Experts
in Residence

Dr. Barghouty served as NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) chief scientist from 2019 until his retirement in October 2024. At NASA SCaN, he was in charge of building up SCaN’s quantum communications and networking strategic capabilities. Before joining SCaN, he served as the technology lead for the Astrophysics Division of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. Dr. Barghouty joined NASA in 2004 from academia to start a space radiation and shielding program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, where he also served as chief of the Astrophysics Branch from 2012 to 2017. His research experience and interests include basic and applied research in nuclear physics, space physics (including space weather and space radiation), and computational and mathematical modeling. In addition to his federal government service, his academic career includes appointments at Caltech, the University of Arizona, Tennessee Technological University, and Roanoke College in Salem, VA, where he was named Brian H. Thornhill Professor of Physics in 1998. His awards and recognitions include NASA Marshall’s Software-of-the-Year award in 2016, and a Fulbright Fellowship in 1998. Dr. Barghouty holds a doctorate in theoretical nuclear physics and a master’s in physics from Kent State University in Kent, OH, and a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from San Jose State University, in San Jose, CA.

As Chief Growth Officer at the Virginia Transportation Institute, Dr. Myra Blanco cultivates opportunities and develops initiatives to sustain growth. She also provides leadership on diversity, inclusion, and empowerment as a Faculty Fellow at Virginia Tech. Trained as a human factors engineer, Blanco’s expertise extends beyond automated driving to evaluation of in-vehicle devices, driver behavior, training, fatigue, and active safety systems. She has led research in various environments and published extensively on driver performance and safety. Blanco’s honors include awards for women leaders, safety engineering, and contributions to SAE International. Her leadership advances the institute’s growth, diversity, and transportation safety research.

With her distinguished 28-year public service career, Michelle Bryan is an accomplished executive and expert, known for her exceptional leadership and strategic skills. She leveraged her strategic leadership abilities overseeing a $1.5 billion budget at the Federal Protective Service, excelling in areas like human capital, cyber operations, and finance. Michelle showcased her organizational realignment expertise managing a major care facility for five months as the Emergency Management Mission Director. Her advocacy for women’s leadership and committee participation as COO of Rapid Deployment, Inc., complements her remarkable experience. Michelle’s exceptional leadership and commitment position her to drive lasting impacts on government and industry.

Robin L. Champ is a visionary strategic foresight and strategy leader, currently VP of Strategic Foresight at LBL Strategies. With a distinguished career at the Secret Service, DTRA, and DLA, she brings expertise in foresight-based federal planning. At the Secret Service, she led enterprise strategy and co-chaired the Federal Foresight Community of Interest. At DTRA, she pioneered foresight methodologies and led studies addressing national security challenges, forging collaborations. She was instrumental in DLA’s 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review and authored their Transformation Roadmap. A sought-after speaker and US Army-proclaimed “Mad Scientist,” she has earned prestigious commendations. With an MS in National Resource Strategy from National Defense University and Harvard Kennedy School training, Robin is a foremost authority on foresight and has made a lasting impact across government.

Dr. Joseph A. (Jae) Engelbrecht, Jr.’s career spans over 40 years, and he has served as senior fellow and partner with Toffler Associates and is one the firm’s original members. Jae advises senior executives in business and government around the globe on strategy and change. He focuses on clients in telecommunications, IT, aviation, aerospace and defense industries and clients in intelligence, homeland security, defense, and the military services. He received a Bachelor of Arts, East Asian history and Chinese, from the University of Maryland, a Master of Arts in Public Administration from the University of Northern Colorado, and a Master of Philosophy and Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University.

