Mark A. Barondess is a member of Funk & Bolton, P.A., resident in the Annapolis office and a member of the firm's Local Government Practice Group.

A trial lawyer for roughly 25 years, Mr. Barondess has earned a reputation as one of the most aggressive civil advocates in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. He has tried complex cases in state and federal courts throughout the country. As a defense attorney, Mr. Barondess has a diverse practice, concentrating in the fields of commercial litigation, partnership and contractual rights litigation, fiduciary rights litigation, medical and legal malpractice litigation, real estate and construction litigation, and local government litigation. He also has substantial experience in complex and high-profile domestic relations litigation. Mr. Barondess holds the preeminent "AV" rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

For many years, Mr. Barondess has represented the interests of CNN broadcaster Larry King and his affiliated companies as general counsel. Other high-profile clients have included a former Presidential candidate, an Academy Award winning actress, a Grammy Award winner, various sports legends and several Olympic Gold Medalists. Mr. Barondess has also represented members of Congress and senior officials in the Federal Executive Branch of Government.

Mr. Barondess recently represented a major public utility in a complex state court claim brought by a publicly traded company seeking in excess of $500 million in damages. Mr. Barondess also recently defended Academy Award winner Spencer Tracy's daughter in a jury trial resulting in an award of damages of $2 on a claim of over $3 million in damages and further secured for his client the ownership of the actual Oscar statues awarded Spencer Tracy.

Mr. Barondess serves as a Judge Pro Tempore and Neutral Case Evaluator for the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia, and is a Commissioner in Chancery for that Court. He also has served as a member of the Fifth District Disciplinary Committee of the Virginia State Bar.

Since 1994, Mr. Barondess has served on the Board of Directors of the Larry King Cardiac Foundation. In addition, Mr. Barondess serves as general counsel for the Larry King Cardiac Foundation and as general counsel for and a Member of the Board of Directors of the We are Family Foundation. He also serves on the Board of Ambassadors of The Johns Hopkins Project Restore, and is an active supporter of the Nancy Davis Foundation and The Race to Erase MS.

Mr. Barondess authored the book What were you Thinking?? which provides sound, practical advice on separation and divorce negotiations.

Dr. Leslie Kernisan has been practicing geriatrics since 2006, and is board-certified in Internal Medicine and in Geriatric Medicine. She’s always particularly enjoyed caring for elders living at home. She also has a deep interest in educating and supporting family caregivers, and collaborated with a leading website for family caregivers, Caring.com, from 2008-2013.

Along with her consultative practice and geriatric-health writing, she’s a clinical instructor in the University of California, San Francisco, (UCSF) Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, and regularly teaches UCSF students.

Dr. Kernisan is a graduate of Princeton University and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and completed her Internal Medicine residency and geriatrics fellowship at UCSF. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley.

Keen to improve the health care system for elders and their caregivers, Dr. Kernisan has additionally pursued three years of geriatrics research fellowship at UCSF, studying epidemiology, biostatistics, health systems, and quality improvement. Her research on health care quality was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2009; another paper on caregiver information-seeking was published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research in 2010.

From 2010-2012 Dr. Kernisan was a geriatrician at the Over 60 Health Center in Berkeley. During her last nine months there, she also served as its medical director, overseeing clinical care.

When not thinking about better medical care for America’s elderly, Dr. Kernisan enjoys music, reading, and exploring the Bay Area with her spouse and two young children.

Read Dr. Kernisan’s Caring.com articles on various geriatric and medical topics. Dr. Kernisan also blogs for other clinicians about geriatrics and technology

Dr. Rainey received his dental degree from the University of Texas, Houston. He is the director of the Texas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies and is a past president of the Corpus Christi chapter of the Academy of General Dentistry. He is an adjunct associate professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center School of Dentistry at San Antonio. As an innovator of modern Minimally Invasive and Air Abrasive dentistry, he has contributed to developing a scientific approach to operative dentistry. His innovations in microdentistry have resulted in six patents granted to date. In addition to lecturing world wide, he has authored numerous publications, focusing on microdentistry and previously undocumented tooth structures. A descendant of the original pioneering families who settled Texas, Dr. Rainey maintains a private practice in Refugio, Texas.

