Lou Antosh
Lou Antosh is a former daily journalist whose federally-focused web sites include GovWire.com (http://www.govwire.com) and FedBuzz (http://www.fedbuzz.com). Antosh was a reporter/editor at three major Philadelphia newspapers and spent the 1979-80 year at the University of Michigan as a Journalism Fellow. After a stint as PR director at a major Philadelphia medical center, he co-founded Health Ink Communications, where he created dozens of periodicals, annual reports and Internet sites. His clients have included national hospital organizations, health insurance companies such as New York Life and large Blue Cross organizations. He formed LA Communications in 1998. FedBuzz was named the Incredibly Useful Site of the Day on the Yahoo!/zdnet.com site on Nov. 16, 2000.

Cary Badger
Cary Badger recently joined AARP Services, Inc. as Director of Marketing. AARP Services, Inc. (ASI) is a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary of AARP. Prior to joining AARP, Cary served as Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Kaiser Permanente. His experience includes marketing, sales distribution, strategic alliances and group insurance. AARP Services Inc. markets services and benefits of membership to 34 million AARP members. AARP (American Association of Retired Persons) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan association dedicated to shaping and enriching the experience of aging for members and all Americans. AARP's motto is making the most of life after 50 through "your choice, your voice and your attitude."

Don Beck
Dr. Don Beck is Vice President of Gallup's Government and Education Divisions in Washington DC and is the Senior Project Director for the Social Security Administration's Public Understanding Measurement System (PUMS). He is a Principle with the Council for Excellence in Government and serves on the Board of Directors for the International Association of Public Participation. Don held several senior level positions in the Department of Energy involving citizen advisory boards and citizen participation. He also served in the Peace Corps. Don climbs mountains not only in his work with Gallup but also in his spare time.

Sherri Burns
Sherri Burns is a marketing project manager for the General Services Administration. Before coming to GSA, she was a marketing manager for the Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology. Sherri has developed marketing strategies and tactics, media plans and ad campaigns. She is a member of the Federal Communicators Network, National Association of Government Communicators and Society of Government Meeting Professionals. Sherri holds a BS in marketing from Towson University and an MBA in marketing from the University of Baltimore.

Nick Carter
Nick Carter is vice president for public affairs at Imagitas, a public service enterprise dedicated to changing the way citizens interact with their federal, state, and local governments. With more than 20 years of senior management experience, Nick has achieved national recognition in several fields as a CEO, public advocate, and teacher. Immediately prior to joining Imagitas, he was President/CEO of Parents, Inc., a cutting edge family support organization. Previously Nick led one the nation's largest grassroots membership organizations, with chapters in 38 states and a massive lobbying and public education arm. He is also an ordained minister who led one of the largest churches in New England for over ten years. He holds a BA from Colgate, a Masters of Divinity from Colgate Rochester, and an Honorary Doctorate from Franklin University.

Donise Cheeks
Donise Cheeks is on loan to the National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) from the IRS where she is a senior program analyst and communicator. At NPR, Donise is the Coordinator of the Federal Communicators Network and is a member of the Planning Committee for today's seminar. She is also a member of the FCN Steering Committee. Since 1980, she has worked at IRS in the Office of Assistant Commissioners for Taxpayer Services, Collection and Research & Statistics. Her background also includes Acting EEO Officer, counselor and investigator, instructor and training development coordinator, diversity change agent, video producer and scriptwriter, and newsletter editor and webmaster.

Timothy B. Clark
Timothy Clark is editor and president of Government Executive, a monthly magazine on management of the federal executive branch. The magazine circulates to 63,000 high-ranking civilian and military executives and managers. Government Executive sponsors annual conferences, including Excellence in Government, which attracted 1,200 people in July 2000. The web site GovExec.com recorded 1.5 million page-views in August 2000. Timothy has spent his career in journalism studying and writing about government. He is a founder of National Journal, the preeminent weekly magazine on politics and government. In the mid-70s, Timothy founded Empire State Report, a monthly magazine about politics and government in New York. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and currently serves on the advisory board of the Council for Excellence in Government's "Government from the Inside" project for journalists. Timothy is on the Public Administration Advisory Board of The George Washington University and is also a member of the Board of Trustees of St. Andrews Episcopal School in Bethesda, Md. He is a graduate of Harvard.

