Chris M. Salamone, Esq.
Founder & Executive Director

LeadAmerica's Founder and Chairman, Chris M. Salamone, has designed and administered academic and leadership development programs for the past 19 years. Under his direction, more than 60,000 students from 51 countries have benefited from leadership training. A lawyer by profession, Mr. Salamone has lectured extensively on leadership topics at universities across the country and is an Adjunct Professor of Leadership at the University of Central Oklahoma. He has taught lawyering skills at Loyola Chicago School of Law and Nova Southeastern School of Law. He is co-author of The Law School Companion and the author of a lecture tape series on success strategies. Mr. Salamone has served on the advisory boards of several multi-national corporations and the International Advisory Board for Bentley College. Mr. Salamone's vision and spirit are reflected in the character and tone of every LeadAmerica program.

Kristy Adams

Kristy Adams is an experienced educator. She received degrees in International Business and Middle Grades Education and holds Talented & Gifted and Mentor Certifications. Ms. Adams teaches Life Science and Earth Science, serves as a Teacher Mentor for first year and student teachers and is Team Leader for Talented & Gifted Teachers.

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.

Daniel A. Colfax, Esq., Lt. Col., USMC (Ret)
Academic Advisor

Lt. Col. Colfax is a member of the Selected Marine Corps Reserve. Most recently he served as Commanding Officer of a tactical unit in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, supporting the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit responsible for taking Baghdad and Kirkut. His unit was recommended for a Presidential Unit Citation, the first since the Vietnam Conflict. Mr. Colfax is a graduate of the School of Commerce and Finance at Villanova University and California Western School of Law.

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.

Bob Eck, MA
Academic Advisor

Bob Eck is a Senior Vice President at Saatchi & Saatchi advertising. Mr. Eck is a graduate of Indiana University. He is a 19-year veteran marketer who began his career at the Proctor & Gamble Company. He has served as Vice President with RTM Restaurant Group where he oversaw marketing planning for restaurant brands Mrs. Winners, Arby's and Del Taco. He is the former Vice President, Marketing/Product Development for AFC Enterprises/Chesapeake Bagel Bakery and a former Senior Director - Product Marketing for BellSouth.

Augustine O. Esogbue, PhD
Academic Advisor

Professor Augustine O. Esogbue is Professor and Director of the Intelligent Systems and Controls Laboratory, School of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. He is recognized as one of the leading contributors to the literature of dynamic programming, fuzzy logic and intelligent control. Professor Esogbue holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from U.C. Berkeley, an MS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from Columbia University, and a PHD in Engineering-Operations Research and Control Theory from The University of Southern California. He is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of Science.

Daniel V. Friedheim, PhD
Academic Advisor

Dr. Friedheim is a former visiting professor at Dartmouth College, American University and Mary Washington College. He has served as a consultant to the World Bank and academic fellow at the US Agency for International Development. He was a tenured Foreign Service Officer with the US Department of State. He has been awarded research grants from the Fulbright Commission and the Social Science Research Council. Dr. Friedheim received his PhD and BA in Political Science from Yale University.

Lisa Jarosinski
Leadership Trainer and Advisor

Lisa Jarosinski is a leadership instructor, developer and advisor for the United States Department of Defense (DoD). With 20 years of experience in education and training, Ms. Jarosinski has served as a Knowledge Facilitator and contributed to several DoD Knowledge Management initiatives. She holds certifications as Human Performance Improvement Specialist from the American Society for Training and Development, Training Evaluation and Measurement Practitioner from the Jack Phillips Center for Research, Education and Training Officer from the DoD, and 5 Facilitator certifications from The Franklin Covey Company.

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.

Gilbert Morris, MA, PhD
Director of Faculty Development

Dr. Morris is Executive Director of The Landfall Centre for Finance, Trade & International Affairs. He is an advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas and a sought after advisor to a number of governments. A former Visiting Professor at George Mason University, Dr. Morris studied at Harvard University and was an Institute of British and Irish Studies Scholar in Law at Mansfield College, Oxford. He earned a double BA in Law and Political Science at Oxford Brookes University and holds a post graduate diploma in the Law of International Trade from Cadmus College of Law, London. Dr. Morris serves as a Mentor at the London School of Economics and is a member of the Convocation at the University of London. He is a Fellow of the Sir William Goodenough College, London and of the Royal Society of Fellows.

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.

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.

Donna L. Parlapiano, MBA
Academic Advisor

Donna Parlapiano is a Senior Vice President of Operations for AutoNation. She has held finance, marketing and strategic management positions for Ford Motor Company. She holds an MBA from the University of Denver. Ms. Parlapiano was honored as the 2006 “Child Advocate of the Year” by the Children’s Home Society. Her dedication to serving underprivileged children is exemplified in her commitment to charities such as Make-A-Wish Foundation, Father Flanagan Girls and Boys Town and the Jack and Jill Foundation.

Dev Pathik
Leadership Trainer and Advisor

Dev Pathik is widely regarded as an innovative entrepreneur who has committed his life to the development of leadership institutions. Having grown and sold 4 of his own companies Pathik has applied his skills within his own endeavors as he has also advised a number of world renowned organizations. Pathik is the Founder and CEO of The Sports Facilities Advisory, a firm that is currently overseeing more than $500 M in sport and community recreation facility developments. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and a former Program Manager for Outward Bound USA. Mr. Pathik is a sought after team development advisor whose clients have included Sony Pictures International, GE, Home Depot, Black & Decker, WalMart, The University of Oklahoma, George Mason University, The University of North Carolina and many others. Mr. Pathik has written leadership curriculum and delivered leadership development workshops for over 200,000 people.

Jamin Raskin, Esq.
Academic Advisor

Jamin Raskin is a professor of Constitutional Law at American University's Washington College of Law and Co-Director of its Program on Law and Government. He founded the Marshall-Brennan Fellows Program. Professor Raskin's 2003 book, Overruling Democracy, was a Washington Post bestseller. Professor Raskin is an active First Amendment, election and public interest lawyer whose clients have included unions, high school students, the people of Washington, D.C., Rev. Jesse Jackson, Ross Perot, Ralph Nader, Greenpeace, and United Students Against Sweatshops. Professor Raskin served as an Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts and was on President Clinton's Justice Department Transition Team. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

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.

Karen B. Sharp, JD

Karen Sharp is a communications specialist who has spent 20 years exploring attitudes and perceptions and the effect of various forms of communication on behavior. Ms. Sharp has worked for major advertising agencies such as BBDO and managed communications programs for many Fortune 1000 companies throughout the United States, including BellSouth, Nortel Networks, and Coldwell Banker Real Estate. She has designed and taught communications skills and program development. Ms. Sharp holds a BA in Psychology and received her JD from Loyola Los Angeles Law School.

Jan A. Sikorsky, PhD
Associate Director of Academics

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

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.

David S. Wilson, Lt Col. US Air Force (Ret)
Academic Advisor

David Wilson is a 1974 graduate of the USAF Academy and received his MBA from the University of Central Oklahoma. He served over twenty years in the USAF, flying the F-4 Phantom and the F-15 Eagle. He has served as an instructor for over 27 years including a tour with the Japanese Air Self Defense Force. He is a Senior Aerospace Science Instructor for AF Junior ROTC at Choctaw High School in Oklahoma.

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