Jerome R. Corsi, a Harvard Ph.D., has authored many books, including No. 1 N.Y. Times bestsellers The Obama Nation and Unfit for Command. Along with serving as WND’s senior staff reporter, Corsi is a senior managing director at Gilford Securities.

Dr. Corsi is a #1 New York Times Bestseller author of the BLOCKBUSTERS: THE OBAMA NATION, UNFIT FOR COMMAND--SWIFT BOAT VETERANS SPEAK OUT AGAINST JOHN KERRY, BAD SAMARITANS and now , his latest book: TRICKS THAT GAVE OBAMA THE WHITE HOUSE AGAIN----the inside story of the GOP debacle and how it can be avoided.

Dr. Corsi has also appeared on FOX NEWS ön MSNBC and on numerous radio shows, covering immigration issues, economic issues, Iran and presidential politics.

Mark Abadi is a Holistic Psychologist, Public Speaker, Life Coach, Therapist and Author working with health and wellbeing from a multi-disciplinary perspective. After a chance meeting with a spiritual teacher at age 15, Mark began his inner exploration through meditation and philosophical investigation. Twenty years later, he now teaches advanced meditation across the globe, offers individual personal development sessions, and writes on the subject of Science, Spirituality and Self. While completing two Degrees, BSc in Psychology and a Masters in Occupational Health Psychology in Great Britain, he observed a gap in the curriculum, the holistic nature of being was missing. Applying research techniques he dove into the study of complementary holistic therapy techniques, including reflexology, nutrition, aromatherapy and deep tissue massage. He later went on to work with energy field scanning machines, and spent 10 years researching the interactive nature of the body’s energy systems. He is an expert in the interaction of the mind, body matrix and at maximising change through a multileveled therapy practice. With a great interest in how space resonates with Human health, happiness and wellbeing.

Along the way he realised his ability to disseminate intricate theory in a fun, entertaining and creative way. He was a born performer, making the complex simple and exciting. His passion for the truth and reality comes through in his live performances and now his writings. Having lectured at international conferences on energy medicine and holistic integrated health, he was invited to host several conferences and teach on the new module in Energy Medicine, part of the Masters in Wellness at RMIT University in Australia.

Mark also developed a unique integrative holistic platform called Psychapressure, providing space for people to shift their non-serving habit patterns. This is an interactive journey into the person’s pain to allow them to ‘burn in the fires of change’. Its principles include: there is nothing to fix, simple self acceptance, honoring your emotions and surrendering to the truth of who you are. 

In November 2012 after many years of working, Mark published his first book ‘evolve’.

Brooke Medicine Eagle is an Earth Keeper, wisdom teacher, healer, visionary, singer/songwriter, catalyst for wholeness, and ceremonial leader. She is the best selling author of "Buffalo Woman Comes Singing" and "The Last Ghost Dance". In January, 2000, in recognition of her remarkable contributions for bridging cultural gaps in our world, Medicine Eagle was one of only 30 people to receive the special Magical Blend Millennium Award along with the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jean Houston, Oprah Winfrey, Deepak Chopra, and others. Brooke focuses part of her love and joy into the healing power of music, and she is also a sacred ecologist with a focus on living a harmonious and sustainable lifestyle dedicated to preserving our sacred waters and honoring Mother Earth.
 

Melanie is German and lives in Brussels. During two decades, she has gained valuable experience in public relations and events management of international associations. Her former positions involved close cooperation with the European Institutions and organisation of numerous international conferences and trade shows. Melanie has a proven track record in working with high-level authorities such as the European Commission and the European Parliament, the organisation of network meetings, needs assessment and implementation for particular “client groups” as well as successfully carrying out pan-European and interregional projects with the aim of promoting international cooperation.

