Leadership • Senior Staff • Senior Advisors • Board of Advisors

Board of Advisors

Ronald L. Beckwith retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1991 as a Major General after a distinguished career that included postings as the Commanding General of the Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Expeditionary Force Programs. General Beckwith brings to ADI knowledge and experience in managing all aspects of expeditionary warfare and the required support services and technologies, especially C4ISR, sensor, platforms, strategic planning, modeling and simulation, and force fire support. He is currently president of LeeCor, Inc., a management and business development professional services company.

Jay Billings is the former Director of the Defense Systems Management College Southern Region. He has over 30 years of experience in defense acquisition and management. He has had successful experience in roles ranging from Deputy Project Manager for the Pershing II Project Office to Senior Procurement Analyst for a U.S. Army Major Subordinate Command. Dr. Billings has extensive experience as an instructor and has taught at the Defense Systems Management College where he was ranked in the top level of faculty. In addition, he was one of the co-founders of the Defense Systems Management Corporation which is a firm that provides training, products, and organizational development and managerial consulting to large corporations, small businesses and academia.

William Bilo enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1964 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant after completing Officer Candidate School. While in the active duty army, he served in Germany, Vietnam, and Cambodia. In 1972, he requested release from active duty and went on to serve in command positions in the Oklahoma, Virginia, and Maryland National Guards. In 1993, he was selected to serve on the Department of Army Staff as the Deputy Director, Army National Guard in September 1993. He retired with the rank of Brigadier General. General Bilo’s decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit with one bronze oak leaf cluster, Bronze Star medal with "V" device and Army Commendation medal with "V" device, Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze service stars, and Armed Forces Reserve Medal. General Bilo currently serves as CEO of Rainbow Enterprises, a consulting firm in the Washington, D.C. area and is also a 4th degree member of the Knights of Columbus. In addition, General Bilo also serves as an advisor to the National Guard on field artillery matters and as a “greybeard advisor” to the Director, Army National Guard.

Thomas Brown has over thirty years of commissioned service in the U.S. Army. He has held positions from platoon through staff assignments at the Department of the Army and the Office of the Secretary of Defense. He has had assignments in combat in Vietnam and has been trusted with some of the U.S. military's most sensitive assignments. For example, Tom Brown was selected as the Project Manager for the Pershing Missile System. He served as the technical support coordinator for the negotiations of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and as The Department of the Army's Executive Agent for Treaty Implementation. During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Colonel Brown served as the U.S. Army Missile Command's Weapon Systems Director and managed the high density systems in the U.S. and Coalition Forces.

Thurman M. Davis, Sr. served as Deputy Administrator of the United States General Services Administration (GSA) in two administrations and has more than 40 years of Federal experience. Prior to his appointment as Deputy Administrator, he served as Regional Administrator for the National Capital Region and was responsible for the execution of all GSA operations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Davis was twice awarded the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive and once the rank of Distinguished Executive, the highest recognition awarded to a career federal executive. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Administrator of General Services for sustained superior service to the U. S. General Services Administration. He is a graduate of the Hampton University, U.S. Army Engineer School and the Federal Executive Institute. Davis is a life member of the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, a member of the NAACP and 100 Black Men of Greater Washington, DC.

David DeSimone is a technical and management consultant to industry and government organizations and specializes in assisting industry in acquiring government grants, contracts, and points of contact. Mr. DeSimone has thirty years experience with the Navy as a civilian General Engineer and Program Manager. His interaction in the Navy was with all four services in the Department of Defense and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Research & Development, acquisition, and in-service engineering over a broad base of technologies. He also served as the Program Manager responsible to the Office of Naval Research for Air Vehicle Technology, Materials Technology, Human Factors, and Life Sciences. Mr. DeSimone currently applies his accumulated experiences and expertise in his own technical and management consulting business.

