The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation has recently elected Robert P. George to its board of directors. George, a professor at Princeton University, is the director of its James Madison Program in American Ideas and Institutions. A well-known defender of natural law and Judeo-Christian values, George also serves on the President’s Council on Bioethics. He received the Bradley Prize for Civic and Intellectual Achievement in 2005.
“We are pleased and honored to welcome Robert George to the Bradley Foundation board of directors,” says Michael Grebe, president & CEO of the Bradley Foundation. “Not only does his prestigious body of work speak to his intelligence and dedication to democratic ideals, but as a former recipient of the Bradley Prize, we have first-hand knowledge of his strength of character and ideals.“
George is equally pleased to be joining a foundation that he considers to be “our nation’s leader in public spirited philanthropy. By comparison with the giant foundations, its resources are modest. But no organization does more to make America a freer, safer, fairer, better informed, more virtuous, and more prosperous nation. Bradley sponsors scholarly work that is both creative and disciplined; then it shoulders the burden of translating ideas into action for the common good.”
Having written for a host of prestigious law reviews and academic journals, George is a prolific author and academic. His many works include In Defense of Natural Law and, most recently, The Clash of Orthodoxies: Law, Religion and Morality in Crisis. He is the editor of New Forum Books, a Princeton University Press series of interdisciplinary works in law, culture, and politics.
A graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School, George earned a doctorate in philosophy of law from Oxford University. He holds honorary doctorates of law, ethics, letters, science, and humane letters.
The Philanthropy Roundtable has added three new members to its staff.
Joining the roundtable as vice president for research and communications and as editor-in-chief of Philanthropy magazine is Kirk E. Oberfeld.
Oberfeld spent nearly a decade as managing editor at Insight magazine, a news and opinion weekly, where he was the founding editor, managed a staff of more than 100 writers, photographers, designers, and editors and won critical praise for Insight’s in-depth examination of major issues in the news. He also held senior editorial positions at newspapers in Philadelphia and Washington, DC, after beginning his career as a political writer and editorial page editor in the Midwest.
Since leaving Insight, Oberfeld has held executive positions at two advertising and public relations agencies and a mutual fund family. He led branding, marketing, and media efforts and served as creative director on advertising and internet accounts.
“I am excited about the opportunity to play a small role in advancing the critical work of private philanthropy. I can think of no better place to take up that challenge than The Philanthropy Roundtable and no better group with which to work than the Roundtable’s board, associates, and staff.”
Oberfeld is a graduate of Kalamazoo College in political science, received a master of arts in journalism from The Ohio State University, pursued graduate studies in literature at Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, and is a veteran of the U.S. Army.
He replaces Scott Walter, who joined the staff of the White House Domestic Policy Council after nearly five years of service to the Roundtable.
Mark Smith assumed the role of director of national security programs in July 2006.
Smith served 14 years in the U.S. Army, rising to the rank of major. He commanded combat tank units in Germany, served four years as assistant professor of international relations and national security studies at the U.S. Military Academy, and was special assistant to former Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, General John Galvin.
Since leaving the Army in 1994, Smith held a number of positions in the business world, including chief of staff at Codel, the Luxembourg-based international securities depository, senior vice president and chief operations officer for Prudential Investments Management Services, and most recently director of business development and account executive at Outward Bound USA.
“I am both honored and delighted to join the Roundtable,” says Smith. “At this critical period in our nation’s history, I firmly believe that private philanthropy can, and must play an important role in a wide range of national security initiatives both outside the United States and right here at home. I very much look forward to meeting and working closely with the Roundtable’s members and friends in the months ahead.”
Smith received his B.A. in politics from Washington and Lee University and his M.A. in economics and American foreign policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Joining the Roundtable as the director of finance and technology is Jenise Snyder.
Ms. Snyder previously worked at Regent University’s Washington, DC campus, where she served as director of business development and manager of administrative services. In her new position at the Roundtable, she will assist in managing finances, update the office’s technological capabilities, develop the website, and produce comprehensive reports of grant usage for the Roundtable’s donors and board.
She earned master’s degrees in public administration and management from Regent University as a master’s fellow at the Center for Civic Leadership in Virginia Beach. Ms. Snyder was graduated in 2001 from Oral Roberts University with a bachelor’s degree in government.
She is also a graduate of Leadership Alexandria and takes great interest in community issues in Alexandria, Virginia, where she resides with her family.