Suresh Gupta has significant experience in developing and implementing target operating models for banks and capital markets. His expertise includes Operations Strategy, Change Management, Shared Services, Sourcing, Lean Six Sigma, Payments, Wealth Management, CRM/ Knowledge Management, and Technology Strategy. His experience includes facilitating executive offsites and conducting corporate training workshops. His clients have included major money center banks, credit card networks, outsourcing vendors, wealth management firms, and Wall Street firms. Previously, Suresh held senior executive positions in consulting as well as in industry, including roles as a Partner at PwC and Capco. In industry, he established and managed process improvement teams at Citicorp Investment Bank and Bankers Trust. Suresh is an adjunct professor teaching Executive MBA at Baruch College, and Lean Six Sigma at NYU. Suresh holds a Ph.D. in Operations Management from Union Graduate School, a M.S. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Syracuse University, and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Punjabi University.

Carolyn Hewson brings more than two decades of strategic leadership and organizational development expertise to her role at Penn Medicine. As a seasoned leader, she guides health system executives in crafting innovative strategies to address critical challenges while proactively positioning them to capitalize on emerging opportunities and mitigate risks. Carolyn’s expertise extends to optimizing the effectiveness of leadership teams and driving large-scale change management initiatives to enable successful system, structural and cultural transformation. Previously, Carolyn worked in community and economic development in Philadelphia and throughout the east coast and is actively involved in community service, holding key leadership positions on the Boards of the Clean Air Council as Vice Chair and City Year Philadelphia.

Dr. Mark Lewis, the inaugural CEO of the Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI), has led major science and technology organizations following an extensive academic career. As Pentagon Director of Defense Research and Engineering managing a $17B innovation portfolio, Lewis oversaw modernization for all military branches. He previously served as Air Force Chief Scientist – the longest ever tenure – spearheading advancements in hypersonics, propulsion, space launches and workforce development. The University of Maryland professor emeritus has produced over 320 publications and received national awards for his groundbreaking aerospace research. Lewis provides unparalleled scientific leadership bridging public and private sectors to tackle complex technological challenges.

Jalal Mapar, a retired Senior Executive Service member at DHS Science and Technology Directorate, focused on identifying and assessing the impact of emerging technologies and threats in the Homeland Security Enterprise. He represented DHS on various NSTC/OSTP subcommittees, established partnerships with NSF and NASA, and was a key advisor on quantum technologies. As the first Director of the Resilient Systems Division, Mapar directed R&D investments in critical infrastructure, novel sensors, and advanced modeling. He also established initiatives to improve the safety and security of first responders. Prior to DHS, Mapar held leadership positions at SAIC and conducted R&D for NASA. He holds degrees from UT Austin, MIT Sloan, and Harvard Kennedy School, and serves on the Reston Association Board of Directors.

Bill Moore served as Executive Vice President of Global Supply Chain for a 2B Euro specialty chemical business unit of Solvay, a Belgian chemical enterprise. Prior to Solvay, he served in SVP roles responsible for manufacturing, supply chain and operations at Cerus Corporation and Quest Diagnostics.  Previously he served as Senior Vice President Operations, Biomedical Services at the American Red Cross, the world’s largest blood banking operation, responsible for all testing laboratories and manufacturing operations. Prior to joining Red Cross, Bill spent more than 20 years in the specialty chemical industry. He received his Bachelor of Engineering, Chemical Engineering, from the Cooper Union and his MBA from NYU’s Stern School.

Fred Oswald, PhD, is a Professor at Rice University and an industrial-organizational psychologist whose 150+ publications focus on developing employment and educational tests that measure skills within the changing workforce. Recent research addresses the scientific, ethical, and legal implications of AI-based employment tests. Current leadership positions include Chair of the Board on Human-Systems Integration (BOHSI) at the National Academies and Member of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC), which advises the White House on AI matters of national importance. Dr. Oswald is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA), Association for Psychological Science (APS), and Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP). Learn more about his research and his graduate students at workforce.rice.edu.

Eric Patterson brings over 30 years of security leadership securing critical assets globally, including as Director of DHS’ Federal Protective Service overseeing 9,000+ facilities. Patterson is a retired US Air Force Brigadier General and previously served as Commander of Air Force Office of Special Investigations, spearheading a worldwide intelligence network. In this capacity, he supervised high-level investigations and protective services for top aerospace assets. Patterson also held key roles as Operations Director for AFOSI and Deputy Director of Defense Intelligence Agency’s Counterintelligence and HUMINT Center orchestrating global operations. He leverages extensive expertise securing sensitive personnel, infrastructure, and information from adversaries.