Joseph Clayton
Joseph Clayton is President and Chief Operating Officer of Widmeyer Communications. He manages the day-to-day operations of the firm and provides senior counsel to clients facing challenges in the media, on Capitol Hill and in the marketplace. Joseph has developed and managed successful national media relations and marketing campaigns for clients in health care, telecommunications, transportation, finance, aviation, publishing and education, among others. He has advised clients facing intense public relations challenges in aviation, labor/management relations and finance. Joseph has also led several coalitions through successful coordinated campaigns involving a combination of legislative and regulatory outreach, earned and paid media and grassroots efforts. As a former legislative assistant, he managed a range of issues from foreign relations and defense to criminal justice and government ethics. Joseph also served as Vice President for Government and Public Affairs at American Student Assistance, a higher education financing organization. He resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with his wife and two sons.

Michael Cosgrove
Michael Cosgrove is the Executive Vice President of Low + Associates, Inc. In this position, he has served as Corporate Monitor for a variety of accounts, including: a multi-million dollar, five-year recruitment/retention marketing project for the National Health Service Corps; the development of a mental health and aging project for AARP; development of public education materials for the EPA; the D/ART program for the National Institute of Mental Health; concept testing for the Greater Washington Board of Trade; and research for the Health Insurance Association of America. Mike is responsible for the design and conduct of a wide variety of private sector and federal government research studies. He was previously Research Director at the Administration for Children, Youth and Families and a Research Associate at the University of Virginia where he directed research teams in conducting a series of developmental studies dealing with children's communication abilities. Mike received his Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University, his M.A. in Social Psychology and his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Virginia.

Denise Decker, PhD
Denise Decker is Program Manager and Advisor on Accessibility in the Operations Management and Oversight Division of the Department of Agriculture. An internationally recognized speaker on disability and women's issues, Denise has authored over 75 publications and professional papers in English, French and Spanish. She has chaired numerous national and international professional symposia and panels and has taught university and agency classes on workforce diversity, leadership development and balancing life and work. Denise traveled to the former USSR to train service organizations in the newly emerging states on ways to enhance workplace and education opportunities for people with disabilities.

Michelle Komes Dolge
Michelle Komes Dolge has spent nearly her entire career at WTOP Radio. She started in 1986, working her way up from Secretary to News Director, and now is News and Programming Consultant for the station. Along the way, Michelle held jobs as Writer, Editor and Managing Editor. During her five years as News Director, she supervised a staff of 75 news and production personnel. Michelle produced the station's Election 2000 coverage. A graduate of the University of Santa Clara, she lives in Washington with her husband, Steve Dolge, managing editor of wtopnews.com. They have a son, Jackson, born on Mother's Day this year.

Sue Ducat
Sue Ducat is Director of Communications Projects and Public Affairs, Council for Excellence in Government. Among other media-related responsibilities, she directs the Council's Government from the Inside program. Her background is primarily in television news production. She was for 11 years a producer of news and public affairs at WETA-TV in Washington, DC. She produced the PBS news program, "Washington Week in Review" and was Executive-in-Charge for the PBS interview series, "Talking with David Frost." She produced PBS's coverage of many major news events. Her work has received a number of awards, including a national Emmy.

Dennis Dunbar
Dennis Dunbar is the founder of the Information Super Station (ISS), a channel dedicated to broadcasting the activities of the executive branch of the Federal government. The channel carries White House press conferences, Presidential speeches and Pentagon briefings as well as the activities of most Federal agencies. ISS is seen on Channel 28 in the DC area. Dennis has plans to place the channel on cable and to sell advertising.

