Part journalist, part historian, and all shrewd political observer, Ron Brownstein explains the complexities of American politics with lucid precision. As the political director of Atlantic Media Company, the editorial director of National Journal, and a senior political and election analyst for CNN, he produces sharp analysis on politics, policy, the electorate, media, healthcare, and the range of issues informed by his strong sense of American political and national history.

Robert Gates served as the 22nd secretary of defense (2006-2011) and is the only secretary of defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in that office by a newly elected President. President Barack Obama is the eighth president Gates has served. He previously served under President George W. Bush.

On Gates’ last day in office, President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.

Before becoming secretary of defense in 2006, Gates was the president of Texas A&M University, the nation’s seventh largest university. Prior to assuming the Texas A&M presidency on August 1, 2002, he served as interim dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M from 1999 to 2001.

Gates joined the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional. During that period, he spent nearly nine years at the National Security Council, the White House, serving four presidents of both political parties.

Gates served as director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993. He is the only career officer in CIA’s history to rise from entry-level employee to director. He served as deputy director of Central Intelligence from 1986 until 1989 and as assistant to the President and deputy national security adviser at the White House from January 20, 1989 until November 6, 1991, for President George H.W. Bush.

Gates has been awarded the National Security Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, has three times received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal, and has three times received CIA’s highest award, the Distinguished Intelligence Medal. In April, 2016, he became the inaugural recipient of the Zbigniew Brzezinski Annual Prize, in recognition of his distinguished record of promoting the importance of geostrategic thinking with a transcending moral purpose.

He has authored three memoirs - Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War (2014), a straightforward, vividly written account of his experience serving Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider’s Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War (1996) which details his career as a CIA officer at the center of power during a time when the threat of global annihilation informed America’s every move, and A Passion for Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from Fifty Years of Public Service (January 2016), in which Gates draws on years of exceptional experience to offer readers a powerful, informative and pragmatic look at leadership.

Until becoming secretary of defense, Gates served as chairman of the independent trustees of The Fidelity Funds, the nation’s largest mutual fund company, and on the board of directors of NACCO Industries, Inc., Brinker International, Inc. and Parker Drilling Company.

Gates currently serves on the board of directors of Starbucks and is partner in the consulting firm, RHG LLC, with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and others. He has also served on the board of directors and executive committee of the American Council on Education, the board of directors of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. He has also been president of the Boy Scouts of America, and the National Eagle Scout Association.

A native of Kansas, Gates received his bachelor’s degree from the College of William & Mary, his master’s degree in history from Indiana University and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. Gates was installed as chancellor of the college of William & Mary, beginning in February 2012. He is the first William & Mary alumnus in the modern era to serve as chancellor of the college.

In 1967, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served as an intelligence officer at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

Anthony co-founded Reputation Economy Advisors to bring together business consulting and technology solutions for senior executives charged with managing the external complexity and internal integration needs of today's Reputation Economy. He saw the need to bring these disciplines together coming — as did his current strategic partner (and online reputation pioneer), Reputation.com, who hired him to lead their Enterprise Strategy. He spent the previous 8 years leading the development of the world's first Reputation-based management consultancy, Reputation Institute, focused on enabling leaders to make business decisions that build and protect reputation capital and drive competitive advantage. Before that, Anthony was recruited to found The Coca-Cola Think Tank, and in that role, he conducted the first-ever assessment of the company's corporate reputation — a topic he has been obsessed with ever since. His thoughts on reputation and its link to business can be found on the Forbes CMO Network, Bloomberg TV, The Economist, American Banker, Quartz and The Wall Street Journal. He also speaks at industry events regularly and is a guest lecturer at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Anthony is an active member of both the P&G and Harvard Alumni Associations.

As Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Communications for National Farmers Union, Rob Larew advocates for family farmers, ranchers, and rural communities in Congress and the executive branch.

