University of Maryland

Mark is Managing Director of the New Markets Growth Fund (NMGF), and serves as the Deputy Director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business.

ROBERT S. ROATH has been a director of the Company since May 1997. Mr. Roath served as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of RJR Nabisco, Inc. (RJR Nabisco) from April 1995 to April 1997 and Corporate Controller and Senior Vice President at RJR Nabisco from September 1990 to April 1995. Mr. Roath has been a Director of Standard Parking, a provider of parking management services, since May 2004. He also serves as Chairman of Standard Parking’s Audit Committee.

Chris is an award-winning designer with over 23 years of experience responsible for a variety of projects including urban mixed-use, urban high-rise residential development and adaptive use. Chris is leading HCM's continued growth in mixed-use development planning and design. HCM housing practice is expanding as a result of a strategic plan to market and develop expertise. Projects completed under his leadership have received numerous awards for design excellence. Chris serves at the University of Maryland and Morgan State University as a visiting critic and he mentors students in the professional practices program.

Mark Walsh is the CEO and President of VerticalNet (Nasdaq: VERT), the Internet's leading creator and operator of vertical trade communities. Prior to VerticalNet, Mark was a senior VP and corporate officer at America Online. At AOL he ran AOL Enterprise, AOL's business-to-business group. Prior to AOL, Mark was President of GEnie, GE's online service.

Paul J. Norris has been a member of our board of directors since February 2009. Mr. Norris is a Director and non–executive Chairman of the Board of Sealy Corporation. He was Chief Executive Officer of W.R. Grace and Company from 1998 through May 2005, was also Chairman of W.R. Grace from 1999 through May 2005 and was non-executive Chairman of Grace from 2005 to January 2008. He is currently a non-executive Member of the Board of Grace. Mr. Norris performs advisory services for Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. He is also a Director of FMC Corporation.

Dr. Colwell is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is also Chairman and Senior Vice President of Canon US Life Sciences, Inc., a subsidiary of Canon, Inc. focused on medical instrumentation. Dr. Colwell served as Director of the National Science Foundation from August 1998 to February 2004 and was the Founding President of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute between 1988 and 1998. She holds many honorary degrees from universities and colleges around the world including her alma mater, Purdue University, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Bernita Sims-Tucker consults for Noel-Levitz and is currently assistant vice president for academic affairs at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore. During her 29 years of on campus experience in higher education, Dr. Sims-Tucker has held a variety of positions at institutions in the Northeast and Midwest, ranging from director of the Center for Teacher Education Services at Virginia State University to director of retention at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Previous experience for Dr. Sims-Tucker includes work with several at-risk student populations. At the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, her success has included an 86 percent first-to-second year return rate for students in the freshman studies program she created and implemented.

Douglas M. Duncan is the Vice President for Administrative Affairs at the University of Maryland, College Park. He serves as the Chief Administrative and Finance Officer of the campus. He oversees seven departments including University Human Resources, Comptroller, Public Safety, Facilities Management, Environmental Safety, Business Services and Procurement & Supply.

Ted Howard is the founding Executive Director of The Democracy Collaborative, based at the University of Maryland. Previously he was the Executive Director of the National Center for Economic and Security Alternatives based in Washington D.C. For the past three decades he has worked in the not-for-profit/civil society sector, including more than 15 years in international development with NGOs and agencies of the UN system. He is author or co-author of several books, including Ending Hunger, Entropy, and Who Should Play God?

Brian Berman, M.D. is founder and director of the Complementary Medicine Program at the University of Maryland, the first university-based center of its kind in the U.S. focusing on research. He is professor of family medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and has trained extensively in complementary therapies. He is principal investigator of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) center grant for the study of alternative medicine in the treatment of pain. In addition to publishing widely, Berman also helped establish and now directs the Complementary Medicine Field of the International Cochrane Collaboration, an organization dedicated to evaluating all medical practices.

