Member Biographies

• Martha Africa
• Bernie Bulkin
• Ed Carson
• James V. Cimino
• Dennis DeConcini
• Daniel S. Goldin
• Stuart Goode
• Lisa Gordon-Hagerty
  
• George Haligowski
• Richard Hertzberg
• Sam Iacobellis
• Wayne Kennedy
• Donna Lucas
  
• John "Mac" McQuown (Chair)
  
• Gordon E. Moore
• Bruce Morrison
  
• Nicolas C. Nierenberg
• Clyde Ostler
• John Patton
• Steven Peace
• Peter Preuss
• Richard Sandor
• Claudia Seibel
• Susan Shirk
• Richard Snell
• J. Craig Venter, PhD
• Martin R. Wilson

Among the joys of being part of Major, Lindsey & Africa is the great learning that comes from interacting with clients and candidates from all over the world. Formerly a Placement Director at Boalt Hall School of Law, Martha Fay Africa (Marty) occasionally thinks that her job has not changed much since leaving academia. Helping a client or a candidate get from point A to point B is still at the heart of what she does and that is why she loves it.

Working on searches at all levels from general counsel to executive director to counsel for varied organizations like The Nature Conservancy, Texas Pacific Group, Silicon Valley Bank, Stanford Research Institute, the California Independent System Operator (Cal ISO), the University of California, Blue Shield of California, Epicentric, Inc., to give a representative sample, consumes perhaps half of her time. Retained and contingent law firm searches at all levels from partners and/or groups to associates, writing and public speaking about issues of interest to lawyers and law students, and service on non-profit boards consume the remainder.

Marty is active in the American Bar Association, having served as liaison to the Commission on Women from the Law Practice Management Section and having founded Women Rainmakers, an organization devoted to training women lawyers in the art of networking and practice building. She also serves on various committees addressing concerns relating to minority lawyer advancement, principally for the Bar Association of San Francisco. She is a member of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Council, among other outside interests.

Marty lives beside a creek in a redwood forest where, in her spare moments, she listens to jazz and thinks about the future of the legal profession.

Bernie Bulkin, PhD, FRSC, FRSA, FEI
Chief Scientist for BP, Retired
Chairman, AEA Technology plc
Venture Partner, Vantage Point Venture Partners

Bernie Bulkin is a leading voice on issues related to energy and environment.  His activities span business, government advisory, and educational roles.  He is Chairman of AEA Technology, a leading environmental consultancy,  Chairman of Swedish company Chemrec AB, and a board member of Severn Trent plc and Accelergy Corporation.  He is venture partner with Vantage Point, associated with their Clean Tech practice.  Bernie is Commissioner for Energy and Transport at the UK Sustainable Development Commission, and a member of the Government s Energy Board.  He is a Professorial Fellow of New Hall, University of Cambridge and he serves on numerous charitable boards.   He is the author of more than 100 papers and two books.  Dr Bulkin was formerly Chief Scientist of BP.

Ed Carson
Chairman and CEO, Retired
First Interstate Bancorp

Ed Carson retired as Chairman and CEO of First Interstate Bancorp.  He is an active philanthropist who has made a generous gift for the Scripps Seaside Forum.  For many years, he has directed the ARCS fellowship to SIO there are currently two Carson fellows. He has served on the Boards of the Arizona Council for Economic Education, Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Phoenix Executive Club and many others.

Regional Managing Director
Wells Fargo Bank Private Bank

Dr. Cimino was awarded a PhD in neurophysiology from the University of California, Berkeley and earned a Masters of Business Administration degree in Finance and Security Analysis from the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson Graduate School of Management. His undergraduate work was completed at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree.

Dr. Cimino resides in Rancho Santa Fe, California with his family. He is on the board of directors for the Barrio Logan College Institute, the California  Trust for Public Land, the San Diego Museum of Art, the Scripps Stevens Cancer Center and the University of California, San Diego Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Dennis DeConcini
Consultant, Parry, Romani, DeConcini and Symms
United States Senator (Retired)
Member of the Arizona Board of Regents

Senator DeConcini served three terms in the United States Senate from Arizona 1977-1995, Senior Senator 1987-1995. Prior to election to the Senate, he pract iced l aw in Arizona and Washington, DC. Senator DeConcini is currently a consultant to Parry, Romani, DeConcini and Symms. Senator DeConcini resides in Arizona and Southern California.

