Craig Newmark
Craig Newmark is a self-described nerd, pioneer of the Web, speaker, philanthropist, and a strong advocate of the use of technology for the public good. He is the founder of craigslist, which he started in 1995 and is now one of the world’s most-visited websites with around 50 billion pages views per month.
Today, Craig’s focus is craigconnects, which he launched in 2011. The mission of craigconnects in the short term is to promote, expedite and enhance the use of technology and social media to the benefit of philanthropy and public service. He uses the craigconnects platform to support the efforts of those “getting stuff done” in areas such as veterans and military families, open government, public diplomacy, back-to-basics journalism and fact-checking, consumer protection, election protection and voter registration, and technology for the public good. Craig’s long term mission for craigconnects is to ultimately extend the reach of technology worldwide, to “give a voice to the voiceless and real power to the powerless.”
Craig currently serves on the board of directors of the Center for Public Integrity, Sunlight Foundation, Consumers Union/Consumer Reports, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He also serves as an advisor on the use of technology to more than a dozen other non-profit organizations and government agencies.
Born in Morristown, New Jersey in 1952, Craig has lived in San Francisco for more than 20 years. He enjoys bird-watching, squirrel-watching, and science fiction. Craig communicates regularly through his own blog on craigconnects.org, the Huffington Post, Facebook and Twitter. He also travels the country speaking about issues, appearing on behalf of organizations he supports, and delivering his craigconnects message to audiences nationwide.
Dr. Janet Breslin-Smith
Dr. Janet E. Breslin-Smith is the wife of James B. Smith, the United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
Prior to joining her husband on this assignment to Saudi Arabia, she held leadership roles in the United States Senate, broke new ground in professional military higher education, and just completed her first book, The National War College: A History of Strategic Thinking in Peace and War. She is current researching two books—Making it Work: Enduring US/Saudi Marriages, and The Smile Behind the Veil: Portraits of Young Saudi Women Professionals.
Dr. Breslin-Smith was Professor of National Security Strategy for 14 years at the National War College, part of the National Defense University in Washington, DC. She was the past Chair, Department of National Security, and was named Outstanding Professor at the College in 2006. Before joining the faculty, she served for over 17 years in the United States Senate. She was Legislative Director for Senator Patrick Leahy and then was named the Deputy Staff Director of the Senate Agriculture Committee under his Chairmanship. Dr. Breslin-Smith was also Legislative Director for Senator Donald Stewart of Alabama, Executive Assistant for Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen, and was a professional staff member on the Commission on the Operation of the Senate.
She received her Ph.D. from the University of California at Los Angeles and her undergraduate degree in International Relations from the University of Southern California.
Dr. Breslin-Smith and her husband, former F15 pilot and retired Brigadier General, USAF, have four grown children.
Rosemary Freitas Williams
Rosemary Freitas Williams is a Vice President at Reingold, a small, one-stop communications and marketing firm that crafts campaigns for causes that matter. Rosemary provides her strategic communications expertise and award-winning journalism skills to provide tactical guidance and creative development for many of Reingold’s dynamic projects and initiatives, particularly those serving Veterans, their families and survivors.
Williams brings over 23 years of network broadcast journalism experience that includes two national EMMY Awards and two years as Senior Advisor for Strategic Communications to the Secretary of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Prior to joining Reingold, Ms. Williams served as U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) first strategic communications advisor to the Secretary. In this role, Ms. Williams greatly increased the awareness of the Secretary and agency’s mission by communicating key messages to VA’s myriad external and internal stakeholders, including VA’s Veterans Health Affairs’ (VHA) more than 1,000 award-winning health facilities. Ms. Williams also directed and implemented key internal and external communications initiatives for VA’s three administrations, including the agency’s crisis communications strategy.
Another career highlight includes serving as the director of communications and public liaison for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). In this capacity, she supervised internal and external communications outreach, directed all press outreach, supervised social and new media communications, and coordinated messaging for all principals’ speeches and presentations. In addition, she enhanced agency-wide core message synchronization by establishing OPM’s first strategic communications calendar.
Prior to her government service, Ms. Williams enjoyed a 30 year career in journalism, most recently as executive producer of news for NBC’s 24 hour cable, MSNBC, where she won a national EMMY award for coverage of September 11 attacks. Ms. Williams also serves as Chairman of the Board of MPowerNation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting, couching and mentoring today’s younger military families.
Sue Hoppin
Sue Hoppin is a nationally recognized expert on military spouse and family issues working to bridge the cultural gap between government, private and public groups and military communities. She works with groups of all sizes to jumpstart or reenergize their outreach initiatives and frequently speaks around the country at conferences and leadership training programs.
In addition to her consulting work, Sue is the founder and president of the National Military Spouse Network, a professional development and networking organization supporting military spouses who must balance their own dreams and ambitions with the military lifestyle. The NMSN delivers ongoing personal and professional development for military spouses by providing: quality content, mentoring, networking opportunities and cutting edge resources geared specifically to military spouses building portable careers compatible with their transient lifestyles.
Before founding the NMSN, Sue served as the first deputy director for spouse outreach for the Military Officers Association of America, charged with creating and spearheading military spouse initiatives for the 370,000 member association. In 2007, Sue co-authored, “A Family’s Guide to the Military” for the popular Dummies series. In recognition of her accomplishments, Military Spouse Magazine named Sue on both their 2007 and 2008 Who’s Who of Military Spouses list recognizing those who have made significant contributions in the military community for all military spouses; making her the only person to be named on the list two years in a row.