Prior to his employment with NFU, Larew served over 22 years in Congress and USDA working on agriculture policy and communication.  Most recently he was the staff director of the House Committee on Agriculture where he oversaw the committee’s efforts during the 2008 and 20014 farm bills.  He previously served as the Director of Congressional and Public Affairs at the Food Safety and Inspection Service at USDA and worked as an agricultural aide to Rep. Collin Peterson and the late Sen. Paul Wellstone. 

Larew was raised on a dairy farm in Greenville, West Virginia.  He graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in Dairy Science and completed graduate work in agronomy from Penn State. 

Dr. Philippa Malmgren helps companies, investors, policymakers and the public better understand the interplay between politics, policy, geopolitics and economics. She is a regular commentator and guest anchor on CNBC, BBC, Bloomberg and Sky News.

Financial Market Advisor. Pippa served as financial market advisor to the President in the White House and on the National Economic Council from 2001-2002. She founded DRPM Group, an economic advisory firm whose clients include investment banks, fund managers and hedge funds as well as Sovereign Wealth Funds, pension funds, global corporations and family offices.

Robotics. Dr. Malmgren is also the co-founder of H Robotics, a robotics company that manufactures drones with deep data analytics. H Robotics clients are global market leading real estate, insurance, mining, shipping and energy firms.

Boards and working groups. She serves on several advisory boards and working groups: Real Vision TV, the British Ministry of Defense Working Group on Global Strategic Trends, the Greater London Authority Infrastructure Advisory Board, MIT, and Indiana University School of Public Policy and Environmental Affairs as well as the Indiana University Manufacturing Initiative.

Education. Dr. Philippa Malmgren has a B.B. from Mount Vernon College and a M.Sc. and Pg.D. from the London School of Economics. She completed the Harvard Program on National security, briefed and participated in the Pentagon’s Joint Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC). In July 2013 and 2016, she was the keynote speaker for the London School of Economics graduation ceremony. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Chatham House, The Institute for International Strategic Security and the Royal Geographical Society.

As Vice President of Federal Affairs for Michael Torrey Associates, Tara Smith focuses on developing and implementing legislative and regulatory strategies, building coalitions and informing policymakers on client priorities, including work for the Crop Insurance and Reinsurance Bureau (CIRB).

Before joining Michael Torrey Associates in August 2013, Smith worked as a Senior Professional Staff for the Senate Agriculture Committee under Senator Pat Roberts (R-KS) where she covered commodity programs, crop insurance and disaster assistance.  Smith was also previously Director of Government Affairs for the American Farm Bureau where she handled the farm bill and commodity issues. Smith has past worked for Monsanto Company and Promar International, an agribusiness consulting firm.

Tara grew up on a corn and soybean farm in central Illinois. She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Davidson College in North Carolina and an MBA from the University of Michigan. 

Mr. Tonsager brings to his position on the FCA Board extensive experience as an agriculture leader and producer, and a commitment to promoting and implementing innovative development strategies to benefit rural residents and their communities.

Mr. Tonsager served as Under Secretary for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) from 2009 to 2013. In this position, he expanded broadband communication in rural America and implemented other key elements of the Recovery Act for rural America. He dramatically expanded USDA's water and wastewater programs, expanded funding for first- and second-generation biofuels, and funded hospitals and other public facilities in rural America.

In addition, Mr. Tonsager worked with the Farm Credit System and others to set up new venture capital investment funds. From 2010 to 2013, he was a member of the Commodity Credit Corporation Board of Directors.

From 2004 to 2009, Mr. Tonsager served as a member of the FCA Board, as well as a member of the FCSIC Board of Directors.

From 2002 to 2004, he was the executive director of the South Dakota Value-Added Agriculture Development Center. In this position, he coordinated initiatives to better serve producers interested in developing value-added agricultural projects. Services provided by the center include project facilitation, feasibility studies, business planning, market assessment, technical assistance, and education.

