The purpose of the School of Public Affairs Advisory Council is to help the School of Public Affairs achieve its central mission of providing the highest quality public affairs education in both undergraduate and graduate programs, contributing to knowledge through faculty research, and serving the community by bringing expertise to bear on issues of public policy. In pursuit of this mission, the School of Public Affairs aspires to continue its reputation as one of the best schools of its kind in the world.

To achieve this purpose, the Advisory Council will (1) advise and counsel the dean regarding SPA's objectives, strategies, goals, problems and opportunities; (2) participate in and contribute to the academic life of the School through interaction with students and faculty; (3) assist the School in seeking public and private philanthropic support that will enable SPA to achieve its mission; and (4) serve as an advocate for the School, publicly and privately, to enhance the reputation of its programs, faculty and graduates, and to increase public awareness of its accomplishments and needs. The function of the Advisory Council is solely consultative on the four points mentioned above and on any other topic that the Dean of the School might deem relevant.

The Advisory Council will carry out its purpose by serving as a forum for exchange of facts and perspectives among its members, the Dean, faculty and the administrative staff of the School. The Council's two meetings each year are opportunities for the School's faculty and staff to seek opinions and advice that assist in assessing the effectiveness of programs they administer and in planning effective programs for the future.

Pamela Deese (Chair)
Partner
Arent Fox, PLLC

Pamela Deese is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Arent Fox, PLLC, a Washington, D.C. based law firm with offices in D.C. and New York. She has practiced law in the areas of international trade and litigation, both civil and administrative. Her intellectual property practice has combined several specialties to create a practice in advertising and licensing of trademarked and copyrighted materials.

Ms. Deese has uniquely blended her international trade experience with advertising and licensing expertise to offer clients a full complement of legal services including strategic planning for positioning and protection of intellectual property, evaluating merchandise and licensed property, drafting and negotiating license and related agreements including celebrity endorsements, advertising review as well as sweepstakes and promotions, advising on federal regulatory compliance including privacy issues related to the internet, assisting in customs classification, importation, and related litigation.

Ms. Deese is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. She is also admitted to practice before the U. S. Supreme Court and a number of federal courts including the Court of International Trade and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She is a member of both the Litigation and Intellectual Property law sections of the American Bar Association, the International Trade Commission's Trial Lawyers Association, the Licensing Executives Society, the American Intellectual Property Lawyers Association, and the Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association. She spent nearly six years in the United States Trade Representative's Office as the Assistant Director of the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences.

Ms. Deese is the author of numerous articles in the area of international trade and licensing and is a frequent participant in business and law conferences. She received her undergraduate degree from the School of Public Affairs at American University and her law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University. At American University, she is a member of the Board of Trustees, chair of the School of Public Affairs Advisory Council, a Past President of the Alumni Association, and past Chairman of the University's Annual Fund. Ms. Deese also serves on the Kennedy Center Circles Board, and is an Elder at Lewinsville Presbyterian Church.

Steven Albert
Partner
Ulmer & Berne, LLP

With more than 30 years of experience, he serves as chief trial counsel for Fortune 150 companies. He has been lead trial counsel in over 150 completed jury trials in more than 10 states. For pharmaceutical companies, Steve provides counsel on strategic planning on product recalls and defending claims of product defect. He has defended corporate clients in federal multi-district litigation and in class action suits.

Steve specializes in product liability defense, business litigation, and professional liability defense. Mr. Albert is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. He has written "Tort Litigation in Ohio" published in Manual of Trial Practice for General Court Cases. Steve completed his B.A. at American and received his J.D. from the University of Toledo.

Jeffrey R. Andrade
Director
Education Government Relations

Jeff Andrade is the Director of Education Government Relations for the law firm of Powers, Pyles, Sutter and Verville, P.C. where he advises educational and lending institutions on government affairs strategies, securing federal funding, and provides detailed policy guidance relating to federal and state regulatory requirements.

He has switched sectors several times in his 17 year career, and most recently served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for postsecondary education policy in the U.S. Department of Education before rejoining the private sector earlier this year. At the age of 22, he started out as a GS-7 policy analyst on the Federal student aid programs at the US Department of Education, and worked steadily through the civil service ranks over 10 years to a GS-14 senior budget analyst for student financial assistance, the Department's largest budget account. In 1997, he left the Education Department to join the staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where he worked on several major pieces of legislation including the Higher Education Act and the Workforce Investment Act. Upon successful passage of these bills, he left the Hill and joined a small higher education law firm as regulatory affairs director and eventually went out and started his own consulting firm.

In 2001, he was asked to return to the Education Department as a political appointee to serve in the Bush Administration as higher education advisor to the Deputy Secretary and later as Deputy Assistant Secretary (the youngest person and the first Pell Grant recipient ever to serve in this role). He was the primary spokesperson for the Bush Administration on higher education policy matters and spearheaded several initiatives to expand opportunities for students and to reduce federal red tape on students and colleges.

