Ideagen Global Podcast

Dr. Gail Christopher is vice president for policy and senior advisor at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. In this role, she serves on the executive team that provides overall direction and leadership for the Foundation. She also leads the Food, Health & Well-Being, Racial Equity, Community & Civic Engagement and Leadership programming.

Dr. Christopher is a nationally recognized leader in health policy, with particular expertise and experience in the issues related to social determinants of health, health inequities and public policy issues of concern to our nation’s future. She has more than 20 years experience in designing and managing national initiatives and nonprofit organizations. She brings extensive knowledge and experience in creating a comprehensive approach to well-being and is nationally recognized for her pioneering work to infuse holistic health and diversity concepts into public sector programs and policy discourse.

A prolific writer and presenter, Dr. Christopher is the author or co-author of three books, a monthly column in the Federal Times, and more than 250 articles, presentations, and publications. Her national print and broadcast media credits are numerous, and include The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Dallas, Times, National Journal, Essence, “Good Morning America,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” National Public Radio, and documentaries on PBS and CBS.

Dr. Christopher holds a doctor of naprapathy degree from the Chicago National College of Naprapathy in Illinois and completed advanced study in the interdisciplinary Ph.D. program in holistic health and clinical nutrition at the Union for Experimenting Colleges and Universities at Union Graduate School of Cincinnati, Ohio. She is president of the Board of Directors of the Trust for America’s Health.

With falling wages and rising inequality, persistent unemployment, failing schools, and broken cities, have America’s best days come and gone? In America Needs Talent, Jamie Merisotis, a globally recognized leader in philanthropy, higher education, and public policy, explains why talent is needed to usher in a new era of innovation and success, and why deliberate choices must be made by government, the private sector, education, and individuals to grow talent in America.

Jamie Merisotis is a globally recognized leader in philanthropy, higher education, and public policy. Since 2008, he has served as president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the U.S. and a driving force for increasing Americans’ success in higher education. He previously served as co-founder and president of the nonpartisan Institute for Higher Education Policy, and as executive director of a bipartisan national commission on college affordability. A highly regarded analyst and innovator, Merisotis is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and the leadership council of The Aspen Institute’s Franklin Project on national service. 

He is frequently sought after as a media commentator and contributor. His writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Journal, Washington Monthly, Huffington Post, Politico, and other publications. Merisotis commits his time and energies as trustee for a diverse array of organizations around the world, including his alma mater, Bates College in Maine. He lives with his wife, Colleen O’Brien, and their children, Benjamin and Elizabeth, in Indianapolis.

Pre-order a copy of America Needs Talent today:

http://americaneedstalent.com

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/america-needs-talent-jamie-merisotis/1121276313?ean=9780795345920

Willie Iles was named national director of Government and Community Relations, Boy Scouts of America, effective August 12, 2008. He is responsible for managing the functions and giving leadership as the liaison to the Chief Scout Executive of the Boy Scouts of America in working with the executive branch of the federal government and national community organizations in the areas of youth advocacy, environmental awareness, workforce preparedness, youth healthy living, education outreach, and volunteerism.

Career

Iles has been active in Scouting since his youth. He began his Scouting career in 1971 as a local council employee in Houston, Texas. Activities and Affiliations

He is an active member of the Greater Dallas Chapter of 100 Black Men of America, Inc.; White House Council on Boys to Men; American Marketing Association, Chicago, Illinois; advisory board member, American Society of Association Executives, Washington, D.C.; member, Council of Foundations, Washington, D.C.; member, National Human Services Assembly, Washington, D.C.; member, Independent Sector, Washington, D.C.; member, Black History Makers, Chicago; advisory board member, Frost Bank, Houston; member, Coalition for Juvenile Justice; life member, NAACP; member, Jack Yates Senior High Alumni in Houston; and member, Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

Anthony J. Magnetti

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Anthony Magnetti is a seasoned pharmaceutical executive with more than 40 years of experience that spans Government Affairs, Medical Affairs, Clinical Research Services, and Sales and Marketing.