Reinhard Radermacher is professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Maryland. He holds an MS and Ph.D. in Physics from the Munich Institute of Technology and was a visiting scientist and NATO scholar at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Dr. Radermacher is an internationally recognized expert in heat transfer and working fluids for energy conversion systems, including heat pumps, air-conditioners, and refrigeration systems. His work has resulted in over one hundred publications, as well as numerous invention records and nine patents, and he co-authored three books. Dr. Radermacher founded the Energy Laboratory in 1983 and is the director and co-founder of the Center for Environmental Energy Engineering (CEEE) at the University of Maryland. The Center is taking the lead in developing energy conversion systems that meet environmental and economic concerns. His service includes international activities such as US representative of the International Energy Agency Annex 13, past vice president of Commission B1 and President of Commission B2 of the International Institute of Refrigeration (IIR), as well as invited lecture tours to Europe, China, Japan, Korea, and South America. Nationally, he is an active member of the American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the International Institute of Refrigeration as well as SAE. He serves as the editor of the ASHRAE HVAC&R Research Journal starting in July 2002.

Anne Scholl-Fiedler is a professional career counselor,workforce development specialist and marketing professional with over 14 years of diverse experience. She is a certified trainer of Dependable Strengths, is the Director of the East Coast Regional Center for Dependable Strengths and was trained by the late Dr. Bernard Haldane, the leading pioneer of the career development movement. Anne had worked with Frederick County, Maryland's one-stop workforce system were she led collaborative programming, business outreach and marketing efforts. She is also currently working for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as Director of the Career Services center.

Secretary Betsy E. Lehrfeld, a principal in the firm of Swankin and Turner focuses on insurance investment and regulatory issues, health care, health-specialty certification, and commercial, contract, corporate and tax matters for businesses and nonprofit organizations. She has appeared before the Food and Drug Administration and has served as general counsel to Consumers United Insurance Company, the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and the Consumer Health Foundation (formerly Group Health Association, Inc.). A graduate of the University of Californiaat Berkeley School of Law (Boalt Hall), she currently serves as executive director of the the National Institute for Science, Law and Public Policy. Director of Strategy Sarah Djamshidi is the Associate Director of the University of Maryland's Technology Advancement Program (TAP), a business incubator that assists early-stage technology companies. Sarah is a tech-savvy businesswoman with strong consulting and marketing skills. Sarah splits her time between consulting projects and applicant screening, and leads or supports market research, business planning, process reengineering, financial analysis, recruiting, and fundraising projects for TAP companies. Sarah also directs a team that screens and studies applicants, and reviews the business plans of most incoming TAP companies. Prior to joining TAP, Sarah directed a graphic design and communications unit of the university. In this capacity, she directed client projects, set pricing, managed a P&L, and conceptualized creative campaigns for university departments. Before arriving at the university, Sarah co-managed the main branch of a multi-location flooring distribution company. Sarah holds a degree in Management Science and Statistics with specialization in Decision Information Systems from the University of Maryland.

Christopher (Chris) Lim is currently a Grants Management Specialist with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). His primary responsibilities include coordinating review meetings of grants applications from not-for-profit health-related organizations as well as overseeing the processing of these grants applications. Concurrently, Chris holds a part-time position as an Associate Director of the Adult Health and Development Program (AHDP) at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP), which is an undergraduate course and community service-learning program that introduces elderly, developmentally challenged, Spanish-speaking, and veteran members of the College Park community with undergraduate students/volunteers Previously Chris worked as an Environmental Health Specialist/Investigator for the Montgomery County Dept. of Health and Human Services. He conducted health inspections of nursing homes, assisted living institutions, food service facilities, and swimming pools as well as investigations of food-borne illnesses linked to food service facilities throughout the County. Chris graduated from the University of Maryland College Park with undergraduate degrees in Hearing & Speech Sciences and General Biology (in 1997 & 1998). He is currently a dual degree MSM/MBA candidate with his MSM in Health Care Administration as earned back December 2001 and hopefully his MBA by February 2003. In his spare time, Chris enjoys volunteering in the community, being a Terrapin, spending time with his family and friends, traveling, enjoying the outdoors as much as he can, and living in Montgomery County, MD (where he was raised). He loves Italian food and Chinese food. He can't stand to miss an episode of "Buffy .", "Mutant X", "Charmed", "Friends", "ER," "Will & Grace", and the "Law & Order" franchises.

