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First Focus is committed to the idea that lasting solutions to the problems facing children are most likely when Republicans and Democrats put partisan differences aside and put kids first. That approach was embodied by the members of our bipartisan Founding Advisory Board (updated 2010), which provided invaluable counsel and connections during the organization’s formative years. We are forever grateful for their service and leadership.
Bill Brock was a Republican U.S. Senator from Tennessee from 1971 to 1977. After leaving the Senate, Brock became the new chairman of the Republican National Committee, a position he held from 1977 to 1981. Upon the election of Ronald Reagan as U.S. president, Brock was appointed U.S. Trade Representative, a position he maintained until 1985 when he was made secretary of labor. Brock left public life in 1987 and became a consultant in the Washington, D.C., area.
Susan Brophy recently joined the Glover Park Group as a Partner in the legislative affairs practice. Previously, she was Senior Vice President at the Time Warner Global Public Policy Office. Brophy served at the White House as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Legislative Affairs. She also served as a board member of the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations. Brophy was director of congressional relations for the Clinton-Gore transition office, where she served as chief liaison to Congress with oversight responsibility for Cabinet confirmations, personnel and the establishment of first-term legislative priorities. Brophy came to the Clinton campaign after serving as chief of staff to Colorado Senator Timothy E. Wirth. She previously served as policy director of the Democratic National Committee.
Mayor David Cicilline took the oath of office as Providence, Rhode Island’s 36th mayor on January 6, 2003. On January 3, 2007, Mayor Cicilline was sworn in for his second term in office. Cicilline began his political career as a four-term state representative from Providence’s East Side. In the state legislature, he was known as a fierce advocate for government reform, earning Common Cause of Rhode Island’s Number One ranking in 2002 for dedication to ethics in government and reform of the political process. He governs from a five-priority platform that includes – government integrity, strong neighborhoods, great schools, safe streets and a dynamic economy. Mayor Cicilline was recently appointed national chairman of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Committee on Children, Health and Human Services.
Dr. Flores is Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health, Director of General Pediatrics, the Judith and Charles Ginsburg Chair in Pediatrics, and the Director of the Academic General Pediatrics Fellowship at UT Southwestern and Children’s Medical Center Dallas. He is on the editorial boards of Ambulatory Pediatrics and the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. He is a member of the National Advisory Committee of the Robert Wood Johnson Amos Medical Faculty Development Program, and a member of the Committee on Pediatric Research for the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is a member of the Expert Panel for the Department of Health and Human Services Health Care Language Services Implementation Guide, recently provided a Congressional Research Briefing, and he has testified in the United States Senate on Latino health and the Hispanic Health Improvement Act. He was an invited speaker at the National Summit on America’s Children convened by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. He has served as a consultant and national advisory committee member for the American Medical Association, National Hispanic Medical Association, Sesame Street Workshop, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the US Surgeon General. He received the 2006 American Academy of Pediatrics Outstanding Achievement Award in the Application of Epidemiologic Information to Child Health Advocacy. He has published 95 articles and book chapters on a variety of topics in such journals as JAMA, the New England Journal of Medicine, Pediatrics, and the Lancet, including many papers that address racial/ethnic and linguistic disparities in children’s health and healthcare.
Arthur Garson, Jr, is Provost of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and former Dean of the School of Medicine. He graduated (Phi beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude) from Princeton University in 1970 and received his M.D. (Alpha Omega Alpha) from Duke University in 1974, remaining at Duke for Pediatric residency through 1976. In 1979, he completed his Pediatric Cardiology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, becoming Chief of Pediatric Cardiology in 1988. He has been a visiting professor in more than 100 institutions. He is the author of more than 450 publications including 7 books. In 1992, he received a Masters degree In Public Health from the University of Texas Houston. Also in 1992, he joined the faculty at Duke University, becoming Associate Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs, where he served as Medical Director of Government Relations for the Medical Center; and professor in the Sanford Institute of Public Policy. He has served as Special Consultant in Health Programs and Policy to the State of Texas, Department of Health and the North Carolina Vocational Rehabilitation Commission. He chaired the North Carolina Health Planning Commission Committee charged with drafting legislation on practice guidelines, report cards and malpractice reform.
