Board of Directors

The Honorable Richard S. Bodman - Chairman

Richard (Dick) Bodman is co-founder, chairman, and CEO of PurThread Technologies, Inc., which makes antimicrobial textile products for the healthcare community. He is Managing General Partner of VMS Group, which performs administrative and advisory services for venture capitalist funds, and is Managing Manager of Bodman Oil & Gas, LLC.

He received a B.S. in Engineering from Princeton University, 1959, and an M.S. in Industrial Management from MIT, 1961. From 1961-1970 he became a CPA and Partner of Touche Ross & Co, now Deloitte & Touche. From 1971-1973, he served as Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and subsequently as Assistant Director of the Office of Management and Budget. From 1973-1978 he held several management positions in Textile Fibers and Corporate Finance at DuPont. From 1978-1984 he served at Communications Satellite Corporation as CFO and later was President & CEO of Comsat General Corp. and President of Satellite Television Corp. From 1985-1990 he was President of Washington National Investment Corp., a private equity firm. From 1990-1996 he was Senior VP for Strategy & Development at AT&T, Lead Director at Sandia National Laboratories, and founder and chairman of AT&T Ventures. In 1996 he retired from AT&T, purchased AT&T Ventures and became its co-managing partner. The firm was renamed VMS Group in 2001.

He is currently chairman of the board of Telecom Development Fund, a Washington, DC based venture capital firm. Earlier corporate board memberships include Reed Elsevier, Young & Rubicam, Internet Security Systems, Lin Broadcasting, Tyco International, and National Housing Partnerships. He is a trustee of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Other non-profit board memberships included Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Morristown Hospital System, and Naples Community Healthcare System. Mr. Bodman is married to the Honorable Karna Small Bodman. They have four sons and live part time in Washington, DC.

The Honorable John E. Chapoton - Director

John E. Chapoton has been a partner of Brown Advisory, an investment firm based in Baltimore, MD, since 2001. Mr. Chapoton is in charge of the Washington, DC office of the firm. Prior to 2001, he was the managing partner of the Washington office of the Vinson & Elkins law firm. From 1981 to 1984, during the first term of President Reagan, Mr. Chapoton served as Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy of the U.S. Treasury Department. In that position he served as the Administration's principal spokesman before the Congressional tax-writing committees. During his tenure, three significant tax acts were passed: the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981; the Tax Equity & Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982; and the Deficit Recovery Act of 1984. Until his departure from the Treasury Department in August 1984, Mr. Chapoton chaired the task force that developed the initial tax proposals that later became the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Mr. Chapoton graduated with honors from the University of Texas and the University of Texas Law School. A frequent speaker on the subjects of federal taxation and fiscal policy and the political climate for tax legislative initiatives, he is a member of the American Law Institute, the American Bar Association's Tax Section (former Vice Chair), and a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel (former Regent). In addition to Layalina, Mr. Chapoton serves on the Boards of Saul Centers, Inc. (NYSE) and StanCorp Financial (NYSE).

The Honorable Melvyn J. Estrin - Director

Mr. Estrin is Chairman and CEO of University Research Co., LLC (URC). URC is involved in HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, and healthcare delivery in 40 countries including parts of Africa and the Middle East. Mr. Estrin is on the Board of Directors for Chem-Link, LLC; University Research Co.,LLC; Washington Gas Light Company, and Center for Human Services. He served as Chairman and CEO of two Fortune 500 companies.

Mr. Estrin served as Chairman and CEO of FoxMeyer Drug Co., Phar-Mor, Inc., American Health Services Inc., and Director of Spectro Industries, a major pharmaceutical distributor. Mr. Estrin was a founder and Chairman of First Women's Bank of Maryland. He served on the Board and the Executive and Loan Committee of American Security Bank and Trust Company and MNC Financial Corporation (founder of MBNA).

Mr. Estrin was appointed by President George H. W. Bush to be Commissioner of the National Capital Planning Commission and a Trustee to the John F. Kennedy Center by President George W. Bush. He is currently a Trustee Emeritus and a member of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts.

