| Page 83 | National Democratic Institute

FRANK M. "RUSTY" CONNER, III

Rusty Conner is a partner at Covington & Burling LLP, where he focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance, and related strategic matters, with a particular emphasis on financial services companies. He regularly advises boards of directors on corporate governance matters and legal and fiduciary duties in the context of strategic decisions. He is listed in Chambers USA, Legal 500 U.S., Washington D.C. Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America.

MAUREEN WHITE

Maureen White is a Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Institute at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C. She was the Senior Advisor on Humanitarian Issues in the Office of the Special Representation to Afghanistan and Pakistan in the U.S. Department of State from 2009-2013. In the Clinton Administration, she represented the U.S. Government at the United Nations Children’s Fund from 1997-2001.

MAURICE TEMPELSMAN

Maurice Tempelsman is chairman of the board of directors of Lazare Kaplan International Inc., the largest cutter and polisher of “ideal cut” diamonds in the United States. He is also senior partner in the firm of Leon Tempelsman & Son, a company active in mining, investments and business development and minerals trading in Europe, Russia, Africa, Latin America, Canada and the Far East. Mr. Tempelsman has served on several presidential commissions, including the President’s Commission for the Observance of Human Rights.

MICHAEL R. STEED

Michael R. Steed is a founder and managing partner of Paladin. Mr. Steed provides management oversight of the firm’s operations and investments, and is responsible for the strategic direction of Paladin’s current and future activities. Prior to founding Paladin Capital, Mr. Steed served as the senior vice president of Investments at Ullico Inc., a financial services holding company. He is a founding board member of NDI.

NANCY H. RUBIN

Nancy H. Rubin is the chair of Adopt-a-Minefield, a campaign of the United Nations Association of the USA, which engages individuals, community groups and businesses in the United Nations' effort to resolve the global landmine crisis. She is the former ambassador to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. She brings more than 25 years of public service and related public policy expertise in the areas of women and international development.

PETER KOVLER

Peter Kovler is Chairman of the Board of the Judy and Peter Blum Kovler Foundation. The Foundation's work in public spaces has included being the largest private underwriter of the Franklin Roosevelt Memorial; the principal underwriter of the Emmett Till exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture; a "major sponsor" of the Statue of Liberty Museum; a "Founders Society Member " of the Holocaust Museum. And an early supporter of the Obama Presidential Center, its most recent effort in decades of assistance on Chicago's South Side.

KARL F. INDERFURTH

Karl F. Inderfurth is currently an adjunct professor at George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs (ESIA). He held the inaugural chair in U.S. – India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) from 2011-13. Prior to this appointment, he was the Director of the International Affairs Program at ESIA. In 2015 and 2013 he was Sol M. Linowitz Visiting Professor of International Affairs at Hamilton College.

SAM GEJDENSON

Sam Gejdenson is currently in charge of the firm Sam Gejdenson International. From 1981 to 2000, Mr. Gejdenson served in the U.S. House of Representatives from the 2nd Congressional District of Connecticut. Throughout his tenure in Congress, Mr. Gejdenson was a leader on human rights and democracy, ensuring that U.S. foreign policy reflected the values and compassion of the American people. He is known for his efforts to curb international trafficking in women and children and to promote self-help programs for the poor through microcredit assistance.

JOHNNIE CARSON

Ambassador Johnnie Carson joined the NDI board after a 37-year career in the foreign service. Most recently he was the assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of African Affairs. Immediately prior he was the national intelligence officer for Africa at the National Intelligence Council after serving as the senior vice president of the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. (2003-2006).

LAURIE S. FULTON

Laurie S. Fulton served as U.S. Ambassador to Denmark from July 2009 to February 2013. She retired in 2104 as a partner in the law firm Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, D.C., where she practiced law for more than two decades and was recognized as one of “Washington’s Top Lawyers” by Washingtonian Magazine in 2004. As Ambassador, she managed U.S. relations with Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands in areas related to national security, counter-terrorism, arctic policy, piracy and international law enforcement, among others.