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Board of Directors Print E-mail

The Board of Directors manage and control the property, business and affairs of the Congressional Management Foundation. The Board holds regular meetings with the Executive Director to discuss programmatic and fiducial matters concerning CMF.

 

Mr. Ira Chaleff

Mr. Chaleff has worked as a management consultant and executive coach for over 15 years. He is President of Executive Coaching and Consulting Associates and a founding partner of the Institute for Business Technology, which conducts its popular Personal Efficiency Program for Fortune 500 companies and government agencies.

Mr. Chaleff is a former Executive Director of the Congressional Management Foundation and the author of the book, The Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders. He has taught political and organizational leadership at American University and is a core curriculum instructor in Georgetown University's Leadership Development Program. Mr. Chaleff also has broad international experience in leadership development through such agencies as The Asia Foundation, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and The National Democratic Institute.


The Honorable Kelly D. Johnston

Mr. Johnston is the Vice President of Government Affairs at the Campbell Soup Company. Prior to working for the Campbell Soup Company, he was the Executive Vice President for Government Affairs and Communications at the National Food Processors Association (NFPA) for six years. From 1994-1996, Mr. Johnston served as the Secretary of the United States Senate. During the first Bush Administration, Mr. Johnston held the post of Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

 

Ms. Jennifer Luray

Ms. Luray has served as Senior Director of Government Affairs and Policy for Abbott Laboratories since 2004. Prior to joining the private sector, Luray worked on Capitol Hill. From September 1999 until 2004, she worked for U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski as her Chief of Staff. She served as the top advisor to the Dean of the Women Senators and oversaw all legislative and policy initiatives. She also managed Mikulski's Washington staff and coordinated the Senator's activities and responsibilities as Secretary of the Senate Democratic leadership team.

 

Ms. Luray has extensive and broad expertise in public administration, the legislative process, management, community organizing, and key national policy issues. Prior to her Capitol Hill experiences, Ms. Luray directed an international leadership program for union officials at Harvard University, and was a union organizer bargaining for health care workers in Providence, Rhode Island with the Service Employees International Union (Local 76). She has also worked with Emily's List to advise women candidates on legislative issues, and was invited by the European Union to study women and politics. Ms. Luray earned a Master's degree in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in Massachusetts.

 

Capt. Mike Matton, USN (Ret.)

Mr. Matton is the President of Michael N. Matton and Associates, LLC, an independent consulting company providing federal legislative support for his clients. Prior to becoming a consultant he was the Vice President for Legislative Affairs at The Boeing Company which he assumed upon the merger with the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, where he held the same position. Mr. Matton joined McDonnell Douglas upon his retirement from a career in the U.S. Navy in 1993, serving in various aviation assignments and command positions. His final assignment was as the Executive Assistant to the Secretary of the Navy.

 

Ms. Patricia McGinnis 

Ms. McGinnis is the former President and CEO of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Council for Excellence in Government. The Council's mission is to improve the performance of government at all levels and to increase citizen confidence and participation in governance. Before coming to the Council, Ms. McGinnis was a co-founder and Principal of the FMR Group, a public affairs consulting firm in Washington, D.C., where she concentrated on education, energy, and communications policy. In government, she served in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, where she led the effort to create the Department of Education. She also held posts at the Senate Budget Committee, and the Departments of Commerce and Health and Human Services.

 

Ms. McGinnis serves on numerous committee and boards, including the Dean's Alumni Leadership Council of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Board of Visitors at the University of Maryland School of Public Affairs. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a member of George Washington University 's Homeland Security Policy Institute Steering Committee, and is currently a Director of the Brown Shoe Company in St. Louis, Missouri, and Logistics Management Institute in McLean, VA. She holds a B.A. in political science from Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia, and a M.P.A. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.  

 

Mr. Gary Serota

Mr. Serota is President of Affinity Marketing Services Corporation, specializing in developing unique benefit and loyalty programs for corporate, non-profit, and association clients. Previously, Mr. Serota was Senior Vice President of Business Development Memberdrive. He served eight years as a management consultant for Members of Congress and their staff, and as President and Executive Director of the Congressional Management Foundation. He also co-authored the book, Capitol Jobs: An Insider’s Guide to Finding a Job in Congress.

 

Ms. Deborah Szekely

Ms. Szekely is a prominent Southern California-area philanthropist. She currently works as the Chairman and Founder of the New Americans Museum in San Diego. She also founded the Fundacion La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico, a nonprofit combining leadership and environmental training of students throughout the region. Ms. Szekely pioneered the fitness spa as a major service industry, founding the Rancho La Puerta Fitness Resort Spa in Tecate and the Golden Door Spa in Escondido, California. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for four other organizations, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington DC and the Old Globe Theatre.

 

Ms. Szekely conceived of and funded the original edition of CMF’s Setting Course. She was a member of the Board for Claremont Graduate University, the International Volunteer Association, and Youth Service America. She is currently involved with several philanthropic organizations, including the San Diego Women’s Foundation and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She recently received the “Mrs. San Diego” award from the San Diego Rotary Club and has been recognized by the League of Women Voters and the Alexis de Tocqueville Society for her contributions. Ms. Szekely has authored several books and magazine articles on lifestyle change, and frequently speaks publicly on well-being and all aspects of volunteerism. 

 

Darrell M. West, Ph.D

Dr. West joined the Brookings Institute as Director of Governance Studies in April 2008. Most recently he served as Director of the Taubman Center and the Center's Public Opinion Laboratory. Dr. West specializes in technology policy, electronic government mass media, and elections. He earned a Ph.D. in 1981 from Indiana University where he was a Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, with a specialization in American politics, elections, mass media, and technology.

 

Dr. West is the author of 15 books, including CrossTalk; Patrick Kennedy; The Rise of Power; Air Wars; Television Advertising in Election Campaigns, fourth edition; The Rise and Fall of the Media Establishment; Celebrity Politics; Digital Government: Technology and Public Sector Performance; Evaluating Campaign Quality: Can the Electoral Process Be Improved?; and Biotechnology Policy Across National Boundaries: The Science-Industrial Complex. Dr. West has been awarded the Don Price Award for Best Book on Science and Technology, American Political Science Association Science, Technology, and Environmental Politics Section (for Digital Government); and the Doris Graber Award for Best Book on Political Communication Published More than Five Years Ago (for Crosstalk).