Eric Engberg
Over the course of a 38-year career in broadcast news, CBS News Correspondent Eric Engberg has covered the Iran-Contra scandal, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, the Persian Gulf war and the fall of the Berlin Wall. He has covered eight presidential elections. Investigative stories Engberg has covered have won the prestigious DuPont-Columbia silver baton award, the Sigma Delta Chi honor medal and the Investigative Reporters and Editors award. On the "CBS Evening News with Dan Rather" Engberg presides over the regular "Reality Check" segment which examines the inner workings of the federal government and how it is sometimes influenced by factors other than serving the public. Past "Reality Checks" have addressed such issues as: How Presidential and congressional candidates get around the campaign finance laws to raise acres of money from special interest groups; the creation by several cabinet agencies of expensive protective units to guard their senior officials even though there is little evidence of a need for such protection; the use of costly military helicopters by Pentagon generals for routine travel to and from DC airports; and the construction of an $18 million subway train to carry US senators a few hundred yards from their offices to the Capitol building. Engberg is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

James Finch
James (Jamie) R. Finch is the Director of the Office of Government, Public and Family Affairs/Communication Center, for the National Transportation Safety Board. Jamie served as the Field Campaign Coordinator for theTennessee House Democratic Caucus in 1990. After working as the Assistant to the Chief Clerk of the Tennessee House of Representatives, he was the Executive Director of the Tennessee Democratic Party from 1991 to 1993. From 1994 to 1997, Jamie was Special Assistant to the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. He then served as an analyst for the Office of Presidential Personnel at The White House until assuming his present position. Jamie received his BA from the University of Tennessee and his MA from Johns Hopkins University.

Matthew Furman
Matthew Furman is director of the FEMA Office of Public Affairs. In this position, he is responsible for developing communications strategy for the agency, maintaining, training and deploying disaster public affairs officers, handling national media relations and acting as chief spokesman for the agency. The Recovery Channel, FEMA Radio Network, the Recovery Times, the agency's WEB site and FEMA's internal news-letter are also under his oversight. Prior to joining FEMA, Matthew served as deputy commissioner and director of public affairs for the New York City Office of Emergency Management, where he directed public affairs policy and responded to city-wide emergencies. He also served as special counsel, spokesperson and family affairs officer for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB.) While at the NTSB, Matthew responded to 15 major accidents, including the TWA crash that killed 230 people and the Korean Airlines crash in Guam. Previously, he worked as an attorney at law, a stringer for the New York Times and a licensed private investigator. A native of New York, Matthew holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and a law degree from American University.

Brian Friel
Brian Friel is the news and assignments editor at PlanetGov.com, a popular web site for government professionals and military personnel. He coordinates six original stories a day, several weekly columns and dozens of articles from outside sources. Friel was previously the managing editor for GovExec.com, the daily news web site of Government Executive magazine. He has written more than 1500 articles for the Web and has spent his entire career as an online journalist. You can reach him at bfriel@planetgov.com.

Sareen R. Gerson
Sareen Gerson, a reporter for the Federal Communicators Network, is Chief of Classification and Performance Management at OSHA. Her previous experience includes editor, The Classifiers' Column (Classification & Compensation Society), author of various catalogs at the Smithsonian Institution 1977-1980, news editor, The FenceViewer, and Political and Arts Editor, Minute-Man Publications, both in Lexington, Massachusetts. She also worked as a feature writer at the Boston Globe in the 60s.

Bill Goodwill
Bill Goodwill is president of Goodwill Communications, Inc., a social issues marketing firm specializing in the distribution and evaluation of public service advertising campaigns. He has helped launch over 300 national PSA campaigns and has worked in PSA planning and execution for over 25 years. Goodwill publishes the Public Service Report newsletter and hosts the Public Service Advertising Center on the Internet at PSAResearch.com. He has handled PSA campaigns for over 35 federal agencies, including four of the five military services, six agencies within NIH, three agencies within the Treasury Department and the Social Security Adminstration." He is a graduate of Youngstown State University in Ohio and earned his masters in mass communications at American University in Washington D.C.

Pat Gould
Pat Gould is a Supervisory Computer Specialist with the Drug Enforcement Administration. She is the Membership Coordinator for the Federal Communicators Network and a member of the planning committee for today's seminar.

Carol A. Harvey
Carol A. Harvey is a Senior Advisor in the Office of Executive Resources Management at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. She designs and implements OPM's communications and outreach strategy for the Senior Executive Service. Carol is the editor of The OPM Message to the SES, a periodic newsletter, and conducts briefings for new SES Members and New Schedule C employees. She is a regular speaker on a wide range of SES issues, conducting training sessions at OPM's Management Development Centers and giving dozens of presentations for agencies and organizations each year. Carol has been with OPM since 1971, beginning her Federal career conducting supervisory and management training programs in New York City. For seven years she worked in the Federal Women's Program, advocating better job and advancement opportunities for women in the Federal Government. During that period she was actively involved in International Women's Year, wrote an Executive Order signed by President Carter, and played an active role in Civil Service reform. She is continuing to improve Civil Service in a special assignment to the Vice President's National Partnership for Reinventing Government, where she is a liaison on Human Resource issues.

