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James Norton is an Executive with
the Fortune 100 Company General Dynamics, Inc.
As Director of Government Relations he is responsible
for formulating and implementing strategies on
behalf General Dynamics while working with both
the Executive and Legislative branches of the
U.S. Government.
James formerly served as Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Legislative and Intergovernmental
Affairs for the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS). James was a member of the Federal Governments
Senior Executive Service (SES), and a member
of the senior executive staff of Secretary Michael
Chertoff.
James was responsible for direct
communications and liaison to Capitol Hill on
behalf of the Bush Administration and Secretary
Chertoff. He was in frequent personal contact
with U.S. House of Representatives Leadership,
Appropriations and Authorization committees on
budget, legislation, testimony, briefings, hearings,
policy issues and Congressional delegations. James
also provided leadership and supervision for the
forty (40) support members of the congressional
legislative affairs office of Homeland Security.
James established effective bipartisan
relationships with Homeland Security's numerous
House oversight Chairman and Ranking members
such as:
- House Homeland Security Committee
- Chairman Bennie Thompson
(D-MS)
- Ranking Member Peter King
(R-NY)
- House Appropriations Committee
- Chairman David Price (D-NC)
- Ranking member Hal Rogers
(R-KY)
- House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee
- Chairman James Oberstar
(D-MN)
- Ranking member John Mica
(R-FL)
Prior to being appointed Deputy
Assistant Secretary, James was Director of the
Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and DHS Management
Directorate for Legislative and Intergovernmental
Affairs. James was also deployed to the gulf
region following Hurricane Katrina / Rita as
the Lead for DHS Legislative Affairs. He Conducted
Senators Frist / Reid and Congressman King /
Davis Congressional media visits to Gulf region
Before joining Homeland Security
James was Special Assistant to Governor Christine
Todd Whitman in the Office of United States Environmental
Protection Administrator (USEPA). In this role
he coordinated both Domestic and International
communications for both media and political events
on behalf of USEPA Administrator Christine Todd
Whitman. James also arranged joint media events
and interviews with district Congressional Offices
and local elected officials while on travel with
the Administrator.
James was Political Field Director
at the Massachusetts Republican Party where he
recruited and advised state and local candidates
on coordination of media and political outreach.
James also led the campaign of
Massachusetts State Senator Jo Ann Sprague as
her Congressional Campaign Manager for the Massachusetts
9th Congressional district special election.
James Norton has a Bachelors of
Science degree in Accounting and a Masters degree
in Business Administration from Salve Regina
University. Newport, Rhode Island.
- Jeff Bedard - Fundraising
and Pharmaceutical
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Jeff Bedard attended Grinnell College
from 1979-1981 and graduated from the University
of Iowa in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree
in Chemistry and a Minor in Health Economics.
He began his career in the pharmaceutical industry
in 1984 with Stiefel Laboratories, Inc. He spent
ten years with Stiefel and held the positions
of Territory manager, Regional Sales Trainer,
Regional Sales Manager, and National Accounts
Manager.
After leaving Stiefel, Mr. Bedard
joined Herald Pharmacal, Inc a startup company
in the skin care industry. He was a key executive
and equity partner in the organization. During
his time at Herald, Mr. Bedard developed and
implemented a business model that enabled corporate
revenues to grow from under $2,000,000 to over
$21,000,000 within the first 18 months. Due to
this explosive growth, Allergan, Inc acquired
Herald Pharmacal in August of 1995. This acquisition
resulted in a substantial return on investment
for Herald shareholders.
In January 1996, Mr. Bedard joined
a group of investors and founded Rejuvena Corporation.
This company is involved in the development and
management of Rejuvena Medical Cosmetic Centers.
Rejuvena Skin Therapy products are distributed
by dispensing physicians throughout the United
States. Mr. Bedard was instrumental in developing
a business model that allowed multi-specialty
physician groups (dermatology, plastic surgery,
ob/gyn, and ophthalmology) to operate through
limited liability corporation (LLC.) medical
skin care centers. These centers became integral
parts of the physician's practice and allowed
the doctor to participate in a larger portion
of the patient's cosmetic treatment.