Commander Iskra retired from the U.S. Navy in April 2000, after 21 years of service. While in the service, she took advantage of the opportunities the Navy had to offer in the expansion of women's roles that occurred in the 1980s and 1990s. She was one of the first female line officers to graduate from the Naval School of Diving and Salvage in Washington, D.C. in May 1980, before attending Surface Warfare Officer School and reporting to her first ship, the USS HECTOR (AR-7) in December 1980. She served on four salvage ships, as Operations Officer on USS GRASP (ARS-51), Executive Officer on USS PRESERVER (ARS-8) and USS HOIST (ARS40). She assumed command of USS OPPORTUNE (ARS 41) in December 1990 in Naples, Italy, becoming the first woman commander of a commissioned naval vessel. She also served on several Navy staffs. Her highest award was the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. She has Master of Arts degrees in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, and in Sociology from the University of Maryland. In 2002 she worked for Senator Maria Cantwell of Washington state as a Women's Research and Education Institute (WREI) Congressional Fellow. During her fellowship, she helped staff and pass an amendment to the 2003 Defense Authorization Bill, which forbade the Department of Defense from requiring U.S. servicewomen to wear the abaya garment while stationed in Saudi Arabia. For this work, she was awarded the University of Maryland, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences Phillips Award in 2005. This award recognizes graduate student excellence in research most likely to affect public policy. She was also awarded the Center For Teaching Excellence, Distinguished Teaching Assistant for Academic Year 2003-2004 and the Charles H. Coates Graduate Research Award, University of Maryland, 2000-2001, for her Master's thesis, which documented the continued negative discourse regarding women in the Navy over time. She received her PhD in December 2007, and is currently the Deputy Director for the Leadership Education and Development Program at the University of Maryland, College Park.

David is a Managing Partner of Millburn Capital Group. Mr. Ellis has over 15 years of experience in raising capital for companies in the private placement market at all layers of the capital structure, including senior debt, mezzanine debt and private equity. Transaction sizes have ranged from as small as $4 million to over $500 million, with the capital used to fund internal growth, acquisitions and other applications. Mr. Ellis has excellent relationships with both financial institutions and private equity funds, but also has successfully obtained financing from strategic investors. Mr. Ellis' industry experience includes transactions in technology, media, healthcare, retail and manufacturing. Mr. Ellis has previously been an investment banker with CIBC World Markets, Legg Mason and Dillon Read. David has an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton Graduate School of Business and a BS degree in Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Dr. Irwin Azman, O.D., is a faculty member in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and is co-director of Contact Lens Services at the University of Maryland. He is a graduate of the Illinois College of Optometry and has been in private practice since 1977.

Jason Cha is currently serving as a Resident Director at the University of Maryland College Park which is about an hour away from his hometown Reisterstown, MD. Jason went to North Carolina State for undergrad where he majored in Business and minored in Spanish. He worked full time in the corporate setting for a couple of years in Durham, NC before returning to school to pursue working in the field of education. Jason received a grad degree from the University of Vermont where he worked in Res Life and discovered his interest working with underrepresented student groups and multicultural identity. Before returning to Maryland, he spent a year working in Res Life at UC San Diego in La Jolla, California. Jason enjoys working in areas of multicultural student development and faith identity development within student affairs.

Professor Karen Bradley is Director of Graduate Studies in Dance at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies, a faculty member of the Certificate Program in Laban Movement Studies and the author of the forthcoming book, Rudolf Laban, for Routledge's series on twentieth-century performance practitioners.