He is a current member of The Economic Club of Washington, WPO/YPO, CEO, and the Drug Enforcement Foundation. He served as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Business Round Table.

Mr. Estrin is a Tony nominee as Producer of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hurlyburly and Blood Knot. He is a Trustee of Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C.

He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Finance, and holds a Masters degree from American University. He was recipient of the 1986 Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award and of the 1994 Joseph Wharton Award.

Woods Fairbanks - Director

Woods Fairbanks is an experienced archivist and a technology venture capital investor. He obtained his BS in Business-Economics at Sophia University (Tokyo), his MLIS degree at the University of Washington (Seattle), and his post-master's ARM degree at Western Washington University.

Woods is currently an investor in and Director of Mobio Technologies, Inc., a leading consumer marketing technology firm, and Clarion Industries, the only consolidated laminate and boards manufacturer in the US. He was formerly Echo Archives Manager at Microsoft, a Software Test Engineer with Windows International, a Technology Manager at Walt Disney Enterprises (Tokyo), and a Financial Analyst at Solomon Brothers.

The Honorable Marc Ginsberg - President

Ambassador Marc Ginsberg serves as CEO and managing director of Northstar Equity Group, an affiliate of APCO Worldwide, a global corporate public affairs and communication firm. From 1978-1981 Ambassador Ginsberg served as Deputy Senior Advisor to President Carter for Middle East Policy at the White House and from 1994 to 1998, Ambassador Ginsberg served as U.S. Ambassador to Morocco. He also served as the U.S. Coordinator for Mediterranean Trade, Investment and Security Affairs from 1998-1999. Prior to his public service, Ambassador Ginsberg practiced international commercial and corporate law in the Middle East. He holds a B.A. cum laude from American University, and an M.B.A. (candidate) and a J.D. from Georgetown University. Mr. Ginsberg speaks Arabic, French, and Hebrew fluently. He serves on the Board of Directors of Xybernaut and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

The Honorable Tom Korologos - Director

Ambassador Korologos started out as a journalist with the New York Herald Tribune, the Long Island Press, the Salt Lake Tribune, and the Associated Press. He was a U.S. Air Force officer from 1956 to 1957. He earned his B.A. degree at the University of Utah and in 1958, an M.S. degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where he received the Grantland Rice Fellowship and a Pulitzer Fellowship. From 1962 to 1971 he worked for Wallace F. Bennett of Utah. He served in the Nixon and Ford presidential administrations, and has worked closely with President George W. Bush. Amb. Korologos has had a wide and varied Washington, DC experience. He has served as a senior staff member in the U.S. Congress, as an assistant to two Presidents in the White House, was a prominent businessman, and most recently was a senior counselor with the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Baghdad. He was Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium from 2004 to 2007. In addition, he was a long-time member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors that has jurisdiction over all non-military U.S. Government radio and TV broadcasting overseas.

The Honorable Paul A. Russo - Director

Ambassador Paul Russo is currently President of Capital Finance, a Washington, DC firm that specializes in the development and financing of projects in the Middle East. Over the past two decades, through Capital Finance and its affiliated companies, Mr. Russo has provided strategic planning and tactical advice to foreign governments and international corporations, offering a wide range of services, including counsel and training for executive managers, and guidance in media relations. During the past several years, Ambassador Russo's focus has been on the United Arab Emirates, and he also recently completed a major housing project in northern Iraq for the Kurdistan Regional Government. Mr. Russo is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where he is currently teaching a course on the modern U.S. presidency as part of Georgetown University's Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies program. Ambassador Russo served in the Reagan White House as Special Assistant to the President for Political Affairs, and he was Deputy Under Secretary of Labor. During Ronald Reagan's second term as president, Mr. Russo served as the United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. Ambassador Russo was a member of Ronald Reagan's senior staff during his three presidential campaigns, and in 1980 he served as Director of Congressional Relations, acting as the principal contact with members of the United States House and Senate for Governor Reagan and the senior campaign staff. In 1968, Mr. Russo founded and then served as executive director and treasurer of "Campaign America," a political action committee chaired by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. He serves on a number of boards, including the Council of American Ambassadors and the Council for American Universities Abroad. A native of Ohio, Mr. Russo holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Ohio State University, with additional studies at Case-Western Reserve University and Georgetown University.