In 1996, Mr. Bedard also created
Bedard Medical Consulting. His expertise helped
start-up to mid-size companies in their Marketing
and Sales Planning, Media and Public Relations,
Business Development, and Capital Asset acquisition.
Some of his clients included Murad, Inc., Bioglan
Pharma, Inc., Premium Pharmaceuticals LTD., Cosmetic
Therapeutics, Inc., Zenith Medical, Inc., and
Med-Derm Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
In December 2000, Mr. Bedard founded
Crown Laboratories, Inc. Crown is a vertically
integrated pharmaceutical manufacturer focused
on dermatology and oncology. Crown markets its
products through Del Ray Dermatologicals, Med-Derm
Pharmaceuticals, and Rejuvena Skin Therapy. Crown
also performs contract manufacturing and product
development for the pharmaceutical industry.
- John Antonishak - Fundraising
and Education
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John Antonishak is an international
organizational and professional development consultant
working with federal and state agencies, educational
institutions, non-profit organizations, and businesses.
As an educator and consultant, Antonishak brings
more than 25 years of experience to his clients.
During the last several years,
he has had the distinction of working with the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) SunWise
Program to assist with developing and implementing
their educational and professional development
program on sun safety in support of the goals
of EPA to sustain state and local efforts. He
has conducted SunWise training, presented at
national conferences, and has provided conference
support.
Prior to becoming a consultant,
he built an accomplished career with Montgomery
County Public Schools, Maryland. During his tenure,
he succeeded as a classroom teacher, curriculum
specialist, and district administrator for professional
development and instructional technology.
His experience as an educator served
as an invaluable link to his consulting career
and international work on professional development
theories and democratic teaching principles for
educators in former Soviet bloc countries in
Europe and Central Asia.
Antonishak has presented at numerous
conferences and conducted seminars and workshops
on professional development, curriculum, instruction,
and technology integration at the National School
Board Association, National Staff Development
Council (NSDC), the Association of Supervision
and Curriculum Development, the International
Reading Association, International Technology
Education Association, and others. He has served
on the NSDC technical assistance team for the
book, Assessing Impact, Evaluating Staff Development.
He received his undergraduate degree
in education from the University of Maryland
and his master's degree certification in professional
development and educational technology from Johns
Hopkins University.
He is a member and past officer
of several professional associations. He is a
United States Navy veteran and served his country
during the Vietnam Era.
- Sue Gorham - Ex-Officio,
Executive Director
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Sue Gorham has over 25 years of
experience in management and consulting. A successful
executive in Britain, Sue turned her sights to
the non-profit world when she arrived in America
18 years ago. She has served in the role as founding
executive director of the Make-A-Wish Foundation
International and executive director of the ALS
Foundation.
In 2002, Sue Gorham and Shonda
Schilling, who had recently been diagnosed with
melanoma, discovered the need to educate this
generation about sun safety. Together they founded
the SHADE Foundation and Gorham took on the task
of Executive Director. The goal was to deliver
a clear message of sun safety and in the seven
years since conception, the Foundation has raised
and spent $4.5 million on programs, helped fund
over one hundred shade covers over school playgrounds
(which will provide over 50 million hours of
SHADE over 10 years) and has instructed over
100,000 children across the country in sun safety.
A native of the UK, Gorham attended
Sydenham Girls College, Southwark Business College,
London. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Sales & Marketing
(UK) and a graduate of Arizona State University
Non-Profit Management Institute.
Since officially becoming an American
citizen, Gorham's main goal is legislation for
compulsory education for K - 8 grades and the
reduction in the incidence of skin cancer. She
is a member of the National Council on Skin Cancer
Prevention. Gorham co-authored 3 white papers
with Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Shade Skin
Cancer Prevention Initiative. She is a member
of Arizona's Governor's Task Force for Children,
the Arizona Comprehensive Cancer Coalition and
is the recipient of the Environmental Protection
Agency's Helios leadership Award. Sue currently
resides in Scottsdale with her husband and daughter.
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