Mark also serves as Assistant Director of the Office of Human Relations Programs (OHRP) at the University of Maryland in College Park, where he is pursuing a doctorate in the College of Educationa s Department of Educational Policy and Leadership. Prior to joining ECG, Mark was the Ford Foundation Diversity Project Coordinator. He managed the functions of the Diversity Web, the Diversity Newsroom, and the creation of Diversity Blueprint: A Planning Manual for Colleges and Universities. He holds a Masters degree in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pomona College. Mark hails from Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Paul Nagy, PhD, is an associate professor of radiology and the director of quality and informatics research at the University of Maryland . He is a diagnostic medical physicist whose expertise is in PACS and utilizing IT to improve the quality of radiology. His research includes dashboarding and business intelligence, interoperability, communications, quality control and advanced information systems management. Dr. Nagy serves as a founding board of trustee for the American Board of Imaging Informatics and serves on committees for the Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine, the Radiological Society of North America, the American Association of Physicists in Medicine and the American College of Radiology.

Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak is Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland. For nineteen years he was Professor of Persian language and literature and Iranian culture and civilization at the University of Washington. He has studied in Iran and the United States, receiving his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Rutgers University in 1979, and has taught English and comparative literature and translation studies, as well as classical and modern Persian literature at the University of Tehran, Rutgers University, Columbia University, and the University of Texas. Professor Karimi-Hakkak is the author of more than twenty books and over one hundred major scholarly articles. He has contributed articles on Iran and Persian literature to many reference works, including The Encyclopedia Britannica, The Encyclopaedia Iranica, and The Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. His works have been translated into French, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, Greek, Arabic, Japanese, and Persian. He has won numerous awards and honors, and has served as President of the International Society for Iranian Studies and several other professional academic organizations.

Alexander R.M. Boyle has been Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Chevy Chase Bank since 1985 and currently serves as a director of the Association of Financial Services Holding Companies in Washington, D.C. and member of the Chancellor's Advisory Council at the University of Maryland. Previous positions include terms served as President and CEO of Government Services and Savings and Loan, Financial Vice-President of the Elizabeth Arden Corporation, Director of the United States League of Savings Institutions, and Chairman of the State of Maryland League of Financial Institutions. Mr. Boyle is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Yale University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Harvard Business School.

Alexandra Wild is a student of linguistics and Chinese at the University of Maryland. She was born in Reutlingen, Germany, and currently lives in Takoma Park. Some of her favorite things are green olives, dreadlocks, and books written by Carson McCullers.

Dr. Amy Rebecca Sapkota advises COMMITTED on environmental health projects including the ongoing research on fugitive dust and its health implications in the Kathmandu Valley area. She is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland, Institute for Applied Environmental Health, College Park, Maryland (UMD). She received her doctorate in 2005 from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, MD in Environmental Health Sciences, and MPH from Yale School of Public Health, CT in 1999. She continued at Johns Hopkins as a Postdoctoral Fellow for the Department of Environmental Health Sciences and as a Postdoctoral Researcher for the Environmental Microbial Genomics Group, Laboratoire Ampere, Ecole Centrale de Lyon, Lyon, France. Her research interests lie in the areas of microbial environmental exposure assessment and environmental epidemiology, with a focus on evaluating the complex relationships between the environment, food and water production systems, and human infectious diseases. Current research projects include: 1) evaluating the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes from agricultural sources into air, surface water, groundwater, soil and food products, and understanding how this may contribute to rises in antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in humans; and 2) utilizing metagenomic methods to understand total bacterial and viral biodiversity in environmental samples including soil, food, air and other commercial products. Click here for a list of Dr. Amy Rebecca Sapkota's publications.

Andrew Eschelbacher is a doctoral student at the University of Maryland, College Park, studying 19th Century French Art. Before relocating to Washington, Andrew earned an MA degree at Tulane University, worked as an immigration paralegal, and spent 3 years teaching high school French, history, and art history at The Moses Brown School in Providence, RI. In his free time, Andrew loves to play soccer (though not as well as he used to), to run marathons, to do anything that revolves around kitchen, and most importantly, to root for the Patriots, the Red Sox, the Celtics and the Bruins.

