Directors & Advisors

Philip McChesney, Lt. Col., U.S. Army (Ret.) – Vice President of Operations
Lt. Col. McChesney retired from the U.S. Army with 25 years of service, where he held numerous key command and staff positions. 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. An Eagle Scout, Lt. Col. 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.

Jan A. Sikorsky, PhD – Director of Academics
Dr. Sikorsky holds a PhD in Biomedical Sciences and an MS in Forensic Science from Marshall University, and a 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, and worked with the West Virginia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on the proper processing of clandestine burials.

Andrew H. Potter, MA, MA (NEJS) – Director of Academics
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.

Bonnie Reiss, JD – Former California Secretary of Education, Executive Advisory Board
Ms. Reiss provides more than 25 years of operational expertise in a wide range of areas including business and entertainment law, corporate finance and education. Ms. Reiss is a current member of the University of California Board of Regents (ending in 2020). Ms. Reiss was founder and CEO of After School All Stars, a national organization providing comprehensive after school programs, and received the William White Lifetime Achievement Award from the U.S. Dept of Education. Some of her many past accomplishments in education include serving as the Secretary of Education under then California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger – of whom she also served in a prior capacity as Senior Advisor on major policy initiatives including education, the environment and children's issues. She has also served on the California State Board of Education from 2003 to 2005.

Bruce Bachenheimer, MBA – Academic Advisor
Mr. 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.

Laurie Campbell, M.Ed. – Academic Advisor
Ms. Campbell holds an M.Ed. in Educational Leadership from Northern Arizona University. A teacher for 12 years, she served on her school district’s Performance Pay Committee and site-based
management team, taught leadership at the Staff Development Academy, and worked with the Arizona Department of Education in developing teacher competency testing. Ms. Campbell served in the U.S. Army as a Behavioral Science Specialist and Combat Medic.

Gary B. Crocker, MA – Academic Advisor
Mr. Crocker is a retired foreign service officer from the U.S. State Department, where he served for 25 years in the Bureau of Intelligence and research. 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.

Rodney Fisher – Academic Advisor
Mr. Fisher served for 10 years as Federal Liaison and advisor for the Texas Education Agency and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board in Washington, DC. There he monitored all education legislation and regulatory proposals from Pre-K to College Readiness and Completion, and worked with Congress and the Administration to shape federal education policy. Prior to TEA, Mr. Fisher worked in the U.S. Senate on domestic policy issues including education, health care (including biomedical research funding and policy), welfare, Social Security, and the arts and humanities. Mr. Fisher earned his B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Mary Washington and an M.A. from Georgetown University studying world literature. He currently serves as an education consultant.

Gregory Gayle, M.S. Ed.S. Director of Student Academic Services, Florida Atlantic University College of Business
Gregory Gayle is the Director of Student Academic Services at Florida Atlantic University’s College of Business. Under Mr. Gayle’s supervision, the department provides academic services and advising to over 7,000 undergraduate and graduate students on a yearly basis. In addition to providing leadership to the SAS department, Greg represents the department on various committees and is responsible for maintaining college and university academic standards. Over the past 18 years, Greg has worked tirelessly with educators, administrators, parents, and students in the areas of university recruitment, admissions, marketing and retention.

James Giordano, Ph.D. Director, Center for Neurotechnology Studies Vice President, Academic Programs Potomac Institute for Policy Studies
Dr. James Giordano is Director of the Center for Neurotechnology Studies, and Vice President for Academic Programs at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, Arlington, VA, USA. He is a Senior Research Associate of the Oxford Centre for Neuroethics and Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at the University of Oxford, UK; and is Research Professor of Neuroscience and Ethics in the Department of Electrical and Computational Engineering, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA. As well, he is Fulbright Visiting Professor of Neuroscience, Neurotechnology and Neuroethics at the Ludwig Maximilians Universität, Munich, Germany. The author of over 150 peer-reviewed papers and 6 books in neuroscience, neurophilosophy, and neuroethics, his ongoing research addresses the molecular and behavioral neuroscience of pain, the neurophilosophy of pain and mind, the neuroethics of pain research and treatment, and the ethical issues arising in and from advancements in neuroscience and neurotechnology.

Alexa Sherr Hartley, Esq. - President, Premier Leadership Coaching
Alexa Sherr Hartley is President of Premier Leadership Coaching LLC, a business & executive coaching firm that specializes in facilitating the sustained development of individuals and teams. Alexa is a skilled coach, facilitator, and author who has worked with managers, business owners, and professional service providers in both the public and private sectors at a range of leadership levels. She has consulted with industry leaders in the fields of business, law, financial services, and non-profits about the planning and implementation of significant organizational change, leadership, development, and decision making. Before devoting her time to leadership develop, Alexa enjoyed a successful career as a litigator in the Manhattan and West Palm Beach offices of Greenberg Traurig, LLP.

David Nersessian, JD, PhD – Assistant Dean for Global Programs and Senior Lecturer at Boston University’s School of Management
Dr. Nersessian is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at Boston University School of Law. Prior to joining BU, he was the Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Program on the Legal Profession and also spent a year as a Supreme Court Fellow at the U.S. Supreme Court. Dr. Nersessian practiced law for nearly seven years as a litigation attorney with several national and regional law firms. He holds a PhD in law from Oxford University and a JD from Boston University School of Law.

Andrew A. Sama, MD – Academic Advisor
Dr. Sama is Assistant Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery. He also serves as a clinical instructor on Orthopaedic surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and is Attending Orthopaedic Surgeon and Director of Orthopaedic Spine Surgery at New York Hospital.

Jacqueline Stennett, MBA – Academic Advisor
Ms. Stennett is a graduate of the United States Military Academy. She earned her MBA at Harvard and has served as an analyst and consultant for General Electric Capital Corporation and Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting).

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