Board of Directors

Jay Katzen, Career Foreign Service Officer (Ret), Chair (in Memoriam)

Jay is a retired diplomat, business consultant, state legislator, government agency administrator, and past President of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. He received his B.A. (magna cum laude) in Political Science from Princeton University (1958) and his M.A. in International Relations from Yale University (1959) and served presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower through George W. Bush. From 1959 to 1979, Jay was a career Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. His posts included Australia, Burundi, Congo (Kinshasa), communist Romania, Mali, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York, and Congo (Brazzaville), where he was Chief of Mission. From 1979 to 1991, Katzen served as senior advisor reporting directly to the chairmen and senior executives of corporations including Bechtel, Consolidated Gold Fields, Fluor, Kennecott, Newmont Mining, and Phelps Dodge.

In 1993, he was elected to represent the 31st legislative district of the Virginia House of Delegates, where he was re-elected three times. He was the Virginia Republican Party nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 2001, and for Congress in Virginia’s 9th District in 2002. From 2004-2009, Jay served as a Regional Director and Acting Chief of Staff of the U.S. Peace Corps. He also attended the National War College, was a visiting Professor at the Boston College Graduate School of Management, and served on advisory boards at Duke University and the University of Kentucky. Since 2011, Jay has been a Park Ranger at the Talkeetna Ranger Station of Denali National Park, Alaska. He is an active member of the Iditarod Trail Committee. Jay has been recognized by the National Federation of Independent Business, the Vietnam Veterans of America, Virginia’s Council of Indians, 4-H, and the Virginia Society for Human Life.

Major General Scott Gray, U.S. Air Force (Ret), Chair, President and CEO & Executive Committee

MGen Gray, who retired in 2009 from the USAF and in 2018 from Lockheed Martin, is a graduate of the University of Alabama and was the Distinguished Graduate of his AFROTC class. He served for more than 32 years in the USAF where he was a Command pilot qualified in the C-130, C-5, KC-135, 757, and C-17. He commanded 6 units to include the 89th Wing, Andrews AFB where he oversaw the transportation and communication for the President and Vice President of the United States and all Cabinet Members. His other Commands were a Services Sq, a C-5 Sq, C-130 Group, a KC-135 Wing and the USAF Expeditionary Center. He served on the staffs of the Air Mobility Command, Air Staff, Vice Commander 12th AF, Secretary of the Air Force and Joint Chiefs of Staff. MGen Gray has an extensive background working with City, State and Federal Governments.

After retiring from the USAF MGen Gray joined Lockheed Martin and served as the Vice President of F-22 Sustainment, VP Integrated Fighter Group Sustainment and finally as VP of Enterprise Sustainment.

MGen Gray has a BS in Business from the University of Alabama, a MS in Aviation Management form Embry- Riddle, a MS in National Security Strategy from the National War College and graduated from the Senior Executive Fellows course at the JFK School of Government, Harvard University. Additionally he has received Honorary Doctorates in Humane Letters from Thomas Edison State University and the University of Alabama.

Ben Hayes, Vice Chair & Executive Committee

Ben is the son of SMSGT Ben Hayes Jr., USAF (deceased), a recipient of a Bronze Star and Purple Heart, and who served with the Air Force Security Forces for 26 years.

Ben has worked in professional baseball for 32 of the past 38 years, and has been a Florida-licensed and practicing attorney for the past 24 years. Ben pitched 9 years in professional baseball, of which 2½ seasons were in the Major Leagues with the Cincinnati Reds. Ben was General Counsel & Corporate Secretary of Minor League Baseball from 1993 to 2000 and, from May 2001 to the present, has served as the President and Chairman of the Board for the New York-Penn League, the oldest, continuously-operated CLASS A league in professional baseball. He also served as the President and Chairman of the Board of the New York-Penn League Charitable Foundation since 2002, and currently serves as the Vice Chairman of Minor League Baseball’s Council of League Presidents and as the Chairman of Minor League Baseball’s Charities Committee.

Brigadier General Margaret Burcham, U.S. Army (Ret), Director & Executive Committee

Brigadier General Margaret Burcham completed a 34-year career as an Army Combat Engineer specializing in Engineering, Construction and Human Resources. She is now President of Athena Global Strategies, a management consulting firm.

Margaret serves on the board of advisors of United Water Federal Services, Inc., a unit of the global firm, Suez.Additionally, she is President of the National Association of Corporate Directors Capital Area Chapter, the Co-Chair of the West Point Ethics and Leadership Conference, a Director on the board of Combat Wounded Veterans Challenge, and a Director on the board of the Army Engineer Association.

As an Army Engineer Officer, Margaret served in a wide variety of executive leadership roles. Highlights include 7 years commanding U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Districts in Wiesbaden, Germany and in the combat theater in Tikrit, Iraq, and a Corps of Engineers Division in Cincinnati, Ohio supervising 7 Districts (4800 employees) with responsibility for engineering and civil works support to the entire Great Lakes region and the Ohio and Cumberland River Valleys.

