Board Membership_old

Mahfuz Ahmed is the principal founder of DISYS. He is currently the CEO, and serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors. From 1994 to present, Mr. Ahmed’s focus has been on strategic planning, new business development, financial management, operations, and overseeing DISYS services.

Mr. Ahmed is an alumni of Harvard University. In addition to a degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering, he has more than 15 years of Information Technology experience. Mr. Ahmed’s previous career experience at several companies, including ExxonMobil, gave him the foresight to create a company that could provide its clients with highly skilled consultants to complement their technology staff without the burden of long-term costs associated with hiring and training. He decided to use his project management knowledge, industry experience, and technical skills to provide resources that would embody his clients’ mission to expeditiously, and successfully, complete their IT projects and achieve cost savings. His savvy business sense has allowed him to build DISYS’ internal recruiting, management, and reporting processes, which have contributed to the success of DISYS and our clients. Mr. Ahmed has a unique ability to motivate the spirit of individuals to share his focus on quality and integrity. DISYS has grown 68% annually over the last eight years – a testament to Mr. Ahmed’s knowledge, persistence, and focus on the right industry and technology solutions for their clients.

Karen Alcalde is a sole practitioner providing legal consultant services in Arlington, VA. She is also co-owner and counsel for Takaro Farm, a breeding and farming operation in Middleburg, VA.

Ms. Alcalde serves on the boards of Life With Cancer-Inova Health System, the Galapagos Foundation, Museum of the Americas Foundation, Hispanic Designer Foundation, Ivy Inter-American Foundation, and Evening in Old Saratoga Foundation. She also provides pro bono legal services and volunteer work for these organizations.

As a member, Ms. Alcalde provides pro bono and legal services to National Center for Therapeutic Riding, the Vincent T. Lombardi Cancer Research Center, the National Cancer Society, the National Breast Cancer Coalition, the Wolf Trap Foundation, and the Capital Speakers Club.

She previously worked as a marketing manager for Savin Corporation and as a sales and marketing analyst for American Can Corporation.

Ms. Alcalde is an alumnus, having received both her undergraduate degree and her juris doctorate from George Mason University.

Mr. Cumbie is the Chief Executive Officer and Principal of NVCommercial Incorporated, NVRetail and Metro Realty Group, commercial real estate investment, development and service companies which projects exceed $1 billion completed or in-process in the Washington, D.C., Richmond, Virginia and Denver, Colorado metropolitan areas. NVCommercial and NVRetail projects include office, retail, hotel and mixed-use properties. Metro Realty Group provides asset management, property management and development management services for NVCommercial and NVRetail, along with third-party clients.

Mr. Cumbie also serves as the President of NVCapital Advisors, which manages the NVCommercial Real Estate Fund I, a $30 million opportunistic real estate investment fund focused on the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Since its initial closing in November, 2011, the Fund has made nine investments totaling over $33 million.

From 2008 to 2011, Mr. Cumbie served as the Executive Director of the Center for Real Estate Development at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and also as an adjunct professor. He co-taught the real estate development course in the MBA Program.

Prior to founding NVCommercial, NVRetail and Metro Realty Group, Mr. Cumbie was President, from 1977 to 1983, of Elm Street Development (formerly NVLand Incorporated), a residential land development company. He is a founder of all of the NV companies, including NVR, a publicly-traded home building company that operates through the Ryan Homes and NVHomes trade names (2013 revenues of $4.2 billion). From 1973 through 1977, Mr. Cumbie was Vice President and Project Manager for Venture Management Incorporated, a resort development firm located in Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of North Carolina, in 1970, and received a Masters in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina in 1973.

Mr. Cumbie serves in leadership roles in numerous community, business and charitable organizations in the Washington. D.C. area, including the immediate past board Chair and a current board member of INOVA Health System. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School Foundation, Tysons Partnership, SonoMedica, Inc. and the Unity School of Christianity.

Mr. Cumbie previously served on the Board of Directors for NVR, Inc., NVR Savings Bank, Potomac Bank of Virginia and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. He was President of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) in 1991 and served as a member of the national NAIOP Board from 1999-2004. Mr. Cumbie was appointed to the Virginia Public Buildings Board by Governor Mark Warner and the Virginia Port Authority Board of Commissioners by Governor Tim Kaine.