Marci Hilt
Marci Hilt was the project manager for the Federal Communicators Network's "Communicators Guide," which will debut at today's seminar. She has been a public affairs specialist at USDA for more than 30 years where she oversaw the production of an historic USDA civil rights report. Marci currently chairs a multi-agency (FEMA, USDA, NWS, GSA, OVP) task force that is working to save lives in rural areas by providing residents with early hazard warnings. She led the communications team that produced USDA's five-year Strategic Plan in plain language in October 2000. Hilt has been the press secretary for the deputy secretary of agriculture at USDA since 1995. She is a member of the Association of Stained Glass Lamp Artists and a student pilot. Marci, her daughter, and their two worthless cats live in a row house on Capitol Hill they've been renovating for 18 years.

Steven J. Jost
Steve Jost has a twenty-three year career in public service and the private sector in Washington, D.C. For the last two years he has led the advertising, press, promotion and Congressional affairs programs of the U.S. Census Bureau during the successful Census 2000 effort. He previously served as chief of staff for two Members of Congress, co-founded his own company which managed political campaigns and directed fundraising programs for political and non-profit clients. He has a great deal of experience working with the national news media on high profile issues, including Census 2000. Steve has a B.A. in Political Science from California State University and also attended the University of Leicester in England.

Frank Keith
Frank Keith is Director of the Communications Division at the IRS. The 100 staff members of the Communications Division work on Media Relations, Marketing and Taxpayer Information, Internal Communications and Corporate Television. Frank joined the Internal Revenue Service in 1967 as a Taxpayer Service Representative in the Providence District. In 1988 he joined the Media Relations staff in the Washington office of the Assistant to the Commissioner (Public Affairs). Frank became Chief of the Media Relations Branch in 1992 and was promoted to Director of the Communications Division in 1997.

Tony Kendrick
Tony Kendrick, born in Washington, D.C., is Director of Public Affairs for the Indian Health Service. He began his government career in 1968 and has served in public affairs positions with the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture, and with the Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services. As the Director of Public Affairs, Tony advises senior officials on public affairs aspects of agency operational decisions and procedures, evaluates public affairs programs for their effectiveness and serves as the agency spokesperson. He also represents the agency and senior management on various agency and inter-Departmental committees such as the Government-Computer-based Patient Record Committee and the Headquarters Labor-Management Partnership Council. Tony, a Vietnam veteran and Navy public affairs officer, has received numerous military awards for his public affairs performance, including two Navy Achievement medals and a Navy Commendation medal. He was also awarded a Public Health Service Special Recognition Award for the public affairs leadership he provided during the hantavirus outbreak in the 4-corners area of the United States. Tony received a Bachelor of Arts degree in law enforcement and a master's degree in journalism (public relations) from the University of Maryland.

Fern Krauss
Fern Krauss is cofounder of ESTN Communications Group, LLC, an integrated, business-to-business marketing communications firm specializing in information technology companies. With more than two decades of experience, she serves as a public relations strategist for companies that market their products and services to the Federal Government, creating and implementing successful strategic image, public relations, and integrated marketing communications campaigns and programs. She is active in many facets of the IT industry and has been a panelist for the IT partners program of the Industry Advisory Council (IAC), the former head of IAC's media relations committee, and a speaker on public relations strategies.

George D. Lennon
George D. Lennon is the National Director of Communication for the USDA Forest Service. Prior to assuming the director's position in January 1998, he was the strategic communications planner specializing in counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, and Western Hemisphere issues for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. He is formally trained and highly experienced in crisis communications planning and has conducted seminars, workshops, and executive training on behalf of FEMA, DoD, USDA, and George Mason University. During the course of this year's horrific wildland fires throughout 17 States, he directed the Forest Service's communication efforts. He earned his BA from Providence College and an MS degree from Central Michigan University.