Fokion N. Egolfopoulos, Ph.D. is a Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Southern California.  He received his Diploma in Mechanical Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in 1981 and his M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from San Jose State University in 1984; from 1981 to 1983 he served military service in the Greek Navy.  In 1990 he received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Davis, after having spent the last two years of his doctoral research at Princeton University.  After his formal education he has been associated with the Combustion and Fuels Laboratory at Princeton University as a Research Associate from June 1990 to August 1991.  In August 1991 he joined the faculty of the University of Southern California at the rank of Assistant Professor.  In 1997 he was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor and in 2002 to the rank of Full Professor.  From 1998 until 2002 he was also appointed as Visiting Associate and Lecturer of the Department of Aeronautics at the California Institute of Technology.  Professor Egolfopoulos’ general area of expertise is energy and fuels.  His research has been pioneering with main emphasis on: combustion on earth and in space, alternative and renewable fuels, pollutant formation and destruction, and hypersonic propulsion.  His work has been supported by Air Force Office of Scientific Research, NASA, National Science Foundation, TRW, PSA Peugeot-Citröen, Siemens, the Southern California Gas Company, and the California Energy Commission.  He has authored and published more than 150 technical articles and has given more than 85 scholarly presentations.  He is a recipient of the Silver Medal of the Combustion Institute, an international distinction awarded once every two years in recognition of outstanding combustion research.  He has also received several research and teaching awards at the University of Southern California.  He currently serves as Deputy Editor of Combustion and Flame, the leading combustion journal.

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Al Gallant retired from Federal Service as a member of the Senior Executive Service.  He spent .six years in the Active Air Force during the Viet Nam conflict, followed by over 32 years as a civil servant in the Pentagon.  His entire civilian career was spent as Program/Budget analyst for matters related to Manpower and Personnel.  Following 11 years on the Air Staff, he spent 21 years in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.  At the time of his retirement, he was simultaneously filling two Senior Executive Service positions within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness).  He was the principal advisor to the Under Secretary on all matters pertaining to the DoD Planning, Programming, and Execution process.  At the same time, he managed DoD’s military and civilian manpower requirements oversight.  He was an original member of the Three-Star Programmers Group, and an active participant in transitioning from a conscription-oriented personnel system to maintaining an all-volunteer force.

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Christopher M. Harvin served as a spokesperson and strategic communications advisor in Baghdad, Iraq, with the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA). He is a former Presidential Appointee and White House Defense Fellow, where he developed and managed public affairs and outreach programs worldwide for the Secretary of Defense and Deputy Secretary. He works as a consultant to the White House Advance Office on various domestic and foreign activities for President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard B. Cheney, and First Lady Laura Bush. He is currently the Director of Communications and Outreach for the Iraqi International Foundation (IIF), a senior partner at a full-service global business consulting and strategic communications firm, where he handles strategic communications and governmental affairs and a partner in an emerging oil and gas company, engaging in international exploration and development activities. He resides in Washington, DC.

Milton Herson was Commissioner of Public Buildings Service at the General Services Administration during the last year of the Bush Administration where he was responsible for managing the real estate portfolio for the federal government including its budget and employees. Prior to his service at GSA, Milton Herson held many senior positions in both the business and entertainment communities. He was the Associate to the Producer of the Broadway musical "Man of LaMancha," Executive Producer of the last national tour of "The King and I" with Yul Brynner, and the Executive Producer of Columbia Pictures' motion picture "Spring Break." As the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Music Makers Group, he was responsible for the operation of a diversified entertainment group which operated a recording studio, several music publishing companies and created original music for radio and television advertising. He also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Music Makers Theaters which owned and operated 71 movie theaters. At the same time, he developed and supervised the Andy Candy Company which served the theater chain. Mr. Herson's real estate background also includes service as the President of MiMi Construction, Vice President of Real Estate for the Loews Theater Corporation, and served as a real estate consultant for Cineplex Odeon.

Richard Koehnke is a retired Air Force Colonel with over thirty years of government and industrial experience in the operation and acquisition of tactical systems. During his Air Force career, he held command positions as Squadron Commander of a F-15 Eagle Squadron and as Vice Commander of the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing. He distinguished himself internationally through his service as the U.S. representative on the NATO Conventional Armament Planning Group and as the U.S. representative to the NATO Air Force Armaments Group. During his tenure in the Department of Defense, Colonel Koehnke served as the Deputy Director for Tactical Programs and as the Requirements Director for all air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons.