Claire Dwoskin is a child health advocate, philanthropist and leader of an international effort to address the increasing incidence of chronic illness and disability, including autoimmunity, and age related neurological diseases. The Dwoskin Family Foundation is supporting research in the area of adjuvant induced autoimmune diseases, including grants for basic research on factors involved in induction of autoimmune diseases in animal models.

Ms. Dwoskin pursues autoimmune disease research as part of her family foundation’s charitable work in the area of vaccine safety and advocacy. She is the founder of Children’s Medical Safety Research Institute, a medical and scientific collaborative established to provide research funding for independent methodologically sound controlled scientific research on vaccines and their ingredients. Prominent peer-reviewed journals including Annals of Medicine, Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry, Lupus, Autoimmunity, and Vaccine have published research and articles funded by her family foundation. Ms. Dwoskin is an active volunteer board member of the National Vaccine Information Center. She is the co-founder of the Vaccine Safety Conference, which was organized in part to address the acknowledged significant increases in autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases in children and adults. She co-chaired the 2nd and 3rd International Symposia on Vaccines at the 8th and 9th International Autoimmunity Congresses in Granada, Spain and Nice, France. She was chosen to receive the “AESKU Award for a Lifetime Contribution to Autoimmunity” in 2014. This award is presented every two years at the Autoimmunity Congress to recognize individuals who have contributed in a significant way to the field of autoimmunology.

Ms. Dwoskin has been active in charitable, community, state and national political efforts. She has served on numerous boards including those for higher education, public libraries, public broadcasting, performing arts and historic preservation. These past and current boards include Marymount University Board of Trustees, George Washington’s Mount Vernon Board of Visitors, The Mount Vernon Life Guard, Wolf Trap for the Performing Arts, Woodlawn Plantation, WETA Board of Directors, Washington Performing Arts Society, and Fairfax County Public Library Foundation.

She is a graduate, magna cum laude, of Marymount University, where she co-chaired the University Center Capital Campaign. Her family foundation provided seed funding and guidance for the award-winning documentary The Greater Good (2011). Research funded by her foundation was profiled in the film, The Age of Aluminum (2013). Her goal is to contribute to understanding the causes of chronic illness and disability so that prevention, treatment and cures will more quickly follow. She and her husband have two children and live in Virginia.

Anne Gruner is the Vice President and co-owner of J.K. Gruner and Associates, Ltd, a consultancy specializing in global business intelligence, risk management, investigations, and problem solving.

Ms. Gruner was a career Intelligence Officer at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), where she specialized in the former Soviet Union, arms control treaties and negotiations, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Working during the height of the Cold War until the collapse of the Soviet Union, she rose to Senior Executive Level-4 (SIS-4). She spent 15 years in management positions of increasing responsibility from small units to offices of hundreds of personnel, serving as Deputy Director of the Weapons Intelligence, Non-Proliferation, and Arms Control Center (WINPAC), Deputy Chief of the Arms Control and Intelligence Staff (ACIS), Deputy Chief of the Russia Analysis Group, and Chief of the Soviet Security Forces Division.

Ms. Gruner represented the Intelligence Community at National Security Council and Senior Interagency meetings, and served as an advisor to Ambassador John Bolton in negotiating the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty signed by President George W. Bush and Russian President Putin in 2002. Ms. Gruner oversaw finished intelligence on the nuclear balance and threat, the security of Russian nuclear weapons and fissile material, the destruction and consolidation of Russian nuclear forces, the transfer of Russian nuclear and missile technology, the danger of unauthorized launch of nuclear weapons, and the regional conflicts in Chechnya, Armenia-Azerbaijan, and Abkhazia-Georgia.

Ms. Gruner lived and worked abroad for five years, serving in the U.S. Embassy in Paris, France and on the U.S. delegation to the U.S.-Soviet Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty Negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland. She has travelled extensively in Europe and in the former Soviet Union.

Ms. Gruner retired early from the CIA with the Distinguished Intelligence Medal in order to attend the Georgetown University Law Center, where she obtained her Juris Doctor in 2006. She then served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gaylord L. Finch, Jr. of Fairfax County Circuit Court and subsequently practiced family law at Fite, O’Brien and Anderson, LLP. During law school she was a summer Associate at Troutman Sanders, LLP and a legal intern at Northrop Grumman Corporation/Tasc, Inc.

Ms. Gruner has a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University, a Master of Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University; and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.

She lives in McLean with her husband, Jerry and their two golden retrievers.

