Guest Speakers

At each LeadAmerica conference, students meet and attend briefings with leaders in the field they are studying. Lectures, discussions and question-and-answer sessions bring leadership alive. Past speakers, meetings and briefings have included:

Political Leaders and Policy Experts

• Dr. Madeline Albright, Former Secretary of State
• Steven Bennett, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, The Brookings Institute
• Elaine Chao, M.B.A., Former Secretary of Labor
• Dr. Veronica DiConti, Associate Dean, Georgetown University for Continuing Studies
• Stephen Bennett, Chief of Staff, The Brookings Institution
• Bruce L. Braley, Congressman, Iowa, First District
• Gary Crocker, Foreign Service Consultant, U.S. Department of State
• Michael Dukakis, Former Governor of Massachusetts
• Dr. Martin Dupuis, Assistant Dean, Burnett Honors College and Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Central Florida
• Jeff Flake, Congressman, Arizona, Sixth District
• Chuck Hagel, Former U.S. Senator from Nebraska
• Felix Ortiz, New York State Assemblyman
• Jamin Raskin, J.D., Maryland State Senator
• Manuel Stefanakis, Former Director of Public Administration Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
• Michael Tanner, Director, Health and Welfare Studies, The CATO Institute
• Mary Beth Tinker, R.N., Tinker vs. Des Moines, 393 US 503, 1969
• Robert Tobias, Director, Public Sector Executive Education, American University

National Security & Intelligence Officials

• John Allison, M.S., Deputy Director for Human Capital, Defense Intelligence Agency
• Joseph Billy, Jr., M.A., Assistant Director, Counter Terrorism Division, Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Kenneth C. Brill, Director, National Counterproliferation Center; Former Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus
• Alan Capps, Principal Analyst & Editor in Chief, Journal of Homeland Security
• Mike Hannesschlager, M.A., Analyst, Defense Intelligence Agency
• Dr. Todd Hylton, The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Sciences Office
• Leslie Ireland, Iran Mission Manager, Office of the Director of National Intelligence
• James Larner, U.S. Secret Service
• Tracy Mustin, Director, Office of the Second Line of Defense, National Nuclear Security Administration
• Robert Walpole, Principal Deputy Director, National Counterproliferation Center

Members of the International & Diplomatic Community

• Tarik Allagany, Public Affairs Supervisor, Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Embassy
• Dr. Ronald Bee, Director, Charles A. Hostler Institute on World Affairs
• Dr. Brigitta Blaha, Consul General of the Republic of Austria, New York City
• John W. Blaney, MSFS, Former U.S. Ambassador to Liberia
• Gary Crocker, Foreign Service Consultant, U.S. Department of State
• William K. Davis, Director, United Nations Information Center
• Judith Fergin, Consul General, US Consulate, Sydney, Australia
• Dr. Stephen Grabherr, Deputy Consul General, Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany, New York City
• Adam Harris, Deputy Early Engagement Director, AIPAC
• Brian H. Hook, M.A., Former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations
• Geoff Loane, Head of the Regional Delegation of the United States and Canada, International Committee of the Red Cross
• Caryl Stern, President & CEO, US Fund to UNICEF
• Francesco Maria Talo, Consul General of Italy, New York City

Members of the U.S. Military & Military Science Experts

• Donald Rumsfeld, Former Secretary of Defense
• Brig. Gen. Maria Britt, Commanding General, Georgia Army National Guard
• Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Jim Hawkins, U.S. Air Force
• Capt. (Ret.) Joseph Ludwikowski, U.S. Navy
• Brig. Gen. (Ret.) John Mountcastle, Ph.D., U.S. Army
• Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Wilma Vaught, U.S. Air Force
• Dr. Brannon Wheeler, Director, Middle East and Islamic Studies, U.S. Naval Academy