In 1993, he was selected by President William J. Clinton to serve as USDA's state director for rural development in South Dakota. Mr. Tonsager oversaw a diversified portfolio of housing, business, and infrastructure loans in South Dakota. His term ended in February 2001.

A long-time member of the South Dakota Farmers Union, Mr. Tonsager served two terms as president of the organization from 1988 to 1993. During that same period, he was a board member of Green Thumb Inc., a nationwide job training program for senior citizens. In addition, he served on the board of National Farmers Union Insurance from 1989 to 1993, and he was a member of the advisory board of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from 1990 to 1993.

Mr. Tonsager grew up on a dairy farm near Oldham, South Dakota. For many years, he and his older brother owned Plainview Farm in Oldham, a family farm on which they raised corn, soybeans, wheat, and hay. Mr. Tonsager is a graduate of South Dakota State University where he earned a B.S. in agriculture in 1976.

Timothy Urban is a member of the Washington Council Ernst & Young practice of Ernst & Young LLP and leads Washington Council's Renewable Energy & Climate Change practice.

He has represented a variety of clients on energy issues, including tax credits for electricity from renewable resources, investment incentives for purchases of solar energy property, production tax credits for biodiesel and proposed incentives for investment and production associated with Cellulosic Biomass Ethanol. Since 1999, Tim has worked with Congress and Administration officials in the development of renewable energy tax policy.

In addition, he works closely with trade associations and companies representing a wide variety of renewable energy technologies and works with the environmental community on developing energy and climate change policy options that can garner a broad base of support. Tim frequently speaks on energy policy issues.

Prior to joining the firm, Tim served as the Committee on Ways and Means Staff Associate for Representative Wally Herger (R-CA). In that role, he was responsible for advising Representative Herger on tax, trade, pension and health policy issues; creating and implementing the annual tax legislative agendas; drafting legislation and testimony; and coordinating with Committee and Joint Committee staff.

Tim previously served as Legislative Assistant at a national law firm. There, he was responsible for covering the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance.

Tim received a B.A. from The George Washington University. He also graduated from the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center. Tim received military awards from the Governments of France and Italy.

Todd became President and CEO of the Farm Credit Council January 1, 2016, where he leads the national trade association’s efforts to represent the Farm Credit System’s interests before Congress, the Administration, and various federal regulatory agencies.  Van Hoose also serves on a variety of leadership bodies within Farm Credit, including the Presidents’ Planning Committee. 

His selection as President and CEO marked his return to the Farm Credit Council where he had worked previously in a variety of roles before departing in 2008 as Senior Vice President for Government Affairs.     

Prior to rejoining the Farm Credit Council, Van Hoose served as Senior Vice President - Government Affairs at CoBank where he led the bank’s Washington Office.   He also was a member of the bank’s Senior Leadership Team.

Todd has over 25 years’ experience in the Farm Credit System and before initially joining the Farm Credit Council he worked at the Farm Credit System Assistance Board.  He also has held positions in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Van  Hoose  is  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Kentucky  with  a  bachelor’s  degree  in  journalism  and  public relations. 

Sam Willett joined the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) in October of 2001.  As Senior Director, Public Policy, he is charged with monitoring federal farm and risk management programs, rural development issues, tax legislation and commodity exchange regulatory matters.   Prior to NCGA, he served as Legislative Director for Representative Henry Brown of South Carolina and Representative Gil Gutknecht of Minnesota, responsible for a variety of agriculture, energy, transportation and appropriations issues.  His Congressional staff service began in 1995 as the District Administrator and Senior Legislative Assistant for Representative Ron Lewis of Kentucky.   Willett’s earlier career experience includes Human Resources management positions at Hallmark Cards’ Corporate offices in Kansas City as well as a health care executive and physician recruitment consultant.  A formal Naval Officer and graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Willett was awarded a Masters Degree from the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, University of Kentucky in December, 1992.