Board Members

Chairman

George Diehr, California Public Employees' Retirement System

George Diehr is professor of management science in the College of Business Administration, California State University, San Marcos. He holds MBA and PhD degrees from the Graduate School of Management, UCLA, and an engineering degree from Harvey Mudd College. Prior to his service at California State University San Marcos, he was a tenured professor at the University of Washington.

At CSUSM he served as chair of the academic senate, president of the faculty union, and held administrative positions in its college of business administration including associate dean, interim dean, and director of the MBA program.

Professor Diehr’s teaching and research are in the areas of data base management and data analysis/statistics. He has published numerous papers and authored several books in these areas.

In November 2002, he was elected to the Board of Administration of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System where he represents some 250,000 state employees. He was relected for second and third 4-year terms in 2006 and 2010. He currently serves as the Board's Vice President, chair of its Investment Committee, chair of its Benefits and Program Administration committee, and is a member of the Health Benefits Committee and Performance & Compensation Committee.

Board of Directors

The Honorable David Durenberger (R-MN), Fmr. Senator of Minnesota

David Durenberger served as senior U.S. Senator from Minnesota from 1978 to 1995. He was elected to succeed Hubert and Muriel Humphrey and was the first Minnesota Republican ever elected to three terms in the Senate. Senator Durenberger's health policy experience extends over three decades.

Senator Durenberger began his lifelong commitment to public policy reform as Chief of Staff to Governor Harold LeVander of Minnesota in 1966, when Medicare, Medicaid, and the Great Society's myriad of categorical health, welfare, and social programs were being launched in Washington.

In 1978 David Durenberger was elected to the U.S. Senate. In 1980 he became chair of the Health Subcommittee of the Senate Finance Committee and was catapulted into the leadership role in national health reform. He authored and co-authored most Medicare/Medicaid, health insurance, and other health reform legislation from 1980 until President Clinton's Health Security Act in 1993, including the original Health Insurance Reform Act, which eventually became Kassebaum-Kennedy in 1996 and the Medicare Choice reform, which was part of the Balanced Budget Act, passed in 1995 and vetoed by President Clinton.

During his Senate career, David Durenberger chaired the Intergovernmental Relations Subcommittee, led President Reagan's New Federalism effort in 1982, was a 14-year member of the Advisory Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, and served as Vice Chair of the Pepper Commission in 1989-1990.

Senator Durenberger was also a member of HHS Secretary Otis Bowen's Medicare Catastrophic Committee, the Congressional Bio Ethics Committee, the National Infant Mortality Commission, and the Congressional Advisory Committee to the Office of Technology Assessment.

In addition to serving as Chairman of Citizens For Long Term Care, Senator Durenberger is also the Senior Health Policy Fellow at the Graduate School of Business at the University of St. Thomas, and chair of their joint effort with the University of Minnesota to create the National Institute of Health Policy and the President of the Washington-based Medical Technology Leadership Forum. He authored Prescription for Change, a book on healthcare reform through consumer choice, and is an accomplished speaker on the subject.

The Honorable Robert W. Edgar, (D-PA), Fmr. Congressman, President & CEO, Common Cause

In May 2007, Bob Edgar was named president and CEO of Common Cause, a national nonpartisan, non-profit "citizens" lobby working to make government at all levels more honest, open and accountable, and to connect citizens with their democracy.

Bob arrived at Common Cause with a long history of leadership and public service that included 12 years in Congress. He was the general secretary of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA for seven years immediately before arriving at Common Cause.

Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974 to represent the Seventh Congressional District of Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia, Bob was part of the congressional class nicknamed "the Watergate babies," those elected in the wake of the Watergate scandal and who led sweeping reforms of Congress.

During six terms in the US House, Bob led efforts to improve public transportation, fought wasteful water projects and authored the community Right to Know provision of Super Fund legislation. He also served on the House Select Committee on Assassinations that investigated the deaths of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and President John F. Kennedy.

