ADVISORY BOARD
The Advisory Board of COSF is composed of thought-leaders and influencers in service to the military, veteran, and caregiver communities.
Hon. Robert M. Speer - Former Acting Secretary of the U.S. Army
Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Mr. Speer served as Acting Secretary of the United States Army in 2017. He was one of only six senior Pentagon officials to be asked to stay through the transition to President Trump’s administration. Since 2009, Speer also served as the Assistant Secretary for Financial Management and Comptroller and the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Financial Management and Comptroller.)
Prior to these assignments, Mr. Speer served as a Managing Director for PricewaterhouseCooper’s Public Services, where he led their Defense and Army business. He has been significantly involved in Department of Defense financial management solutions and defense related professional organizations throughout his career. He served 28 years in the U. S. Army where he gained in-depth experience and progressive responsibility in command and staff positions in the Army and the Joint Force, to include Battalion Command in the 82d Airborne Division and Brigade Level Command of a Defense Agency operation.
Mr. Robert M. Speer was born in Fort Ord, California to a military family, so he lived and travelled throughout and outside of the United States. Mr. Speer was commissioned through ROTC as a distinguished military graduate where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting, University of Notre Dame; Master of Business Administration, Management of Information Systems, Indiana University; Master of Science, National Resource Strategy, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, DC.
Professional Memberships and Associations include: Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA); American Society of Military Comptrollers (ASMC); Association of Government Accountants (AGA).
He currently resides in Virginia with his wife, the former Margaret O’Connor. They have four adult children and two grandchildren.
MG Alan B. Salisbury, USA, Ret.
Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus
General Salisbury is the Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus of the Code of Support Foundation. He completed a 30-year career in the U.S. Army, with his final assignment as the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Information Systems Engineering Command. He spent 12 years in industry in R&D assignments with Contel Corporation (President, Contel Technology Center) and the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) (EVP & COO), and then headed U.S. operations for Learning Tree International (Chairman & President). He has sat on numerous corporate boards, including four public companies, several non-profit boards, and has many professional associations. He is a graduate of West Point and holds an MS and Ph.D. from Stanford University.
Sheri Thompson
EVP, Affordable Housing and Investment Management, Walker & Dunlop
Sheri Thompson, Executive Vice President & Head of Affordable Housing, oversees all aspects of Walker & Dunlop’s affordable housing activities. Ms. Thompson played a critical role in developing W&D’s vision for a comprehensive affordable platform and assembling the businesses and experts to provide a full range of affordable solutions. Ms. Thompson has oversight and P&L responsibilities for all of these businesses including GSE and FHA Debt, LIHTC Equity, Preservation, Affordable Capital Advisory, and Affordable Investment Sales.
Ms. Thompson sits on the Company’s Executive, Revenue, and Strategy Committees, is actively engaged with W&D’s social impact and legislative initiatives, and has been integrally involved in reshaping the Company’s approach to diversity and inclusion. She is also active with both the Women of Walker & Dunlop and Veteran’s Employee Resource Groups and is the executive sponsor for the Unidos Employee Resource Group.
Prior to being fully dedicated to her Affordable Housing responsibilities, Ms. Thompson spent two years also overseeing W&D Investment Partners (WDIP) including its fundraising and investment activities.
Ms. Thompson’s early real estate experience included underwriting at Green Park Financial, which now operates as Walker & Dunlop. She then joined Red Capital Group as an underwriter and rose to the position of Chief Underwriter and Head of At-Risk Credit, working on Agency, FHA, and balance sheet transactions. Prior to her return to Walker & Dunlop, she served as COO of PGIM Real Estate Finance’s Agency Lending Group where she had direct oversight and accountability for day-to-day operations of the group, including trading activities, deal management, underwriting and closing.
Ms. Thompson holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from The Pennsylvania State University. She is involved in several industry organizations and initiatives including NMHC, where she is the Chairman of the NMHC Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She is also a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Multifamily Bronze Council and a member of ULI’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI). Ms. Thompson also serves on several non-profit boards and is a board member of Veritas Impact Partners, an organization that provides social services to workforce housing communities. Additionally, she serves as the Vice Chairman of the board for Code of Support Foundation, a nonprofit organization that serves U.S. Service Members, Veterans, and their Families.
Diedre L. Windsor
President & CEO of Windsor Group LLC
Diedre L. Windsor is the founder of Windsor Group LLC, a professional services company based in Bethesda, Maryland.