Jimmy Hazel is a 1984 graduate of George Mason University School of Law. Upon graduation, he clerked for Federal Judge Albert Bryant and then joined the Hazel/Peterson Companies. In 1989 he helped form a new lobbying firm called the Vectre Corporation. One of Vectre’s first clients, George Newstrom, would work with him again at George Mason University as a member of the Board of Trustees. The Richmond Times Dispatch recognized Mr. Hazel as one of the top ten lobbyists in Virginia. In 2002, he joined the Administration of Governor Mark R. Warner as an advisor on economic development and technology and served as the governor’s lobbyist.

Upon leaving Governor Warner’s administration, Mr. Hazel and his family founded multiple businesses under The Angler Companies, which offers consulting and design services, ecological constructions and a full spectrum of storm water management services.

Since its founding, Angler Environmental has been recognized by the Washington Business Journal as one of the metro area’s top 10 environmental consultants.

Mr. Hazel has served on and chaired many statewide boards including, The Virginia Economic Bridge Initiative; The Greater Washington Board of Trade; CAPNET; the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia; The Virginia information Technology Agency; The Virginia Historical Society; Virginia 21; Virginia Free; the Inova Health System Foundation, the Potomac Science Center; OneVirginia 2021 and the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce. An avid outdoorsman and founding member of the Wildlife Foundation of Virginia, he was a member of the Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries and active in the Virginia Hunting Preserve Association.

Mr. Hazel has been actively involved at Mason for many years. He served on the Board of Visitors from 1994 to 2002, was recent past chair of the Board of Trustees, and past President of the Alumni Association. He has supported Mason through his involvement in the Campaign for Mason Students in 2006 and his role on the committee for Mason’s first comprehensive capital campaign in the early 2000’s. Mr. Hazel established the Hazel Scholars Endowment Fund in 2011, the Virginia E. Hazel History and Art History Junior Faculty Award in 2004, and the Hazel History and New Media Endowment in 2001.

Mr. John Jacquemin began his 35-year career in finance as a consultant for an international management consulting firm, then as CFO for a diversified group of companies in Pennsylvania. In 1982, using his own and borrowed capital, he began his career as a finance entrepreneur with the formation of Mooring Financial Corporation. In its first decade, the firm specialized in large ticket commercial equipment leasing. The company was successful in structuring leases of railroad rolling stock, mainframe computer systems, major medical equipment and executive aircraft. With the S&L crisis of the early 90’s, Mr. Jacquemin recognized an opportunity to acquire commercial assets from ailing and failing banks at attractive discounts. Leasing quickly took on a secondary role as Jacquemin hired ex bankers and focused the company’s attentions on the purchase of sub-performing and non-performing commercial loans.

In 1999 Mr. Jacquemin formed Mooring Capital Fund as a vehicle for offering this investment model to investors who had expressed an interest. Today, his private investment firm specializes in the management of alternative assets for high net worth individuals and institutional investors. The firm manages two funds across different asset classes – distressed commercial loans, and publicly traded equities and other assets. Mooring currently manages approximately $100 million in assets.

In 2006, Ernst & Young recognized Mr. Jacquemin’s entrepreneurial success and spirit when he was chosen to receive the Ernst and Young Greater Washington Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The award is given to individuals who inspire others with their vision, determination and leadership skills.

Mr. Jacquemin has funneled his entrepreneurial spirit into philanthropy as well. In 1997, he and his wife, Tracie, established the The Jacquemin Family Foundation. Their dedication to provide educational and artistic opportunity for children is shown through their gifting to both small and large organizations throughout the Washington Metropolitan area and around the world.

As an example, The Jacquemin Family Foundation has made great impacts in the lives of many children in Kenya and Haiti. In 2005, the entire family visited Kenya and became involved in a scholarship program for the Kenya Education Fund. This program provides scholarships for girls and boys from nomadic tribes to attend high school, which is not free in Kenya, and which very few families can afford.

In 2011, The Foundation was introduced to the Friends of Fort Liberte, an organization working to relieve hunger and homelessness, provide medical and educational support and help people achieve their full potential in Haiti. In 2012, Mr. Jacquemin and two of his daughters spent a week in Haiti working at an orphanage and clinic with the Friends of Fort Liberte. While there, they worked on the construction of a new earthquake proof orphanage and dispensed medication in the infirmary. Upon their return home they established a program to provide tutors and other assistance for these orphans. The Foundation will also assist with college tuition for those orphans who are able to attend a university.

