Many of STARRS’ Board of Advisors members, at one point, took an oath to support and defend the US Constitution against its enemies, both foreign and domestic. For STARRS, both in concept and in practice, that oath has no expiration date.
Vice Admiral William “Dean” Lee, US Coast Guard (Ret.), entered the U.S. Coast Guard in 1981 and retired in 2016 after serving nearly 36 years as a commissioned officer in various assignments along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts. He concluded his career as Commander, Atlantic Area, serving as the operational commander for a force of 21,000 active personnel conducting all U.S. Coast Guard missions from the Rocky Mountains to the Arabian Gulf, spanning across five Coast Guard Districts and 40 states.
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Medal of Honor Recipient Major Drew Dix, US Army (Ret). At 17 years old, Drew joined the Army in 1962 in Pueblo Colorado and was assigned to the 82d Airborne Division and deployed to the Dominican Republic for his first combat tour. He then qualified for Army Special Forces and deployed to Vietnam working in a classified project as the lone American. For his heroism in a two day battle, he was awarded the Medal of Honor and became the first enlisted man in the Army Special Forces to receive the Medal of Honor. After receiving a direct commission, Drew was back in Vietnam as a Company Commander serving in the 82d and 101st Airborne; he also served in the 5th & 6th Special Forces Groups. Following his Army retirement, Drew used his special operations expertise to work in numerous anti- terrorist assignments. He is the C0-Founder and Board member of the “Center for American Values” an educational nonprofit in Pueblo, Colorado and former President of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. He now lives with his wife Patricia on their ranch in Westcliffe, CO.
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Maj General Bentley Rayburn, USAF (Ret.) is a 1975 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and was cadet wing commander his senior year. He was a command pilot with over 3,000 hours in aircraft that include the F-4, F-16, and AT-38. General Rayburn commanded at multiple levels and led combat missions over southern Iraq, enforcing U.N. sanctions on the Saddam Hussein regime, and was the senior battle staff director during Operation Allied Force, directing joint operations over Serbia and Kosovo. His distinguished career culminated as the Commander of the Air Force Doctrine Center at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.
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Chaplain, Maj General Charles C. Baldwin, USAF (Ret.) is a 1969 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. Chaplain Baldwin began his career as a pilot, flying for 5 years including two combat tours in Vietnam, one of which was in the Super Jolly Green Giant HH-53 rescue helicopter. He was awarded two Distinguished Flying Crosses and four Air Medals. After graduating from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Chaplain Baldwin served as a pastor in Kentucky and Indiana, and later, from 2004 to 2008, he served as the Chief of Chaplains for the US Air Force.
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Rear Admiral Will Rodriguez, USN (Ret.) is a 1977 Graduate of The Citadel and a 1984 Graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School. Admiral Rodriguez spent 32 years in the Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer and as an Engineering Duty Officer. Some of his various assignments were aboard the USS THOMAS C HART (FF-1092); Destroyer Squadron 32 Staff; Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Long Beach, CA; and aboard the USS MIDWAY (CV-41). He was further assigned to a number of other leadership positions to include Officer In Charge of the Naval Electronics Engineering Center in Portsmouth, VA; Program Manager for a number of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Systems; Acting Commander and Chief Engineer for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command; and Program Executive Officer for the Navy’s Enterprise Information Services. Upon retirement from the Navy, Admiral Rodriguez served in a number of leadership positions for foundations, non-profits organizations, and consulting firms to include Director of Outreach for the Naval Postgraduate School; Chief Engineer for Global Source Energy; Chief Executive Officer for the San Ysidro (CA) Education Vanguard Foundation; National President and Vice Chairman Board of Advisors of the Association of Naval Services Officers; board member of the Hispanic Veterans Leadership Alliance; Chairman Board of Directors Vocational Solutions of Henderson County; Executive Consultant for Suss Consulting for Navy Information Technology; and Junior Warden for the Vestry of the Episcopal Church of St John in the Wilderness in Flat Rock (NC).