Ms. Windsor, a native of Detroit, Michigan, enlisted in the US Army Finance Corps in October 1986. Her early assignments as a finance soldier include Neu Ulm, Germany and Fort Bragg, North Carolina where she served as a paratrooper with the elite 82nd Airborne Division. In 1992 Diedre was awarded an Army Green to Gold Scholarship resulting in her transition from the enlisted to officer ranks. Diedre was commissioned a Regular Army Air Defense Artillery (PATRIOT Missile) Officer and later transitioned to the Adjutant General Corps (Personnel). As a military officer, Diedre’s assignments spanned from Kunsan, South Korea to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and back to Fort Bragg, North Carolina where she served in a myriad of leadership roles until she retired from active service in September 2009 as a Major.
Upon retiring from the Military, Diedre continued along her public service path by joining the federal government. She assumed roles at the U.S. Department of Education first as Chief of Staff to the Federal Student Aid Chief Information Officer and Technology Office and later as Executive Officer and Director of Resources for the Officer for Civil Rights. After five years at Education, Diedre joined the career Senior Executive Service (SES) with the Department of Justice (DOJ), U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) as the Deputy Director for Management.
Diedre left the federal government in late 2016 to pursue entrepreneurship full time. Her company, Windsor Group LLC, provides a host of professional services and business solutions to public and private sectors. The company’s core services include Staff Augmentation, IT Support and Program and Project Management.
Diedre graduated from Methodist University in 1994 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and from Webster University in 2011with a master’s degree in Human Resource Management.
In 2015 Ms. Windsor authored her first book, Leadership begins with Hello! Practical Principles of Leadership ~ A Hip-pocket Guide which focuses on practical principles of leadership.
Ms. Windsor resides in Bethesda, Maryland with her family.
Brian R. Detter
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy & Executive Vice President of Artis
Brian Detter is an expert in defense acquisition programs and policy. He has served as a senior acquisition official, as a contractor, and as a consultant to businesses and universities.From 2009-12, he was deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, and his portfolio, roughly $55 billion annually, included Naval expeditionary systems, R&D programs, urgent needs, and logistics and sustainment. He also had DoD-wide lead for key joint programs during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including MRAP and counter radio-controlled electronic warfare (JCREW) programs. He was also responsible for the department’s annual science and technology awards.Brian currently serves as executive vice president of Artis, a defense R&D company based in Herndon, VA, and as president of Forward Progress Group, LLC, a consulting company. Previously, he served as special assistant to the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and as special assistant to the undersecretary for Global Affairs at the State Department. He later served in the legislative affairs division of the U.S. Agency for International Development, working on Near East regional programs. Brian has worked in senior positions in the U.S. Senate and in the House of Representatives, and served as a defense analyst for the non-partisan Congressional Research Service. Earlier in his career, he worked extensively with the news media as a press secretary and as a journalist.He is active in his local community, and has served on several boards, including the Virginia Military Institute and the Army Science Board. He holds a B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a double major in journalism and political science.
Elizabeth El-Nattar
CEO, TRI-COR Industries, Inc.
Elizabeth El-Nattar is a transformational leader in the information technology (IT) industry with expertise in Strategic Planning, Human Capital Development, and Information Technology Innovations. She helps organizations achieve their mission objectives through IT innovation, culture transformation, process improvement, leadership development, performance management, marketing, and branding.
She currently serves as the CEO of TRI-COR Industries, Inc. (TCI) exercising her 20+ years of diverse industry experience from previous leadership roles in Telecommunications, Hosting, and IT consulting industries. She believes that companies like TCI aren’t built based on the bottom line; they are built by the people that lead them, and more importantly, their employees. The leaders of these companies must be committed to providing resources and opportunities for their employees to grow and achieve their maximum potential.
Previously, she held multiple technical positions in systems, network and software engineering, within both the private and public sectors.
She serves on the state’s Information Technology Advisory Council (ITAC), appointed by the governor of Virginia, which advises the state’s CIO and Secretary of Technology on all aspects of managing and securing information technology in the Commonwealth.
Elizabeth holds a B.S. in Information Systems, MBA, and a Doctorate ABD in Leadership studies.
Omeed Jafari
Founding Partner, Barrington Oaks, LLC
Omeed Jafari is the Founding Partner at Barrington Oaks, LLC, an Arlington-based management consulting firm specializing in corporate strategy and M&A due diligence. Barrington Oaks serves C-Level executives and investment professionals operating and investing in the Aerospace, Defense and Government Professional Services industries.
