Robert L. Herbst – Chair
Robert L. Herbst has 50 years successful experience as a business, environmental and conservation executive and is co-founder and principal of The Global Environment & Technology Foundation. He has an excellent record of domestic and international success in Administration, Budget Planning, Public Speaking, Writing, Press Relations, Decision Making, Negotiation, Fund Raising, Lobbying, Natural Resources, and Employee Relations. Mr. Herbst served as Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, National Parks and Acting Secretary for the U.S. Department of Interior. The Carter White House recognized him as one of the “Best” subcabinet administrators in government. Recently, Mr. Herbst was selected by the Clinton Administration to be America’s Board Member of the Regional Environmental Center for Central and Eastern Europe. He has received over 600 Awards for his administrative, environmental and public service accomplishments. In 2003, he was “enshrined” in the National “Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame” and also was presented the “Outstanding Achievement Award” from the University of Minnesota (the highest award at the University).
Allison Frendak-Blume – Vice Chair
Being revised
Michelle Mock – Secretary
Positive results begin when issues are managed intentionally and with care—This is what Michelle Mock, founder of Collaborative Thinking, Conflict Management Services, practices with her clients. She is a professional facilitator, trainer, coach and mediator with over 20 years experience in consensus building. She developed these skills during her long tenure in a Fortune 50 business.
Ms. Mock works with her clients as they learn new collaborative approaches and skills that produce long-term results and focus on achieving their desired goals.
--As a facilitator, Ms. Mock guides work groups through processes to help them identify core values, create long range planning goals, and work more effectively within their team.
--As a trainer, her clients learn collaborative skills such as communication, active listening and cooperative problem solving techniques.
--In her role as a coach, individuals are encouraged to set goals and create plans as they seek clarity in their personal lives and careers.
--As a mediator, Ms. Mock mediates work place disputes, empowering people to identify and structure settlement agreements that are mutually agreeable.
Ms. Mock teams with other professionals to provide quality programs for her clients. One example is the parenting workshop, Teen Development, which was designed by Ms. Mock and a high school psychologist. This program focuses on how a teen’s brain develops—socially, emotionally and morally—and provides suggestions about more productive ways for parents to communicate with their teens.
Her clients include the following sectors—federal government, corporate, nonprofit, religious organizations and schools.
Jack Underhill – Treasurer
Jack Underhill retired in 1997 after 42 years of Federal service—33 of which were in the Department of Housing Urban Development, where he served in various policy-making positions under 11 secretaries. He worked on the early years of the Open Space Program, Historic Preservation, and the New Communities program, and helped prepare the earliest HUD study on the homeless in 1984. He helped draft the legislation on Empowerment Zones to revitalize distressed areas of cities. He contributed to the development of the Consolidated Plan, a unified strategy for local governments to address problems of homelessness, poverty, housing rehabilitation and jobs for the poor. It won the coveted Ford Foundation/Kennedy School award on innovation. H e was traveled around the world as part of HUD exchanges with the Chinese, Russians and Japanese and has written books on French, Soviet, and American new towns. He received his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of California at Berkeley, a Masters degree in Public Law and Government from Columbia University, a Masters degree in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a PhD in Public Policy from George Mason University in 1995. In retirement he has traveled widely, served as chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Annandale United Methodist Church, gone on mission trips to Haiti, Russia, Bayport (MS), and Israel. He has taught and taken courses at the Osher Life Long Learning Institute at George Mason University. He is a published poet, author, painter, and photographer and the grandfather of six grandchildren.
Barent L. Fake– Legal Counsel
Mr. Fake is President and Managing Director of Executive Advisors, L.L.C., an advisory group that helps chief executives of emerging technology companies develop strategic plans and relationships to strengthen their market position and foster long-term growth. His experience over 30 years spans both applied legal practice and consultative business assignments with Miles & Stockbridge, Inova Health System Foundation, Black & Decker and a range of international corporations, foundations, charitable organizations and commercial enterprises. With the support of his professional network of advisors, his company identifies capital funding opportunities, executive resources, operational and administrative processes; technological and integrated logistics support mechanisms, and marketing and sales strategies to help clients reduce time to positive cash flow and operational success. He serves as an interim executive officer and as a director for several start-up companies and organizations. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia Law School, J.D. and University of Virginia, B.A., Phi Beta Kappa. He is nationally recognized in The Best Lawyers in America.
Tom Plewes – Member at Large
Lieutenant General (Retired) Thomas J. Plewes served as Chief, Army Reserve, and Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserve Command until his retirement on May 25, 2002. Prior to assuming this position in May 1998, he served as Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Army Reserve Command. He became the first three-star Chief, Army Reserve, in the history of the Army Reserve on June 13, 2001.
In his civilian capacity, Lieutenant General (Retired) Plewes serves as a program director for the National Academy of Sciences. LTG Plewes has served as a Vice President of Logistics Management Resources, Inc., a supplier of logistics automation services to the Federal government, and as the Associate Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, where he had responsibility for the Nation's labor force information. He graduated from Hope College, Holland, Michigan, with a Bachelors Degree in Economics, and received a Masters Degree in Economics from the George Washington University. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association.
He was a member of the congressionally chartered Reserve Forces Policy Board, and is a past president of the Senior Army Reserve Commanders Association. He is currently an active member of the Reserve Officers Association and the Association of the United States Army, where he serves on the Board of Advisors.