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Colonel Rob Maness, USAF (Ret.) worked his way up from the enlisted ranks to full Colonel and retired from active duty in 2011, ending a 32-year career in the military. He led numerous combat operations, including as a bomber squadron commander in Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He was serving in the National Military Command Center in the Pentagon during the September 11, 2001 attack. Following military retirement, Rob worked as an executive in a Fortune 500 energy corporation. He graduated Cum Laude at the University of Tampa, and holds master’s degrees from Harvard University’s Kennedy School, the Air Command and Staff College, and US College of Naval Warfare. Rob is the founder and owner of Iron Liberty Group, and is host of the Rob Maness Show. Robmaness.com.
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Chaplain, Colonel Alexander F. C Webster, US Army (Ret.) served for 24½ years in uniform on active duty, the Virginia Army National Guard, and the US Army Reserve as an Eastern Orthodox priest-chaplain, including the first Joint Plans & Operations Chaplain for JFHQ-NCR and 12 one-month deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and / or Qatar as the Orthodox theater asset for Third Army from 2005-2010. He earned academic degrees from the U. of Pennsylvania, Columbia U., Harvard Divinity School, and the U. of Pittsburgh (PhD), and has written or co-edited 7 books and published 55 scholarly articles and 60 op-ed articles (Wall Street Journal, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Detroit News, Stars & Stripes, et al.) on issues of war and peace, the U.S. armed forces, church-state relations, religious liberty and oppression, and other religious and ethical topics. He has also served as parish priest for three Orthodox parishes in Virginia and Pennsylvania, as well as a college and university professor and Dean of Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary (Emeritus).
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Captain Brent Ramsey, US Navy (Ret.) served 30 years in the Navy and 23 years in Navy Civil Service. Among his assignments were Commanding Officer, Cargo Handling Battalion TWELVE, Executive Director, Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, and Mississippi Navy Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer. He served as Senior Advisor, Center for International Maritime Security, and was a Member/Secretary of the non-partisan Military Advisory Group for Congressman Mark Meadows (NC-11) for four years. A lifetime member of the Vietnam Veterans Association, the Military Officers Association of America, and the Association of the United States Navy. CAPT Ramsey is active with Cincinnati MOAA, the Cincinnati chapter of the Navy League and holds multiple leadership positions with Hopeful Lutheran Church. He has also is an active volunteer in several military-related organizations, such as the Navy-oriented Calvert Group, and the Veterans for Fairness & Merit, which advocates for non-discrimination and meritocracy in the military. He provides public relations and media support for Flag Officers 4 America. CAPT Ramsey studied at Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, is a graduate of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Executive Management Program, is a graduate of the Reserve Components National Security Course and the FEMA Emergency Preparedness Management Officers Program. He has authored more than 35 articles on national defense matters, China, and military/social issue issues, published by RealClearDefense, the Center for International Maritime Security, National Defense, Creative Destruction Media, the U.S. Naval Institute’s Proceedings, the Armed Forces Press, American Thinker, and the Association of the U.S. Navy.
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Captain Jerry Rovner, US Navy (Ret.), has 37 years military service, both active duty and reserve service. He served as a Deep-Sea Diving and Salvage officer and was assigned to the USS Ortolan (ASR-22) as the Deep Submergence Officer, where he was responsible for submarine rescue operations. He holds certifications as a Saturation Deep-Sea Diver, a Surface Warfare Officer, and a Special Operations Officer. Rovner commanded a US Navy expedition to conduct the underwater historical survey of the Panama Canal, as part of the canal turnover. He was reactivated September 11th, 2001, and is the recipient of the Legion of Honor award from the Chapel of Four Chaplains for his military service at ground zero following the events of 9/11. Rovner has thirty-plus years business experience as a VP with a Fortune 1000 company, and as a small business owner, consultant, and college instructor teaching Business courses. He was named Veteran Champion of the year in 2006 by the SBA. He is the Vice Commander General Commandery Support of The Naval Order of the United States, & Vice President of the Naval Orders Foundation (A United States historical sea serve organization), and also Director of the Foundation for Underwater Research and Education. Rovner holds bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration and in American History from the University of Wisconsin, and a master’s degree in Human Resources Management from Pepperdine University.