Mr. Jacquemin currently serves on the Board of Directors of Penn National Gaming Inc., a NASDAQ-listed company headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania that is the third largest gaming company in the U.S. In 2010, Mr. Jacquemin was appointed by Governor Bob McDonnell to the Virginia Small Business Financial Authority (VSBFA), the Commonwealth of Virginia’s economic development and small business financing arm. Last year the Governor appointed him to the Board of George Mason University.

Mr. Jacquemin is also on the Board of Kid Pan Alley, an organization inspiring and empowering children to become creators of their own music and to rekindle creativity as a core value in education.

He is dedicated to his alma maters – Pennsylvania State University, where he established a study abroad scholarship fund, and Dartmouth, where he has been a member of the Board of Overseers at the Tuck School of Business since 2005. As a former board member at the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, he stays involved in this national treasure, particularly in the Early Childhood Education Program for which Wolf Trap is renowned.

Mr. Jacquemin received a B.A. degree in General Arts & Science from Pennsylvania State University, and earned his M.B.A. degree from Dartmouth College at the Tuck School of Business Administration.

Mr. Jacquemin resides in McLean, Virginia with his wife, Tracie, and their three daughters – one is a George Mason University student, another is college student in upstate New York, and the youngest is a high school student in Northern Virginia.

Described by the Washington Business Journal as “dedicated and powerful,” Ms. Marquez is the President Emeritus of EVS Communications. For nearly 12 years, Ms. Marquez was Vice President of ZGS Broadcast Holdings, a minority-owned communications company where she supervised the daily operations and advertising sales of eleven Telemundo network affiliates as well as three radio stations.

In October 1997, she began her career with ZGS in the nation’s capital at the Telemundo Washington affiliate as a Sales Account Executive. As a result of her success in Washington, Ms. Marquez was promoted to Vice President of Operations at ZGS, assuming responsibility for Telemundo affiliates that included stations in Boston, Providence, El Paso, Hartford, Raleigh, Orlando, Tampa, and Ft. Myers. Her commitment to the Latino community has been recognized by a number of organizations, including the Hispanic Democratic Club of Montgomery County, which awarded her the 1999 Poder con Ganas Award for Business Excellence. In 2004, she was also honored by the National Conference for Community and Justice with the Media and Community Service Award.

Dave Petersen was a senior executive in Accenture’s Washington, DC Metro office. Mr. Petersen started with the company in 1985 out of Chicago. However, one of his first assignments was with a project for the IRS in Washington, DC and he moved to the DC area in 1987. Over his 26+ year career with Accenture, Mr. Petersen held several different leadership positions within Accenture. Since his retirement, Mr. Petersen has been a committee and/or board member at several non-profit organizations including the American Heart Association, the Joey Pizzano Memorial Fund, Grinnell College and his country club.

Mr. Petersen’s last leadership role at Accenture before retiring was as the Marriott Global Account Lead for Accenture. In this role Mr. Petersen was responsible for all work performed by Accenture for Marriott and for Marriott’s overall client satisfaction. Mr. Petersen’s responsibilities also included managing the overall account economics, the engagement and satisfaction of the Accenture employees supporting the various Marriott projects, and identifying potential new opportunities where Accenture could assist Marriott in improving its overall efficiency and growing its business. The range of projects that Accenture performed for Marriott included maintaining Marriott’s web site, maintaining Marriott’s financial applications and actually performing financial transactions, and identifying potential business process improvements in such areas as revenue management and property management. In his role, Mr. Petersen had monthly meetings with various Marriott executives including the Marriott CEO, COO, CFO and CIO.

Before moving over to the Marriott account, Mr. Petersen led the sales team for Accenture’s North America Public Service practice. In this role, Mr. Petersen had ultimate responsibility for the sales growth within Accenture’s US Federal, State and Local, and Canada government practices. Mr. Petersen and his team helped deliver sales totaling over $1.6B and helped the practice achieve a 9% growth in year-on-year sales. In this role Mr. Petersen also worked with the Accenture client account teams on responding to various project support requests ranging from long-term strategy task orders to multi-year, $300M+ outsourcing programs.

Prior to his Public Service Sales team role, Mr. Petersen was the lead for Accenture’s US Federal – Civilian agencies practice. Mr. Petersen was responsible for the client satisfaction and implementation projects Accenture completed at various Civilian agencies ranging from the Department of Commerce, to USDA, to the Department of Justice. During this time Mr. Petersen was also the client account lead at one of the largest accounts within Accenture – the Department of the Treasury. While serving as the client account lead, Mr. Petersen was responsible for several different projects Accenture was performing simultaneously at the US Mint, the IRS, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and DC Pensions. During this time the Treasury account had over 250 Accenture personnel working on these various projects and generated approximately $100M in net revenue in a given year.