John Milam – Member at Large
Being revised
John Fair – President
Reverend Fair has 25+ years of experience in military operations, policy, deliberate and campaign planning, and analysis/ execution. He is an experienced director of operations with 20 years of professional military experience in flying training and operational flying (military and general aviation), and in directing military engineering test programs for the USAF. Highest rank achieved is Lt Colonel. Currently, Rev. Fair holds the title of Reverend (ordained in The United Methodist Church) and served more than three churches, and leads mission teams locally, regionally, and internationally. He also serves on the faculty of The RUAH School of Spiritual Guidance in Richmond, VA and has directed workshops and “peace games” to assess courses of action for peace operations. Travel annually to Ivanovo, Russia with United Methodist Volunteers In Mission to work with Russian Peace Foundation and government of Ivanovo Region –“ people –to-people” diplomacy.
Reverend Fair has demonstrated ability to assess organizational efficiencies in optimizing strategic planning and operational considerations to meet objectives, and has extensive experience in conceptualizing operations and processing the planning and execution of programs. He regularly used the Strategy-to-Task approach to planning. He wrote and published policy documents, analytical and planning instructions, terms of references, and white papers supporting Air Force leadership organizational and operational vision. He is an experienced leader in both the military and civil environments. Rev. Fair led project teams at Air Force, Joint, DoD, international, and non-government levels, and currently is serving as vice-chair of Meta United. He is comfortable with beyond-the-envelope visioning and lives by the axiom that an achievable vision is not a vision worth seeking.
Kathryn Pendergast Wolf
Ms. Wolf currently serves as President and CEO of Consulting for Energy Efficiency and Environmental Excellence, Inc. (C4e) and has a strong history of superior decision-making and bottom-line resource management. Her expertise includes operations, logistics, material management, quality assurance and audits. Ms. Wolf's government work experience includes assignments with the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Energy Policy office; and Headquarters Air Force Energy Policy Office. At Ferrellgas (largest US propane company) she served as the corporate Manager for Safety and Technical Support. While at Dynamics Research Corporation she led the development of several automated decision support systems. She has served as program manager for several key information technology projects at Headquarters Air Force, Deputy Chief of Staff, Installations and Logistics. She was 'by-name' selected to develop an information system enterprise architecture plan; including developing the business, data, and automation architectures and a technology deployment plan to move the USAF to a shared information environment using web technology. Currently, Ms. Wolf provides consulting services to the Air Force Chief Information Officer (AF-CIO) in the areas of business analysis, performance management, and organizational development. Ms. Wolf's extensive background in both energy and environmental management and information technology led to her selection as President and CEO in May 2000.
Bishop Charlene Payne Kammerer
Bishop Charlene Payne Kammerer was elected to the episcopacy at the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference (SEJ) at Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, July 1996, where she was assigned to the Charlotte Area. At the SEJ meeting in July 2000, Bishop Kammerer was reassigned to the WNC Conference. In 2004, she was assigned to the Virginia Conference and will begin her official duties Sept. 1. In her second quadrennium on the Council of Bishops, Bishop Kammerer was assigned to the General Commission of Religion and Race, and Task Force of the Bishops' Initiative on Children and Poverty. She is passionately committed to the Episcopal Initiative on Children and Poverty and is giving significant leadership in this arena across the church.
Bishop Kammerer's service in the church has included equal years in parish ministries and connectional ministries, including service as a campus minister at Duke University and as a district superintendent of the Tallahassee District, Florida Conference. Her longtime interests in ministry include higher education, mission involvement, and the spirituality of administration. She has served as a director of the General Commission on the Status and Role of Women and as a director of the General Board of Global Ministries, including chairperson of the United Methodist Committee on Relief from 1992-1996. She has received the Outstanding Alumnae Award from both Wesleyan College and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and has been honored with Doctor of Divinity degrees from Bethune-Cookman College (FL) and Pfeiffer University (NC).
Marc Gopin
Marc Gopin is the James H. Laue Professor of Religion, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, and the Director of the new Center on Religion, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University's Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. He is also a Senior Researcher at the Fletcher School for Law and Diplomacy's Institute for Human Security.
Gopin has lectured on conflict resolution in Switzerland, Ireland, India, Italy, and Israel, as well as at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, and numerous other academic institutions. Gopin has trained thousands of people worldwide in peacemaking strategies for complex conflicts in which religion and culture play a role. He conducts research on values dilemmas as they apply to international problems of globalization, clash of cultures, development, social justice and conflict.
Gopin's research is found in numerous book chapters and journal articles, and he is the author of Between Eden and Armageddon: The Future of World Religions, Violence and Peacemaking (Oxford University Press, 2000), as well as Holy War, Holy Peace (Oxford University Press, 2002), a study on what was missing from the Oslo Process, and what will be necessary culturally for a successful Arab/Israeli peace process. His latest book, Healing the Heart of Conflict will be published this fall by Rodale Press. Dr. Gopin was ordained as a rabbi at Yeshiva University in 1983 and received a Ph.D. in religious ethics from Brandeis University in 1993.
Sylvia Clute
Sylvia is founder, CEO and president of Meta United and manages content and recommended legislation with the able assistance of Meta United staff and volunteers. She has been a trial attorney in Richmond, Virginia for many years and is now devoting her time to advancing the vision set out in Meta United. She is author of a legal novel entitled Destiny, which has now been rewritten as Destiny of a Nation, placing it in the post-9-11 era and expanding on the concepts that were in the original version. (You may order the pre-publication manuscript of Destiny of a Nation.) She is experienced at grassroots mobilization. She is a citizen activist to the core. As she says, "The power of the people is temporarily invested in those who govern-- those guys don't own it, we do!"
Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government, MPA; Boston University School of Law, JD; University of California, MPA; University of Colorado, BA. Former Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal and Chairman of the Board of WomensBank.