Andrew Baida is experienced in all aspects of civil litigation, with an emphasis on appellate litigation involving commercial and administrative law, medical malpractice, and state and local government matters. He has briefed and argued a broad range of cases that have resulted in more than 130 published judicial opinions, and served as counsel of record for the State of Maryland in an original action filed in the United States Supreme Court challenging Maryland's right to regulate the Potomac River. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Baida held the position of Solicitor General in the Maryland Attorney General's office. Mr. Baida is the author of "The Art of Appellate Advocacy," a column that appears each month in The Daily Record and other newspapers owned by the Dolan Media Company. Click here to view his articles. He has lectured and published articles on constitutional law, civil rights issues, and effective brief-writing, and teaches appellate advocacy as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland and University of Baltimore law schools. Mr. Baida has also received several U.S. Supreme Court Best Brief Awards from, and served as a Supreme Court Fellow with, the National Association of Attorneys General. Mr. Baida was listed in the 2007 and 2008 editions of Baltimore Magazine's Maryland Super Lawyers under appellate litigation and also appeared in Benchmark: America's Leading Litigation Firms and Attorneys (2008) where he was referred to as a "local litigation star."

Ms. Ryu, a native Californian, is an assistant professor of mathematics education at the University of Maryland. She did her undergraduate degree at Harvard University in Applied Mathematics and received her Ph.D. in Mathematics Education at the University of California, Berkeley. She studies mathematical cognition and learning as well as the preparation of K-12 mathematics teachers. After an 11 year hiatus, she started playing the violin again during graduate school and has since performed in numerous community and regional orchestras and chamber music groups.

The President and Medical Director of Baltimore Washington Eye Center, Dr. Betancourt is a talented eye surgeon who joined our practice in 1988. He brings to our Center unparalleled training, education, experience, and exceptional leadership. After earning his undergraduate and medical degrees with honors from the University of Puerto Rico, Dr. Betancourt interned at the Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco. Soon after, in 1983, he began his ophthalmology residency at the Walter Reed Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Dr. Arturo Betancourt has kept his clinical skills current through continuing education courses and a lecturing position at the reputable University of Maryland and at the Uniformed Services, University of Health Sciences. Before joining Baltimore Washington Eye Center, Dr. Betancourt served as a flight surgeon in the Middle East and practiced ophthalmology at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center, gaining extensive experience in cataract and implant surgery, laser therapy for retinal disease, and glaucoma treatment. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology and the American College of Surgeons, as well as a member of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the Medical and Surgical Faculty of Maryland.

Asha Srinivasan is currently working on her DMA in Composition at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she is studying under Dr. Robert Gibson. She earned two Master's degrees in Computer Music Composition and Music Theory Pedagogy at the Peabody Conservatory, under the tutelage of Dr. Greg Boyle, Dr. Geoff Wright, and Dr. Paul Mathews. She recently won the BMI Foundation's Commission Competition for Women in New Music, as well as the Walsum and the Prix d'Ete competitions. Performances include a recent premiere of By the River Near Savathi, for clarinet and string trio, by The St. Luke's Ensemble, and Kalpitha, for string quartet, premiered by the Left Bank Quartet. Her electronic pieces have been performed at the SEAMUS Conference (2004 & 2007), the Spark Festival, the Electronic Music Midwest Festival, and The Women in New Music Festival. Being Indian-American, Ms. Srinivasan draws from both her Western musical training and her Indian heritage to create her compositional language.

Barb Gruber is the Project Manager for MCIE's Professional Development Services, coordinating work on grants and various projects with schools. She has been with MCIE since 1993 and served on the MSDE Task Force on Inclusive Education. Barb is also an instructor at the University of Maryland, College Park, in the Department of Special Education. Previously she worked at the May Institute in Massachusetts where she designed programs and interventions for people with autism and with challenging behavior.

Bernard J. Fisken, has extensive experience in accounting, financial management and US Government contracting with Non Profit Organizations and Consulting Firms that work in the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, the South Pacific and Africa. He also is an expert on overhead rates and fringe benefit rates that meet U.S. Government standards. Bernie is an expert on taxation of Expatriate Americans living abroad and yearly presents an all day workshop, Taxation of Americans Overseas, for international organizations working globally. Bernie is particularly familiar with the overseas working/living environment, having spent time in Asia, Africa and Latin America as a Peace Corps Volunteer, USAID contractor and independent consultant. He has extensive experience with both Non-Profit and For-Profit Organizations subject to U.S. Government contracting issues under the OMB Circulars and Federal Acquisition Regulations.