In 2002, Mr. Petersen was selected as the Managing Director for Accenture’s Washington, DC Metro office and led an office-wide city council which consisted of DC-based senior executives from various operating practices. Mr. Petersen held this position for three years until he decided it was time to allow someone else to lead and bring new ideas to the office city council. His primary responsibilities were helping to grow Accenture’s business within the DC metro area, increase employee satisfaction through civic and office-wide events, and serve as Accenture’s external voice to the Washington business community. As the office Managing Director, Mr. Petersen served on several local business and charity boards including the Greater Washington DC Board of Trade, Federal City Council and the Kidney Foundation. During his tenure as the Managing Director, the Washington, DC Metro office grew to over 3,000 professionals, employee satisfaction increased, and the office was either first or second every year in terms of annual sales. Mr. Petersen continued to serve as a member of the office City Council once he stepped down as Managing Director until his retirement.

Dave obtained his B.A. in political science in 1985 from Grinnell College. He enjoys spending time with his wife and three children and watching his children’s athletic teams. He also enjoys tennis, golf and skiing.

Shawn Purvis is vice president and chief information officer for Northrop Grumman Corporation. In this role, she leads and executes all aspects of Northrop Grumman’s internal IT strategy and related responsibilities, and provides direction as the IT organization partners with customers and suppliers on innovative solutions that contribute to value delivery, user experience, and risk management.

Ms. Purvis has more than 20 years of experience in the intelligence, information systems and defense industries. Prior to her current position she served as sector vice president and general manager for Northrop Grumman’s former Cyber division, and was responsible for delivering full-spectrum cyber and security solutions to intelligence, defense and civilian customers globally.

Ms. Purvis joined Northrop Grumman in 2012 serving as vice president of the Integrated Intelligence Systems (IIS) business unit in the company’s former Intelligence Systems division. In this role, Ms. Purvis was responsible for all aspects of the IIS business, including strategy, growth, customer relationships and program execution. The division had broad capabilities centered on delivering information technology solutions to solve key customer processing, exploitation and dissemination requirements.

Prior to joining Northrop Grumman, Ms. Purvis held positions of increasing scope and responsibility with SAIC. She served as senior vice president of SAIC’s Processing Exploitation and Dissemination Operation in the Intelligence Systems business unit, where she was responsible for managing all aspects of the business, including software and systems programs, and network operations.

Ms. Purvis maintains strong involvement in the community as evidenced by two years of service as a board member on the Northern Virginia Family Services Council and two years as a board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Prince William County, Virginia. Additionally, Ms. Purvis is Northrop Grumman’s executive sponsor of Howard University in Washington, D.C. She was appointed to the George Mason University Board of Visitors in 2015 and is an active member of the Executive Leadership Council and the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, Cyber Council. In 2014, Ms. Purvis received the Managerial Leadership award at the 19th annual Women of Color STEM Conference.

Ms. Purvis earned her bachelor’s degree in computer science from Hampton University and a master’s degree in information systems from George Mason University. She also earned a program management certification and graduated from the Executive Program at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.

Tracy Schar is the Vice President of Marketing and Brand Management at Comstock Holding Companies, Inc. and Comstock Partners, LC. She has worked in the real estate development industry for more than 30 years, playing key roles in the founding and management of Comstock Holding Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHCI) and Comstock Partners, LC.

Throughout her tenure with the Comstock organization, Ms. Schar focused on the management of design, marketing and brand management. She is also responsible for guiding the Comstock organization’s civic engagements and charitable initiatives. Ms. Schar is also a member of the Executive Board of Directors for the Congressional Coalition on Adoption (CCAI) in Washington, DC.

Ms. Schar began her career in real estate with the NVR organization where she held positions in mortgage banking and marketing. Ms. Schar earned a bachelor’s degree in business from George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia in 1984.

Ms. Schar lives in Great Falls, Virginia, with her husband and their children. They have five sons and two daughters. Their three youngest children were adopted from Korea, Ethiopia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Ms. Schar and her husband are advocates for adoption and the belief that every child deserves a loving family.

Bob Witeck is President of Washington, DC-based Witeck Communications, Inc., for over 25 years a pioneering communications expert helping design strategies that respect and reach lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities around the world. He is a seasoned communicator, counselor, public affairs professional, speechwriter and crisis communications expert. In this role, he consults with corporations, nonprofits, associations and leaders.