Robert Long
Robert Long is News Vice-President at NBC4 in Washington D.C. He joined the station in January 1998 from KNBC, Los Angeles, where he was Managing Editor. A Marine Corps veteran, Long has worked for Time magazine, the Associated Press and KCBS in Los Angeles. As an independent producer, he has written, produced and directed documentaries on three continents. He has also produced television movies for NBC. A native of the Washington area, Long started his much-decorated career as a ninth-grade reporter at Takoma Park Junior High School.

Gene Mallard
Gene Mallard is the Marketing Specialist at US Film & Video Productions, a Dept. of the Interior entrepreneurial franchise film/video production studio. Located in Denver, US Film provides film, video and new media services and products to all Federal Agencies. His specialties are in marketing, customer service, contract manager and liaison. Mallard's background includes operating his own marketing firm, serving as the Director of Contracting for DOD, and Intelligence Analyst and Counterintelligence Special Agent while in the Army.

George Matyjewicz
George Matyjewicz is Chief Marketing Officer of GAP Enterprises, a management and marketing consulting firm in Atlanta. He has developed e-commerce and marketing strategies for top internet sites for ten years. George's Automated Press Release service distributes his clients' news releases to 11,000 media contacts. A magazine columnist for five years, he has assisted government groups such as the Superintendent of Documents and AccessAmerica.gov.

Bill McAllister
After nearly 25 years as a Washington Post reporter, columnist and editor, Bill McAllister joined The Denver Post in 1999 and reopened the paper's Washington bureau. Today that 8-person bureau serves the Post and the more than 40 other daily newspapers in the MediaNews Group. In addition to those papers, he has worked on The Virginian-Pilot, where he was the Norfolk city editor, and The Wall Street Journal where he covered banking and the then-emerging high-tech industry of Silicon Valley. Bill joined The Washington Post in 1975 and served as its Virginia editor and a member of its National staff for almost 15 years. He has covered almost every agency in Washington from the White House to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Bill wrote a column on stamps and one on the lobbying industry at the paper. He holds an undergraduate degree in political science and a masters degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Lark McCarthy
Lark McCarthy has been the morning anchor for WTTG-TV for ten years. She joined FOX Channel 5 after six years of network television experience at ABC and CBS and over seven years in major market television. At ABC, Lark was White House Correspondent during the Bush administration. Her assignments took her to China, South Korea, Hungary and much of Western Europe. As an ABC correspondent, Lark covered the Super Power Summit in Malta and the 1989 Paris Economic Summit. Of her numerous accolades and honors, one that is most apropos for today's seminar is the National Association of Government Communicators Award for Fairness in Interviewing.

Patricia McGinnis
Patricia McGinnis is President and CEO of the Council for Excellence in Government. A national nonprofit organization committed to helping improve the performance and results of American government at all levels, the Council also works to build citizens' confidence and participation in the governance process. Council activities include its Excellence in Government Fellows Program, a leadership conference for presidential appointees, the public/private consortium for leadership in governmental information technology, and seminars for journalists to improve media coverage of government. Patricia was a co-founder and Principal of the FMR Group, a public affairs consulting firm in Washington, DC. She served as Deputy Associate Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in the Carter Administration. She has served on numerous committees and boards.

Michael Moore
Michael Moore is Executive Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Veterans Affairs. He's helping to bridge the Digital Divide for our nation's veterans and is also the VA's Project Manager for Tobacco Litigation. Michael has created numerous web solutions since 1996 for empowering employees, utilizing program and budget data, sharing VA clinical programs of excellence and recruiting students with disabilities. As chair of the VA Minority Forum, he built a web-based collaboration of 50 champions and 300 participants at VA, other Federal agencies, labor, and professional associations. The President's Initiative on Race recognized the VA Minority Forum as a Promising Practice for Government. Michael has worked with the President's Initiative on Race, the President's Interagency Council on Women, and the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. He has B.S., M.S., M.A., and J.D. degrees from the United States Naval Academy, Southeastern, Georgetown, and American Universities and he is a member of the Maryland Bar. Michael is a member of the planning committee for today's seminar.