Sue serves on the Board of Directors of the non-profit organization, Blue Star Families. For the past five years, she has also served as the Publicity Chairman on the Air Force Charity Ball Committee that has raised over $4.7 million for the Air Force Aid Society since its inception in 2004.
Sue holds a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the University of Denver and a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Oklahoma.
Phil Dyer
Phil is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, writer and speaker. He is the Founder/CEO of Dyer Financial Advisory, LLC; a boutique fee-only financial planning/wealth management firm and Co-Founder/Chief Visionary of Broughton Advisory Group; a strategic planning, leadership development, and training company. Phil is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West
Point and former Army Captain who now applies the leadership lessons learned in the service to today’s dynamic business battlefield.
Since serving on active duty, Phil has achieved success in corporate, non-profit, and small business pursuits. Past areas of focus include medical sales for a Fortune 50 company, serving as the National Financial Educator for the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) and numerous entrepreneurial ventures. Phil recently received the MVC (Most Valuable Contributor) Award from 300 small business peers for his innovations in marketing, business growth, and building virtual teams.
Over the past 17 years, Phil has counseled hundreds of entrepreneurs and thousands of transitioning military service members on financial, tax and business success strategies. He has given over 750 speeches worldwide on a variety of financial/business topics and has shared the stage with some of today’s most innovative business thought leaders. Phil is a key driver in the rapidly growing military veteran entrepreneur movement and actively partners with leading organizations such as the Institute for
Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) to train, coach, and mentor hundreds of current and aspiring “vetrepreneurs” each year.
A prolific writer, Phil has over 100 business/financial by-lines in major magazines and is frequently quoted in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Money, Kiplinger’s Personal Finanace, Men’s Health and many others. He is the co-author of including VICTORY: 7 Entrepreneur Success Strategies for Veterans (with Larry Broughon) and has received several APEX Awards for Publication Excellence. A strong believer in continual personal and professional development, Phil holds numerous designations, including: Certified Financial Planner, Registered Life Planner and Certified Co-Active Professional Coach.
Vina Sananikone
Vina Sananikone graduated from George Mason University with a BFA in Arts & Visual Technology, with concentrations in graphic design, printmaking, and digital photography. She cofounded SoA Green, an organic art and design garden, located at George Mason University. She is also a founding member of the George Mason Printmakers Guild, as well as re:collective, a DC/VA artist collective whose upcoming show (November 2012) will be at The Artisphere in Rosslyn.
Sananikone is the Multi-Media Maven for EatGoodFood Group, whose restaurants include Restaurant Eve, The Majestic, Virtue Feed & Grain, Eamonn’s A Dublin Chipper, PX, TNT, and Society Fair. She handles the graphic design, photography, and social media for all the establishments, as well as managing over twenty personal blogs. Her life mission is to make people hungry.
Julie Waters
Julie was born and raised in Washington State. She graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in English and earned an MS in Human Resources Management from Troy University. Over the last 12 years, Julie has held various Human Resource positions. Julie currently resides in Spokane, Washington where she is the Human Resources and Operations Manager at a law firm. She holds a special interest in career building for military spouses as she feels it is important to have something personal outside of our military lifestyle.
Krista Wells
Krista Wells, Ph.D., The Military Spouse Coach ®, loves helping military spouses who are ready for change, create careers they feel passionate about, and find life fulfillment. Krista specializes in working with military spouses because it is a topic close to her heart. In addition to being married to a Marine herself, she has worked with hundreds of military spouses through her volunteer work and training. As a personal and career coach, Krista has advised girlfriends of military enlistees, active duty wives, and reserve spouses who don’t have easy access to support services. She works with stay-at- home mothers, job seekers, career changers, those who want to position themselves for a career in the future.
Before starting her business, Wells Consulting Services, LLC, Krista worked in Human Resources and Organizational Development. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Krista is a certified coach with the International Coaching Federation. Krista writes for Military Spouse Magazine, Military Money, Military.com, and Cinchouse.com. She has been interviewed by Army Talk Radio and Navy Wife Radio, and speaks at national military spouse events such as Key Volunteers, Family Readiness, Heroes at Home Awards, and the Military Officers Association, Military Seeds, and has presented at Army, Navy, Marine, and Air Force bases; facilitating military spouse career and motivational workshops.
Krista coaches spouses at her office located in central Connecticut and virtually over the phone from all over the United States. She met her husband when he was stationed in Camp Pendleton, California. He is currently serving as a Marine Reservist in VA; they reside in Connecticut with their four young children.
Temple Wilson
Temple Wilson earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Public and Environmental Affairs from Indiana University in 1993, as well as a Certificate from the Indiana University School of Business. She received her Juris Doctorate from Indiana University in 1997. Shortly after beginning her career as an attorney in private practice, representing private industry and public school districts in the State of Indiana, Temple met and married her husband of 13 years. Temple’s husband’s career as a fighter pilot with the United States Navy has led to many family moves and relocations throughout the years. Despite these challenges, and the addition of three beautiful children to the mix, Temple has managed to successfully maintain her career as an attorney.
Temple is currently a Senior-Attorney Advisor to Member Ernest DuBester of the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Temple has also worked as a Labor Relations Specialist with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management supporting the National Council on Labor-Management Relations, and as an Appeals attorney with the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Appeals Division. In addition, Temple has served as a mediator panelist for the federal government’s Sharing Neutrals Program. Prior to entering the federal workforce, Temple worked as a Judicial Law Clerk with the Court of Appeals for the Commonwealth of Virginia, as an adjunct law professor with Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, and as a Judicial Law Clerk in the Third Judicial District Court for the State of Nevada.
Temple is licensed to practice law in the State of Indiana and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Temple is also a certified mediator for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