The Honorable Daniel S. Goldin
Chairman and CEO, The Intellisis Corporation

The Honorable Daniel S. Goldin is the Chairman and CEO of The Intellisis Corporation which is developing the next generation neurobiologically inspired computers.  Previously, as NASA’s longest serving Administrator from 1992-2001, he directly served three U.S. Presidents: George H.W. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton and George W. Bush. Prior to NASA, he was the Vice President and General Manager of TRW Space and Technology Group where he oversaw programs of national priority.  He began his career at NASA’s Glenn Research Center working on electric propulsion systems for interplanetary travel.  Mr. Goldin serves on the Board of Directors of AOptix Technologies. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Geographic Society, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a member of the Scripps Institute of Oceanography Advisory Council.  He is a Distinguished Fellow at the Council on Competitiveness, a Senior Fellow at the Potomac Institute, and a Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics.  He graduated from the City College of New York in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and the UCLA Anderson School Executive Management Program in 1983.

Stuart Goode
E.M. Warburg Pincus & Co. (Retired)

Mr. Goode is a private investor and fromer partner of Warburg Picus & Co., a private New York based venture banking and investments management firm. He was associated with the firm from 1981 through 1996, and has over thirty years of experience as an investments professional. Stuart was born and raised west of Chicago, and received a B.S. and M.B.A from Northwestern University. He resides in New York City and Bridgehampton, New York.

President and Chief Executive Officer, LEG Inc.

Lisa E. Gordon-Hagerty is president and chief executive officer of LEG Inc., a consulting firm providing strategic advice and counsel in domestic and national security, global energy issues-chiefly nuclear, counterterrorism, crisis and consequence management, strategic planning and assessment, and homeland security.

Since 2003, Ms. Gordon-Hagerty served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of USEC Inc., a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. In that role, she was responsible for USEC’s day-to-day operations, including oversight of production, regulatory affairs, advanced technology and its wholly-owned subsidiary, NAC International which specialized in nuclear materials transport, spent fuel storage and transport technologies, nuclear fuel cycle consulting, and fuel cycle information services.

In 1998, Ms. Gordon-Hagerty joined the White House National Security Council (NSC) staff, as director for combating terrorism, overseeing and coordinating U.S. Government activities to deter, disrupt, prevent, and respond fully to conventional, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorist attacks, through research and development, special operations, intelligence, and exercises/contingency planning.

Prior to joining the White House NSC staff, she served for six years as the U.S. Department of Energy’s Director, Office of Emergency Response, leading efforts for emergency preparedness and technical/operational emergency response to all radiological or nuclear events, and as Acting Director, Office of Weapons Surety, responsible for the safety and security of the country’s nuclear weapons program. Prior to DOE, she served as a professional staff member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce. Ms. Gordon-Hagerty began her professional career as a physicist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

 Ms. Gordon-Hagerty holds a master’s degree in health physics and a bachelor of science degree, both from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She serves as a Director of Independence Federal Savings Bank, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Economic Club of Washington DC, and serves on the Board of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington DC. Ms. Gordon-Hagerty has been named to Fortune Magazine’s “Most Powerful Women” in 2004, 2005 and 2006.

George Haligowski
Imperial Capital Bancorp, Inc.

George W. Haligowski has served as Imperial Capital Bancorp, Inc. s Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer since inception. He has also served as the Bank s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since 1992, and was the Bank s President from 1992 to October 1997. In 2000 he was again appointed as President of the Bank. From 1990 to 1992, he served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Principal of Halivest International, Ltd., an international finance and asset management company. He was previously employed as a Vice President by Shearson Lehman Hutton (1988 to 1990) and Prudential-Bache Securities (1983 to 1988), and by Avco Financial Services as Regional Director of its Japanese branch operations (1976 to 1981), as Training Coordinator for Avco Thrift and Loan (1976) and as a Branch Manager (1974 to 1976). Mr. Haligowski s post secondary education consists of the following programs: He graduated from the Securities Industry Institute held at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. He also became an alumnus of the Harvard Business School by completing the Owners Presidents Management Program. He completed the Advanced Management Program at the University of Southern California. He received his Masters of Banking diploma from L.S.U. Graduate School of Banking. Mr. Haligowski also serves on several boards, including Operation Hope, Chairman Emeritus of the Young Presidents Organization of San Diego, and is Chairman of the University of California San Diego Scripps Institute of Oceanography's Advisory Board the Director's Cabinet.