Currently, Mr. Magnetti leads Government Affairs for Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., which focuses on therapies that advance the science of medicine in the psychiatry, neurology and respiratory disease areas to improve the lives of patients and their families.

In this role Mr. Magnetti is responsible for addressing public policy and regulatory areas important to the company’s therapeutic areas of focus and the patients it serves. He has led several initiatives focused on preserving and expanding access to medicines and services that patients need. Over the last five years, Mr. Magnetti has helped enable the introduction and passage of numerous pieces of legislation putting patient protections into law, and has guided efforts to codify the six protected classes in Medicare Part D. Under his leadership, the Government Affairs team supports leading advocacy, educational, and cross-sector coalitions focused on the advancement of research and innovation, as well as improvements in healthcare.

Mr. Magnetti joined the company in 1997 and in addition to Government Affairs has held increasingly senior roles across various functions including building and leading the Respiratory and Central Nervous System Medical Liaison Teams for Sunovion. 

Mr. Magnetti holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the State University of New York Albany. He serves on executive committees at Sunovion, as well as on several committees of biopharmaceutical industry organizations.

Ryan Scott is an entrepreneur and technologist with a passion for leveraging capitalism to create positive social change. 

As the co-founder of NetCreations, Ryan is widely considered the father of opt-in email marketing, setting most of the standards in use today and paving the way for laws banning unsolicited commercial email. After he and his partner took the company public and sold it in 2001, Ryan founded community impact firm Causecast to bring sophisticated technology to volunteer and giving programs.  Causecast's Community Impact Platform helps organizations create measurable social change through a free online platform for volunteering, donation, matching, rewarding, and cause campaigns ranging from recycling to disaster relief. The all-inclusive tool is available to organizations of any size - from corporations and schools to nonprofits and online communities.  

With a particular concern for environmental degradation and social injustice, Ryan currently holds investments in numerous information technology and environmental service companies that address these issues, including Signum Biosciences, Sierra Nevada Solar, Cool Earth Solar, T1ME, Mahalo, and Tesla Motors.  Ryan's commitment to community engagement around social change led him to form the Impact and Education sections of the Huffington Post with Arianna Huffington.

The World Police and Fire Games (WPFG) is a biennial athletic event, open to active and retired law enforcement and fire service personnel throughout the world. The WPFG Federation is an arm of the California Police Athletic Federation (CPAF),[1] an American non-profit organization.

The host city of the 2015 World Police and Fire Game will be Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States, with venues located around the Washington metropolitan area.

http://fairfax2015.com

Ambassador Panagopoulos joined the Greek Foreign Service in 1978 and brings to Washington many years of rich international experience and a unique understanding of global and European affairs, including an in-depth knowledge of the Balkans and South East Mediterranean issues.

Prior to his current post as Greece’s Ambassador to the U.S., Ambassador Panagopoulos served for the past four years as Director of the Diplomatic Cabinet of the Minister and of the Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs. Previously, he was Ambassador of Greece to the Republic of Serbia, after having spent five years as Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus.

Ambassador Panagopoulos started his career at the Greek Embassy in Ankara. He has also worked on European issues, as Head of the European Integration Directorate, actively participating in the decision-making process of the European Union and in the promotion of the Transatlantic ties.

Having also served as Consul General in Los Angeles and Dean of the New England Consular Corps in Boston, Ambassador Panagopoulos is no stranger to American politics. He now returns to the United States as Ambassador, at a time when Greek-American bilateral relations are at an unprecedentedly excellent level.

Born in Kalamata, Greece, in 1954, Christos Panagopoulos holds a Degree in Law from the University of Athens and a Master’s Degree in International Law and International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Boston, USA. He served in the Hellenic Navy at the Office of the Admiral, Chief of the Hellenic Fleet. He was also a member of the Junior National Waterpolo Team of Greece.