Bob ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate in 1986 against now Sen. Arlen Specter. That race fueled his frustration with the undue influence of money in politics and he became an active supporter of clean elections and campaign finance reform, issues that have long been Common Cause's hallmark. He served on Common Cause's National Governing Board for several years before becoming President of the organization.

Under Bob's leadership, Common Cause is championing a number of critical issues and reforms, including the public funding of political campaigns at all levels, election reforms that make voting more accurate, secure and accessible, improved ethics at all levels of government and a diverse and open media. One of Bob's first actions as president of Common Cause was to call for the resignation and then impeachment of former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for politicizing the Justice Department and failing to serve the public interest.

An active volunteer, Bob sits on the boards of several organizations, including Independent Sector, which was also founded by Common Cause's founder, John Gardner, Families USA and the National Religious Partnership for the Environment.

Bob received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lycoming College, Williamsport, Pa., and a master of divinity degree from the Theological School of Drew University, Madison, N.J. He has also been president of the Claremont School of Theology. He holds five honorary doctoral degrees.

Bob is the author of "Middle Church," a call to progressive people of faith to take back the moral high ground from the right-wing extremists and make America a better and less divided country.

John Rother, President; Chief Executive Officer

John Rother is the President and CEO of the National Coalition on Health Care, the largest, oldest, and most broadly based coalition of major stakeholders promoting a affordable, sustainable, and fair health system for all Americans, whether covered by private insurance or public programs. The Coalition’s membership of 85 organizations includes major businesses, labor unions, insurers, providers, state based benefit programs, and consumers.

Prior to joining the Coalition in 2011, Mr. Rother served as the long time EVP for Policy, Strategy, and International Affairs at AARP. There he led the development of AARP’s policy positions and advocacy strategies. Under his leadership the Association engaged in robust public policy research and analysis efforts that provided the evidence base for advocacy at the federal, state, and international levels. Mr. Rother wrote many articles and was a frequent speaker on health, retirement security, the federal budget, and the boomer generation.

From 1981 to 1984, Mr. Rother was Staff Director and Chief Counsel at the Senate Special Committee on Aging under the direction of Chairman John Heinz (R-PA). From 1977 – 1981 he served as Special Counsel for Labor and Health to Sen. Jacob Javits (R-NY).

Mr. Rother is a graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is a member of the DC Bar, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and the Gerontological Society of America.

Mr. Rother serves on several boards, including the American Board of Internal Medicine Foundation, the National Quality Forum, the Alliance for Healthcare Reform, the Pension Rights Center, and Generations United. He also serves on the MacArthur Foundation’s Aging Society Network and the Institute of Medicine’s National Roundtable on Value and Science Driven Healthcare. He has consistently been named as one of the most powerful people in healthcare.

In 2010 Mr. Rother received the Robert Ball Award for Outstanding Achievements in Social Insurance for the National Academy of Social Insurance for “lifetime advocacy to strengthen Social Security and Medicare.”

Debra Barrett, Senior Vice President, Government Affairs, TEVA Pharmaceuticals

Debra S. Barrett joined Teva Pharmaceuticals as the Vice President for Government Affairs in January 2006 and promoted to Senior Vice President in 2008. Prior to joining Teva, Ms. Barrett served as a Senior Vice President at The Washington Group, a bipartisan advocacy firm, offering lobbying and consulting services on a range of health care issues.

Prior to joining The Washington Group, Ms. Barrett served as the Vice President for Policy and Senior Director for Government Affairs at the Generic Pharmaceutical Association. In that capacity, Ms. Barrett worked extensively on the Hatch-Waxman reform provisions included in the Medicare bill signed by President Bush in December 2003.

Previously, Ms. Barrett spent a total of six years on Capitol Hill, most recently working for Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) in his role as chairman of the Subcommittee on Children and Families of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP). In that role, Ms. Barrett was responsible for health care issues including prescription drug coverage and testing, Patients' Bill of Rights, the uninsured, mental health parity, children’s health, FDA reform, managed care, medical privacy, and stem cell research. She was the lead staff on reauthorization of the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (signed into law in January 2002).

