Alan H McGowan, selected as 2019’s Top Science and Technical Expert by the International Association of Top Professionals, also received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who’s Who that same year. Now a Lecturer at The New School, he served first as chair of the Science, Technology, and Society Program (now called the Interdisciplinary Science Program) then as chair of the Environmental Studies Program, where he developed several new initiatives, including a newsletter going to four hundred leaders in global environmental studies, and an internal “Friday Letter” going to interested staff and faculty.

After graduating Yale University with an engineering degree, and a two-year stint at American Electric Power, a public utility, Mr. McGowan left to pursue graduate work in physics, then taught science and mathematics at private schools for ten years, winning the Teacher Recognition Award from the American Association of Physics Teachers in 1968. Following that, after serving for five years as Scientific Administrator of the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, an interdisciplinary environmental research, and training program at Washington University in St. Louis, he became president of the Scientists’ Institute for Public Information (SIPI), which under his leadership became a major bridge between the scientific and journalist communities. Board Chairs of SIPI included such people as Margaret Mead, Lewis Thomas, and David Baltimore. SIPI’s Media Resource Service, its signature program of which Walter Cronkite was the Honorary Chair, fielded up to fifty calls a day from journalists connecting them to expert sources. Another important program was “TV News: The Cutting Edge,” weekend gatherings of local and national television news directors and leading scientists, including Nobel Laureates.

When changing foundation priorities forced SIPI to close, he founded and ran The Gene Media Forum, part of the Newhouse School of Journalism of Syracuse University, which served as a bridge among geneticists, ethicists, and journalists. Highlights of the program included a major conference in South Africa on genetically modified organisms funded by the Rockefeller Foundation, a session on race, genes, and intelligence which aired on ABC News, and a session on genetics and injuries featuring Christopher Reeves.

Mr. McGowan was a member of both the New York State and the New York City Advisory Committees on Energy Policy and was for twenty years the scientist member of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. He has served on many boards and advisory committees, including the Center for the Advancement of Health, the Organization of Tropical Studies, and the Metcalf Institute of the Oceanography School of the University of Rhode Island. He chaired the board of Student Pugwash, USA, an offshoot of the Pugwash Conference on Science and Public Affairs; the organization focuses on ethical issues in science and technology. He currently serves on the board and executive committee of the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, where he chairs the Legal and Governance Committee. He is also one of six Executive Editors of Environment magazine, now published by Taylor and Francis.

He is the author of over one hundred articles focusing on the interconnections among science, society, and technology, both in peer-reviewed journals and the popular press. They have appeared in Jewish Currents, Christian Science Monitor, PTA Magazine, Think magazine, World Book Encyclopedia, and many others. He has presented his research on Franz Boas, ethical issues in science and innovative course in science at scientific and education conferences around the world, and in seminars at Columbia and Princeton Universities as well as at The New School. In addition, he has written over one hundred editorials for Environment magazine over a forty-year period, including one in 1978 warning of the perils of global climate change.

Bob Ramirez, DBA, MBA, DACFP | Faculty Chair, Academic Excellence/Professor of Business and Management, Author and Speaker

Dr. Robert Ramirez is an investing and business expert, author, educator, and speaker. He has dedicated his career to helping people achieve financial security. 

Through his books, speeches, and podcast interviews, Dr. Ramirez shares valuable insights on investment options and discusses important topics in today's financial marketplace. 

His commitment to financial education has helped many people take control of their financial futures.

After fifteen years designing the interiors of beautiful homes and offices, Alejandra found herself missing something. She took a break from work and focused on her most important client – herself. Her mental and emotional interior needed a reboot. She found that in Feng Shui.

Working with and studying under a Feng Shui master practitioner helped Alejandra unlock a new and wonderful set of principles to combine with years of high-end design success. With these combined experiences, Alejandra delivers beautifully designed spaces that improve the lives of her clients, their employees, and their families.

Alejandra experiences true inner joy when she sees the impact of her service on the lives of her clients. Her mission is to enhance far more than the appearance of their home or office, but to improve their well-being and lifestyle in a way they had not imagined.

Alejandra holds the follow accreditations:
Certification in the BTB style of Feng Shui and Bau-Biology under Karen Rauch Carter and the Academy of Exquisite Living
Professional Member of the International Feng Shui Guild (IFSG)
Certified in Biophilic Design from the Luminous
Spaces Feng Shui School. This is an IFSG Approved Gold School.
Certified Crystal Healer

Born in Austin, Texas, Alejandra was adopted at just five weeks old and raised in a Mexican-American family culture in Laredo. She is fluent in both English and Spanish, graduating from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Arts Degree. Notre Dame was where Alejandra met her future husband, Art Brady. She and Art married and gave birth to their son Ryan.