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Colonel Phil Williams, US Army (Ret.) has 30 years active duty and reserves military service, retiring in 2017. He is an Airborne Ranger and served two combat tours in the Global War on Terror, one each in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as one tour in the Pentagon on the Army Staff’s Special Operations Division. He served at all levels in both conventional and special operations forces. His last troop leading position was as the Battalion Commander for the 1-167th Infantry. His final duty assignment was as a reserve instructor for the Joint Special Operations University, US Special Operations Command. Phil served two terms as the State Senator for the Tenth District of Alabama. He is the managing member of Williams, Driskill, Huffstutler & King, LLC, a law firm based in Gadsden, Alabama. Prior to practicing law Phil was in full time ministry for seven years with the international youth outreach organization YoungLife, and is ordained to ministry by the Southern Baptist Association. Phil was formerly the Chief Policy Officer & General Counsel for the Alabama Policy Institute (API) and from which his syndicated radio show, Rightside Radio, sprang as a voice for the principles of law and public policy that affect all Alabamians, such as conservative principles of limited government, free markets, and strong families. Phil’s education includes a BS from the University of South Alabama and a Juris Doctorate from the Birmingham School of Law. He is also a graduate of the US Army’s Combined Arms and Services Staff School and the US Army Command and General Staff College. His military awards include the Legion of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, the Meritorious Service Medal, three Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, the Humanitarian Service Medal, both the Afghan and Iraq Campaign Medals with 3 campaign stars, The Ranger Tab, Senior Parachutist Wings, the Pathfinder Badge, German Parachutist Wings and the Combat Action Badge.
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The Honorable John D. Ragan, Lt Colonel USAF (Ret.) is a 1971 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy with a degree in engineering science and served 24 years as an Air Force fighter pilot. He earned a master’s degree in Aeronautical Sciences from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Ragan amassed more than 4,000 jet hours and flight time in two combat theaters during his 24 years in the service. His Air Force duties included wartime command and also experience in managing civil engineering operations, logistics, communications and police organizations. In 2010, he was elected as a State Representative from Oakridge to the Tennessee House of Representatives, where he continues to serve.
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Lt Colonel Jack “JJ” Stuart, USAF (Ret.) is a highly decorated, retired fighter pilot with a distinguished 28-year career of operational peacetime and combat fighter experience in the F-4E Phantom, F-4G Wild Weasel, T-38A/B/C and F-117 Nighthawk. Jack works as a patent attorney and commercial airline pilot with Air Transport Pilot qualification in the Boeing B-777, Boeing 737, and Airbus A320 transport aircraft with over 15,000 hours total time.
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Lt. Colonel Bob Reimer, PhD, USAF (Ret.) is a 1997 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He was a Command Pilot with 25 years of military experience and expertise in leadership development and served as Deputy Chief of the Research and Scholarship Division for USAFA’s Center for Character and Leadership Development, where he was an associate professor and Senior Military Faculty member. His area of expertise is the characteristics of leaders, leadership practice, and consequential organizational phenomena. Reimer has experience leading organizations and promoting change that enhances development and performance. He is currently the Director of the Berry Center for Integrity in Leadership at Berry College in Georgia. Reimer earned Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in industrial and organizational psychology from Pennsylvania State University; an M.A. degree in counseling and human services with a minor in educational leadership from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs; an M.A. in aeronautical science specialization from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a B.S. in electrical engineering from the United States Air Force Academy.
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Lt Colonel Robert “Buzz” Patterson, USAF (Ret.) served 20 years as a pilot on active duty in the United States Air Force and saw tours of duty world-wide including combat operations in Grenada, Somalia, Rwanda, Haiti, and Bosnia. From 1996 to 1998, Colonel Patterson was the Senior Military Aide to President Bill Clinton. During that time he was responsible for the President’s Emergency Satchel, otherwise known as the “Nuclear Football,” the black bag with the nation’s nuclear capability that accompanies the president at all times. In addition, Colonel Patterson was operational commander for all military units assigned to the White House, which included Air Force One, Marine One, Camp David, White House Transportation Agency and White House Mess. Among his many military commendations, Patterson received the Defense Superior Service Medal for accomplishments while at the White House and was awarded the Air Force Air Medal for flying fifteen combat support missions into then-besieged Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1994. He retired in 2001 to pursue a career as a commercial airline pilot, writer and conservative speaker, and is the author of two New York Times bestselling books. He is a Distinguished Graduate from the Air Command and Staff College; he has his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Virginia Tech University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri.