Prior to serving on the Senate HELP Committee, Ms. Barrett worked for Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) as a legislative aide for health care and education policy; and for Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) with a focus on mental health and women’s health issues. In addition, she was a policy analyst on health insurance issues at the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, worked in the Domestic Policy Council Office of First Lady Hillary Clinton, and was an assignment editor and producer at CNN’s Washington bureau, where she covered politics and legislative issues.

Ms. Barrett has an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s in public policy with a concentration in health care policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

David Dobbins, COO, LEGACY

Dave Dobbins is the Legacy’s Chief Operating Officer. In this role, he provides senior management for the foundation’s programmatic activities, including its public education campaigns, grant making, research, and other tobacco control efforts.

Dave Dobbins began his career as an attorney in private practice doing complex litigation, intellectual property, and corporate transactions. One of his very first cases was working on the team defending noted tobacco industry whistleblower Dr. Jeffrey Wigand from claims brought against him by the tobacco company Brown & Williamson. Mr. Dobbins was also involved in working on nationwide class action suits brought against the insurance industry, based on the industry’s claims processing procedures. In that capacity, he served as a lead coordinator in a multi-party team addressing legal issues relating to that matter. In his corporate practice, Mr. Dobbins led acquisitions projects for a major publishing client and government contractor and oversaw the intellectual property portfolios of both these clients.

Mr. Dobbins joined the Legacy in 2002 as its Associate General Counsel, and his work with the foundation primarily consisted of overseeing the legal elements of the foundation’s business practices and intellectual property portfolio. He was also actively involved in defending the foundation in litigation against the Lorillard Tobacco Company. The foundation ultimately prevailed against Lorillard’s claims that the foundation’s truth® youth smoking prevention advertising constituted “vilification” and “personal attacks” prohibited by the Master Settlement Agreement.

Mr. Dobbins is a graduate of the University of Missouri and the University of Michigan Law School.

Jack Lewin, CEO, American College of Cardiology

Dr. Lewin has been chief executive officer of the ACC since November 2006. The 39,000-member College represents American cardiologists, and a growing number of international members. Based in Washington, D.C., ACC has a distinguished reputation among professional societies for leadership in the monitoring of quality care and outcomes, and for making such results transparent. Publisher of the esteemed Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), ACC is also the world leader in cardiovascular clinical education and clinical guidelines development, operating the NCDR quality of care data registries in over 2,400 hospitals.

Under Dr. Lewin’s leadership, ACC has aspired to contribute greatly to national leadership in advocacy related to expanding access to care for uninsured persons, and in reforming Medicare, Medicaid, and the financing and delivery of quality health care. These efforts are part of ACC’s mission to promote "heart health" and reductions in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide. ACC has over 300 employees and an annual budget of over $90 million.

Prior to coming to ACC, Dr. Lewin was CEO of the 35,000 member California Medical Association and its various subsidiary companies. Lewin was also formerly Hawaii’s Director of Health from 1986-1994, overseeing 6,500 employees and a $1 Billion budget. In this role, he helped Hawaii achieve near-universal access to health care and revitalize statewide public health systems. In Hawaii, he was also CEO of the statewide 13-facility Community Hospital System.

Before that, as a Commissioned Officer in the USPHS, he was the founder and first director of the Navajo Nation Department of Health, serving the needs of America’s largest Native American tribe, straddling the three states of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

Trained in internal medicine, Dr. Lewin has also enjoyed many years of practicing primary care medicine during his career in Arizona, Hawaii, and California. He serves on numerous national boards and advisory bodies, including being founder and president of the Physicians’ Foundations, which are among the top ten health-related philanthropies in the nation, focused on promoting quality, patient safety, and health information technology adoption, and President of the national Patient Safety Institute. He was an advisor on health policy to President Clinton.

Dr. Lewin received his BA in biological sciences from the University of California, Irvine, and his MD from the University of Southern California. His hobbies include composing for piano, skiing, biking, kayaking and long-distance running, having completed over 25 marathons. He and his wife Sandra have three children.

