Bruce Bachenheimer, MBA
Academic Advisor

Bruce Bachenheimer is a Clinical Professor of Management, the Director of Entrepreneurship at the Lubin School of Business, and a Faculty Fellow of the Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship at Pace University as well as the Chairman of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Enterprise Forum of New York City. Mr. Bachenheimer holds a BBA, Summa Cum Laude, from Pace University and an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management. Earlier in his career, Mr. Bachenheimer served as a Vice President of iQ Venture Partners, an Assistant Vice President of Westpac Banking Corp., and an International Banking Officer for the Bank of Tokyo.

Olegario D. Cantos, VII, Esq.
Academic Advisor

Blind since birth, Olegario "Ollie" Cantos is one of the highest-placed people with a disability in the federal government today, serving as Special Assistant to the Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Cantos served as General Counsel and Director of Programs for the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD). He served as Staff Attorney and Director of Outreach and Education at the Western Law Center for Disability Rights in Los Angeles. Mr. Cantos holds a JD from Loyola Law School and a degree in Political Science from Loyola Marymount University.

Gary B. Crocker, MA
Academic Advisor

Mr. Crocker is a retired foreign service officer from the US Department of State where he served for 25 years in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. He holds an MA in International Affairs from The George Washington University and an MA in Strategic Affairs from the Defense Intelligence College. Throughout his career, Mr. Crocker was involved in arms control, including interagency activities to halt the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons. He was a member of the first team to inspect missile sites in the former Soviet Union and participated in treaty negotiations in Geneva. He is a frequent lecturer on the history of chemical and biological weapons.

Stuart Jolly, Lt. Col., US Army (Ret)
Academic Advisor

Lt. Col. Jolly is a Professor of Military Science at the University of Central Oklahoma. A graduate of The Citadel, he holds a Masters in International Studies and attended the Defense Language Institute. Lt. Col. Jolly is a Blackhawk Commander and served as Platoon Leader in the Persian Gulf War. He has been assigned to the Defense Attache Office in Brussels and has received many decorations, including the Bronze Star and two Air Medals.

Philip R. McChesney, Lt. Col., US Army (Ret)
Director of Operations

Philip McChesney brings over 20 years of organizational and operational leadership to LeadAmerica. A Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserve, he holds a degree in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University and is a graduate of the Army's Command and General Staff Officer Course. Mr. McChesney's many awards and accomplishments include the Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medals, the Charles F. Crew Leadership Award and the Superior Civilian Service Medal.

John W. Mountcastle, PhD, Brigadier General, US Army (Ret)
Academic Advisor

Brigadier General John W. Mountcastle has a distinguished service record. Most recently, he served as Commander and Chief of Military History at the United States Army Center of Military History. Over the course of his 32-year career, General Mountcastle served as Assistant Professor at the United States Military Academy, Chief of Staff for the United States Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth, and as Director of the Strategic Studies Institute at the United States Army War College. A graduate of Virginia Military Institute, General Mountcastle holds an MA and PhD in History from Duke University.

David Nersessian, JD, PhD
Academic Advisor

Dr. David Nersessian is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Boston University School of Law, where he teaches courses on international law, human rights law, and globalization of the legal profession. Prior to joining BU Law’s faculty, he was the Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Program on the Legal Profession. Before that he spent a year as a Supreme Court Fellow at the US Supreme Court, where he worked for the Chief Justice’s chief of staff. Prior to completing his doctoral work, Dr. Nersessian practiced for nearly seven years as a litigation attorney with the Boston offices of several national and regional law firms. He holds a PhD in Law from Oxford University and a JD from Boston University School of Law. His current research concentrates on international law, human rights, and lawyers’ careers, and his book “Genocide and Political Groups” will be published by Oxford University Press in early 2010.

Mary Lynn Neuhaus, Esq.
Academic Advisor

Professor Neuhaus is Chair of the Communication Arts Department and Faculty Associate of the Bioethics Center at Loras College in Dubuque, IA. Ms. Neuhaus is a graduate of Creighton University Law School and has served on the Board of Governors of both the Iowa State Bar Assn. and the Iowa Trial Lawyers. She is a member of the Mercy Healthcare Systems Board of Trustees and the Mercy Ethics Committee and Institutional Review Board and has been active on the YWCA Foundation Board of Directors and Iowa Department of Corrections Board of Directors. Ms. Neuhaus has received the Women in Management's Danstrom Award. She is a frequent speaker in the areas of ethics, law and communication.

Andrew Potter, MA, MA NEJS
Director of Academics - Humanities

Mr. Potter holds an MA in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University and an MA in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations from California State University. He taught for nearly a decade at the university and college prep levels, offering courses in government, economics, philosophy, classics, and the history of the Middle East and Modern Europe.

Andrew A. Sama, MD
Academic Advisor

Dr. Andrew Sama is Assistant Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, official Team Physicians for the NY Giants. He also serves as Assistant Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon at The New York Presbyterian Hospital and is Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon and Director of Orthopaedic Spine Surgery at New York Hospital. Dr. Sama completed a Fellowship at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and is published on topics related to spinal surgery and spine tumors and other orthopedic issues. A recipient of the National Orthopaedic Surgery Fellows Foundation Research Grant, Dr. Sama holds his MD from the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Jan A. Sikorsky, PhD
Director of Academics - Sciences

Dr. Jan Sikorsky holds his PhD in Biomedical Sciences and MS in Forensic Science from Marshall University, and his BS in Medical Technology from Michigan State University. He has taught courses on basic laboratory skills, forensic theory and techniques, DNA analysis and molecular cloning. Dr. Sikorsky has served as a consultant to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Crime Lab, presented proper forensic investigation techniques to the corrections officer community, and worked with the West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on proper processing of clandestine burials.

Jacqueline Stennett, MBA
Academic Advisor

Jacqueline Stennett is a graduate of the United States Military Academy and served as a captain in the US Army. She received her MBA from Harvard and has served as an analyst and consultant for General Electric Capital Corporation and Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting). Ms. Stennett was Director of Boarding Programs at The Seed Public Charter School, the nation's only public college preparatory boarding school for the inner-city children of Washington, DC.

Claudia Valle has been a leadership and teambuilding facilitator for 10 years working with corporate clients and youth in the United States and Canada. With a background in education, she designs and implements leadership programs for groups of all ages and abilities.

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