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Lt Commander M. Zuhdi Jasser, USN ret is the Founder and President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD) and Co-Founder of the Muslim Reform Movement. He is also the author of A Battle for the Soul of Islam: An American Muslim Patriot’s Fight to Save His Faith. In 2012, Dr. Jasser was appointed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) where he served two terms both as Commissioner and Vice-Chair until May 2016. He hosts the podcast “Reform This!” on The Blaze radio network.
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Kendall Qualls served as a US Army Captain in Field Artillery. He earned three graduate degrees including an MBA from the University of Michigan. He worked his way up the ranks at several Fortune 100 healthcare companies before he became Global Vice President of an $850M business unit. Mr. Qualls champions the principles of meritocracy and supports the notion that free enterprise, and the private sector are the fastest and most equitable way to lift people from poverty to prosperity. He is the President of the nonprofit organization TakeCharge which strives to unite Americans regardless of background toward a shared history and common set of beliefs. See articles on STARRS
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Scott Sturman is a 1972 distinguished graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, where he majored in aeronautical engineering and was elected class president. Scott received the Colorado Engineering Council’s Medal as the Outstanding Engineering Student and the Jewish War Veterans Award as the Outstanding Cadet in Physical Education. After flying helicopters for five years, Scott attended medical school at the University of Arizona, where he graduated Alpha Omega Alpha. He retired in 2018 after a 35-year career in private practice medicine. See articles on STARRS
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Raymond G. Sands is a 1979 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. After graduating he served as a Weapons Systems Officer in the RF-4C, with tours in the U. S. and the European Theatre, accumulating 1400 hours of jet time. Over the past 37 years he has established himself as a top executive and respected leader, with a distinguished record of accomplishments in sales, marketing and business development across multiple business sectors and industries. Ray is proud of his family’s “Long Blue Line” heritage, whom have given over 88 years of active duty service to our Air Force, served in 3 wars and supported our local communities through organizations committed to the principles, values and morals of our nation and our military. He believes in the STARRS organization and is honored to serve this team.
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Frank DeFalco is a 1979 graduate of the United States Air Force Academy. He returned to his native New York City in 1986 to obtain an MBA at Columbia University. After working for a large construction firm for five years after graduate school, he started his own company. His career has been focused on real estate investment/ construction/ development in New York City. He remains semi-active in this field, and his company today owns and manages multiple commercial and residential properties located in New York City.
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Lani Kass, PhD served as Senior Vice President and Corporate Strategic Advisor for CACI International Inc and prior to that, as Senior Policy Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff where she was responsible for the high-level assessments and analyses supporting the creation and execution of integrated strategies, programs, and plans essential to America’s security. She is a recipient of the Joint Distinguished Civilian Service Award. Dr. Kass also served as the Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force (CSAF), Senior Mentor to USAF Project CHECKMATE, and Director of the Cyber Task Force. Dr. Kass was the first woman to serve as Professor of Military Strategy and Operations at the National War College and has authored two books and 30 scholarly articles. She developed, directed, and taught graduate-level courses on a wide variety of national security subjects. She received a doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Kaplan School of Economics and Political Science and Columbia University’s School of International Affairs. In 2014, Dr. Kass was elected to the Board of Women in Aerospace. In 2016, she was sworn in as a member of the Air University Board of Visitors’ Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) Subcommittee. In 2019, Dr Kass was elected to join the prestigious Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs (WIFA) and the Board of Directors of Women in Defense.
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Amber Smith was formerly the Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Outreach in Public Affairs. She was the senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense for matters related to strategic outreach. In this role, she engaged American citizens and key defense-related organizations on critical national security matters, the roles of the U.S. Armed Forces, and the DoD’s community relations initiatives. Prior to her appointment Ms. Smith was a Special Assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. She was the press secretary of caucus operations at the 2016 Republican National Convention and was a Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs Advisor to the Presidential Transition Team. She is the author of the best-selling books, “Unfit to Fight: How Woke Policies Are Destroying Our Military” and “Danger Close: My Epic Journey as a Combat Helicopter Pilot in Iraq and Afghanistan“. Ms. Smith is a former U.S. Army OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilot and air mission commander in the 101st Airborne Division, and flew two combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.