Dr. Lilly is Board-certified in general and vascular surgery. He completed his vascular surgery training at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois. He has been a faculty member of the University of Maryland since 1989 and developed the basic science research program in the Division of Vascular Surgery. He has served as Director of the Non-Invasive Vascular Laboratory at UMMC and Chief of Vascular Surgery at the Baltimore VA.

Joseph A. Reyes, Chairman Emeritus, Reyes Holdings, L.L.C. Joseph A. Reyes is one of the founders of Reyes Holdings, L.L.C. and currently President of Orion Enterprises. Instrumental in securing the funds for Reyes Holdings' early acquisitions, Joe Reyes contributed to building a foundation for what is today one of the foremost names in the distribution of beverage and foodservice products. Joe Reyes has driven the creation of successful service-oriented organizations for over 40 years, consulting for both government and private businesses. He served in the U.S. Navy as an Electronic Technician and as a Naval Aviator on active duty. He served in the U.S. Navy for 10 years. Twice named Hispanic Businessman of the year, Joe Reyes received the prestigious Image Award as Hispanic Entrepreneur in 1985. The Presidential Advisory Committee for Small Business, Presidential Advisory Council on Taxation for Small Business and the Congressional Advisory Council on Minority Business Enterprises have all recognized his leadership with honors. Joe Reyes is on the Board of Directors for the National Park Commission, the Wolftrap Foundation and the University of Maryland, Engineering College as well as the Incarnate Word University. He is a trustee for the Montgomery College Board in addition to being a member of the Washington Board of Trade, the National Association of Tail Hookers (Navy Fighter Pilots) and the National Association of Hispanic Naval Officers. He is also a member of the Montgomery County Police Foundation, the National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic Alliance for Free Trade, and the Sovereign Order of Military Knights of Malta. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland. He is married to Frances M. Collins Reyes, and the proud father of one daughter and seven sons.

Dr. Robert Vogel is a cardiologist, vascular biologist, Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland, and Pritikin's Chief Medical Director. He has studied heart disease for more than 30 years and lectures frequently to practicing physicians on its prevention. Dr. Vogel has received a Good Housekeeping Magazine's "Best Doctors in America" designation and a Federal Scientist of the Year Award. Dr. Vogel often writes the review guide on preventing heart disease for the American College of Cardiology. He serves as a dietary consultant to the National Institutes of Health and as a weight and heart disease consultant to the National Football League. As Pritikin's Chief Medical Director, Dr. Vogel is part of a team of nationally acclaimed physicians, registered dietitians, exercise physiologists, and psychologists at the Pritikin Longevity Center & Spa who have been teaching the art and science of healthy living to thousands worldwide for decades. Together, they are also on the cutting-edge of science, publishing research in leading peer-review medical journals and continually fine-tuning the Pritikin Program according to the latest findings in nutrition, fitness, disease prevention, and the best ways to lose weight and keep it off. Dr. Robert Vogel is also co-author of the new Pritikin book The Pritikin Edge: 10 Essential Ingredients for a Long and Delicious Life, published by Simon & Schuster in September 2008. Drawing on decades of science yet written in a clear, down-to-earth, often humorous style, The Pritikin Edge gives readers everything they need to lower their blood pressure and cholesterol, fight off diabetes and heart disease, slim down, and feel vibrantly alive for years to come. Sums up Dr. Vogel, "Pritikin is the smartest way to get the most out of life." In addition to his work at the Pritikin Longevity Center, Dr. Vogel travels extensively, representing the Pritikin Program in the media and in health conferences and other events throughout America. He is also involved in the development of broad policy issues for the worldwide expansion of Pritikin locations, products, and services, including the Pritikin online membership, home delivery of fresh and frozen foods, educational CDs and DVDs, and Pritikin Living Residences, the first slated for Houston, Texas.