Cheryl Matheis, Senior Vice President of Health Strategy, AARP

Cheryl Matheis is Senior Vice President in AARP’s Policy Strategy & International Affairs Group.

She serves as Deputy and Chief of Staff to the Executive Vice President, managing the daily operations of the group which develops AARP’s public policy agenda and represents the Association before national and global audiences.

From 2004-2010, she was SVP for Health Strategy in AARP’s Office of Social Impact. Leading AARP’s Health Reform Campaign, she coordinated the organization’s efforts to achieve social change in health and long-term care. She also directed the Medicare Part D Education and Implementation efforts in 2004-2005.

From 1999-2004, Cheryl served as AARP’s Director of State Affairs. She began her AARP career in Federal Affairs, focusing on health care and a broad range of legal and regulatory issues. A practicing attorney, she was associated with Washington DC law firms and worked in the Civil Rights Division of the US Department of Justice. Cheryl has a bachelor’s degree from Manhattanville College and a JD from Catholic University Law School, where she was a member of the law review.

An articulate spokesperson, Cheryl often represents AARP before external audiences, and has appeared on all major television networks.

John H. McArthur, Dean Emeritus, Harvard Business School

John H. McArthur was Dean of the Faculty, Harvard Business School, from 1980 through 1995. He was a member of the Harvard Business School faculty from 1962, where he taught courses in corporate finance and related fields in several school programs while also engaging in research and course development in Europe and North America. In 1973, McArthur was appointed the Sylvan C. Coleman Professor of Financial Management, and in 1980, the George F. Baker Professor of Business Administration. From 1996 to 2005 he served as Senior Advisor to the President of The World Bank.

A native of Vancouver, British Columbia, McArthur earned the Bachelor of Commerce degree in Forestry from the University of British Columbia in 1957. At the Harvard Business School, he completed the MBA degree in 1959 and earned a doctorate there in business administration in 1963. He has held numerous corporate directorships, committee memberships, and consulting posts in business, government, education and health care organizations around the world over the decades. He has served in numerous roles over the years for the Mayor of the City of Boston. For many years, he served as chair of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Following the affiliation of Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospital, he was founding Co-chair of the Board of Trustees of Partners HealthCare System, Inc. He is currently a director the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (Chairman); Bell Canada; Bell Canada Enterprises; the Center for Surgery and Public Health at the Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston; Development Gateway; Duke University Health System; e-Rewards; Koç Holdings, A.S., Istanbul; Reuters Founders Share Trust Company Limited, London; and Telesat Canada.

McArthur has also served on the boards of overseers of several other organizations including The Anti-Defamation League; Brandeis International Business School; Canada 2020; Fondation Jean Monnet pour L’Europe, Lausanne, Switzerland; International Institute for Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland; Koç University, Istanbul; National Coalition on Health Care; The Netherlands School of Business, Nijenrode; Nomura School of Finance and Business Studies, Japan; Partners In Health; Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan; and both the Graduate School and the Business School of the University of British Columbia.

McArthur has received Distinguished Alumni awards from Burnaby South High School and the University of British Columbia. He has also been awarded honorary doctorates from Middlebury College, Queens University, Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Navarra in Spain, and he is an Honorary Citizen of the town of Remauville in France.. Other awards have included a Management Achievement Award, McGill University; Harvard Statesman Award, from the Harvard Business School Club in New York; and a Canadian Business Leadership Award, from the combined HBS Clubs of Canada. He was named as a Lifetime Trustee at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in 1996. The John and Netilia McArthur University Professorship was established at Harvard University in 1997. McArthur Hall was dedicated at Harvard Business School in 1999 in recognition of his contributions at Harvard University. And a group of Canadian HBS alumni announced the creation of the John H. McArthur Canadian Fellowship program in 2002.

William A. Roberts, National Commander, The Salvation Army

Commissioners William and Nancy Roberts, new national leaders of The Salvation Army effective November 1, bring with them a broad perspective of the Army’s work around the world gleaned from their service overseas for the past nine years.

Since 2001, these officers from the USA Central Territory have served in South America, at International Headquarters in London and in Kenya.