In her last position, she has worked as the Communications Manager of a European navigation satellite system developed by the European Space Agency (ESA). Prior to this, she was the Public Relations and Events Officer at a European Foundation committed to the improvement of rights and situations of youth at risk. The organisation is acting as a lobbying and advocacy platform towards the European Union.

For most of her life, she was a passionate marathon runner. Melanie has been the team leader of various group marathons she organised for awareness- and fund-raising benefiting children charities or homeless persons’ refuge projects.

To her great regret, such activity is now infeasible due to the physiological damage and debility suffered as a consequence of being a victim of electronic terrorism.

As a convinced European, Melanie is is profoundly attached to the fundamental European principles of peace, justice and freedom, as expressed by the European Union in its Anthem.

« Europe, may your peoples flourish,
Let the common banner rise!
Stars of gold and dark blue skies
Are the colours that we prize. »

Melanie Vritchan is currently a member of the Board of the European Coalition Against Covert Harassment.

Susan Avila-Smith is a former Army linguist who has experienced both MST (Military Sexual Trauma) and PTSD (Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder). As a veterans' advocate for those with MST and PTSD she has to her credits approximately 4,000 claims settled on behalf of fellow veterans suffering from MST, PTSD or both.

Founder and Director of VetWow, Ms. Susan Avila-Smith is a sought-after media guest who has spoken to international audiences about the challenges faced by survivors of Military Sexual Trauma - sexual harassment, assault and rape while serving on active duty. She has appeared on CNN, Good Morning America, MSNBC, 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC, 20/20, NPR, Time, Newsweek, The New York Times and others, as well as testifying at the House Military Subcommittee on Military Sexual Trauma. From VAMC health care to the VARO benefits system, she has discussed both their benefits and failures from the perspective of MST victims. Currently, she trains other advocates to help with this work. And realizing that American service personnel's needs were too often being ignored by the military and the government, she formed VetWow; the leading grassroots non-partisan organization, which addresses the needs of American service members and veterans.

Susan extends herself with courage, revealing something few MST survivors can express. In telling the story of her personal trauma and subsequent struggle, she opens the door to an insider's view of the hostile world confronting victims of MST. Her battles with bureaucrats for rightful recognition and compensation for her permanent disabilities trigger disgust and anger in those learning about the reality of the very system that is supposed to care for her and others with MST.

Ms. Avila-Smith's Active Duty training, her experience of reporting both DV and MST while in the Military, of being treated for years by Washington State's best counselors, of obtaining VA Benefits, and her extensive contact with other Active Duty and Veteran MST survivors as well as her participation in the 60-day National Center for PTSD's Women's Trauma Recovery Program (WTRP) give her an inside view of the real issues surrounding MST that is not offered anywhere else.

"I have changed victim's lives by helping them apply for and win their VA benefits, and I have had an extraordinary life over the past 15 years because of it. I have learned much and want to share this knowledge with people who can teach or do this work. By working on my personal PTSD issues, helping others, and sharing my experience; I have become healthier."

Since leaving the military, she has been a tireless advocate for veterans, and women veterans in particular. Ms. Avila-Smith is well-versed on the effects of PTSD. She speaks to these issues, as well as the increasing rates of suicide, substance abuse and homelessness among our service members. Her work is funded out of pocket.

KIRBY DICK is an Academy and Emmy Award nominated documentary director. His most recent film, OUTRAGE, which was nominated for an Emmy and released by Magnolia Pictures, is a searing indictment of the hypocrisy of powerful closeted politicians and the political and media institutions that protect them. In 2006 he directed THIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED, released by IFC Films. A breakthrough investigation of the highly secretive MPAA film ratings system, the film compelled the MPAA to make long overdue changes in the way it rates films.