Mr. Andrade received his bachelor's degree from the School of Public Affairs at American University.

Ken C. Biberaj
Vice President & Spokesman
RTR Funding Group, Inc.

Ken Biberaj is the Vice President & Spokesman of the RTR Funding Group, which owns and operates the famed Russian Tea Room in New York City. The Russian Tea Room reopened in November 2006, and Mr. Biberaj was responsible for all public statements and interviews regarding the reopening, as well as serving as the point person for corporate partnerships, advertising, branding, and public relations.

Prior to coming to the RTR Funding Group, Mr. Biberaj served on Senator John Kerry's 2004 Presidential Campaign as the Political Research Director for the State of Florida. In addition to the Kerry campaign, Mr. Biberaj's political experience includes time on Capitol Hill and in President Bill Clinton's Foundation office in Harlem.

While at American University, Mr. Biberaj served as the first ever reelected student body president. He was a double major in the School of Public Affairs (Political Science & C.L.E.G.) and also a member of the SPA Leadership Program. He received his Master's in Public Policy from Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and is currently pursuing his J.D. at New York Law School.


John Boyer
President and General Manager 
Federal Services
MAXIMUS

John Boyer currently serves as the President and General Manager for Federal Services at MAXIMUS, a 280-office company from McLean, VA, dedicated to helping with modern changes in government. He has more than 30 years experience in health care delivery in both clinical and administrative settings. For the past nine years, he has worked at MAXIMUS, whose motto is “Helping Government Serve the People.” For three decades, the firm has assisted federal, state and local governments in serving citizens who are eligible to receive publicly funded health and human services benefits. 

John also serves on the Board of Directors of the MAXIMUS Charitable Foundation, a non-profit organization that makes cash grants to qualified organizations/ charities in the U.S. The focus of the MAXIMUS Foundation is primarily on youth-oriented programs that help the disadvantaged achieve self-sufficiency and personal growth.

Prior to joining MAXIMUS, Dr. Boyer served as the Director of Health Services Financing Policy at The Pentagon; as Director of the Health Manpower Division at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery; and in a host of clinical and academic positions as a U.S. Navy Nurse. He completed his Ph.D. in Public Administration at The American University in 1989. Additionally, he holds Masters Degrees in both Management and Nursing, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics Education.

L. Thomas Block
Senior Vice President
J.P. Morgan Chase

Tom Block serves as Washington Strategist helping analysts, bankers, and clients of the firm better understand how public policy can impact capital markets. Tom also works on public policy issues in the bank's Government Relations group. Prior to his current assignment he was responsible for managing the Firm's lobbying relationships with the U.S. government, state and local governments, and built a government affairs program for J.P. Morgan in Europe.

Prior to joining the Bank in July 1987, Mr. Block was a vice president at Irving Trust Company and Manager of Government Relations. Previously, Mr. Block held several positions with members of the House and Senate, serving as Legislative Assistant to Congressman William J. Keating (R-OH), Chief of Staff to Congressman Matthew J. Rinaldo (R-NJ), and Legislative Staff Director for Robert Taft, Jr. (R-OH).

He is currently a Vice Chairman of the Advisory Committee on International Economic Policy of the U.S. Department of State. Mr. Block is a trustee of Berheim Arboretum and Research Forest outside of Lousiville, KY.

Theodore N. Carter
Senior Managing Director - South Florida
CB Richard Ellis

Theodore N. Carter currently serves as the Senior Managing Director for South Florida at CB Richard Ellis, Florida's dominant real estate services firm. Through a combination of considerable market knowledge and experience analyzing current conditions and projecting future trends, his office provides the optimum solution to any real estate requirement. In 2004, Mr. Carter's office successfully completed over $3 billion in aggregated sales and leases totaling over 34 million square feet.

He formerly served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC) and its subsidiaries, the RLA Revitalization Corporation (RLARC) and the Economic Development Finance Corporation (EDFC). Mr. Carter was responsible for planning and implementing initiatives that spur economic development through real estate, business attraction and retention, and job creation in the District of Columbia.

Mr. Carter served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Management Operations at the U.S. Department of the Treasury from 1997 to 2000. During his tenure, Mr. Carter was responsible for financial and management oversight of the Department's five law enforcement bureaus, a $4 billion portfolio, and played a key role in securing funding and site location for the new ATF Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Prior to joining the federal government, Mr. Carter served New York City Mayors Dinkins and Giuliani in several senior positions from 1993 to 1995. He managed the city and state legislative portfolio for nine economic development agencies and worked to obtain passage of legislation that reduced the New York State hotel tax. Mr. Carter was part of a team that developed a successful neighborhood retail initiative in Brooklyn and negotiated to create the $300 million Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Corporation.