From 2001 to 2005 they led the South America East Territory, comprised of Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. Commissioner William Roberts was next appointed to IHQ in London in 2005 as International Secretary for Business Administration, with Commissioner Nancy Roberts appointed as Secretary for IHQ Staff Development and IHQ Chaplain. On March 1, 2008, Commissioner William Roberts took up his appointment as Territorial Commander of the Kenya West Territory, on the very day of the creation of that territory, with Commissioner Nancy Roberts appointed as Territorial President of Women’s Ministries for Kenya West.

Commissioned as officers in The Salvation Army in 1971 after completing training as members of the Victorious session of cadets, they served in three corps appointments, followed by a number of divisional appointments, he as Financial Secretary, Divisional Secretary, General Secretary and as leader of two divisions: Western Michigan Northern Indiana and then Metropolitan. Commissioner Nancy Roberts served as Divisional Corps Cadet Counselor, League of Mercy Secretary and Home League Secretary. During that time she also was appointed as a therapist at a Salvation Army addictions program. Her final two divisional appointments were as Director of Women’s Ministries.

Commissioner Nancy Roberts, a first generation Salvationist and a school teacher by training and profession prior to officership, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Elementary Education and a Master of Arts degree in Guidance and Counseling, both from Eastern Michigan University. She is certificated in gerontology from Madonna University and is a licensed professional counselor in the State of Michigan, USA. She has also studied at the Nazarene Theological Seminary and Illinois Benedictine College.

She has been the leader of numerous seminars and classes, and has served on the teaching staff of The Salvation Army’s National Seminar on Evangelism and the Central Territory’s Officer Continuing Education Program. In 2001, she was included in Today’s Chicago Woman magazine’s list of 100 women “making a difference in Chicago.”

The son of Salvation Army officers, Commissioner William Roberts holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Wayne State University and a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies from the University of Detroit. He has also studied at the University of Minnesota, Nazarene Theological Seminary and North Park Seminary. He was selected to attend the International College for Officers in London in 1982.

He has served on the teaching staff of the Central’s Officer Continuing Education Program as well as the Central’s Asbury Theological Seminary Preaching Seminar.

The Roberts are the proud parents of four children — William, Rebecca, Barbara, and Bramwell — who, along with their spouses, have provided them with ten grandchildren, who have made them even prouder.

John Seffrin, CEO, American Cancer Society

John Seffrin has been CEO of the American Cancer Society since 1992, but his first encounter with this disease dates to his childhood. His grandmother, who was living with his family at the time, died of cancer when he was only 10 years old. He has since lost his mother to cancer, and his wife of 42 years, Carole, is a breast cancer survivor.

Dr. Seffrin has been on the frontlines of the war against cancer for many years, not only as CEO of the American Cancer Society, but also – for many years before that – as one of the Society’s roughly three million volunteers nationwide. Under his leadership, the Society has become the world’s largest voluntary health organization fighting cancer, with a billion dollars in resources to fund cancer research, advocacy, education, and service. During his tenure, Dr. Seffrin has made his organization’s voice heard in legislatures around this country and in forums worldwide. And he has not shied away from a fight, especially if the foe is the tobacco industry.

In the political realm, Dr. Seffrin has transformed the world’s largest voluntary cancer-fighting group into one of the world’s most progressive public health organizations. Under his leadership, the American Cancer Society has become a leading advocacy organization, educating lawmakers about health issues and holding them accountable to every American citizen touched by cancer.

Dr. Seffrin is active in numerous organizations. He is a past president of the Geneva-headquartered International Union Against Cancer, the first globally-oriented cancer non-governmental organization (NGO). He served as chairman of the board of Independent Sector, the largest coalition of nonprofit groups, and he helped to create the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids, among his many collaborations and affiliations.

In 1999, Dr. Seffrin was selected to be a charter member of C-Change (formerly known as the National Dialogue on Cancer) Steering Committee, which is co-chaired by former President George H.W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush. In 1997, he was appointed to the National Cancer Policy Board of the Institute of Medicine, and in 1999, he was appointed by Senator Dianne Feinstein to co-chair the National Cancer Legislation Advisory Committee. He current serves on the Advisory Committee to the Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a Secretary-level appointment.