Mary Purdue
Lieutenant Colonel Mary Purdue is the Assistant Director for Advertising, Accession Policy Directorate, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Management Policy at the Pentagon. She entered the Air Force in 1981 and has held positions in Aircraft Maintenance, Command Briefing Team, Visual Information, Public Affairs and Personnel. She has held three commands: Combat Camera, Rhein Main Air Base, Germany, the Air Force Television Studio in the Pentagon and Commander of the 81st Mission Support Squadron, Keesler AFB, Mississippi. Mary has oversight for Advertising Policy for OSD and provides counsel for the Services Advertising programs.

Hans Petersen
Hans Petersen is a writer/editor at the Health Care Financing Administration and is temporarily assigned to NPR as a feature writer for AccessAmerica.gov. He has public affairs specialist experience with the VA, EPA and Navy. Prior to joining the government, Hans was a radio talk-show host for 25 years. He is an Air Force and Peace Corps veteran.

Lester R. Potter
Lester R. Potter, ABC, is president of Les Potter Incorporated in Vienna, Va., and Sydney, Australia. He has more than 27 years of experience in organizational communication management. He served as international chairman of the International Association of Business Communicators in 1991-92 and is currently an IABC Fellow. He is the author of The Communication Plan: The Heart of Strategic Communication, IABC's most popular manual which shows how to apply strategic business planning techniques to your communication program. This straightforward resource offers Potter's ten-step communication planning process, including five key elements - issues, audience, message, media and evaluation.

Aaron Pressman
Aaron Pressman is senior writer in the Washington bureau of The Industry Standard, a magazine and website dedicated to the Internet Economy. Prior to joining The Standard, Aaron spent six years with Reuters where he developed an Internet beat in the Washington, D.C., bureau. Before joining Reuters, he worked at several financial trade publications in New York, including the Bond Buyer and Investment Dealers Digest. At The Standard, he covers public policy issues and Internet firms in the Washington, D.C., area.

Gloria Rodriguez
Gloria Rodriguez, President and Founder of MAPA Development Resources, Inc. and MAPA Communications, Inc., was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She began her career in Washington on the Metromedia News team, now Fox Television, as the only Hispanic producer in a major news market of the US. Gloria left her television career to become the Vice-President of the National Puerto Rican Forum, the oldest social service organization of the Puerto Rican community of the U.S. Her participation with Hispanic communities across the United States, her involvement with Congress and with corporate America, seeks to bring together all these resources for the advancement of this community. Gloria has been a keynote speaker at various coalitions and action campaigns advocating on behalf of Hispanic and women's issues. In 1987, she established her own company, MAPA Communications, a consulting firm dedicated to the communications industry with expertise in the Hispanic Market and Latin America. Gloria has received recognition from the Department of Defense, New York Federation of Chambers of Commerce, the National Puerto Rican Forum from whom she received the President's Distinguished Service Award, Project Interchange, where she was honored by the government of Israel as one of 15 Hispanic leaders chosen for a socio/political seminar in Israel, and numerous other academic, government and civic organizations. She was appointed Founding Fellow of the Gallup International Institute at Princeton University in 1995 and is an advisor to the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts. Gloria is a published writer and is currently in the process of developing an institute for training and developing women of the Americas in political communications, leadership, media and business/economic development. She is a graduate of Rockford College in Illinois and the University of Madrid, Spain. She received her MA from George Washington University and has completed additional course work towards a doctorate in International Communications & Policy Development.

Charles Roggero
Charles Roggero is a filmmaker for the Social Security Administration. He won two Emmy Awards for directing and producing a public service announcement called "The Future of Social Security." He has now garnered three Emmys for Social Security work. His first, in 1993, was for a PSA called "Blind Child."

Katherine E. Rowan
Kathy Rowan is an associate professor in communication at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, where she heads the public relations curriculum. Her research concerns science communication and risk communication. A Virginia native and George Mason University alumna, she recently returned to her alma mater after 15 years on the faculty at Purdue University in Indiana. At Purdue, she taught courses in journalistic writing, science reporting, and risk communication. Her doctorate in the teaching of rhetoric and composition is from Purdue's English Department. Professor Rowan became interested in risk communication through her research on science communication in the mass media. She has several dozen scholarly and professional publications concerning effective methods for earning trust and explaining complex science. Kathy has presented workshops on risk communication for the Department of Agriculture, the National Academy of Sciences, and the EPA, among others.