Mr. Carter also served twice in the Government of the District of Columbia. Most recently, Mr. Carter served as Senior Advisor and Acting Chief of Staff to the Chief Financial Officer, where he streamlined the CFO's office and worked on Medicaid reengineering. Earlier in his career, Mr. Carter served as Assistant to the City Administrator, where he led the District's Strategic Facilities Plan that produced $3 million in savings.

In addition to his distinguished service in local and federal government, Mr. Carter served as the Director of the Public Sector, Global Markets at Freemarkets, a Pittsburgh based e-sourcing company. He drove the early identification and implementation of an e-sourcing strategy for local, state and federal agencies including the U.S. Postal Service, the State of Florida, Los Angeles County, and the Department of Defense. These initiatives generated an average procurement savings of 10 percent for Freemarkets' public sector clients.

Prior to joining NCRC, Mr. Carter served as Campaign Manager for Mayor Anthony Williams' successful write-in campaign in 2002, winning both the Democratic and Republican nominations for Mayor as well as the 2002 general election. He served as Deputy Campaign Manager and Chief Operating Officer for the Clinton/Gore Reelection Campaign in 1996, where he was responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of a $100 million enterprise.

Mr. Carter received his Bachelor of Science from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and his Masters in Public Administration from American University. He completed the Government Finance Officers Association's Advanced Government Finance Institute and is a graduate of the Department of Treasury's Executive Leadership Institute. Mr. Carter serves as President of the Conference of Minority Public Administrators and is a National Councilperson for the American Society of Public Administrators. Currently, Mr. Carter serves as Vice Chairman of Jubilee Enterprises in Washington, D.C and is a Board Member of the DC Marketing Center. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the British American Project, a member of the Board of Overseers for the John C. Whitehead School of International Affairs & Diplomacy at Seton Hall University, and is a former Term Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has received several awards for his leadership and results with respect to small business development and access to capital. Mr. Carter has lived in the District for 14 years where he currently calls the Southwest Waterfront his home.


Stephen M. Daoust, Esq.
Assistant General Counsel
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, LLP

Stephen Daoust is Assistant General Counsel for PricewaterhouserCoopers LLP (PwC). In that capacity, Mr. Daoust is the chief counsel for the firm's Washington Federal Practice which provides, among other things, government audit/attest services, project and financial management services, healthcare consulting, and information security services to federal, state, and local government clients. Mr. Daoust's primary activities include counseling PwC's executive management on government contract matters including, GSA contracting, federal outsourcing, data rights, performance based service contracting, mergers and acquisition and employment law. Mr. Daoust is also the PwC Washington Federal Practice Ethics Officer.

Before joining PwC, Mr. Daoust was a Vice President, Group General Counsel for Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. – a large public company specializing in information technology systems integration and business process outsourcing -- where he specialized in commercial contracts, federal procurement, software licensing, mergers & acquisitions, employment law and related litigation. Mr. Daoust also served as the Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer for ACS' federal services subsidiary – ACS Government Services, Inc. – during his seven year tenure with ACS.

Before joining ACS, Mr. Daoust practiced law for seven years in the Washington D.C. office of McKenna & Cuneo in the areas of government procurement, compliance and complex litigation. Mr. Daoust represented the firm's Fortune 50 clientele in litigation before the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, Army Corps of Engineers Board of Contract Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. Mr. Daoust also performed internal civil and criminal false claims investigations and defended clients from government prosecution of white collar criminal and civil charges.

Mr. Daoust has written and has provided extensive training materials to corporate audiences on topics involving, federal outsourcing, corporate compliance, ethics, business management, commercial contracting practices, mergers and acquisitions of federal contractors, GSA multiple award schedule contracts, TINA, contract claims, and sexual harassment/discrimination. Mr. Daoust is a certified Zenger Miller business management facilitator and has authored an article for the National Contract Management Association entitled "Partnering with the Federal Government - A Contractor's Perspective."

Mr. Daoust is an active member of the American Bar Association's Public Contract Law Section. He is also actively involved in the Professional Services Council, the Coalition of Federal Procurement and the Washington Metropolitan Association of Corporate Counsel of America. Mr. Daoust received his degree cum laude in the field of political science at The American University and earned his Juris Doctor at The George Washington University National Law Center. Mr. Daoust is admitted before the Bars of the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.


Barbara Dyer
President and CEO
The Hitachi Foundation

As President & CEO of The Hitachi Foundation, Barbara Dyer has focused the Foundation at the intersection of the private and nonprofit sectors where path-breaking partnerships are underway. Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Dyer had an extensive career in public policy as co-founder of the National Academy of Public Administration's Alliance for Redesigning Government, Deputy Executive Director and Director of Policy Studies with the National Governors' Association affiliate, the Council of Governors' Policy Advisors, Special Assistant to the Secretary of the United States Department of the Interior in the Carter Administration, and Deputy Executive Director of the Western Regional Office of the Council of State Governments. Ms. Dyer served as chair of Independent Sector's 2003 annual conference planning committee, authored several books and articles, and is a member of the American University School of Public Affairs Advisory Council and a Principal of the Council for Excellence in Government. She is a graduate of Clark University and the John F. Kennedy School of Government's Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.