Michael Janay is a retired United States Marine Corps officer with over 20 years of active duty service. He is currently an international marketing consultant and President of AFM-USA, Inc. Previously, he served as a Senior Proposal Manager for the Propulsion Division of Atlantic Research Corporation. From 1985 to 1986, Michael Janay was the Special Assistant for Congressional Affairs for the US Army Material Command (AMC) where he was responsible for all military construction for AMC as well as all congressional matters for 16 states in the Midwest.

John H. Lewis II served in the United States Marine Corps for thirteen years before leaving to form his own consulting firm, Lewis LLP. While in the Marine Corps, he oversaw the Shoulder-Launched Multi-Purpose Assault Weapon for Marine Corp Systems Command. As Program Officer for the SMAW, John was responsible for managing a multi-disciplined product team consisting of engineers, logisticians, business analysts, testers, and customer representatives. He received his BA in Philosophy and Political Science from the University of Southern California in 1994.

Richard C. Lewis is a retired Navy Captain with over 30 years experience in Foreign Military Sales, Defense Cooperation, Navy Industrial Programs and Operational Logistics. During his career he served as Regional Director for Security Cooperation for South America and the Middle East for the Navy International Programs Office. He was a Program Manager for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, International Cooperative Programs. As Commanding Officer of a Fleet Logistics Support Squadron he oversaw the fast, reliable, time-definite air charter delivery of time-critical freight shipments to U.S. Sixth Fleet assets throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. He is currently Vice President and co-founder of WorldTech, a company whose corporate focus is to discover and market the best dual use emerging technologies in the United States and abroad.

Howard W. Luker has thirty years experience as a Special Agent for the FBI where he developed airport/airline vulnerability/security procedures and conducted international investigations. Mr. Luker was the Senior Security specialist of the Air Line Pilots Association where he evaluated, analyzed and assessed all aspects of aviation security, safety and air traffic control in the commercial aviation industry.  After leaving the Air Line Pilots Association, Mr. Luker became the Deputy Director of Federal Asset Protection and Security Planning Division for the Wexford Group International where he was responsible for developing business related to the development of security applications and asset protection programs.  He is the recipient of the U.S. Attorney's Award for Investigative Excellence, the FBI Director's Certificate of Commendation,  and the. D.C. Federal Bar Association Law Enforcement Service Award as well as numerous others awards for excellence.  Mr. Luker graduated with a BS from Appalachian State University in 1968 and has continued his pursuit of a Masters Degree in Education.  He is now the Chief Operating Officer of Eagles 3 LLC, managing operations regarding the administration of an independent high impact, high-end international consulting firm.

Clark R. Lystra has a wide range of military and homeland security experience, ranging from special operations and intelligence programs to homeland security consulting projects.  An Army veteran with over 20 years of experience, he spent 13 years in the Army Special Forces community.  He is currently the President of Intrepid Solutions Consulting, a women-owned and veteran-owned small business.  Mr. Lystra has supported the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in matters concerning Weapons of Mass Destruction consequence management and Defense Support of Civil Authorities, including support to National Special Security Events.  He has extensive interagency policy and plans experience and works closely with the several Federal partner departments, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Health and Human Services.  Mr. Lystra was a participant in Harvard University’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative in 2006 and continues to work closely with the faculty on homeland security and emergency preparedness issues.  He is a member of Business Executives for National Security (BENS).

Edward J. Marcinik, Ph.D. is a former Navy Medical Service Corps officer (Research Physiologist) with 28 years of Department of Defense (DoD) Science and Technology experience. He has managed casualty care, chemical/biological defense, telemedicine and defense health programs at the Office of Naval Research and OSD (Healths Affairs). Dr Marcinik has served on the ADI Board of Advisors since 2000. He helps create partnerships between industry and DoD Medical R&D laboratories and facilitates the acquisition of emerging technologies into U.S. military systems.  He has a high level of expertise in technology assessment and marketing, proposal assistance, contract negotiations and program management.

