Hon. Virginia A. Mulberger
Hon. Virginia Mulberger was a founding Principal and the Managing Director of The Scowcroft Group. Prior to forming The Scowcroft Group, Ms. Mulberger served four years in the White House as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director of Legislative Affairs on the staff of the National Security Council. In that capacity, she was responsible for the integration and implementation of national security legislative strategies for the Executive Branch.
Preceding her White House tour, Ms. Mulberger was a Principal with DGA, International, a Washington-based consulting firm. With DGA, International, she assisted European corporations in strategic planning, marketing, joint ventures and technology transfer. From 1974 to 1983, Ms. Mulberger served as an active duty Air Force Officer in Air Force intelligence and legislative affairs positions. She completed her active duty service as Deputy Director, Air Force Senate Liaison. She fulfilled the remainder of her Air Force career as a Reserve Officer in international security assistance, retiring in 1996. Ms. Mulberger received her Masters degree from Georgetown University in National Security Studies. She is a Vice Chairman of The Atlantic Council of the United States and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Karen Scowcroft
Karen Scowcroft is a Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel with First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company, focusing principally on commercial equipment financing and energy financing. Prior to First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company’s acquisition of CIT Group Inc., Ms. Scowcroft was a Director and Senior Counsel with CIT Group Inc., where she specialized in domestic and cross border commercial aerospace financing, energy financing and workouts. From 1984 to 1993, Ms. Scowcroft was an associate with the law firm Dewey Ballantine where she concentrated on domestic and cross border shipping and aerospace financing and project financing.
Ms. Scowcroft received her Master’s Degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and her J.D. from Columbia Law School. She is a Trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation and serves as a judge for the Foundation’s annual journalism award for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.
Chad Hesters
Chad Hesters is a globally recognized leadership advisor with expertise in guiding complex organizations through dynamic markets and geopolitical uncertainty. With extensive experience in international consulting organizations and earlier experience in corporate finance, strategic planning, and as a U.S. Naval Intelligence Officer, he brings a rare combination of strategic, operational, and cross-cultural insight. As President and CEO of Boyden, he leads a global organization across 45 countries, driving the firm’s growth in leadership advisory services. Much of his career experience has been focused on the critical international business industries of Energy and Natural Resources. Mr. Hesters holds a Bachelors degree from Texas A&M University, an MBA from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and has completed executive programs at Harvard Business School and the Yale School of Management.
Bruce Hoffman
Bruce Hoffman has been studying terrorism and insurgency for 50 years. He is a professor at Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he was previously the director of its Center for Jewish Civilization and prior to that tne director of its Center for Security Studies and Security Studies Masters of Arts Degree Program. Hoffman was appointed a commissioner on the 9/11 Review Commission by the U.S. Congress and has been Scholar-in-Residence for Counterterrorism at the Central Intelligence Agency; adviser on counterterrorism to the Coalition Provisional Authority, Baghdad, Iraq; and, adviser on counterinsurgency to Multi-National Forces-Iraq Headquarters, Baghdad, Iraq. He is a recipient of the United States Intelligence Community Seal Medallion, the highest level of commendation given to a non-government employee. Hoffman is the author and co-author of the award-winning books, Anonymous Soldiers (2015) and God, Guns, and Sedition (2024). A fourth edition of Hoffman’s renowned work, Inside Terrorism, cited as one of the 25 most notable books published by Columbia University Press, is forthcoming. Hoffman received his B.A. in government and history from Connecticut College and the B.PhIl. and D.Phil. degrees in international relations from Oxford University.
Col J.P. McDonough (Ex Officio)
A career artillery officer, McDonough was posted across the globe, commanding every level of Marine artillery, from platoon to regiment. His deployments include the initial entry into Afghanistan in December 2001 as part of Operations Swift Freedom and Enduring Freedom, as well as a deployment to Afghanistan as an advisor team leader with the Afghan National Army in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from 2009 to 2010.
McDonough’s staff and joint tours include multiple tours in the Pentagon, as well as in the Marine Corps Training and Education Command, as both an instructor and a modeling and simulation analyst.
McDonough most recently served as the 89th commandant of midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy from June 2021 to June 2024.
McDonough’s decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, and various unit and service awards. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1994. He earned a master’s degree in modeling, virtual environments and simulation from the Naval Postgraduate School in 2005. He graduated with distinction from the Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy at the National Defense University in 2014.