Robert Engel
Program Director
National Committee for an Effective Congress

Robert Engel is Program Director with the National Committee for an Effective Congress, a targeting and strategic planning center for the Democratic community.

During the 2000 Presidential election cycle, Mr. Engel was Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee. During the 1990s, he was the Political Director and the National Campaign Director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and he served as the Executive Director of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee

Mr. Engel has also run campaigns all across the country at all levels of government. He was Deputy Campaign Manager of Joseph Biden's 1988 Presidential campaign, Campaign Manager for Representative Sam Gejdenson, and Campaign Coordinator for Representative Norman Sisisky. Mr. Engel worked at the DNC in 1989 and 1990, where he was jointly responsible for Chair Ron Brown's political division transition. He also worked in the Senate office of Adlai Stevenson and on his 1982 run for the Governor of Illinois, as well as Office Manager for Senator Alan Dixon.

Mr. Engel received his undergraduate degree from the American University in the School of Public Affairs. He is a research fellow with American University's Center for the Study of Congress and the Presidency. He has taught campaign strategy at George Washington University's School of Political Management, and has lectured on campaign strategy and planning at American University, George Washington University, Columbia University and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.


S. David Fineman
President
Fineman, Krekstein, & Harris

S. David Fineman is the managing attorney and founder of Fineman Krekstein & Harris, P.C., a 25 attorney law firm located at 30 South 17th Street, 18th Floor, Philadelphia PA 19103. Mr. Fineman has an active law practice involving the representation of a wide variety of clients.

Mr. Fineman has served as special counsel to various federal, state and municipal candidates and elected officials. He is a former member of the Philadelphia Planning Commission, a member of Mayor Edward Rendell's Intergovernmental Task Force, a member of Governor Rendell's transition team, and a member of former Mayor W. Wilson Good's transition team in 1987. He has served as special counsel to the Philadelphia Parking Authority, the Secretary of Banking of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Insurance Commissioner of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

On January 13, 1995, President Clinton nominated and on May 25, 1995, the United States Senate confirmed Mr. Fineman to a nine-year term on the Board of Governors of the United States Postal Service, a nine member Board which directs and controls the expenditures, reviews practices and policies, and establishes basic objectives and long-range goals of the Postal Service. Mr. Fineman presently serves as Chairman of the Board. He has previously served as its Vice Chairman, Chairman of the Strategic Planning Committee, and Chairman of the Compensation Committee.

In December, 1994, Mr. Fineman was appointed to the Industry Policy Advisory Committee (IPAC), a CEO-level committee which advises the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative on international trade policy issues. Mr. Fineman has served as a member of various private company boards and has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Fineman also currently serves on the Board of Directors of the State of Israel Bonds, and is the founder of the Harry and Annette Fineman Scholarship Fund which benefits students of the Pennypacker Elementary School in Philadelphia.

He has been selected to "Who's Who in America Law," "Who's Who in Emerging Leaders in America", Who's Who in the World and in 1991, was selected by the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia county as one of forty lawyers to serve as a Judge Pro tempore. He has been chosen to be included in the Philadelphia Business Journal's "Who's Who in the Law." He has been chosen by the United States District Court as a Mediator for its Court-Annexed Early Mediation Program.

Mr. Fineman is a former lecturer of business law at Temple University and has been a lecturer throughout the country in the use of mock juries and strategy in selecting a jury.

He graduated from The American University and received his law degree, with honors, from George Washington University. He is presently a member of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and American Bar Associations.

Betsy Fischer
Executive Producer
"Meet the Press"

Betsy Fischer has been Executive Producer of NBC’s number one rated Sunday morning public affairs program, “Meet the Press,” since July 2002.

As Executive Producer, Fischer has produced interviews with such key figures as President Barak Obama, former President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, First Lady Laura Bush and all nine 2004 Democratic Presidential Candidates. She also created and produced an award winning series of special “Meet the Press” debates with the candidates from key 2002 and 2004 U.S. Senate races.

Additionally, she has served as Tim Russert’s producer for NBC News’ coverage of Special Events and the 2000, 2004, and 2008 Presidential Election, including the presidential primaries, party conventions, debates, and election night. In 2000, she produced NBC’s highly acclaimed New York Senatorial debate between former First Lady Hillary Clinton and Representative Rick Lazio.

Prior to being promoted to Executive Producer, Fischer was the Senior Producer of “Meet the Press” and the NBC News Political/Polling Unit for five years. Fischer came to “Meet the Press” in 1992, starting as a political researcher. She became the Associate Producer in 1995 and a Producer in 1997. Fischer also contributed to the production and political research for NBC News’ 1992, 1994 and 1996 election coverage. Her career at NBC News began with an internship at “Meet the Press” while in college.