Ambassador Richard H. Solomon - Director

Richard H. Solomon is currently a Senior Fellow at the RAND Corporation. Between 1993 and 2012 he served as president of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a congressionally established and funded organization. He led the Institute's growth into a nationally recognized center of international conflict management analysis and applied programs around the world.

Prior to his tenure at the Institute of Peace, Solomon was assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs from 1989 to 1992. In that position he negotiated the Cambodia peace agreement (the first United Nations Security Council conflict settlement), had a leading role in the dialogue on nuclear issues between the United States and South and North Korea, helped establish the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation initiative, and led U.S. negotiations with Japan, Mongolia, and Vietnam on important bilateral matters. In 1992-93 Solomon served as U.S. ambassador to the Philippines, where he coordinated the closure of the U.S. naval facilities and developed a new framework for bilateral and regional security cooperation.

Solomon previously served as director of policy planning in the State Department (1986-89), and as a senior staff member of the National Security Council (1971-76), where he participated in the normalization of relations with China. He began his career in 1966 as professor of political science at the University of Michigan. He also served for a decade as head of the Political Science Department at the RAND Corporation (1976-86).

In 1995, Solomon was awarded the State Department's Foreign Affairs Award for Public Service, and he has received awards for policy initiatives from the governments of Korea and Thailand, and the Cambodian community in the U.S. In 2005 he received the American Political Science Association's Hubert H. Humphrey career award for "notable public service by a political scientist". In October 2012 his public service and intellectual leadership were recognized by an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters conferred by Whittier College.

Solomon holds a Ph.D. in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has published eight books on a range of topics related to international affairs.

The Honorable John C. Whitehead - Director

John Whitehead is currently the chairman of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation (WTC Memorial Foundation), and former chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation.  He served as former Chairman of New York investment bank Goldman Sachs where he retired in 1984 as co-chairman and co-senior partner.  He served as United States Deputy Secretary of State in Ronald Reagan's administration from 1985 to 1989 under George Shultz, and was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Reagan.  He is former Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the United Nations Association, and a former Chairman of the The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Harvard Board of Overseers.  He is a former director of the New York Stock Exchange and Chairman Emeritus of The Brookings Institution.

Mr. Whitehead also serves on the board of the International Rescue Committee, an international human rights organization.  In 1987, he was awarded the IRC's Freedom Award, along with Elie Wiesel. He has been Chairman of the Financial Services Volunteer Corps (FSVC) since July 2005. He is also an advisory board member for the Partnership for a Secure America, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to recreating the bipartisan center in American national security and foreign policy.  Moreover, Mr. Whitehead sits on the advisory board of the Washington-based think-tank Global Financial Integrity, which conducts research on illicit financial flows and the damaging effects they have on developing countries. 

Mr. Frederick B. Whittemore - Director

Advisory Director at Morgan Stanley and Company in New York, Frederick B. Whittemore has been with the firm for 35 years, becoming a partner in 1967, managing director since the firm's incorporation in 1970, and advisory director since January 1989. He has served as governor and vice chairman of the American Stock Exchange, international president of the Pacific Basin Economic Corporation (PBEC), and chairman of the U.S. National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation. Mr. Whittemore is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, director of Southern Pacific Petroleum, former director of the Dome Petroleum and Key Pharmaceutical Corporation, and a member of the American Australian Association, Chesapeake, and KOS Pharmaceuticals. He serves on a number of non-corporate boards, including that of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), the Aspen Institute, and the Whittemore Business School of the University of New Hampshire. Mr. Whittemore was formerly chairman of the Board of the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, serves as chairman of American Australian Educational Studies, and is director of the British American Educational Foundation.