Richard Hertzberg
CEO, Enpex Corporation

Richard Hertzberg is Chairman, CEO, and President of ENPEX Corporation, a privately held energy company involved in the creation, development, financing, construction, operation and ownership of cogeneration projects, oil and gas production and exploration, and alternative energy projects. He was Chairman of the UCSD Chancellors Associates from 2000 - 2003 and a Trustee for the UCSD Foundation Board of Trustees through 2006. Mr. Hertzberg has a B.A. in Biology from Colgate University and an M.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Columbia University.

Sam Iacobellis
Deputy Chairman Rockwell International (Retired)

Sam Iacobellis, Sr., is the retired Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Rockwell International, and also President of Rockwell's North American Aerospace Operations. He also held leadership positions at Rocketdyne (Space & Propulsion, including rocket engines for Saturn V and the Space Shuttle) and served as President of Atomics International (fast breeder nuclear reactors & space nuclear auxiliary power systems). As a top engineer for Rockwell International, he was a leader in the development and production of the B-1B Bomber.

He is a first generation American and a product of Fresno schools. Attending on an athletic scholarship, Iacobellis went on to Fresno State, where he earned a B.S. degree in engineering while playing football for the Bulldogs. He later earned a M.S. degree in engineering from UCLA.

In 2004, Mr. Iacobellis received the International Von Karman Wings Award from the Aerospace Historical Society. In 2003, he was awarded the 23rd annual Howard Hughes Memorial Award. Other honors accorded him include election as an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a Fellow of the International Academy of Astronautics, and being named as UCLA's Engineering Alumnus of the Year in 1980, and California State University - Fresno's Alumnus of the Year in 1982. He holds a patent in rocket engine design and co-holds a patent with Professor Eldon Knuth, his UCLA thesis advisor, in the field of rarefield gas dynamics. Mr. Iacobells served as President of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (1998-1999) and is currently serving as Chairman of the UCLA Engineering Industrial Advisory Council.

Wayne Kennedy
Retired Senior Vice President for Business & Finance, University of California

V. Wayne Kennedy joined the University of California's Office of the President as Senior Vice President for Business and Finance in July, 1993 and served in that capacity until retiring on September 1, 2000.

A nationally recognized expert in issues related to the financing of research universities and medical education, Mr. Kennedy previously was Vice Chancellor for Administration at UC San Diego for eight years. Mr. Kennedy's professional activities included past and present membership on numerous boards and committees dealing with technology transfer, government relations, grant and contract policies, private fund raising, and medical education administration. He is also the author and co-author of numerous papers and statements delivered before governmental bodies and agencies and professional and academic organizations. Mr. Kennedy serves on the boards of several not for profit and for profit entities.

Donna Lucas
Founder, Lucas Public Affairs Group

Donna Lucas is founder and principal of Lucas Public Affairs, a California-based strategic consulting, public affairs, and communications firm. 

One of the nation’s foremost public affairs strategists and a widely recognized expert in media relations and political affairs, Lucas has provided strategic counsel to large corporate clients, labor unions, non-profits, initiative campaigns, and political candidates. She also has worked on several statewide initiative campaigns on a variety of policy issues including gaming, housing, education, local government, campaign finance, and energy.

Prior to forming Lucas Public Affairs in 2006, Lucas served as a deputy chief of staff for strategic planning and initiatives for Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and chief of staff to First Lady Maria Shriver. Previously, Lucas was the global and public affairs practice leader for Porter Novelli, an international PR firm, after Porter Novelli acquired Nelson Communications Group, where she served as president and CEO for several years.

Lucas also served as deputy press secretary for Governor George Deukmejian, deputy treasurer for Tom Hayes, and California press secretary for President George H.W. Bush.

Currently Lucas serves on the Boards of Directors for California Forward, the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), Veneco, Inc., and the Governor and First Lady’s Conference on Women and Families.