A native of New Orleans, Fischer did her undergraduate and graduate work at American University in Washington, DC. She is a Cum Laude graduate of their School of Public Affairs and earned a M.A. degree in Broadcast Journalism from the AU School of Communications.

Fischer has been honored with several awards including a News and Documentary Emmy, the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence Political Journalism and a Gracie Award from American Women in Radio and Television.

She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the National Press Club, the Women’s Forum of Washington, DC and the Junior League of Washington. Fischer lives in Falls Church, Virginia with her husband Gene Raineri and their four-year old daughter, Ella Elizabeth.

Dr. Jefferson Gill
Associate Professor
Department of Political Science
University of California, Davis

Dr. Gill is an associate professor of political science and statistics at the University of California, Davis. Prior to this new position, Dr. Gill was an associate professor of political science at the University of Florida. His primary research applies Bayesian modeling and data analysis to substantive questions in public policy, budgeting, bureaucracy, and Congress. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Florida in 2000, Dr. Gill was assistant professor of political science at California Polytechnic State University.

His work has appeared in Statistical Science, Public Administration Review, Political Research Quarterly, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, as well as with Georgetown University Press, Westview Press, Chapman & Hall, Sage and others. His most recent book, co-authored with Micah Altman Michael McDonald, is Numerical Issues in Statistical Computing for the Social Scientist.

He received his Ph.D. in political science in 1996, and won the University's Dissertation Fellowship Award for his research on quantitative approaches to the study of bureaucratic behavior. While at American University from 1992 to 1996, he also was adjunct professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and the Department of Government, and assistant director under James Thurber in the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies. He continues to serve on the Center's board of academic advisors. Jeff received his undergraduate degree in mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles and his masters in business administration at Georgetown University. Dr. Gill was a post-doctorate research fellow from 1996 to 1998 at Harvard University, Department of Government, Harvard-MIT Data Center.

From 1984 to 1988, Dr. Gill was with IBM Corporation where he designed and built a real-time digital signal processing system. From 1988 to 1992, as director of sales for DMC Telecom, he successfully negotiated the sale of microwave and fiber optic transmission products to European utility companies.


Edward Goldberg
President
Annisa Group

Edward Goldberg uniquely combines a businessperson's pragmatic view along with an academic's scrutiny in analyzing US / Russian relations.

He is currently the President of Annisa Group. Annisa specializes in assisting the needs of growing Russian, and Eastern European companies as they look to expand into the North American marketplace.

Previously to joining Annisa, Edward Goldberg had served as President of F.J. Elsner North America Ltd for eight years. Elsner is a worldwide trading and trade finance company specializing in Eastern Europe and Russia. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Raiffeisen Zentralbank (RZB), the leading financial institution in middle Europe.

When Mr. Goldberg established Elsner in North America, the main impediment to building the business, was the reluctance of customers to deal with Russian and Eastern European resources. Under his leadership this was overcome and within the first years of business a sales volume of
$50,000,000 had been achieved.

• F.J. Elsner became the largest supplier in North America of various steel and forest products including newsprint and plywood from Russia and Eastern Europe. Mr. Goldberg accomplished this without any prior product knowledge in less then two years. Elsner was also a leader in poultry, frozen foods, and petrochemicals.

• He developed a unique financing strategy that allowed Elsner to become the leading firm financing agricultural (primarily poultry) shipments from the United States to Russia. He achieved this by packaging trade and trade finance into a single transaction.

• He conceived and Co- Chaired the B2 B, development committee of the Raiffeisen Zentralbank Group. The objective of this committee was to develop a B2B online trading business focused in Central and Eastern Europe which would redeploy the 100+ years of financial and trading experience of Raiffeisen Zentralbank onto the internet.

For many years prior to Elsner, Mr. Goldberg had been Vice President for International marketing for LB International.

LB International was a $70M subsidiary of Chilewich Group, one of the leading American trading companies involved in the Soviet Union, Asia, South America and Europe. He started as a sales trainee and rose to become Vice President, International Marketing, and Principal in several of the operating divisions.

• Mr. Goldberg represented the United States Department of State at the International Conference on International Relations and Problems of Globalization in St. Petersburg, Russia where he delivered the opening address.

• He has written extensively on such subjects as US/ European and US/Russian relations, Globalization, the U.S. Dollar policy and America's tax and investment policy. Essays have appeared in the Baltimore Sun/Tribune Company newspapers, American Foreign Policy Interests, and Trade and Investment Magazine. His essays on US/Russian relations and American Foreign Policy have also appeared several times as the cover article in the Globalist.

• Under the auspices of the Kennan Institute in Washington and the Harriman Institute of Columbia University in New York, Mr. Goldberg is chairing and speaking at an ongoing series on US/ Russian and Soviet Relations.