Prior to Barrington Oaks, Omeed was the VP of Strategy & Business development for Geographic Services, Inc. (GSI). At GSI, Omeed led strategic planning, new business development, M&A and other transaction pursuits. He contributed to the company’s strong growth over the first 3 years of his 6 year tenure as well as introduction of new products and services to National Security customers.
Omeed was an investment banker at Bluestone Capital Partners, which was acquired by Houlihan Lokey, as well as a management consultant at Renaissance Strategic Advisors. In both capacities, he supported dozens of corporate strategy engagements and M&A transactions with single enterprise values up to $2 billion.
Prior to his corporate career, Omeed worked as a Research Associate at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research in Washington, D.C., where he researched U.S.-Iran Foreign Policy. He also worked in support of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology & Logistics as a well as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Defense Exports & Control.
Omeed earned his MBA from the George Washington School of Business and his BA from the University of Virginia.
Robert Mangone
President, BrandCore LLC
Robert Mangone, President and Principal Consultant of brandCore, a marketing and strategic consulting practice focused on transformative, business-building solutions in the healthcare marketplace. He has worked extensively with Fortune 500 medical device, bio-tech and pharmaceutical companies, across various therapeutic classes – with engagements ranging from new product launches and product portfolio life-cycle and brand planning; to competitive blunting strategies, franchise re-positioning and direct-to-consumer and direct-to-physician go to market communication initiatives.
Before assuming his current position, Robert worked with inVentiv Health as Senior VP, Global Engagement Leader, serving various companies including Johnson & Johnson, Baxter, St. Jude Medical, AstraZeneca and Eli Lilly. Before transitioning into healthcare, Robert worked in account services at consumer-based marketing services firm, Young & Rubicam; managing such brands as AT&T, Disney, Dr Pepper, NYNEX, Advil and the United States Postal Service.
Robert is a graduate of James Madison University, lives in Princeton, NJ and has outside of work interests, which include basketball officiating, watching European futbol, golf and anything outdoors (especially reading on the beach.)
Shawn N. OldS
CEO, boodleAI
Shawn N. Olds currently serves as the CEO of boodleAI and brings 20+ years of experience in the military, government, non-profit and commercial sectors. He is also a member of the Board of Directors for The National Guard Youth Challenge Foundation, serves as Chairman of the Veterans for National Security Foundation and has expertise in technology, supply chain management and executive leadership.
After graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Mr. Olds started his career on active duty in the U.S. Army with the 82nd Airborne Division in Fort Bragg, NC. He subsequently transitioned to the private sector as logistics operations and technology consultant and then cofounded a Wireless media solutions Company, successfully serving as the Chief Operating Officer.
Mr. Olds was asked to return to government service after September 11, 2001, and helped to establish and lead a new technology office for the U.S. State Department Office of Counter Terrorism. He focused his work in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ghana and Ethiopia. Mr. Olds then transitioned back to the private sector working for PRTM Management Consultants (acquired by PwC in 2011) in the firm’s government practice, helping senior government officials develop public policy. During this period, he also helped to found and build PRTM’s private equity practice. Mr. Olds was then recruited by TAQA, a $30 billion Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund with investments across the energy value chain, to serve as the Chief Procurement Officer managing more than $3 billion in annual spend.
He then co-founded and served as the Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of the Belleau Wood Group, a proprietary merchant bank headquartered in Dubai focused on helping technology companies develop their businesses internationally.
Mr. Olds graduated from the U.S. Military Academy with a BS in Computer Science, earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and earned his Juris Doctor from the Northwestern School of Law. Most recently he published the text book Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management: A New Approach to Innovation for GCC Entrepreneurs. He is an active angel investor and advisor in several small companies.
Gorkem Sevinc
CTO & Co-Founder, Facet Wealth
Gorkem is a technology leader with experience in building, scaling and leading teams, and architecting enterprise-level software systems; with specific experience in Health IT, FinTech, Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics & Visualization, Big Data and Scalable Architectures
He has previously served as Managing Director of the Johns Hopkins Medicine Technology Innovation Center; CTO & co-founder of emocha Mobile Health, Inc – a mobile health platform to streamline continuum of care; and co-founder & CTO of Radiology Response – a medical imaging second opinion company. He is and has served in an advisory role for multiple startups in the Maryland – DC – Virginia area.