Mary Martin is the Director of the Graduate Nursing Program and Coordinator of the Nursing Administrator track in the MUSC College of Nursing.  Prior to joining the CON in January of 2005, she served as a Colonel for 8 years as the Director of the Medical Liaison Office, Office of the Chief, Air Force Reserve, The Pentagon, and Washington, DC.  Her principal responsibilities were to propose medical and health policy, analyze health policies and respond to congressional, White House and internal inquiries regarding health benefit issues of Air Force Reservists and their dependents.  During her tenure at the Pentagon, she taught Leadership and Complex Care Coordination at the Georgetown University School of Nursing, served as a reviewer for the Journal of Military Medicine and participated in the review of Tri-Service Nursing Research Grants.  She was a research assistant on a major grant to study the impact of military service on Women.  Dr. Martin previously served as Chief Nurse, Medical Strategic Health Group, Bay Pines VAMC, St. Petersburg, Fl, and Dean of the Mary Black School of Nursing, USC-Spartanburg, and Director of the BSN program at The University of Tampa, Tampa, Florida, Chair, Department of Nursing, Marian College, and Indianapolis, Indiana.  During this time, she maintained an Air Force career and served at Torrejon AB Spain during Operation Desert Storm.  She has commanded 2 aeromedical evacuation squadrons, has been awarded the Air Force Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal and the AF Commendation Medal. 

Donald Morency served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Reserve Affairs from 1990 to 1993. He is a retired Navy Captain with thirty years of active and reserve experience in a wide range of operational and administrative billets, including three commands, policy boards, legislative liaison, readiness exercises, and courses at the Naval War College and National Defense University. From 1964-1971, he held executive positions in the aerospace industry with General Dynamics/Convair and Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical Company in San Diego and Washington. In 1971 he became a management consultant in Washington specializing in government relations. He was Director and National Vice President of the Navy League, President of the Navy League's National Capitol Council, and President of the Naval Reserve Association's Washington Chapter. He is the recipient of the U.S. Navy Distinguished Public Service Award, the U.S. Navy Superior Public Service Award, and the Navy League's highest award, the Distinguished Service Award.

Margaret (Peggy) Norris has over 34 years of experience in Government contracting and procurement--26 of those years were spent in Navy and Marine Corps contracting and procurement. DAWIA III certified, she has been Branch Chief/Contracting Officer for the Corps' ammunition, ground weapons, amphibious assault vehicles, basic and applied R&D, recruit advertising and media, manufacturing technology, joint non-lethal weapons programs--and the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. She has been cited numerous times for her sustained superior performance, special achievements, and has two Meritorious Unit Commendations on her record. Ms. Norris served as Head of Contract Policy at the Marine Corps Systems Command and has represented the Marine Corps at high levels throughout the Department of Defense until 2002.

Thomas M. Reeves is a retired Colonel who served for over 33 years in both the active and reserve forces of the U.S. Army, including 21 years as a member of the Tennessee Army National Guard. His military experiences range from platoon through armored cavalry squadron commander with various staff assignments from battalion to the Department of Defense Joint Staffs. He served two tours of duty as a combat aviator in South Vietnam (Laos and Cambodia). For his actions in 1967, he was awarded America's second highest medal for "uncommon valor," the Distinguished Service Cross. His last assignment was as Assistant Director, Weapons Systems Management Directorate, U.S. Army Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, during active duty mobilization for Operation Desert Storm/Shield, followed by four years of in-active reserve duty until his retirement in 1996. He was selected for membership in the Middle Tennessee State University R.O.T.C. Hall of Fame in 2003 (from which he was commissioned). Colonel Reeves is the President of Thomas M. Reeves & Associates, Inc., a Tennessee financial and insurance firm which he founded in 1976. He is a Certified Estate Planner (CEP) and a designated "Fellow" of the Life Underwriter Training Council.