The Invisible War Movie PosterDick's prior film, TWIST OF FAITH, is the powerful story of a man confronting the trauma of his past sexual abuse by a Catholic priest. Produced for HBO, TWIST OF FAITH received a 2004 Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature. Dick's other films include, DERRIDA, a complex portrait of the world-renowned French philosopher Jacques Derrida, which won the Golden Gate Award at the San Francisco Film Festival, and the internationally acclaimed SICK: THE LIFE & DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST, which won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and the Grand Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Dr. Gay HannaGay Powell Hanna, Ph.D., M.F.A., an arts administration leader with 30 years management experience in the arts, education and health related program services, is the executive director of the National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA), an affiliate of George Washington University. NCCA is an interdisciplinary nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering an understanding of the vital relationship between creative expression and the quality of life for older people regardless of ethnic, economic status or level of physical or cognitive functioning. NCCA provides professional development and technical assistance including service as a clearinghouse for best practices, research and policy development to encourage and sustain arts and humanities program in various community and health care settings.

Previously Dr. Hanna served as the executive director of the Society for the Arts in Health from 2003 through May 2007. Through faculty positions at Florida State University and University of South Florida from 1987 to 2003, Dr. Hanna directed VSA Arts of Florida, an affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, providing arts education programs for people with disabilities including people with chronic illness. In 2001, she established the Florida Center for Creative Aging at the Florida Policy Exchange Center on Aging at the University of South Florida to address quality of life issues. As a contributing author to numerous articles and books, Dr. Hanna was the lead author of a recently published white paper produced by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Arts and Human Development, Framing A National Research Agenda For The Arts, Lifelong Learning, And Individual Well-Being (November 2011). Dr. Hanna is an associate professor at George Washington University in the Health Sciences Department. She holds a Ph. D. in arts education with a specialization in arts administration focusing on underserved communities from Florida State University; a M.F.A. in sculpture from the University of Georgia; and a bachelor of arts degree, magna cum laude in studio art, from Old Dominion University. She also holds certification in program evaluation from Florida State University and a nonprofit management executive certificate from Georgetown University.

Breakthrough Brain Health for Optimal Mental Clarity and Mood Management

Tony Stephan has a rare tragedy-to-triumph story about the mental health of loved ones as he developed a brain-nutrient supplement - internationally tested over 15 years - with unprecedented results.

This is a huge boost for one's optimal mental and physical health, especially stress coping as effects anxiety, blood pressure, anger, digestion, skin health, insomnia, brain fog, big mood swings, and afflicted mental health worthy of a "check up from the neck up": depression, bipolar, ADD/ADHD, addiction/OCD, trauma, autism, fibromyalgia, migraines, and many other brain-body conditions.

If you have loved ones suffering from debilitating mental health, Tony's story will give you hope with an opportunity to truly help. Since 1996, Tony's 'brain food' has benefited tens of thousands of people in over sixty countries.

Emmy nominated casting director Craig Campobasso is writing, producing directing his Short Film Stranger at the Pentagon based on the popular UFO book about Created Being Valiant Thor (from Venus) who lived at the Pentagon under the Eisenhower Administration. This film is in post production.

His first book The Autobiography of an ExtraTerrestrial Saga: I AM Thyron is about the star seed program currently underway on Earth from Melchizedek.

It was at age 26, when Craig had a spiritual awakening with Master Teachers (including Melchizedek, the Universe’s University of 490 planets in an outer space city) and he began receiving communications from other dimensions. His ‘universally awake’ training is still active now, 27 years after initial contact.

Join Star Gate Round Table as this fascinating story/interview unfolds. There will be an opportunity to call in and ask your questions.

Radames Pera now Radames Pera was born in New York City in 1960. He moved to Hollywood with his mother in 1963 so she could pursue her acting career (their first apartment was around the corner from the historic Chinese Theater on Hollywood Blvd.). In 1967 Radames was discovered by director Daniel Mann and cast as Stavros, the dying son of Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas in A Dream of Kings (1968). His mother found him an agent and he ended up guest-starring in several TV shows in the late 1960s and 1970s. An early live television appearance was as Oliver Twist on The Red Skelton Show (1969). For the first few years of his career he tended to be cast in roles as the sensitive or troubled boy. This reputation led to his landing the co-starring role of the Shaolin monk, "Grasshopper" in the seminal TV series Kung Fu (1972) and later as the writer/poet John Jr. (and Mary Ingalls' fiancée) in Little House on the Prairie (1975).