Education: Johns Hopkins University (MSE, Surgical Robotics, Computer Science), University of Kansas (BSc, Computer Science – Fulbright Scholar)
Kevin Sheehan
Managing General Partner, Multiplier Capital
Kevin Sheehan is the Managing General Partner of Multiplier Capital, a private equity fund with offices in Washington, DC, New York and Los Angeles that was formed in 2012. Multiplier primarily makes senior secured loans to established, high growth companies backed by top-tier venture capital and private equity sponsors. Currently, Multiplier Capital manages over $230 million in investable capital, and emphasizes enterprise software, digital media and cyber security investments.
Prior to co-founding Multiplier Capital, Mr. Sheehan served from 2002 until 2011 as President & Chief Executive Officer of ORIX Venture Finance (“OVF”). OVF is affiliated with ORIX Corporation, Japan’s largest non-regulated finance company with approximately $50 billion in assets worldwide. Mr. Sheehan founded OVF in 2002, and during the years that he led the company, OVF executed approximately $1 billion in investments with strong returns.
Before joining ORIX, Mr. Sheehan was a corporate transactional attorney at the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York, focusing on mergers & acquisition work for financial institutions. He had a prior career in public service:
- Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of State for International Security Affairs in the U.S. Department of State from 1989 to 1992, with special responsibilities for administering the U.S. government’s security assistance and arms transfer program;
- Infantry officer in the U.S. Army in the United States and Europe. Commanded infantry soldiers in West Berlin, Germany;
- Law clerk to Judge Stanley Sporkin (U.S. District Court, District of Columbia); and
- Assistant Professor of Political Science at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Mr. Sheehan received a BS degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point, an AM and a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard University, and a JD from Columbia University. He is a member of the bar of the states of New York, Connecticut and the District of Columbia, and has been published in the areas of national security and law.
Mr. Sheehan is also a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Army-Navy Club of Washington, D.C. and the Harvard Club of New York, and has served as an advisor on the U.S Army’s Venture Capital Initiative. He is married to Julia Spicer, and currently resides in Washington, DC.
Rebecca Stewart
Certified Business Performance Advisor, Insperity, Inc.
Rebecca Stewart, CBPA, is a Certified Business Performance Advisor with Insperity, Inc. (NYSE: NSP), a leading provider of human resources and business performance solutions for America’s best businesses. Since starting with Insperity eight years ago, Rebecca has worked closely with business owners and company leadership nationwide to understand the needs of their companies and identify their opportunities for increased growth and profitability. With Insperity, Rebecca has a multi-disciplinary team of experts at her disposal to enable business leaders to be more systematic and strategic in the role people play in the success of their companies.
Rebecca’s dedication to the business community extends well beyond her role with Insperity. She has served with the Association for Corporate Growth, Central Texas Chapter, for four years, including a full one-year term as the group’s Executive Vice President. She also served for two years on the Board of Advisors for People Fund, a nonprofit financial and educational assistance program that has helped create thousands of jobs to put Texans on a path to financial stability and independence.
On top of professional interests, Rebecca has spent the past eight years working in the community on behalf of veterans’ interests. Her recent appointment to the Board for Code of Support Foundation enables her to extend her reach advocating for veterans’ rights nationwide.
Melissa Glynn
Chief Strategy Officer, Prometheus Federal Services
Melissa is the Chief Strategy Officer of Prometheus Federal Services. She has over 28 years of professional experience as a leader in consulting organizations and in Federal service. She began her career in higher education as a co-director of an academic research center and principal investigator for a National Science Foundation University/Industry Collaborative Research Center at the University of Arizona primarily working with the Department of Defense (DoD).
Melissa served as a Senate confirmed appointee, Assistant Secretary for Enterprise Integration (Chief Management and Performance Officer) at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Melissa was responsible for oversight for department wide transformation including the $50 billion implementation of the MISSION Act – providing Veterans increased access to healthcare in the community. She was also responsible for the leading the Joint Executive Committee for coordination between the VA and the DoD. Additionally, she spearheaded a program to employ at risk veterans with several VA medical centers funded with a social impact fund.
Melissa was awarded a 2020 Gears of Government award by the Office of Management and Budget for exceptional contributions. Prior to her services at VA, Melissa was advising public sector clients on large-scale change through restructuring operations, implementing enabling technologies, driving cultural change and building human capital capacity to improve value to citizens while achieving fiscal stability for state and local government agencies and advising organizations which serve governments.
Melissa received her undergraduate degree at Rutgers University and her masters and doctorate from the University of Arizona.
