Board Builds Bridges for ICAR

For over 20 years, the Advisory Board of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR) has championed the work of ICAR's faculty and students. The Board is comprised of leaders from the legal, business, non-profit, academic, diplomatic, and philanthropic worlds, as well as ICAR alumni. These individuals have provided an array of networking, funding and mentoring opportunities for ICAR. In addition, these well-established professionals give of their time and resources to improve ICAR's scholarship funds, mentoring opportunities, and outreach opportunities.

Over the years, several distinguished individuals have chaired the Board: Edwin Lynch, a real estate developer and Point of View (POV) donor; Drucie French, who supports an ICAR faculty chair; Jim Hobson, a lawyer and donor; the Hon. Jim Dillard; donor Douglas Adams; Amb. John McDonald; K.C. Soares, a scholarship donor and former chair of the board of the Organization of American States' federal credit union; and Alan Gropman, an ICAR donor and professor at the National Defense University. In September 2007, the Board set the following goals for the current academic year: 1) raise money for scholarships; 2) provide networking opportunities for ICAR faculty and students; and 3) mentor students. To attain these goals, the Board decided to pursue two specific activities:

Soccer for Peace Fund Raising Raffle. Through Rotary International and Soccer for Peace, the Board will sell raffle tickets to an international soccer event. The winner will receive tickets to a championship game, airfare and hotel accommodations. Proceeds from the raffle will go to ICAR and the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy. The Board hopes to raise $30,000, half of which will be earmarked for ICAR scholarships. Special thanks go to Lester Schoene for organizing, and Bob Nealon, Alan Gropman and Ed Rice for financial support.

Real Estate Roundtable. The Board will host a real estate roundtable at POV in fall 2008. The event will focus on environmental issues relating to real estate development in Northern Virginia. Topics will include land use, water conservation and "green" building. The workshop will culminate in a reception with Jeff Dubois and other area developers. The goal is to raise ICAR's profile, introduce POV to the region's real estate development community, and identify new donor prospects.

In sum, says K.C. Soares, "The ICAR Advisory Board is committed to the work of ICAR. We strongly believe that the most important contribution we can make is to the ICAR students through scholarship support, mentoring opportunities and networking events." The Board, in alphabetical order: Sara Cobb, Edwin Futa, Nancy Gillis, Alan Gropman, James Hobson, Alma Jadallah, Charles Link, Carmen MacDougall, John McDonald, Robert Nealon, Harvey Newcomb, David Padilla, Edward Rice, Thomas Davis Rust, Lester Schoene Jr., James Scott, Robert Scott, Andy Shallal, Chris Shoemaker, K.C. Soares, Peter Stavrakis, and Stanley Taylor. Student Reps. include Yves-Renee Jennings and Matt Shugert.