On their 25th anniversary, American Demographics magazine selected Bob Witeck as one of 25 global  leaders ’who have made significant contributions to the worlds of demographics, market research, media and trend spotting for his early work on America’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender population. In 2006, he authored the first book on LGBT marketing, Business Inside Out. He was the first LGBT consultant retained by the U.S. Census to help inspire participation in the 2010 Census.

Mr. Witeck is a graduate with distinction of the University of Virginia, named an Echols Scholar with major studies in Economics and Philosophy. Following his undergraduate degree, he served in the Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. Department of State. On Capitol Hill for over a decade, Witeck also served as communications director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation as well as a Senate press secretary and legislative assistant.  Before opening his firm in 1993, he was senior vice president for Hill & Knowlton Public Affairs.

A frequent speaker and writer, in addition to his book, “Business Inside Out” (Kaplan 2006) he has contributed a diverse range of opinion columns, professional articles and contributing chapters to journals. He has served on a variety of voluntary and professional boards including the NEA Foundation, and currently serves on the Human Rights Campaign’s Business Council. In 2015, he was named to Virginia Governor McAuliffe’s first-ever LGBT Tourism Task Force.

Bob Witeck is a lifelong Virginian, and lives in Arlington, Virginia with his spouse, Bob Connelly, Jr.

Lisa Zuccari, an Alumna of George Mason University, is a philanthropist focused on women in film and education.

Ms. Zuccari has produced short films, served on film advisory boards, and committees including Chesapeake Film Festival and George Mason University Film School Advisory Board (FAVS 2012- 2016).

She has served on the West Virginia University Student Affair Capital Campaign Committee. She is currently serving on the Development Committee of Women of West Virginia University Leadership council, a program that supports women programs in education.

Zuccari’s personal philanthropic focus has been children with learning disabilities. She has served on the committee for the Blind & Dyslexic (2010). Having earned a degree in designing programs for children, she has gravitated to programs that enrich children’s lives in education and positive outlook.

Ms. Zuccari currently lives in McLean, Virginia, with her husband, Alan. They have three grown children.

Keith D. Renshaw is an Associate Professor of Psychology at George Mason University. Dr. Renshaw’s research focuses on anxiety, stress, trauma, and relationships, with an emphasis on how adults’ response to trauma interacts with their interpersonal relationships. In particular, he has conducted several studies of military service members/veterans and their spouses. Dr. Renshaw has authored over 50 publications and given 100 conference presentations. His recent research on the experiences of service members who were deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, and their spouses/partners has been supported by two federal grants from the Department of Defense.

Dr. Renshaw also focuses heavily on teaching and student mentorship. Three of his students have served as PI on their own federally-funded grants under his supervision, and his students have published and presented their research extensively. He also devotes significant efforts to teaching in the classroom. In Spring 2015, his dedication to teaching was recognized last year with the George Mason University Teaching Excellence Award.

Dr. Renshaw has engaged in significant service in his time at George Mason University. He has served as the Associate Director of the clinical psychology program since 2014, and he has served on the Faculty Senate since 2013. In Spring 2015, he began serving on the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate. In Fall 2015, he joined the University’s Online Partner Negotiation Advisory Team, and he also began in his role as co-chair of the Faculty Engagement Committee for the Campaign for George Mason University. Dr. Renshaw received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 2003 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied under the mentorship of Dr. Dianne Chambless. He was an adjunct faculty member at University of North Carolina for 2 years and an Assistant Professor at the University of Utah from 2005-2009, before joining the faculty at George Mason University in the fall of 2009.

Nathan Pittman is a junior studying Government and International Politics from King George, Virginia. On campus, Nathan has worked for Student Government as a Student Senator, the Chair of the University Life Committee, and now serving as the Student Body President. Other involvements during his time here have included being a Patriot Leader and Office Specialist for the Orientation and Family Programs and Services Office as well as a Graphic Designer for Housing and Residence Life.

Christian Suero is a current M.A. student in Sociology and pursuing a graduate certificate in Women and Gender Studies. Mr. Suero was born in the Bronx, NY and raised in Grand Rapids, MI. He graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and a Bachelors of Arts in Political Science. Christian’s research interest focuses on first generation students, higher education, and internship labor. On his spare time, he enjoys volunteering within the George Mason University community and traveling to new places around the world.