In the summer of 1978 Radames began his three-year intensive study of acting and directing with Stella Adler, first in L.A. and then at her Conservatory in New York City. While in New York he portrayed Alan Bates' estranged son in the British feature film, Very Like a Whale (1981).

After returning to Los Angeles in 1981 Radames then discovered for himself the painful reality that nearly every child actor faces: "The Business" was done with him. Because he was no longer a "child actor" and was now (un-)officially an "ex-child star" he was basically un-hirable! Even though he was as the top of his game, experience and training wise, casting executives were unable to see beyond their pidgeon-hole. As strange as this might sound, imagine being on the receiving end of it!

Radames' last feature film role was working opposite Charlie Sheen, Patrick Swayze and Lea Thompson as the Soviet Radar Tracking Expert, Sgt. Stepan Gorsky in John Milius' Red Dawn (1984). That same year he wed his wife, Marsha Mann. His last TV role was working with Stacy Keach as a Nazi vigilante youth-gang leader in The New Mike Hammer (1985).

In 1988 he started his own business designing and installing home theaters and residential sound systems. In 1993 he successfully moved his family and business to Portland, Oregon, then returned to Southern California in 2002, living in Ventura from 2002-2004. Since the end of '04 Radames has been a resident of Austin, Texas, where he has continued pursuing his writing and directing talents.
 

Dr. Grace Gawler DHM (dist) DBSc ATMS Mem IPOS (International Society for Psycho-Psychology) has been involved with teaching cancer survival strategies for more than 39 years. Trained as an Herbalist/ Naturopath with an early background working in veterinary medicine with her ex husband who became a cancer patient in 1974. Over the years Grace became a pro-life cancer recovery strategist and trained in body psychotherapy with Ilana Rubenfeld in the USA. She co-founded Australia's first Cancer Support groups and residential courses and has worked throughout the world in the area of cancer as a public and keynote speaker and workshop facilitator. She has chosen to emphasize the emotional-psycho-spiritual aspect of cancer recovery and management at all stages. Grace learned a great deal when in 1997 unexpected post-surgical complications from a routine surgery left her with colon paralysis. After 21 surgeries geared at keeping her alive Grace eventually found her solution - an experimental 'bionic' sacroneuromodulation implant performed in Holland. The procedure was a 'world first' for this condition. Grace had her life back knowing what it was like to be in the shoes of a patient with a life threatening condition. She wrote her memoir Grace, Grit and Gratitude in 2008 to celebrate her survival.

As Founder and Director of the Grace Gawler Institute, Grace can now help patients to find integrated cancer solutions. She helps patients to transform the challenge, PTSD, fear and myriad of emotional issues surrounding cancer into becoming a successful patient - the best one can be whatever the outcome. She works in conjunction with medical oncology and integrative oncology clinics in Australia and Europe assisting patients with fully supported medi-tours to Hallwang Private Oncology Clinic in Germany's Black Forest. You can listen to Grace's US-based free to air internet radio show Navigating the Cancer Maze on Voice America’s Health and Wellness channel.

Deanna Adams is a freelance writer, essayist, writing instructor, and speaker whose articles and essays have been published in Ohio Magazine, Writers' Digest, Northern Ohio Live, The Plain Dealer, Sesame Street Parents Magazine, Soho Magazine, Lake County Business Journal, Today’s Family, Lake Erie Living Magazine, and other publications. She also contributed an article on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for the The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia.

Her first book, Rock ‘n’ Roll and the Cleveland Connection by Kent State University Press, was a finalist for the 2003 ARSC Award (Association for Recorded Sound Collections) for excellence in research, and a 2003 finalist for the Ohioana Book Award for nonfiction.