Bob Shields is a former Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Dominant Maneuver in the Advanced Systems and Concepts Directorate of the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In this capacity, he had primary oversight of the Advanced Concepts Technology Demonstrations program and was responsible for the development of innovative concepts on the use of ground forces. He also ran the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) Panel on Joint Experimentation. Mr Shields is a 1972 graduate of the Naval Academy with a degree in Ocean Engineering. He retired from active duty in 1999 after commanding a destroyer, the USS O'Bannon and the cruiser USS Vicksburg. On the VICKSBURG, he served as the Air Warfare Commander for the JOHN F KENNEDY Battlegroup in the Persian Gulf. Mr. Shields also completed shore assignments at the Naval Postgraduate School where he earned a M.S. degree in Engineering Acoustics, at the Royal Navy Staff College in Greenwich, England, and in Washington, D.C. In Washington, he served on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations in the Research and Development Directorate, completed a fellowship at the American Enterprise Institute and subsequently was the Navy's Congressional Liaison Officer for surface ship programs. Mr. Shields also was the Deputy Legislative Assistant to Generals Powell and Shalikashvili during their service as Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His final assignment on active duty was the Navy's Deputy Chief of Legislative affairs. Mr. Shields is currently the Vice President for Advanced Systems with Hicks and Associates, a subsidiary of SAIC.

Chris W. Small attained the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the National Guard before retiring. Before co-founding Arrowpoint Corporation, he served as Legislative Director of the National Guard Association of the United States, directing lobbying efforts on behalf of nearly 500,000 members of the National Guard. He is an expert in Air Defense Artillery force design as well as possessing an extensive knowledge of Army force management and systems integration. In addition to his military service, he was selected in 1996 as a Legislative Fellow by the Brookings Institution and concurrently served as Military Legislative Assistant to Congressman John M. Spratt of South Carolina.

Thomas C. Van Hare is president of Digital Minute, a defense, technology and marketing firm in the Washington, DC, region. Previously, he served as Director of Organizational Assessment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense and on the Defense Transition and its Executive Committee. He has served on the Coalition Provisional Authority's Washington staff, and he continues to be involved with a number of DoD programs in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, he was formerly president of Capstone Studio, a leading Internet consulting, graphic design and marketing company. He was a Director of PartsBase, Inc. (NASDAQ, PRTS) from inception, through IPO, as chairman of the audit committee, and through a successful going-private transaction. He served in both the Reagan-Bush Administration, within the Department of State's Agency for International Development, and in the Bush-Quayle Administration, within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, where he managed overseas operations and special missions on behalf of the Secretary, including dozens of missions in support of the Afghan War and during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He has served with a number of charitable organizations, including as Chairman of Freedom Flight International, Inc., and as Director of Operations and Special Projects with Brothers to the Rescue, Inc., where, as a command pilot, he was responsible for the lives of multiple aircrews flying Cuban refugee search and rescue missions over the Straits of Florida, saving more than 3,000 lives. He is a graduate of Michigan State University's prestigious James Madison program and holds a degree in International Relations.

LTG (Ret) Jim Williams culminated 31 years service in the Defense and Intelligence (HUMINT) Communities, including a 3 year assignment as Assistant Military Attaché to Venezuela, with a four year tour as Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) where he directed intelligence analysis for DoD and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  Since his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1985, LTG Williams has served as senior consultant for a variety of projects dealing with the collection, processing and analysis of intelligence.  He currently serves on the Laboratory Advisory Board for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Board of Visitors of the Joint Military Intelligence College as well as Chairman of the Board of the National Military Intelligence Association (NMIA) and is a Distinguished Member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

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Wayne Willis began his career in the Army after graduating from the U. S. military Academy at West Point. He served as an officer in the Field Artillery with assignments in the 82nd Airborne Division, the 25th Infantry Division in Viet Nam and nuclear weapons related assignments in Germany and Turkey. After completing graduate work in Physics at the University of Virginia, he was an Associate Professor at West Point. His last six years of active duty were in nuclear weapons development assignments at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Army Nuclear Agency in Washington. After retiring from the Army, Mr. Willis worked in the Washington Office of General Atomics. His duties focused on congressional relations and business development for research and development programs mainly in defense and nuclear fields. He now has his own company, Odyssey Consulting, specializing in business development and congressional relations for national security programs.