Dr. Seffrin is a contributing author to more than one dozen books and has written more than 100 articles and other publications. He is an internationally esteemed speaker who has presented more than 100 invited lectures worldwide. Ball State University, Purdue University and Thomas Jefferson University have bestowed honorary doctorates upon him in recognition of his more than three decades of leadership in the worldwide fight against cancer.

Prior to being named the American Cancer Society’s top staff executive, Dr. Seffrin served at Indiana University as Professor of Health Education and Chairman of the Department of Applied Health Science.

John Sweeney, Fmr. President, AFL-CIO

John J. Sweeney was elected president of the AFL-CIO at the federation's biennial convention in October 1995 and has been re-elected twice since then. At the time of his election, he was serving his fourth four-year term as president of SEIU, which grew from 625,000 to 1.1 million members under his leadership. An AFL-CIO vice president since 1980, Sweeney was born May 5, 1934, in Bronx, N.Y.

His trade union career began as a research assistant with the Ladies Garment Workers. In 1960, he joined SEIU as a contract director for New York City Local 32B. He went on to become union president and to lead two citywide strikes of apartment maintenance workers. In 1980, he was elected president of the international. Sweeney is the author of America Needs A Raise: Fighting for Economic Security and Social Justice.

Emeriti

The Honorable Robert D. Ray, J.D., (R-IA), Fmr. Governor of Iowa

Robert D. Ray is the recipient of the Des Moines Register's first Iowa Star Award in recognition for outstanding community involvement. He was named "Most Influential Iowan" at the turn of the century. He has also been the recipient of the "National Volunteer Award".

An Iowa native, Ray served an unprecedented five terms as Governor of Iowa, from 1969 to 1983. He was Iowa Republican State Chairman, Chairman of the Republican State Chairmen, and a member of the Republican National Committee. He was Chairman of the National Governors' Association, Midwestern Governors' Association, Republican Governors' Association, President of the Council of State Governments, Chairman of the Educational Commission of the States, and a number of other national organizations. In addition, Ray has been a U.S. Representative to the United Nations.

Following his career as Governor, Ray became President and Chief Executive Officer of Life Investors, Inc., now known as AEGON, Inc., a major insurance and financial services company. He next joined Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa, nka Wellmark, as President and CEO. An attorney, Ray was a partner in a Des Moines law firm, Lawyer, Lawyer, Ray and Crouch, for fourteen years before being elected Governor. At one time, Ray and his wife, Billie, were owners of KILR and WMT Radio Stations. An Army veteran, Ray earned degrees in Business Administration and Law from Drake University. He holds the Order of Coif distinction and is the recipient of honorary degrees from seventeen colleges and universities. He is a trustee for the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. Ray was a member of the Iowa Business Council and served on the boards of directors of The Maytag Corporation, AEGON USA, Norwest Bank (nka Wells Fargo) and Alliant Energy. He also served on the national board of the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) and NASDA Corporate Board.

Ray was Chairman of the Board of Trustees and then became President of Drake University. He filled an interim term as Mayor of Des Moines. Ray is actively involved in national health care issues, continuing to serve as co-chair of the National Leadership Coalition on Health Care. He was a member of the U.S. Surgeon General's Task Force on Mental Health and is on the Carter Center's Mental Health Advisory Board. Ray chaired the Advisory Committee on Rural Health for the DHS and Congress and was a member of the President's Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry.

Ray was Chairman of the Iowa Sesquicentennial Commission. He is currently Chairman of the Institute for Character Development, focused on civility and character development in Iowa, and Chairman of the Iowa Child Project. He is also a member of the boards of Keep Iowa Beautiful and Iowa Games. In addition, he has served on the Des Moines Public Arts Commission and is a member of the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. He has received numerous awards for charitable and civic activities, including the Variety Club of Iowa's Humanitarian Award, the Meredith Willson Heritage Award, the Central Iowa Philanthropy Award, and Drake University's Distinguished Service Award. He has been inducted into the Iowa Insurance Hall of Fame, the Business Hall of Achievement and the Business Hall of Fame. He also chaired the Greater Des Moines Committee.