Previously Lucas was the chairperson of the American Association of Political Consultants, a member of the California Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and a board member of the California Musical Theater Company.  She also received the 2009 Crystals Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Communications Profession from the Sacramento chapter of International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).  

Lucas is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s School of Journalism.  She and her husband, political satirist and former Bureau Chief of the San Francisco Chronicle, Greg Lucas, live in Sacramento with their teenage daughter, Katie.

John "Mac" McQuown (Chair)
Entrepreneur

John Andrew McQuown is a co-founder/director and principal of Diversified Credit Investments, located in San Francisco, a firm that manages portfolios of corporate credit risk for institutional investors. Mac was a co-founder and Chairman of KMV, a corporate credit risk analytics firm acquired by Moody's Investors Services in 2002. He co-founded and remains a director of Dimensional Fund Advisors, an equity funds investment advisor.  Previously, he co-founded Diversified Corporate Loans, Chalone Wine Group, and Loan Performance.  Mac began his business career in the Corporate Finance Department of Smith, Barney & Co., New York.  Before becoming an entrepreneur, Mac was the Director of Management Sciences, Wells Fargo Bank, where he was responsible for the effort that resulted in the world's first "index" equity funds. The McQuown family resides in Sonoma, California, where they grow organically wine grapes, heirloom vegetables, and olive oil; and their first proprietary red wine will soon be released.  Mac received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northwestern University and a M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School.

Gordon E. Moore
Chairman Emeritus, Intel Corporation

Gordon E. Moore is currently Chairman Emeritus of Intel Corporation. Moore co-founded Intel in 1968, serving initially as Executive Vice President. He became President and Chief Executive Officer in 1975 and held that post until elected Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 1979. He remained CEO until 1987 and was named Chairman Emeritus in 1997. Moore is widely known for "Moore's Law," in which he predicted that the number of transistors that the industry would be able to place on a computer chip would double every year. In 1975, he updated his prediction to once every two years. While originally intended as a rule of thumb in 1965, it has become the guiding principle for the industry to deliver ever-more-powerful semiconductor chips at proportionate decreases in cost. Moore earned a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of California at Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Chemistry and Physics from the California Institute of Technology. He is a director of Varian Associates, Gilead Sciences Inc. and Transamerica Corporation. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the IEEE.  He received the National Medal of Technology in 1990.

Bruce Morrison
Chairman, Morrison Public Affairs Group
U.S Congressman (Retired)

Bruce A. Morrison is Chairman of the Morrison Public Affairs Group (MPAG), which he founded in 2001 to conduct and supervise a broad practice involving strategic advice and representation for both domestic and international clients.  He is also an attorney and provides legal advice and assistance in immigration matters. His consulting work involves advocacy to Congress and the Executive branch, as well as building alliances within the private sector.  His areas of expertise include financial services, housing finance, privacy, immigration policy, and intellectual property.

From 1983 to 1991, Mr. Morrison represented the Third District of Connecticut (New Haven) in the U.S. House of Representatives.  He also served on the Judiciary Committee, where he specialized in immigration, as well as intellectual property issues, bankruptcy law, and consumer protection policy, including privacy.  As chairman of the Immigration Subcommittee, he led the passage of the Immigration Act of 1990, a comprehensive reform, which included expanded admission of skilled workers.  This legislation created the "Morrison visa" program under which almost 50,000 Irish men and women received green cards in the early 1990s.

While in Congress, Mr. Morrison was involved with human rights advocacy in many areas of the world, including Chile, Central America, South Africa, Haiti, Paraguay, and the Middle East.  Through his interest in human rights, he became involved in Northern Ireland, where he first visited in 1987.  In Congress, he also served on the Banking Committee, playing a leadership role in financial services oversight, housing and housing finance, economic development, and U.S. policy regarding the World Bank, the IMF, and LDC debt.

After leaving Congress to run for Governor of Connecticut in 1990, he established a law firm specializing in immigration representation of firms and individuals.  He also served from 1992 to 1997 on the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, which conducted a comprehensive study of U.S. immigration law.