• Frequently speaks on US/Russian economic and political relations. He has been interviewed on this subject for Public Radio, CBS radio, and the Associated Press as well as Russian State Television.

• Lectured at the European Union Studies Center, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York on US/Russian relationships

• Lectured on International business and Trade at the Lubin Graduate School of Business, Pace University.

• Testified before the United States Senate on International Trade matters.

• He is currently writing a book entitled – The Silent Embargo - the effects of immigration on American/ Soviet and Russian relations

Mr. Goldberg serves on the following boards: Member of the Executive committee of the Board of Advisors of the School of Public Affairs of American University; Board of Advisors of the European Union Studies Center, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York.; Vice President of the United States Austrian Chamber of Commerce; Vice Chairman of the Viennese Opera Ball whose beneficiaries are the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna and the Guggenheim Museum in New York; Member of the Board of United Nations Committee for Public-Private Alliance for Rural Development; Member of The National Committee on American Foreign Policy where he serves on the Strategic Planning and Development Committee.

Charles P. Griffin
CEO
Custom Scoop

Chip Griffin serves as the CEO of CustomScoop, a media intelligence company with offices in Concord, NH and Washington, DC.

He has more than 15 years experience in the business of public relations and public affairs. In that time, he has specialized in marrying technology and innovation with sound communications practices. He has developed a range of knowledge by working on crisis communications, grassroots PR, internet advocacy, and marketing communications. In addition, his background includes stints in government, with a PR agency, and as an independent consultant.
 
Chip has been published in a wide range of traditional and new media publications, including the Washington Post, New York Times, Miami Herald, and numerous magazines and web sites. He has been blogging since 1999 and his primary blog is “Pardon the Disruption” available at www.PardonTheDisruption.com  
 
A serial entrepreneur, he has been a founder or co-founder of more than a half dozen different companies. In addition, he is currently the Managing Director of AOS Ventures, a small group of angel investors that targets seed stage companies in New England.
 
Chip is a graduate and active supporter of American University. He splits his time between Washington, DC and New Hampshire, where he lives with his wife and two sons.

Elizabeth Kellar
Deputy Executive Director
International City/County Management Association

Ms. Elizabeth Kellar is Deputy Executive Director of the International City/County Management Association, the professional association of 8,000 local government chief administrators. Ms. Kellar launched ICMA's international programs, which help support local democratic efforts and municipal development programs around the world. She also has overseen ICMA's programs on ethics, public policy, publishing, marketing, technology, and professional development.

She is a frequent speaker on ethics topics and writes monthly ethics column for Public Management magazine. She has developed a number of ethics-related products and services, including an interactive training program on CD ROM, handbooks, case studies, and a book of readings.. She served as editor for Managing with Less, and Effective Communication: Getting the Message Across.

Ms. Kellar is a Fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration and has served as chair for NAPA's Standing Panel on the Federal System. She currently serves as chair for the Montgomery County Ethics Commission. She has also served as a Community Relations Officer, Sunnyvale, California and was a member of the Montgomery County Commission on the Future.

Ms. Kellar has a master's degree in journalism and political science from Ohio State University.


Warren L. Miller
Chairman
United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad

Warren L. Miller is the Chairman of the United States Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad. The Commission is the agency of the U.S. Government charged with protecting and preserving Holocaust sites, memorials, historic buildings, cemeteries and other property important to the cultural heritage of Americans in cooperation with the governments of Central and Eastern Europe, including parts of the former Soviet Union. It negotiates government to government agreements which ensure there is no discrimination against minority groups and implements projects in the 28 nations for which it has jurisdiction. The Commission intervenes when hate crimes occur and is proactive in fighting religious and ethnic intolerance.

Mr. Miller was appointed to the Commission in 1992 by President George Bush, was reappointed in 1996, and was appointed Chairman by President George W. Bush in June 2001. As a Commission Member, Mr. Miller initiated and completed several important Holocaust projects, including raising the funds for the translation from Polish into English of Auschwitz 1940-1945, a highly acclaimed five-volume, 1799-page history of the Auschwitz concentration camp published by the State Museum at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The Museum dedicated the books in his honor. He also provided the leadership and raised the funds for creation of an important Memorial at the site of the Buchenwald concentration camp to honor the victims of its notorious "Little Camp". Additionally, Mr. Miller raised funds for other important Holocaust projects in Europe including the new Rumbula Memorial in Riga, Latvia. In 1994, he was appointed as the only American to serve on the Board of the Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorial Foundation, the entity in charge of the memorial site and museum at Buchenwald. Mr. Miller has been a guest speaker at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and other forums in the United States and Europe on the subject of the Holocaust and anti-Semitism. In 2002, he was appointed by Secretary of State Colin Powell to be co-leader of the U.S. delegation to an international conference in Warsaw, Poland and was the guest speaker at ceremonies commemorating the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. In 2003 Mr. Miller was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland by President Aleksander Kwasniewski.