He was a leader in the United States in the resettlement of refugees. He is credited with the founding of Iowa Sister States, and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, among a number of other organizations.He and his wife, Billie, were honorary chairs of the 2002 Variety Club Telethon.

Ray and his wife, Billie, live in Des Moines. They have three daughters and eight grandchildren.

Frank Carlucci, Chairman Emeritus, The Carlyle Group

Mr. Carlucci has been a Managing Director of Carlyle since 1989, Chairman since 1993 and Chairman Emeritus since January 2003. Mr. Carlucci was Secretary of Defense from November 1987 through January 1989, following his service as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs under President Reagan. Before serving in these positions, Mr. Carlucci was Chairman and CEO of Sears World Trade, a business he joined in 1983. Mr. Carlucci preceded his affiliation with Sears World Trade, Inc. with a career in government service, which included Deputy Secretary of Defense (1980-82), Deputy Director of Central Intelligence (1978-80), U.S. Ambassador to Portugal (1975-78), Under Secretary of Health Education and Welfare (1973-75), Deputy Director of OMB (1970-72), and Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity (1969). Mr. Carlucci was a Foreign Service Officer from 1956 to 1980 and he served as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1952 to 1954.

Mr. Carlucci is Chairman Emeritus of Nortel Networks, the US-Taiwan Business Council and Neurogen Corporation Board of Directors. Mr. Carlucci serves as a member of the corporate boards for SunResorts, Ltd., N.V., Stewart & Stevenson, Bando de Caribe and ENNIA. Additionally, Mr. Carlucci serves as a member of the not for profit boards of Population Services International (PSI), University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Board of Visitors, Parkinson’s Action Network (PAN) and Citizen’s Network of Foreign Affairs.

Among Mr. Carlucci's awards and honours are the Herbert Roback Memorial Award, 1989; George C. Marshall Award, 1989; Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree, University of Scranton, 1989; Woodrow Wilson Award, 1988; James Forrestal Award, 1988; Presidential Citizens Award, 1983; National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, 1981; Distinguished Intelligence Medal, 1981; Defense Department Distinguished Civilian Service Award, 1977; Health, Education and Welfare Distinguished Civilian Service Award, 1975; and State Department Superior Service Award, 1971.

Mr. Carlucci, born October 18, 1930, graduated from Princeton University and attended Harvard Business School. He is married to the former Marcia Myers, and has three children: Frank, Karen and Kristin.

Bill Crist, Emeritus Professor of Economics, California State University

Dr. William Crist (Bill) is an Emeritus Professor of Economics at California State University, Stanislaus, where he served as Professor of Economics from 1969 through his retirement in January, 2003. He was Chair of the university's Department of Economics from 1986 to 1990. He also served the CSU as the University’s Corporate and Foreign Education Liaison from 2000 to 2003.

Dr. Crist was an elected member of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Board of Administration from 1987 to 2003. He served as President of CalPERS and Chairman of the Board of Administration from 1992 until his retirement from the Board in January, 2003. He served on every standing committee of the CalPERS Board during his tenure. CalPERS is the largest public pension fund in the United States.

Bill has served as Co-Chair of the U.S. Council of Institutional Investors, and as a member of the Council's Executive Committee. He was a founding member of the International Corporate Governance Network and served as a member of the ICGN Board of Governors.

Bill is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Pacific Pension Institute. He serves on a number of other advisory boards in both the public and the private sector, and on corporate boards in the US and in Europe. He has written numerous articles on retirement and health system administration, corporate governance and public sector collective bargaining.

During his academic career Dr. Crist was the founding President of the California Faculty Association, which is the exclusive representative of more that 25,000 university faculty members in California. He served as President and Chairman of the CFA Board from 1976 to 1985. Dr Crist holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Nebraska.