1977—the first Republican to represent Louisiana’s First Congressional District in 102 years; from 1995 through 1998, served as the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee; served on the House Select Committee on Intelligence and for the maximum period of six years; was chosen by his peers to serve as Speaker-designate for the 106th Congress.

The Honorable Richard Lugar

United States Senator of Indiana; Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee; member and former chairman of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, former mayor of Indianapolis; former Vice-Chair or the United States Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations; President of the National League of Cities; and named Outstanding Legislator by the American Political Science Association.

Sheila Avrin McLean

Advisor and strategic counsel to international organizations such as World Bank, World Food Program, Rockefeller, Ford, Carnegie and Aga Khan Foundations; member Board of Directors of Academy for Educational Development and Southern Africa Legal Services Foundation; formerly, Board member and Vice Chair of Women's Foreign Policy Group and Chair of American Council of Nationalities Services/US Committee for Refugees; member of the Council on Foreign Relations; former President/CEO of Boyden World Corporation and Association of Executive Search Consultants; former Vice President of the Institute of International Education; former General Counsel of the International Development Cooperation Agency (a Presidential appointee); former Associate General Counsel for Ford Foundation, special responsibility for human-rights grants program in South Africa.

Denise Nappier

Currently Connecticut State Treasurer, Treasurer of the National Association of State Treasurers and board member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, Connecticut Chapter; proposed and co-chaired Institutional Investor Summit on Climate Risk, held at the United Nations; architect of a $100 million Housing Trust Fund; established annual Money Conference for women and youth; former Hartford City Treasurer (10 years) and Executive Director of Hartford’s Riverfront Recapture; consultant for the Connecticut Office of Policy and Management, the Governor’s budget office, and a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Fellow; named as one of the nation’s 100 Most Influential People in Finance by Treasury & Risk Management magazine and one of the 50 Most Powerful Black Women in Business by Black Enterprise; recipient of the Corporate Responsibility Leadership Award from Citizens for Economic Opportunity (CEO) and the Good Housekeeping magazine Award for Women in Government; recipient of "Legend Award" from Plan Sponsor magazine.

His Excellency Andrés Pastrana

Honorary President of Unión de Partidos Latinoamericanos (UPLA); Ambassador of Colombia to the United States in August 2005; former President of Colombia (1998-2002), helped create Plan Colombia, a strategy to combat narco-trafficking as well as social issues like crop substitution, health, education and improving infrastructure; former consultant to the United Nations under their Young Leadership Program; hold’s a law degree and a postgraduate degree in Public Law from the University of El Rosario in Bogota; former fellow, Center of International Affairs at Harvard University; former journalist (founder of the political magazine Guion) and television news anchorman.

R. Scott Pastrick

President and CEO of BKSH & Associates, leading government and public affairs strategist, concentrating on international and domestic corporate trade and business policy; former Staff Director in the United States House of Representatives; previously served in the Carter Administration, as Special Assistant in the Treasury Department’s Office of Legislative Affairs; former consultant for O’Conner and Hannan; former Treasurer of the Democratic National Committee; member of various boards and philanthropic organizations including the Development Board of Children’s Hospital, and the National Children’s Research Center of Washington; Vice Chairman of the Catholic Charities Foundation Board, the Chairman of the Kennedy Center Fortas Trust Board; board member of Maryland University’s Public Policy school, Georgetown Center for Liturgy and Arts, Woodstock Foundation at Georgetown University and the National Children’s Research Center of Washington, D.C.

Michael Pinto-Duschinsky, Ph.D.

International consultant for numerous democracy organizations and development institutions, among them International IDEA, the British Know How Fund, the Westminster Foundation, NED, IFES, the Inter-American Development Bank, UNDP, USAID, OECD, the Council of Europe, and the Canadian International Development Agency; author of scholarly books and articles on political and electoral processes; expert on campaign financing.

Richard C. Powell, Jr.

Chief Operating Officer at Burson-Marsteller’s, worldwide, and former Chief Knowledge Officer and member of the Worldwide Operating Committee at Burson-Marsteller; former Managing Director of Quinn, Gillespie & Associates (QGA); co-founder and Managing Director of Washington, D.C. based technology incubator VenCatalyst; former Managing Director of Idealab (NYC); Board member for Global Action for Children (GAC), American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL) and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Young Entrepreneurs Foundation.