Margaret was appointed by the White House as a member of the Mississippi River Commission to monitor the health of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, worked jointly with the government of Canada as a member of the International Joint Commission in overseeing the operation and health of the Great Lakes, and is a member of the Society of American Military Engineers.

Margaret holds a Bachelor of Science with concentration in Civil Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Master of Science in Computer Science from Kansas State University, and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

Captain David R. Olson, U.S. Navy (Ret), Director & Founder

David retired from the U.S. Navy in 2009 and has remained active in the local community. He started a Boy Scout Troop for his local church and served as Scoutmaster of another. He founded SCUBAnauts International in 2001, a marine sciences program that introduces young men and women, ages 12-18, to informal science education through underwater exploration and has led over eight underwater research expeditions with SCUBAnauts throughout the Florida Keys, Bahamas and Hawaii.

In 2010, David founded the non-profit Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge program to improve the lives of our wounded and injured military veterans through rehabilitative, high-adventure challenges, and therapeutic outdoor recreational activities while conducting scientific research studies to speed their recovery and that of their families. He has led over twenty-five expeditions to further this research and treatment associated with prosthetics, Traumatic Brain Injury and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

David has also served as a Naval Academy Blue and Gold Officer, providing admissions guidance to high school candidates interested in pursuing a degree from the U.S. Naval Academy with a commission as an officer in the Navy or Marine Corps. He also serves on both Florida Senator Bill Nelson’s and Congressman Gus Bilirakis’ Naval Academy nomination screening boards.

Captain Dominic Gorie, U.S. Navy (Ret), Director & Executive Committee

Dom attended the United States Naval Academy where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Ocean Engineering. He received his Master of Science degree in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee. Dom became a Naval Aviator in 1981 and participated in Operation DESERT STORM, flying 38 combat missions. In 1992, he received orders to U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs. Dom has accumulated over 6,700 hours in more than 35 aircraft and has over 600 carrier landings.

Selected as an Astronaut Candidate by NASA in December 1994, Dom reported to Johnson Space Center in March 1995. Dom served as a spacecraft communicator (CAPCOM) in Mission Control for numerous Space Shuttle flights, and later was Chief of the Astronaut Shuttle Branch. A veteran of four space flights, Dom has logged over 47 days in space. He served as pilot aboard STS-91 in 1998 and STS-99 in 2000, and was the Shuttle Commander on STS-108 in 2001 and STS-123 in 008. Dom Gorie retired from NASA in 2010.

Colonel Maren Calvert, J.D., U.S Air Force (Ret), Director and Treasurer

Maren and her family participated in the June 2018 annual SCUBA Challenge in Key West and she was elected Asst. Treasurer in December 2018.

Maren is currently an attorney for the Horenstein Law Group in Vancouver, WA. She graduated from the United States Air Force Academy, The UCLA School of Law, the Judge Advocate General’s Staff Officer Course, and Georgetown University (for a post-graduate Legislative Affairs certificate). Prior to retirement in August 2018, Maren served as Senior Air Staff Counsel for the Air Force Review Boards Agency. Maren also served as Congressional Assistant for the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Manpower & Reserve Affairs; as Associate General Counsel for Secretary of the Air Force, Office of General Counsel; and as Air Staff Counsel for the Air Force Administrative Law Directorate.

Maren is a certified SCUBA diver and a licensed attorney in the states of Washington, California, Hawaii and (soon) Oregon.

Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Lourake, U.S. Air Force (Ret), Director and Vice President of Operations

Lt Col Andrew Lourake was raised in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida. He graduated from Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport, Florida, after high school he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of South Florida. He was commissioned as an Air Force 2 Lt through the University’s AFROTC program. Lt Col Lourake earned a Masters of Business Administration from Touro University.

Lt Col Lourake earned his pilot wings after graduating from Undergraduate Pilot Training at Reese AFB, Texas. Following C-5 Training School at Altus AFB, OK he was assigned to the 3rd Airlift Squadron, 436th Airlift Wing, Dover AFB, Delaware. During his 6 years assigned to Dover AFB, Lt Col Lourake set many milestones – becoming an Aircraft Commander while still a Lieutenant, and being the youngest Captain ever to be the Chief of Standardization and Evaluation. Lt Col Lourake served in theater for operations Just Cause, Desert Shield/Storm, Provide Comfort, and Restore Hope.

Lt Col Lourake was selected as a Special Air Missions pilot, assigned to the 99th Airlift Squadron, 89th Air Wing, Andrews AFB, Maryland. During his assignment at Andrews, Lt Col Lourake has held the position of Director Commander’s Support Staff, Operations Group Director of Personnel, Chief of Training, Chief of Squadron Operations Center, Computer Workgroup Manager, and Scheduler, Chief, Commander’s Action Group, and Director of Staff.