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Elaine Donnelly is Founder and President of the Center for Military Readiness (CMR), an independent, nonpartisan public policy organization that reports on and analyzes military/social issues. Since its founding in 1993, CMR has advocated for high, uncompromised standards in all forms of military training and sound priorities in the making of military/social policies. Elaine has published articles in many newspapers and magazines nationwide, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, The Federalist, National Review Online, the Washington Times, Congressional Quarterly Researcher, and the Naval Institute’s Proceedings.
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Paul Crespo has over 30 years’ experience in politics, journalism, the military, diplomacy, intelligence, and security. He heads the Center for American Defense Studies (CADS), a niche national security think tank in Wash., DC, and is the Managing Editor of American Liberty Defense News. As a US Marine Corps officer and artilleryman, he served with the helicopter assault company of a Marine Expeditionary Unit-Special Operations Capable (MEU-SOC) aboard an amphibious assault ship in the Pacific. He also led Marine airborne fire support teams with an Air/Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO). There he parachuted with the Army’s 82nd Airborne division and conducted air assault operations with the 101st Air Assault division. Paul later served with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) where he was posted as a Naval and Defense Attaché at US embassies in the Balkans, Persian Gulf, and South America. As a contractor, Paul led projects at the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM), including the development and successful launch of the Pentagon’s first tri-lingual regional news (‘influence’) website for Latin America. He is a graduate of Georgetown University and has advanced degrees from both the University of London and Cambridge University in the UK.
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Phyllis Kaminsky is a corporate strategic planning and international marketing specialist who has worked with major U.S. companies in the aerospace, defense and electronics sectors. For the past 35 years, she has also been a policy advisor to foreign governments, academic and non-profit organizations, and has employed her communications skills in a number of mayoral, congressional and presidential election campaigns. Mrs. Kaminsky served on the White House National Security Council, the U.S. Information Agency and the Voice of America, the United Nations, the Leadership Foundation of the International Women’s Forum, and the International Republican Institute. She was a Presidential appointee to the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Air Force Academy, and the Board of Visitors of the National Defense University. Mrs. Kaminsky has written and spoken extensively on foreign policy and cross-cultural issues and appeared on national and international radio and television. She was an outside director of multinational high technology companies headquartered in Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. She heads the international consulting firm of Kaminsky Associates based in the Washington, D.C. area and Scottsdale, Arizona.
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Frank Gaffney is the Founder and Executive Chairman of the Center for Security Policy in Washington, D.C., a not-for-profit, non-partisan educational corporation established in 1988. Under Mr. Gaffney’s leadership, the Center has been nationally and internationally recognized as a resource for timely, informed and penetrating analyses of foreign and defense policy matters. He is host of Secure Freedom Radio, a nationally syndicated program heard weeknights throughout the country.
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Jane Hampton Cook is a 10-time published author, presidential historian and a former White House staffer. Jane is also a national media commentator, columnist, and contributor to TheHill.com and GenealogyBank.com, and is a frequent guest on the Fox News channel, CNN, BBC, SKY News, and CNBC. Janecook.com.
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Gregory B. Salsbury, Ph.D. was president of Western Colorado University from 2014 to 2020 where he shepherded the largest donation in school history ($80+m) for a new school of computer science and engineering. His 2006 award winning work But What If I Live? predicted the subsequent financial meltdown; and his follow up book Retirementology – Rethinking the American Dream in a New Economy topped Amazon’s “personal finance” category. He earned his doctorate from the University of Southern California and received Master’s degrees from both the University of Illinois and USC’s Annenberg School for Communications.
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Dr. Carol S. Greenwald, PhD, has served our country as an officer of the Federal Reserve, as Commissioner of Banking in Massachusetts and as the president of a Congressionally chartered bank. She currently serves as president of Potomac Investment Co and is on the board of several non-profits like the Committee for Accuracy in Reporting and Analysis (CAMERA),The One Israel Fund and Rescuers Without Borders. She previously was on the board of JINSA (Jewish Institute for National Security in America).
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Sara O’Neil-Manion had a career as an architect working with O’Neil & Manion Architects in Bethesda, MD for 40 years and earned her architect degree from Catholic University. She has emeritus status as a member of the American Institute of Architects and served in various leadership positions in the Washington, DC chapter.