Her book, Confessions of a Not-So-Good Catholic Girl, is a collection of true stories about growing up a baby boomer in the Midwest.

Her latest book, Cleveland's Rock and Roll Roots, is a photographic celebration of the rich and colorful Cleveland music history of the '50s through the '70s.

Deanna is an instructor at Lakeland Community College, and director of the Western Reserve Writers' Conference, and the founder of Women Writers’ Winter Retreat.

She has recently completed her next book, a novel.
 

Chaplain Anne, a Jewish believer, with her husband Chaplain Bill, a veteran, have written the book: A VETERAN -- HOW TO GUIDE, born out of the many frustrations Chaplain Bill had encountered in trying to collect his rightful veterans' benefits.

Both Chaplains Anne and Bill are dedicated to helping others find solutions in their times of need. Chaplain Bill also issues regular Bible Studies and Chaplain Anne is also a gifted painter.

Chaplain Bill, a veteran, with his wife, Chaplain Anne, a jewish believer, have written the book: A VETERAN -- HOW TO GUIDE, born out of the many frustrations Chaplain Bill had encountered in trying to collect his rightful veterans' benefits.

Both Chaplains Bill and Anne are dedicated to helping others find solutions in their times of need. Chaplain Bill also issues regular Bible Studies and Chaplain Anne is also a gifted painter.

I focus on living life consciously aware of my intuitive inner wisdom and allowing that energy to guide my thoughts, my words and my actions. My 30-year career has spanned many aspects of holistic healing, including working as a registered psychiatric nurse, Gestalt-trained counselor, clinical hypnotherapist, and energy practitioner. As a 4th generation psychic and medical intuitive, I blend all of these disciplines and teach a truly holistic understanding of wellbeing physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

As my holistic skills developed I noticed more harmony and balance in my personal life. This harmony came by positively focusing on my personal thought processes, attuning to the Infinite Intelligence of the Spirit realm and following inspired action. Intuition is that natural connection with higher intelligence. We all have it because it comes with our physical body at birth. We are each a spark and sparkle of All That Is.

Intuition and our psychic abilities are the rising awareness of our times. New Age is really age old wisdom that is resurfacing now. There is nothing new regarding our innate instincts. We really are the creators of our lives. We can thoughtlessly create or consciously create. Living aware and moving through life with inspired action is conscious creation and what I cherish most. When you tap into that profound voice of your soul and follow its melody, the song of your life will fine tune into its natural rhythm.

Edward Loomis worked at NSA for 37 years. With education in Math and Computer Systems, he rose to become a senior Systems Engineer and Computer Scientist at NSA. To help NSA modernize for the digital age, he strung together a number of systems that he had developed, adding Bill Binney's work. This became the THINTHREAD prototype. It was intended to help the Agency leap forward, but instead was seen as a threat because it was more advanced and far cheaper than the Director's TRAILBLAZER program.

Loomis retired in late 2001 and worked another 5 years as a contractor on NSA projects, until his clearances were removed and his home was searched as part of the Times leak investigation. He keeps active kayaking, hiking and gardening, and enjoys collecting art.

J. Kirk Weibe was raised in rural Indiana. He became an analyst at NSA and later worked in both technical and management positions. Wiebe and the unit of 70 analysts that he managed received two prestigious NSA awards. He then linked up with Ed Loomis and Bill Binney in their determination to modernize and automate NSA. After 26 years of service, he retired along with them after NSA rejected their THINTHREAD approach in favor of the TRAILBLAZER program. Wiebe then organized a confidential hotline complaint asking the Inspector General of the Dept. of Defense to investigate TRAILBLAZER's waste of money and ethical problems. Loomis, Roark and Binney also signed it, and Tom Drake assisted the investigators. After a 2-1/2 year investigation The I.G. verified their complaints, but the findings are still kept classified. After the Times leak about warrantless wiretaps, the FBI immediately demanded that the I.G. turn over the confidential names of those who had requested the investigation. All 5 were raided in 2007. Six years later, they are still attempting to recover their property.