Among other distinctions, Ambassador Panagopoulos is the recipient of the Grand Commander of the Order of Phoenix of the Hellenic Republic, as well as of the Grand Commander of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Cyprus.

David A. Weiss became President and CEO of Global Communities in 2010, having previously been a member of its Board since 2004 and Chairman of the Board from 2008-2010. Prior to joining Global Communities, Mr. Weiss was Senior Policy Advisor at the global law firm DLA Piper for 13 years, advising on international trade and foreign policy matters.

Mr. Weiss spent 18 years with the Federal Government in the following roles: Special Assistant to the Director of the Peace Corps; member of the US Foreign Service; Economic Officer in Haiti; Staff Aide to the Secretary of State; Senior Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State; Assistant US Trade Representative for North American Affairs in charge of NAFTA; and other senior positions in the Office of the US Trade Representative. Weiss received the US Department of State’s Superior Honor Award. He has a B.A. from Hamilton College and an M.S.F.S. from Georgetown University.

David Weiss is a member of the Board of Directors of InterAction, the largest alliance of US-based NGOs, and is on the Board of Advisors of New Perimeter, DLA Piper'sGlobal Pro Bono Initiative.

Maurizio Vecchione: Sr. Vice President of Global Good and Research 

Maurizio Vecchione is the Sr. Vice President of Global Good and Research at Intellectual Ventures (IV). In this role, he oversees IV’s collaboration with Bill Gates to invent and deploy technology specifically focused on improving life in developing countries, as well as the Intellectual Ventures Laboratory and Institute for Disease Modeling. Mr. Vecchione most recently served as CEO of Arrogene, which is commercializing a new nanotechnology platform for cancer therapeutics and diagnostics, and as CEO of telemedicine pioneer CompuMed.

Mr. Vecchione has nearly 30 years of experience in the technology sector. He has contributed to building nine start-ups and helped launch more than 50 commercial products, resulting in more than $1 billion in shareholder value. His work spans the software, internet, wireless and life sciences sectors, primarily in connection with technologies incubated by government and university R&D efforts. 

Mr. Vecchione is also involved in a number of non-profit initiatives, including as a co-founder and member of the board of ReefQuest. This global organization focuses on fostering marine environmental stewardship in children through citizen science.

As an inventor himself, Mr. Vecchione is named on multiple U.S. patents and patent applications related to imaging, image processing, nano-bio-polymer and telecommunications technologies. He was twice a finalist for the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year award, received a DEMO God award from the prestigious DEMO organization and is a member of ACM and IEEE.

Scott Jackson is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Global Impact. A global development, fundraising and marketing veteran with more than 20 years of experience, Mr. Jackson provides leadership, direction and oversight for all aspects of the organization, which has raised $1.7 billion since inception to help the world’s most vulnerable people.

Before joining Global Impact, Mr. Jackson served as Vice President for External Relations at PATH where he worked with a team to manage more than $300 million in donations. While there, his strategic responsibilities included developing and strengthening relationships with partners and donors, overseeing unrestricted funding and advocacy-related funding initiatives, and maximizing the visibility of PATH’s work.

Previously, Mr. Jackson was Senior Vice President at World Vision US where he directed external relations, key partnerships, community relations and strategic initiatives. While there he worked with a team that managed a fundraising portfolio of more than $1 billion.

From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Jackson served as President and Managing Director of APCO Seattle, a worldwide public affairs and strategic communications consulting firm.

In 1989, he founded TRADEC (Trade and Development Consortium), one of the first marketing and communications firms in North America to specialize in international trade promotion, technology transfer and market access. TRADEC was later acquired by APCO Worldwide.

Mr. Jackson received an MBA from the University of Edinburgh School of International Business, where he attended as a Rotary International Ambassador Scholar. He also holds an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Puget Sound. Mr. Jackson received a Bachelor of Arts in history from the University of Puget Sound, and maintains his CFRE certification through the Association of Fundraising Professionals.