At age 50, Alejandra began her spiritual journey. Coupled with the training she experienced in Feng Shui, her awakening brought her new insight into the mystical world of infinite possibilities and abundance. Her book I Just Can’t Make This Sh!t Up: Overcoming Fear and Accepting My Spiritual Gifts is the result of that journey.

Andrew McGregor has an eclectic background in the not-for-profit and social enterprise worlds drawing from his expertise as a filmmaker, Grammy nominated bagpiper, inventor, writer, chess-boxing champion, entrepreneur, frequent TEDx speaker, mentor, Highlands games athlete, photojournalist, magician, Curator of MindshareLA, and a founder of The Tiziano Project.

He was named one of ‘LA’s 40 Most Interesting People’ by LA Weekly, was part of a team that won the SXSW Interactive Award for Activism, won the ‘Foreigner’ division of an Independence Day Chess Tournament in Kazakhstan, and he has been featured in the Sports Section of the ‘NY Times’.

The Heart of the Community Engagement & Opportunity Council
CEOC Founder and CEO Scott Turner has always had a heart for helping people, as shown by his long history of serving others. He and his wife Robin created their family foundation in 2021 with the mission to help those living in impoverished communities by providing life-giving, sustainable resources and opportunities.

Immediate effect & long term sustainability
The formation of CEOC came shortly after Scott returned from his role as Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC). Here, he initiated the revitalization process in areas that have been deeply affected by poverty and hopelessness for generations. Under his leadership, private entities invested more than $75 billion in under-resourced communities located in Federally designated Opportunity Zones. The results of his efforts have been life-changing, showing both immediate effects and long-term sustainability for so many people.
Prior to his work in the White House, Scott served two terms in the Texas House of Representatives and most recently, he held the longstanding title of Chief Inspiration Officer for nearly 17 years at Systemware, Inc.

Scott currently operates as Chief Visionary Officer at JPI and CEO of Scott Turner Consulting Group. He is also a Senior Advisor to the EVP of Football Operations at the National Football League (NFL) and serves as an associate pastor at Prestonwood Baptist Church.

Additionally, Scott is a nationally recognized motivational speaker and serves on numerous boards including:
America First Policy Institute's Center for Education Opportunity
America Cornerstone Institute
Baylor Scott & White
Dallas Baptist University
The Master Cares Foundation

lCuneyt Dil is a co-author of the daily Axios DC local newsletter. Dil reports a weekly column on local politics and power called Town Talker. Previously, Cuneyt was covering California and West Virginia state government for The Associated Press. He has also reported on DC politics and government for the Washington City Paper, TheDCLine.org, The Current Newspapers, DCist.com and Capital Community News. In 2015, Dil founded District Links, the local DC politics newsletter.
 

Vickie was born in Hickory, North Carolina. Vickie and her family have been a part of the Colorado Springs community since 1996. Her family has a tradition of military service connecting Vickie to our military bases in Colorado Springs.    

After graduating from high school, Vickie attended Montreat College. She was the first in her immediate family to attend college. She was active in her church, as a worship leader, church secretary, traveling soloist, and she was the singles ministry leader. Vickie worked in the Business Development office for the City of Hickory in North Carolina. From 1990 to 2002, Vickie raised her family, putting her career on pause for the most important job there is, being a parent. In 1997, the Tonkins family started a non-profit organization, The Destiny Project, Inc.    

Vickie attended Colorado Christian University (CCU) in 2002 to complete her degree in Organizational Management. She helped start James Erwin Charter Middle School, hiring staff, and overseeing student discipline, while attending college. She graduated from CCU with honors in 2004. Vickie earned her Master of Arts Degree in Education Administration and Supervision from the University of Phoenix in 2006 while working full time. She earned a license in School Administration in 2008 and her license is still current.  Vickie was a professor at the University of Phoenix from 2009 to 2017.  

Vickie works for ComPsych Corporation as a Facilitator/Trainer in Staff Development for corporations. Vickie believes in the 2nd amendment and is a contract Representative for US Law Shield, sharing with others the right they have to legally defend themselves. She is active politically in Colorado Springs and in December 2015, was elected President of the Colorado Springs Republican Women's Club.  Vickie was re-elected President, in November 2017, for another 2-year term. In March of 2017, Vickie was elected Bonus Member to the El Paso County Republican Party and serves on the Bylaws Committee for the Party.   On May 15, 2018, Vickie joined the MLO Oversight Committee for D-11 School District.