Cynthia Saboe
Cynthia Saboe is Director of Policy and Planning for the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of State. She was active in the formation of the Federal Communicators Network and served as FCN's first coordinator. She is co-chair and member of the planning committee for today's seminar. She is also a founding member of the Board of Leaders of the Senior Fellows, Council for Excellence in Government.

Cindy Skrzycki
Cindy Skrzycki is a business columnist for The Washington Post specializing in the nexus between government, business and regulation. In 13 years at The Post, she has specialized in management and technology issues with special expertise in the telecommunications industry. Since November 1993, Cindy has written a weekly column, "The Regulators", which examines the gritty work of Washington regulation. Before joining The Post she was an associate business editor at U.S. News & World Report specializing in the aviation industry and a Washington correspondent for The Fort Worth Star-Telegram where she covered energy and transportation issues. Cindy also worked in the Washington bureau of the Fairchild News Service covering the steel industry and was a business writer for The Buffalo Evening News. She is a trustee of Canisius College, Buffalo, N.Y., where she was an honors graduate and was editor of the student newspaper, The Griffin. Cindy holds an MA in public affairs and journalism from the American University, Washington, D.C.

David Starck
David Starck is the advertising director for the U.S. Savings Bonds Marketing Office at the Department of the Treasury. He oversees the development and production of Savings Bonds broadcast and print public service advertising, promotional materials, and campaign videos. Prior to joining Treasury in 1988, Mr. Starck was the Executive Vice President and Marketing Director for TechTran International, Inc. and Educational Technology Center, Inc., which developed educational and marketing hardware and software. Starck has also worked for several years as an advertising director for daily newspapers in Wisconsin. He holds a JBA degree from the School of Journalism, University of Wisconsin, Madison, along with advance studies in international marketing and public administration.

Carl Stern
Carl Stern has been professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University since 1996. He was Director of Public Affairs, U.S. Department of Justice, from 1993-96 and Law Correspondent for NBC News from 1967 to 1993. He is a member of the Ohio and DC Bars and has held numerous offices in the American Bar Association. He also served on the board of the American Federation of TV and Radio Artists. Carl has won many awards, including several Peabody Awards, Headliner Club Award, ABA Silver Gavel Award, and Edmund J. Randolph Award for Public Service, U.S. Department of Justice.

Dann Stuart
Dann Stuart is Chief, Communications Services, for USDA's Farm Service Agency. He oversees the development and production of publications and news releases issued by the Agency. During his more than 13 years as a Public Affairs Specialist, Dann has received many awards, including the Secretary's Honor Award, the highest award given by USDA. Prior to joining USDA, he worked as a Communications Consultant and as an "on-air" personality for a number of radio and television stations. Dann also served as a State Traffic Officer with the California Patrol and as Executive Director to the North Dakota Governor's Task Force on Drinking and Driving. Dann is an active member of many organizations, including the Federal Communicators Network and American Agricultural Editors Association.

Delphine G. Taylor
Delphine G. Taylor is with the Social Security Administration in Durham, NC. She is responsible for public relations throughout the state and represents the Regional Commissioner, State Director, and state managers on public relations aspects of the Social Security program relating to the community. Delphine runs a program promoting public understanding of all SSA programs and policies with effective and economical expenditure of SSA resources. She represents Social Security in media appearances, press conferences, and speeches throughout the area. Delphine acts as liaison between the area and the Regional External Affairs Officer on critical news items of national or regional importance. She has served as an instructor for Social Security classes and has been the recipient of numerous awards for outstanding service. Delphine did undergraduate study at Shaw University, Raleigh, NC, and A & T State University, Greensboro, NC, and received a Master of Arts Degree from North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.

Judith B. Tenney
Judith Tenney has been on the NPR Team since July of 1999 where she is Managing Editor of the REGO on-line e-zine. She is also the creator of the popular "Test Your Reinvention IQ Interactive Game" on the NPR website. Judith is a Senior Program Analyst in the NASA Office of Policy and Plans and serves as NASA agency liaison to the NPR. From 1987 to 1989, she was a training officer for the Peace Corps. Judith was Director of Training and Development at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for ten years. In addition to her government service, for the past 18 years she has been Adjunct Professor of Business and Professional Communications at Montgomery College.