Since 1991, Mr. Morrison has traveled frequently to Northern Ireland and has been involved in many aspects of the Peace Process.  In 1992, he advised Bill Clinton, while a Presidential candidate, on issues related to Northern Ireland.  He continued to provide advice and information to the Clinton White House from 1993 to 2001, including assistance on negotiations leading to IRA cessations in 1994 and 1997.  In 1992 and 1996, he was Co-Chairman of Irish-Americans for Clinton-Gore.

Also during the Clinton Administration, he was appointed by the President as Chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Board, an independent agency regulating the twelve Federal Home Loan Banks, a wholesale banking system with assets in excess of $600 billion.  In this role from 1995 to 2000, he developed and implemented a far-reaching strategy to modernize the business of the Banks.

Mr. Morrison holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from MIT and a master’s degree in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois.  He is a graduate of the Yale Law School.

Nicolas C. Nierenberg
Chairman of the Board and Chief Architect, Actuate Corporation

Nico Nierenberg has been a software entrepreneur and innovator for almost 20 years, and founded Actuate in 1993. Prior to Actuate, Nico co-founded Unify Corp., which develops and markets relational database development tools. At Unify, Nico was the chief technical visionary of the company, and led the design of Unify's first product, the UNIFY RDBMS. Prior to Unify, Nico was Systems Software Chief for Rogers, Kirkham and Associates, where he was responsible for developing a number of new products and applications. Nico attended the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, San Diego, where he studied economics and computer sciences.

Clyde Ostler
President
Wells Fargo Family Wealth

Clyde Ostler is the President of Wells Fargo Family Wealth.  WFFW provides clients with $50 million or more to invest family office services, including endowment/institutional investment management, multi-generational estate, investment, and trust planning, and private banking.

Joining Wells Fargo in 1971, Ostler has held management positions in finance, planning, international and retail banking, technology, investment and internet services.

A native of San Diego, he graduated from the University of California at San Diego with a B.A. in mathematics in 1968, and from the University of Chicago with an M.B.A. in 1970.  Ostler serves on a number of charitable and business boards.

John S. Patton, PhD
Founder and CEO, Dance Pharmaceuticals

John Patton is a biotechnologist, entrepreneur and world renowned expert on drug delivery and the delivery of peptide and protein therapeutics.  He is the Founder of Dance Pharmaceuticals and a Co-Founder of Pleiades Cardio Therapeutics, both 2009 biotechnology start-up companies.  Prior to 2009, he co-founded Inhale Therapeutics (now Nektar Therapeutics) in 1990 and served as Chief Scientific Officer from 2001-2008 and as director from July 1990-2008. Nektar specializes in the development of new inhaled medicines and the PEGylation of small and large molecule therapeutics for improved efficacy and safety.  Nektar developed the first inhaled insulin product which was approved in Jan 2006 in the US and Europe.  From 1985 to 1990, Dr. Patton was with Genentech, Inc., the first biotechnology company, where he headed their non-invasive drug delivery activities. Dr. Patton was on the faculty of the Marine Science and Microbiology Departments at the University of Georgia from 1979 through 1985, where he was granted tenure in 1984. Dr. Patton received a B.S. in Zoology from Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. in Oceanography from the University of Rhode Island, a Ph.D. in Biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego and conducted post doctoral studies at Harvard Medical School and the University of Lund, Sweden, both in biomedicine. Dr. Patton is also a director of Halozyme Therapeutics, and Pikamab Pharmaceuticals, Inc., both biotechnology companies and serves on the Pennsylvania State University, College of Science Advisory Board.

Steve Peace
CA State Senator (retired)
Senior Advisor, JMI Services

Senator Steve Peace currently serves as the Senior Advisor to John Moores, the Chairman of JMI Services, Inc. He also provides independent consulting on public policy issues to private clients. He serves on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Padres Baseball Team, Killer Tomatoes Entertainment, Inc. and The California Independent Voter Project.

As a member of the State Senate and the State Assembly, Senator Peace represented one of the most diverse districts in California. As an Assembly Member and Senator, he enjoyed broad support of large populations of Latino, African-American, and Asian communities, as well as an unusual level of bipartisan support.

During his time in the Legislature, Peace earned a reputation as the person the Legislature turned to on particularly difficult and complex issues, including landmark reforms of the state s workers compensation system. Senator Peace has been credited with presiding over forums that have been described by the press and citizen groups as "bipartisan", "exhaustive" and "open to a full airing of views."