Marguerite Kondracke (ex-officio) is President and CEO of America’s Promise - the Alliance for Youth. Ms. Kondracke has been both an entrepreneur and a public servant, focusing on the needs of children and parents. Prior to joining America’s Promise, she served as Special Assistant to U.S. Senator Lamar Alexandar as well as staff director for the Senate subcommittee on Chidlren and Families. She also served in the cabinet of then Tennessee Governor Alexander as Commissioner of the Department of Human Services. Mrs. Kondracke was co-founder, CEO, and currently serves on the board of directors of Bright Horizons Family Solutions
The late Harry McPherson was senior counsel at DLA Piper where he represented and counseled businesses, nonprofit organizations, foreign governments, and individuals on a wide range of matters before the executive branch, the Congress, regulatory agencies, and other public bodies. McPherson served as counsel, then special counsel, to President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1965 to 1969. Previously he served as assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs; as deputy under-secretary of the Army for international affairs; and as a member of the Department of the Army Secretariat. He was counsel to the U.S. Senate Democratic Party Committee.
Gregg Petersmeyer is a leader with years of experience in the private, government, and non-profit sectors, having worked at McKinsey & Company, Personal Pathways™, and on the White House staffs of two presidents and as a state chairman of a presidential campaign. The lead architect for the Presidents' Summit for America's Future in 1997 in Philadelphia, Petersmeyer became a founding board member of America’s Promise and served in a number of senior leadership roles with the organization. Petersmeyer is chairman of The Fitzie Foundation, a director of Oxford Analytica’s International Advisory Board, a member of the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Council, and a trustee of The Potomac School.
John Porter is a partner with DC-based Hogan and Hartson, LLP. He concentrates his practice on policy, strategy and advocacy for clients primarily, but not exclusively, in the fields of health and education. Porter previously served 21 years as U.S. Congressman from the 10th district in Illinois. A moderate Republican, he served on the Appropriations Committee, and as chair of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education. Under the jurisdiction of his subcommittee were all of the health agencies and programs, except military and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and all of the education agencies and programs of the federal government. Porter was founder and co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, a voluntary association of more than 250 Members of Congress working to identify, monitor, and end human rights violations worldwide.
Suzanna Valdez serves as Chief of Staff to City of Miami Mayor, Manny Diaz. She comes to the City of Miami from the John S and James L Knight Foundation. She has over 16 years of management and public relations experience in the political, academic and private sectors. She completed her tenure as the Executive Director of the Task Force on Television Measurement, created to review and analyze Nielsen Media Research’s recruitment and sampling methodologies, with a particular focus on minority viewing audiences.
Suzanna began her career in public service in Washington D.C. 1989 at the U.S. House of Representatives followed by serving as Special Assistant to then-Senator Al Gore. In 1993, President Clinton appointed her to the White House Office of Public Liaison and became one of the youngest Hispanics to serve as Special Assistant to the President. Serving as the principal liaison to the Hispanic community, Ms. Valdez was responsible for developing outreach and communications strategies to foster community support for domestic and foreign policy initiatives. During her tenure she developed successful coalitions with elected officials, national business and community leaders.
In 1997 then-Secretary Alexis Herman appointed Suzanna as Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Labor. She was the first Hispanic woman to serve in this position, and served for three years until her move to New York. In 2001, she pursued a graduate degree at Columbia University and was appointed as Associate Director of the Eugene M. Lang Center for Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School. In May 2004 she received an MPA with a concentration in international economic policy.
Harris Wofford served as a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 1991 to 1995. He also served as chairman of the Subcabinet Group on Civil Rights. He was instrumental in the formation of the Peace Corps and served as the Peace Corps' special representative to Africa and director of operations in Ethiopia. He was president of both the State University of New York at Old Westbury and Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. Wofford served as chief executive officer of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Since his retirement, he has taught at the University of Maryland, College Park and served on the boards of several charities and service organizations including America’s Promise, Youth Service America, and the Points of Light Foundation. He is currently a senior fellow at the Case Foundation in Washington, D.C.
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