Business Leaders and Academics

• David Andrews, M.B.A., J.D., President, Gryphon Investors
• Bruce Bachenheimer, Clinical Professor and Director of Entrepreneurship, Pace University
• Paul Buckovich, MBA, Executive Vice President of Finance, Competitive Power Ventures
• Laurence Franklin, Former CEO, Tumi Inc.
• Mike Jackson, CEO, AutoNation
• John Katzman, Founder, The Princeton Review
• G. Edward Montero, Vice Chairman, Citigroup
• Ed Rensi, Former CEO, McDonald’s
• Jim Steeg, MBA, Executive Vice President & CEO, San Diego Chargers
• Thomas Tauke, Esq., Executive Vice President, Verizon Communication Inc.
• Solly Thomas, Associate Partner, Human Capital Management Services, IBM Global Business Services
• Dr. David Walker, Former U.S. Comptroller General
• Kimberly Wright-Violich, President & CEO, Schwab Charitable

Community Leaders, Leadership Experts and Academics

• Marshall Bailly, II, Executive Director, Leadership Initiatives
• Jean Berubi, Director, Day of Discovery, Gallaudet University
• Dr. W. Warner Burke, Edward Thorndike Professor of Psychology & Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
• Ira Chaleff, Founder & Preside;nt, Executive Coaching & Consulting Associates
• Dr. Brenda Graham, Associate Professor of Leadership, Department of Leadership, Concordia University
• Christopher Irving, M.A., Executive Director, The Miller Institute of Leadership & Diversity
• Catherine Meloy, M.A., President & CEO, Goodwill of Greater Washington
• Jenne Myers, Executive Director, Working In The Schools
• Rayona Sharpnack, Founder & CEO, Institute for Women’s Leadership

Criminal Justice & Forensic Science Experts

• Robert Baier, M.A., Forensic Document Examiner
• Honorable Frederick H. Bealefield, III, Police Commissioner, Baltimore Police Department
• John L. Carey, Senior Investigator, New York State Police Department
• Dr. Joseph Dizzino, Former Director, Crime Laboratory, Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Dr. John Giordano, Forensic Odontologist
• Donald Hayes, Jr., M.F.S., Director,  Boston Police Department Crime Laboratory
• Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky, Professor and Chairperson, Department of Sciences, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Thomas Lee, Deputy Superintendent, Boston Police Department
• Don Mikko, Firearms Expert, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory
• Michael Mines,  J.D., Deputy Assistant Director, Directorate of Intelligence, FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Nicole Nicklow, M.F.S., Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Laboratory
• Paul Palumbo, Federal Bureau of Investigation
• Dr. Melissa Pasquale, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, New York City
• Jim Trainum, Director of the Violent Crimes Apprehension Program, Cold Case Metropolitan Police Department

Lawyers, Judges and Legal Experts

• Brian H. Hook, M.A., Former Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations
• Olegario D. Cantos VII, Esq., U.S. Department of Justice
• Jamin Raskin, J.D., Maryland State Senator
• Honorable Patricia Jessamy, J.D., State’s Attorney, State of Maryland
• Honorable, Marla Miller, J.D., Judge, Superior Court of California – County of San Francisco
• Dr. David Nersessian, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Boston University School of Law
• Honorable Suzanne Ramos-Bolanos, J.D., Judge, Superior Court of California – County of San Francisco
• Lee F. Satterfield, L.L.M., Chief Justice, Superior Court for the District of Columbia
• Edward Stern, J.D., Assistant Dean for Pre-Law Advising, Boston University
• John Torribio, L.L.M., Los Angeles Counter Superior Court Justice

Engineers & Scientists

• Dr. Henry W. Brandhorst, Director, Space Research Institute
• Dr. Martin Buehler, Director of Robotics, Boston Dynamics
• Lt. Col. (Ret.) Charlie Dean, M.S., Senior Program Manager, Advanced Robotics, Foster-Miller, Inc. - QinetiQ North America
• Deborah Duncan, P.E., Deputy for Programs and Project Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Dr. Peter G. Forth, Professor and Chairman, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University
• Nicholas Fuhrman, Director, The Center of Innovation for Aerospace
• Chris Gaughan, U.S. Army RDECOM Edgewood Chemical Biological Center
• Dr. Steve S. Holt, Professor of Physics, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
• Dr. Carol Livermore, Assistant Professor of Manufacturing, Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT
• MIT Solar Electric Vehicle Team
• Dr. Elise Morgan, Assistant Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering, Boston University
• Robert Quinn, MBA, Foster-Miller Inc., QinetiQ North America
• Dr. Leslie Robertson, AGIR Chartered Structural Engineer; Chief Engineer, World Trade Center
• Dr. Lakshmi Sankar, Regents Professor and Associate Chair, School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Tech University
• Dr. Mark L. Schattenburg, Senior Research Scientist, MIT Kavli Institute of Astrophysics and Space Research; Director, Space Nanotechnology Laboratory
• Dr. Steve C. Wofsy, Abbott Lawrence Rotch Professor of Atmospheric and Environmental Science, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
• Dr. Robert J. Wood, Assistant Professor, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
• Dr. Yevgeniya Zastavker, Assistant Professor of Physics, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering

Physicians, Health and Health Policy Professionals

• Cathleen Acres, R.N., M.A., Administrative Director, Division of Medical Ethics, Weill Medical College of Cornell University
• Dr. John A. Bogdan, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health
• Dr. Michael Cole, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Georgetown University Medical Center
• Catherine Dower, J.D., Associate Director, Health Law and Policy, University of California, San Francisco, Center for the Health Professions
• Dr. Lee Goldman, Executive Vice President and Dean, Columbia University Medical Center
• Dr. Jeanette J. Lancaster, R.N., Dean, University of Virginia School of Nursing
• Nick Macchione, M.S., M.P.H., Director, San Diego Health and Human Services Agency
• Stephanie M. Oberhaus, Ph.D., Boston University School of Medicine
• Dr. Hansel J. Otero, Brigham and Women’s Hospital
• Nancy Pratt, R.N., M.S.N., Senior Vice President of Clinical Effectiveness, Sharp Healthcare
• Dr. Nabih M. Ramadan, Chief Medical Officer, Beatrice State Development Office
• Rear Admiral David Rutstein, M.D., M.P.H., Chief Medical Officer, U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
• Dr. Robert Sackstein, Associate Scientific Director, Bone Marrow Transplant Program, Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Dr. Andrew A. Sama, New York Presbyterian Hospital
• Dr. Shyrl Sistrunk, Associate Dean for Curriculum and Assessment, Georgetown University School of Medicine
• Dr. John Swartzberg, Director, UCB-UCSF Joint Medical Program David Spitz, Pan American Health Organization, World Health Organization
• Dr. Ingrid Walker-Descartes, Attending Pediatrician, Maimonides Infant's and Children's Hospital of Brooklyn

Journalists and Media Professionals

• Dr. Veronica DiConti, Associate Dean, Georgetown University for Continuing Studies
• Barbara Feinman-Todd, Co-Director of the Pearl Project, Associate Dean of Journalism, Georgetown University School for Continuing Studies
• Monique Fortune, Adjunct Professor, Fordham University Department of Communications & Media Studies
• Dr. Samuel Freedman, Professor, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism; Former Pulitzer Prize Finalist
• Mary Glick, M.A., Associate Director, American Press Institute Ronald Gordon, President, Telemundo Ronald Gordon, President/Founder, Telemundo Station Group/ZGS Communications
• Dr. Beth Knobel, Professor, Fordham University Department of Communication and Media Studies
• John J.Miller, President and COO, American Media Inc.
• Dr. Arlene Morgan, Associate Dean, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism
• Joel Mowbray, Syndicated Columnist
• Srenath Sreenivasan,  Dean of Students; Professor of Professional Practice, The Journalism School of Columbia University
•  Jon Wertheim, J.D., Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated

Theatre Arts Professionals

• Michael Bobbit, Artistic Director, Adventure Theatre
• Robert Brooks, Education Outreachc Director, The Julliard School
• Andrea Ciannevei, Literary Manager, Labyrinth Theater Company
• Jeffrey Dunn, American Music and Dramatic Academy
• Joseph Gatto, The Tenderloins Comedy Troupe
• Phillip Hickox, Director of Production, Wagner College
• Melissa Houghton, Director, Women In Film And Video
• Jack Newman, New York Film Academy
• Frank Senger, Actor, Law & Order
• Lisa Timmel, Artistic Director, Playwright Horizons
• Scott Van Hoven, Van Hoven Studios
• Jack Viertel, Artistic Director, Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert
• Young Playwrights, Inc.