After completing 20 years in the Legislature, Senator Peace was asked to return to the Capitol to craft a workout plan for a beleaguered state budget. He served for one year as the Director of Finance for the State of California during which time he produced a plan that reduced the state budget deficit by more than $20 billion and rescued that state from an impending cash crisis.

J. Craig Venter, PhD
Founder, Chairman and President, J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI)
Founder and CEO, Synthetic Genomics, Inc.

 J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., is regarded as one of the leading scientists of the 21st century for his invaluable contributions to genomic research. He is Founder and President of the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI), a not-for-profit research organization with more than 400 scientists and staff dedicated to human, microbial, plant, synthetic, and environmental genomic research, as well as the exploration of social and ethical issues in genomics. He is also Founder and CEO of Synthetic Genomics Inc., a privately held company dedicated to developing and commercializing synthetic genomic advances. The company is currently focused on solving pressing societal needs such as producing new biofuels and biochemicals.

After a tour of duty as a Navy Corpsman in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, Dr. Venter earned both a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry and a Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of California at San Diego. After leaving UCSD, he was appointed professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo and the Roswell Park Cancer Institute. In 1984, he moved to the National Institutes of Health campus where he developed Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs,) a revolutionary new strategy for rapid gene discovery. In 1992 Dr. Venter founded The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR), a not-for-profit research institute which was merged into the J. Craig Venter Institute in 2006. In 1995 he and his team at TIGR decoded the genome of the first free-living organism, the bacterium Haemophilus influenzae, using his new whole genome shotgun technique.

In 1998, Dr. Venter founded Celera Genomics to sequence the human genome with his new techniques. This research culminated with the February 2001 publication of the human genome in the journal, Science. He and his team there also sequenced the fruit fly, mouse and rat genomes.

In 2002, after leaving Celera, Dr. Venter and his team at the Venter Institute continued their pioneering work in various areas of genomics. He and his teams have published more than 50 genomes and numerous important papers covering such areas as environmental genomics, synthetic genomics and the first complete diploid genome.

Dr. Venter is the author of more than 200 scientific articles and the recipient of numerous honorary degrees, public honors, and scientific awards. He was awarded the 2002 Gairdner Foundation International Award and the 2001 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize. He was also honored as one of TIME Magazine's "Most Influential People" in the Scientists and Thinkers category in 2007 and 2008 and listed among Foreign Policy's "Public Intellectuals" in 2008. He was also one of the first 38 people to be selected by Desmond Tutu as part of the "Hands That Shape Humanity" world exhibition. Dr. Venter is a member of numerous prestigious scientific organizations including, including the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Society for Microbiology.

Dr. Venter's autobiography A Life Decoded was published in October of 2007.

Martin R. Wilson
Partner, Miller-Wilson Communications, Inc.

Marty Wilson occupies center stage in California’s political landscape. In 2003 he completed a senior role in the most historic campaign in the state’s history -- the internationally watched victory of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Following this victory, Wilson served as executive director of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Swearing-in Committee, organizing a state political event unprecedented in scope and visibility.

For Schwarzenegger’s 2006 reelection campaign, Marty was a senior consultant to the campaign where he had direct responsibility for the fundraising for both the Governor’s committee as well as the California Republican Party.  Immediately following the successful reelection campaign, Governor Schwarzenegger tapped Marty to be chair of his 2007 Inaugural Committee. 

Long one of the state’s best known and most senior strategic counselors, Marty continues writing new chapters in the textbook of California politics. He has been a senior member of the last four winning Republican gubernatorial campaigns, played a senior role in several ballot measure campaigns and advises a number of major California employers on public policy matters.

Prior to forming Wilson-Miller Communications in 2004, Marty was the managing director for Public Strategies Inc. in Sacramento for five years; he held a similar position with Burson-Marsteller for six years.

As a longtime associate of and advisor to former California Governor Pete Wilson (no relation), Marty served alongside the former governor in the San Diego mayor's office, the State Capitol and the U.S. Senate.

Marty has served as senior fellow for the University of California Los Angeles School of Public Policy, board member for the California State Fair and director of the Coro Foundation, a public affairs training organization.