Lt Col Lourake is a Senior Pilot with over 4,500 flying hours logged in the T-37, T-38, C-5A, C-5B, VC-9C and C-20. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal, five Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Force Commendation Medal, AF Outstanding Unit Award, Combat Readiness Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, AF Longevity Service, Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon (Pistol), AF Training Ribbon, Kuwait Liberation Medal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait Liberation Medal Government of Kuwait. He is married to the former Lisa Ann Malek of St. Petersburg Florida.

Lt Col Lourake retired from active duty where he last served as the Director of Plans and Programs under the Air Force District of Washington, and Special Air Missions pilot at Andrews Air Force Base. After his release from active duty, Andrew entered the veteran centric non-profit arena, working for Veterans Airlift Command, and Operation Second Chance, where he held the positions of Veteran Outreach Director for both. He is currently a corporate pilot, and sits on the Board or Directors at Combat Wounded Veteran Challenge, and Operation Second Chance.

Lieutenant Colonel Reid Carlock, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret), Director and Vice President of Research

Reid has over forty years of leadership and management experience in the Marine Corps and business organizations. On active duty, he commanded numerous combat arms and training units in peacetime and combat from platoon through battalion level. Highly experienced in infantry operations, reconnaissance, intelligence, combined arms operations, and strategic/operational level planning. Two tours in VietNam with U.S. Marines and VietNamese Marines. Later he served as an electrical engineering Instructor at the U.S. Naval Academy teaching basic electrical circuit, radar antenna, radio frequency (RF) propagation, communications (AM, FM, and digital), and integrated circuit theory. Following active duty, he continued with DoD as a contractor supporting five unified commands (U.S. Central Command, Special Operations Command, European Command, Transportation Command, and Southern Command). Since 9/11, he’s deployed seven times to the Middle East supporting U.S. and Coalition forces in Operations Enduring/Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn at multiple locations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, and Djibouti.

Reid initially began working with CWVC in 2011 as a volunteer facilitating joint research initiatives with academia in preparation for the Alaskan Denali Expedition in June/July 2011. Since then, he’s supported/participated in our SCUBA Challenges from 2012 on and continues to support other challenges as needed. From December 2017 to November 2019, he served as Vice President (for Operations). Commencing November 2019, his efforts will be focused on expanding CWVC support for medical research efforts through CWVC Challenges.

Lieutenant Commander Gerard Coleman, U.S. Navy (Ret), Director & Executive Committee

Gerald Coleman has participated in Challenges on behalf of CWVC in the past. Most notably, monitoring the effects of our double lung transplant recipient LT Justin Legg, U.S. Navy (SEAL) (Ret), during the Denali Challenge in 2011.

Mr. Coleman is currently teaching Thermodynamics, Marine Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics, and a Senior Project Manager at Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG). Gerard received his B.S. in Ocean Engineering from the US Naval Academy. After the Naval Academy Mr. Coleman graduated with a M.S. Equivalent in Nuclear Engineering from the US Navy. He has also earned a M.S. in Engineering Management from George Washington University. Gerard is a licensed Professional Engineer in Mechanical Engineering.

Prior to teaching at TAMUG, Mr. Coleman was an engineer in the US Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program for 16 years. In his 3 1/2 years at TAMUG, he has brought with him expertise in the areas of Nuclear and Mechanical Engineering. In addition to his duties as an Instructional Assistant Professor, Mr. Coleman also coaches the Varsity Sailing Team. Not only does he coach the Sailing Team, but he is an accomplished sailor himself with several bids for the Summer Olympic Games in the Soling Class. Gerard serves as the Research Committee Chair.

Deborah K. Pawlowski, IRC, Former U.S. Army Captain, Director and Secretary

Deb is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. While stationed in Germany with the United States Army, she held the positions of Platoon Leader of the 36 personnel 574th Service Support Company, Class III POL, at a major petroleum supply point; and Adjutant of the 1200+ personnel 51st Maintenance Battalion, 21st Support Command.

Back in the U.S.A. at Fort Riley, Kansas, she held the positions of Division Property Book Officer (DPO) for the 1st Infantry Division; Battalion S-4 (Logistics and Supply Officer) for the 1st Forward Support Battalion; and Commander of the 172d Ordnance Detachment, 1st Infantry Division, an air defense system maintenance detachment. Ultimately, she achieved the rank of Captain, Quartermaster Corps.

Deborah is the founder of Kei Advisors, an investor relations and business advisory firm, and currently serves as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. She has more than thirty years of experience in investor relations, marketing, strategic planning and management.

Deborah received her B.S. in General Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point and her M.B.A. from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. She is a former member of the Board of Directors of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), past President of the NIRI Virtual Chapter and current Advocacy Ambassador for the NIRI Virtual Chapter. Ms. Pawlowski passed the inaugural NIRI Investor Relations Charter exam in March 2016, earning the right to use the Investor Relations Charter (IRC™) credential. She also serves as President of the West Point Society of Western New York, is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) Virtual Chapter, and leads the Founding Committee of the Western New York Investors Conference.