Michael Belfer is an accounting and audit partner at Anchin who specializes in working with closely held businesses and entrepreneurial companies. He offers clients a hands-on approach and assists them in developing tax structures, accounting systems, business plans, financial and budget plans. He has expertise in business operations and solutions for long term business growth. He also provides consulting services to emerging companies. He works with businesses in diverse industries: apparel & textile, import & export, real estate, technology, professional services, and manufacturing & distribution. Michael maintains strategic relationships with leading attorneys, bankers, and business consultants throughout the New York Metropolitan area to assist his clients with their needs. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the New Jersey State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSSCPA), Advisor to the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, and the Associates Committee of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. In addition, Michael regularly participates in continuing education courses at New York University.

Ben Shneiderman is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Founding Director (1983-2000) of the Human-Computer Interaction Laboratory (HCIL) at the University of Maryland. His contributions to the user interface design field are numerous and diverse, such as hypertext systems, direct manipulation (a term that was coined by him), information visualization (starfield display, treemap, visible human, and many more...), and the design of large information-abundant Websites. Because of the extent and quality of his work, he received the ACM CHI Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Shneiderman is the author of several books. His book Designing the User Interface: Strategies for Effective Human-Computer Interaction has become a "standard" for user interface designers. His vision of the future is presented in his October 2002 book Leonardo's Laptop: Human Needs and the New Computing Technologies (review). Shneiderman presents his new book as Keynote Speaker at several conferences in 2003, such as HCI International 2003, I-KNOW 2003, and CUU 2003.

Tom Mierzwa is vice president for planning and resources at The Onyx Group. In this role, he manages staff resource development and is directly involved in management of planning and development projects. He brings to The Onyx Group over 20 years of experience as a management consultant to small and large businesses, federal agencies, and state and local governments. His work includes analyzing opportunities for systematic innovation in products and operations and advising organizations on strategies for introducing innovative processes and new product development.

Pauline A. Schneider, age 65, joined the Washington office of the law firm of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP in September 2006. From 1985 to September 2006, she was with the law firm of Hunton & Williams. From October 2000 to October 2002, Ms. Schneider served as Chair of the Board of MedStar Health, Inc., a community-based healthcare organization that includes seven major hospitals in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area. Also, between 1998 and 2002, she chaired the Board of The Access Group, Inc., a not-for-profit student loan provider headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. She continues her service on both boards. She is a director of Diamond Management and Technology Consultants. Ms. Schneider was a director of Pepco from 2001 until August 1, 2002. She has been a director of the Company since August 1, 2002.

Kevin A. Plank, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Under Armour, Inc., age 36, is the founder of Under Armour and has served as our Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors since our inception in 1996. Mr. Plank served as our President from 1996 until July 2008. Mr. Plank also is a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Maryland College Park Foundation. Mr. Plank s brother is J. Scott Plank, our Senior Vice President of Retail.

Dr. White received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree at Cornell university (DVM 1971). He completed an Internship and Residency in Surgery at the University of California-Davis (1971-73) and completed a Master of Science degree in pathology at Kansas State University (1976). After attaining Diplomate status in the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS-1981), Dr. White served as President of the College and of ACVS Research and Education Foundation. He is a past AAEP Director at Large and currently Chair of the AAEP Foundation Advisory Committee. Dr. White has served as Director of the ACVS Veterinary Symposium since 1997. Dr. White has authored or co-authored 148 journal articles and 35 book chapters and is the editor and author of The Equine Acute Abdomen, Current Practice of Surgery, Current Techniques in Equine Surgery and Lameness and Handbook of Equine Colic. Dr. White has served on the faculty of Kansas State University, the University of Georgia and Virginia Tech and was the Theodora Ayer Randolph Professor of Surgery at Virginia Tech (1987-2003). Currently he is the Jean Ellen Shehan Professor and Director of the Marion duPont Scott Equine Medical Center at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Maryland.