In 1987, Mr. Miller was appointed by President Ronald Reagan as a Member of the District of Columbia Law Revision Commission, on which he served for four years. Mr. Miller was Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1969-1974, where he prosecuted the most serious felony cases as a Senior Trial Assistant.

Mr. Miller served as Parliamentarian for both the Rules and Credentials Committee of the 1984 Republican National Convention. He has also been President of the Assistant United States Attorneys Association for the District of Columbia. He has been a lecturer at Georgetown University Law School and lectured in criminal law at the American University.

Mr. Miller is President of Warren L. Miller, P.C., and specializes in litigation and negotiation. He has represented high-level government officials, Members of Congress, a foreign government, multinational corporations, and the U.S. Government as outside counsel. In these capacities, he has been lead counsel in several cases of national importance. Mr. Miller is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia, Virginia, and United States Supreme Court, as well as numerous United States Circuit and District Courts. Mr. Miller's biography appears in Who's Who in America.

Mr. Miller received his B.A. degree from The American University (recipient of High University Honor) and his J.D. degree (with honors) from George Washington University.

Steven Nesmith
Partner
Holland & Knight

Steven B. Nesmith is a Partner in the firm's Public Policy & Regulation Group. Mr. Nesmith served as Assistant Secretary for Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was a Sub–Cabinet member and principal advisor to the Secretary, Deputy Secretary and senior staff on legislative affairs, regulatory issues and policy matters affecting Federal, state and local governments, and public and private industry groups. As a senior Administration Official, he also served as a member of the President’s Leadership Team.

Nesmith also served on the White House Inter-Agency taskforce on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that focused on reforming how these entities operate in the secondary mortgage market and meet their affordable housing goals. Mr. Nesmith's practice concentrates on affordable housing and housing finance issues; new market, low-income housing and historic preservation tax credits including working with for-profit and non-profit developers, tax syndicators and housing authorities. Mr. Nesmith represents state and local governments concerning economic development and federal appropriations matters. He also has extensive experience with housing/mortgage, banking, financial services and international trade issues before Congress and the Executive Branch.

Mr. Nesmith is also a former Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration, where his responsibilities included the Offices of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs and Public Relations. While with the Department of Commerce, he helped to pass the President's Trade Promotion Authority legislation, which gives the President authority to enter into international trade agreements. In addition, Mr. Nesmith worked with Congress to extend the Trade Adjustment Act, which provides $1.1 billion for training and cash benefits for workers dislocated by outsourcing and increased foreign imports. At Holland & Knight, Mr. Nesmith focuses on international trade and economic development issues with foreign countries concerning free trade agreements and funding projects with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Mr. Nesmith previously served as Director of Operations at the Mayor's office of Community Services which included Philadelphia’s national Empowerment Zone. The national Empowerment Zone is regulated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development which promotes business tax breaks and other tax incentives for economic and business development in the Philadelphia region. These incentives encouraged businesses to locate or expand within the designated Empowerment Zone areas. Nesmith also supervised all of the Mayor's city-wide community-based organizations.

Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Nesmith was a Partner at one of Washington, D.C.'s premier lobbying firms, where he led the firm's Government Relations, Affordable Housing team. Mr. Nesmith was captain of American University's basketball team and was honored by the Washington D.C. Basketball Hall of Fame during his senior year.

Anthony Pajunas
Vice President, Network Operations
United States Postal Service

Anthony Pajunas is the Vice President, Network Operations for the United States Postal Service. In that capacity, Mr. Pajunas oversees the national network of 350 mail processing and distribution centers, as well as the vast transportation infrastructure that moves the mail.

Mr. Pajunas joined the Postal Service in January 1973 as a distribution clerk in Dover, New Jersey. Since that time has held progressively more challenging positions in the Postal Service. Following the restructuring of the Postal Service in 1992, Mr. Pajunas became Plant Manager of the North Metro Processing and Distribution facility, one of the largest mail processing plants within the Southeast Area.

In 1995, Mr. Pajunas became manager of Operations Networks Redesign at the Postal Services' headquarters offices in Washington, D.C. Now a recognized authority on network design and classification reform issues, he served as the USPS primary witness for operations before the Postal Rate Commission.

In his current position as manager of Logistics, Mr. Pajunas is directly responsible for the management of over $3 billion of domestic transportation networks utilized by the Postal Service. This includes both the FedEx and Commercial Passenger air networks, as well as over 16,000 highway contract routes that make up an extensive surface network. He is also responsible for the management of the freight rail and Amtrak networks used by the Postal Service.

Over the course of his extensive postal career, Mr. Pajunas has received numerous awards and letters of commendations. In 1995 he received the prestigious Board of Governors' award for outstanding performance. Additionally, he has received both a Vice President's Award, and Chief Operating Officer's Award from the Postal Service.