Rear Admiral (Ret.) David Simpson is CEO of Pelorus Consulting, covering telecommunications, defense, and public safety sectors, and a partner at DeepWaterPoint. He also serves as a professor at Virginia Tech. Previously, David was Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau for the Federal Communications Commission. With over 30 years of Navy experience in global technology leadership roles, his diverse research spans mechanical, technical, and policy fields. He represented the U.S. at the ITU Worldwide Radio-Telecom Conference, Conference on International Telecom, and Cyber Advisory Board for the AICPA Center for Audit Quality (CAQ). David received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and his M.S. from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Michael Soileau became CEO of O3 World in 2023, to steer the company through its next growth phase. Previously, he was the Comcast Vice President, Strategy and Planning for Xfinity Consumer Services, where he created and executed plans for new products, verticals, and adjacencies. As Senior Vice President at Innovative Communications, he led customer and employee experience, sales, marketing, government affairs, and PR across the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Michael holds a BBA from UT Austin, where he serves on the board for the Center for Global Business and is a guest lecturer, and an MBA from Louisiana State University. He serves on the boards of the Community College of Philadelphia, the International Festival of Arts and Ideas, and the Lambda Legal National Leadership Council. Previous board roles include the National Adoption Center, the Humane Society of St. Thomas, and Out and Equal Philadelphia. Michael is a founding member of the Executive Council Network.

Dr. Jake Sotiriadis is the Director of the Center for Futures Intelligence at National Intelligence University (NIU), where he serves on the research faculty. Dr. Sotiriadis previously served as the US Air Force’s senior futurist at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, where he founded the Service’s Strategic Foresight and Futures Team. At NIU, his research assists senior leaders in the Intelligence Community in developing anticipatory thinking and intelligence tradecraft. He has served nearly two decades as an Air Force intelligence officer and holds a Ph.D. in political science and geopolitical futures from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He frequently speaks about strategic foresight and global affairs and his forthcoming book, The Invisible Regime: How Ideology Will Shape 21st Century Geopolitical Competition will be published in Winter 2022 by National Intelligence Press.

Denise Sughrue has nearly 30 years experience driving strategic change, beginning as a Program Manager for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter acquisition. She then spent 25 years in consulting, helping commercial, government, and DOD clients transform through strategic foresight, strategy definition and implementation, human capital transformation, and organizational change. Denise served as Director at Toffler Associates and now leads Sughrue Consulting. She serves on the Board of Arlington Thrive focused on eviction prevention and is Co-chair of the University of Maryland Smith School of Business Alumni Board. Denise earned her B.S. in Aerospace and Ocean Engineering from Virginia Tech and MBA from the University of Maryland Smith School of Business.

Kenneth Svendsen is a veteran global executive and CEO with over 25 years of C-Suite experience at major companies like Disney, Hilton, Entertainment Cruises, Hornblower Group & Marina management and Development with Monument Marina Group and Oasis Experiences. He has a strong focus on purpose-driven business transformation, organic growth, M&A, change management, brand building, ESG drivers and commercial optimization. Svendsen currently serves on several boards as well as nonprofits aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals. Having lived and worked internationally, he leverages his deep knowledge of consumer experience economies worldwide to drive innovation and excellence. His diverse cultural exposure allows him to inspire teams with a global perspective.

John Walcott is a renowned journalist and national security expert with over four decades of experience. As Bureau Chief for Knight-Ridder, he led award-winning coverage questioning Iraq war allegations. His work inspired the film Shock and Awe. Walcott has held government advisory roles and taught at institutions including Georgetown, where he spent 25 years training Masters candidates in media and international relations. A frequent media commentator, he lends his sharp perspective on national security issues. Walcott has authored books, addressed influential organizations like the Aspen Institute, and shared insights at events worldwide. His illustrious career is defined by speaking truth to power and getting the story right.