Rusty Toler
Rusty Toler is the Social Security Administration's Public Understanding Measurement System (PUMS) Project Director. He is a Senior Advisor in the Office of Communications and is the Communications lead on SSA's Agency-level Strategic Planning activities. His past jobs include Director of the Office of External Affairs and Director of the Office of Information as well as several management positions in SSA's disability program including Associate Chief Medical Director for Physician Relations. Rusty lives in Howard County, Maryland, where he serves as Chair of the Howard County Commission on Aging. He runs marathons not only at work but also in his spare time.

James Vaughn
James Vaughn is the Senior Manager for E-government Programming and Products at America Online. He developed GovernmentGuide.com the Internet's #1 portal of government information and services. He also heads up My Government, AOL's tool to helping members find and interact with their elected officials including the unique feature "Ask the White House." He is currently heading up a team developing new e-government products and services for federal, state and local governments. James has a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a BA in Diversified Liberal studies from United States International University (he studied at both the San Diego and Nairobi, Kenya campuses). Prior to his work at AOL he was a political and public affairs consultant in California, but prior to that he was an actor in stage and television doing mostly comedy. But once he discovered he had a greater gift for farce, he decided that politics and government was a more suitable occupation for his skills.

Judy Welles
Judy Welles is Work-Life Editor at PlanetGov.com. She covers and reports news and feature articles on federal employee work-life and the human side of government. She provided original news content from the day PlanetGov.com launched and joined the staff in July 2000. Welles brings federal government and journalism experience to PlanetGov.com. She was a public information officer at four federal agencies, including the departments of Interior, Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Economic Opportunity, and director of communications and public affairs at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. She joined PlanetGov.com after serving for 14 years as a senior executive. A graduate of Vassar College and Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government senior managers program, she also was a board member of the Public Employees Roundtable, Coalition for Effective Change, and Executive Women in Government. You can reach her at jwelles@planetgov.com.

Lee Wexel
Lee Wexel worked in a developmental assignment with the National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) serving as the Federal Communicators Network (FCN) Coordinator and then supported an NPR Customer Satisfaction Initiative with the Federal Consulting Group. He also served on the President's Task Force on Federal Training Technology. Lee works in the Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Management Service as a management analyst.

Linda A. Whitsett
Ms. Whitsett is the Public Information Officer for the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. A member of the Federal Communicators Network, she spent four years as a newspaper reporter before joining Federal service.

Morley A. Winograd
Morley A. Winograd is a Senior Policy Advisor to Vice President Al Gore and Director of the National Partnership for Reinventing Government. He has combined work in quality management in the private sector with practical applications in the world of public affairs. He is co-author of Taking Control: Politics in the Information Age. Morley was previously Sales Vice President for AT&T's Western Region Commercial Markets.

Patricia B. Wood
Pat Wood is founder of the Federal Communicators Network and leader of the interagency team that planned the Media Seminar in 1999 and 2000. She has represented the Social Security Administration at the National Partnership for Reinventing Government since 1995. She manages the NPR website (npr.gov) and is interagency team leader and editor of Access America E-Gov E-Zine (accessamerica.gov). At SSA, she earned the agency's highest award for leading the agency's plain language initiative. Early in her career, she was the first woman named to Leadership Atlanta, a Chamber of Commerce program that recognized and trained the city's most promising executives. She is an honor graduate of Converse College in Spartanburg, S.C. and did her graduate work at the University of South Carolina as a National Woodrow Wilson Fellow.

Anthony J. Zecca
Tony Zecca is the Public Affairs Coordinator for the United States Coast Guard's Vessel Traffic Service at Puget Sound and is also head of Public Outreach and Education. Tony is the first member of the United States Coast Guard to be nominated and appointed an Associate Member of the Federal Executive Board. He was also a past Director of the North Pacific Marine Radio Council. Committed to ensuring the safety of all waterway users, Tony began an Outreach Program, offering lectures to the boating public. He can also write for the professional and recreational boating public. His lectures are designed, with the assistance of experts, to answer any question, at any level, to any audience on subjects relating to safe navigation. Tony continues to work connecting Federal, State and Local agencies with problems and issues that effect the safe navigation of the Puget Sound region. A better than 50% reduction in Search and Rescue operations is attributed to his work.