Mr. Pajunas received his master's degree in Public Administration from American University's Key Executive Program.


Samantha Sackin
Executive Vice President
GolinHarris

Samantha Sackin is the Executive Vice President of GolinHarris, one of the world's leading full-service public relations firms. GolinHarris is truly a global firm with reach to more than 4,000 multinational, regional, and local clients in 130 countries around the world.

Prior to joining GolinHarris, Sackin served as Senior Vice President at Rogers and Associates in Los Angeles, where she ran the agency's consumer marketing practice. Los Angeles-based Rogers & Associates provided strategic communications to business, government and non-profit organizations.

Ms. Sackin served as a senior vice president at Fleishman-Hillard/Los Angeles, prior to Rogers and Associates, where she managed the marketing communications practice. During Sackin's 10 years at Fleishman-Hillard, she provided strategic counsel to a wide range of companies and organizations including Baskin-Robbins International, Iomega, Johnny Rockets, LSG Sky Chefs, Luxor Las Vegas, MGM Grand Hotel, Casino & Theme Park, Nestle USA, Pioneer Electronics USA and Sony Computer Entertainment America (overseeing the launches of both the PlayStation game console and PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system).

Ms. Sackin began her professional experience as a reporter for Thomson Newspapers in Washington, D.C. and received her undergraduate degree in political science and communications from the School of Public Affairs at American University.

Ms. Sackin is an active volunteer for The Los Angeles Free Clinic, the oldest continuously operating free clinic in the nation, serving as co-chair of one of their largest fundraising events of the year, "The Extravaganza of the Senses." Sackin is also a board member for the Women's Leadership Council. In 2000, Sackin was selected by PR News as one of the publication's "15 to Watch" in public relations.

Ms. Sackin is married to Thomas Fassbender, co-owner of independent crime publishing company UglyTown. They are parents to Francesca and live in Los Angeles.


Nancy E. Tate
Executive Director
The League of Women Voters

Nancy E. Tate is the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of the United States, the nation's premier nonpartisan political organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government.

Prior to joining the League in 2000, Ms. Tate was the Chief Operating Officer of the National Academy of Public Administration. The National Academy of Public Administration is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization chartered by Congress to examine the emerging issues of governance and to improve the effectiveness of government at all levels.

Previously, Ms. Tate was a project director in the consulting firm of Irving Burton Associates, managing a large multi-year contract with the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. Before joining the private sector, Ms. Tate had a distinguished career in the federal government, in the Department of Energy and the Department Education and the Office of Economic Opportunity. Ms. Tate has a BA in political science from Stanford University and a master's degree in public administration from George Washington University.


Susan L. Spagna, Esq.
Vice President, Human Resources and Legal Counsel
David Yurman

Susan Spagna is general counsel to David Yurman, a major American designer and manufacturer of luxury jewelry and Swiss made timepieces. She has worked as counsel to David Yurman since 1993 and took on the responsibilities of V.P. Human Resources in 2003.

Ms. Spagna started her legal career with the AT&T companies, specializing in corporate and labor and employment counseling and litigation. At the beginning of her career she traveled throughout the United States handling labor arbitrations, administrative agency and Federal Court litigation for AT&T Long Lines Division. In 1981 Ms. Spagna transferred to the then New York Telephone Company where she specialized in labor and employment counseling and litigation and was responsible for complex employment discrimination litigation and labor arbitrations. At New York Telephone Company, in 1986, she was named legal counsel to the company’s collective bargaining team for one of its largest unions, The Telephone Traffic Union.

After ten years of specializing in the communications industry labor and employment law, she started a private legal practice building on her established expertise as well as expanding into the area of art law. During her private practice, she was introduced to the thriving arts and artist community in New York City, representing world-class Pop artists, printers and publishers of fine art projects. This specialty led her to the eventual representation of David Yurman and her current roles of in-house counsel, handling employment, contracts and intellectual property matters, including trademark and copyright matters before the federal courts in New York, heading the company’s Human Resources department and Senior Executive team member.

Ms. Spagna is a long time member of the American Bar Association and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York as well as a past member of the Association’s Art Law and Arbitration Committees. She was also a lecturer at the Cornell ilr School of Industrial and Labor Relations and a guest lecturer at Hofstra University School of Law. She is admitted to practice before the bars in New York and New Jersey and their respective federal bars.

Ms. Spagna received her undergraduate degree from the School of Public Affairs at American University and her law degree, cum laude, number 1 in the Day Division, from the Widener University School of Law. She resides in Manhattan and Sag Harbor, New York with her husband, Fred Dorfman, a graduate of the American University’s School of Communication and owner/director of Dorfman Projects, a gallery and publisher of fine art projects by established artists in the Chelsea district of Manhattan and Bridgehampton, New York. They are parents to Blake Dorfman.