Advisory Board

Lieutenant Colonel Jordan Becker is an assistant professor of international relations at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York, where he teaches courses in international security, international relations, and comparative politics in the Department of Social Sciences. Additionally, he serves as director of the Social Sciences Research Lab. Becker’s research focuses on the political economy of security, European politics, and transatlantic security. He has published articles on transatlantic burden-sharing, the political economy of European security, and China-Europe-U.S. strategic interactions. Becker holds a Ph.D. in war studies from King’s College London and master’s degrees from Sciences Po and Columbia University. He is also a research fellow at the Brussels School of Governance and the Ecole Militaire and Sciences Po in Paris.

Julie Bronstein is an experienced nonprofit leader and philanthropist. A graduate of Scripps College with a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California, she has spent the majority of her career working in nonprofit organizations focused on health, education, and community improvement. As managing executive director of development at UC San Diego, Bronstein oversees the Health Board of Advisors and fundraises for health sciences. Bronstein serves on the boards of the La Jolla Community Foundation and Hillel of the Claremont Colleges and previously served as an elected trustee of the San Dieguito Union High School District. In addition, Bronstein is a volunteer adviser for the Autism Tree Project Foundation.

Senator Elizabeth Dole graduated with distinction from Duke University, earned a law degree from Harvard Law School, and a M.A. in teaching from Harvard University. She served as deputy to the special assistant for consumer affairs during the Nixon administration. Her resume includes six years as a member of the Federal Trade Commission and two years as assistant to President Reagan for Public Liaison. In 1983, she became the first woman to be appointed U.S. Secretary of Transportation. She later served as U.S. Secretary of Labor. In 1991, Dole became only the second woman since founder Clara Barton in 1881 to serve as president of the American Red Cross. Following the Red Cross, she sought the Republican nomination in the 2000 United States presidential election. Elected in 2002, Dole became the first woman to represent North Carolina in the United States Senate. In 2012, she founded the Elizabeth Dole Foundation to raise awareness and support for military and veteran caregivers, the spouses, parents, and loved ones caring for America’s wounded warriors at home.

Dan Epstein is the founder of The ConAm Group, headquartered in San Diego. The ConAm Group is among the top privately owned apartment management/ownership/development firms in the country and presently operates approximately 50,000 apartments throughout the United States. In addition to its management activities, ConAm is developing apartments and mixed-use projects in the Pacific Northwest and Los Angeles. Epstein serves on the board of trustees for the University of Southern California (USC), the board of councilors of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and he serves as chairman of the advisory committee of USC Viterbi’s Epstein Department of Industrial and System’s Engineering. Epstein is also on the board of trustees for Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Research Institute, the University of California San Diego (UCSD) Foundation, and the California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) Foundation Board. CSUSM recently awarded Epstein with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. He has received USC Viterbi’s Distinguished Alumni Award, the USC Alumni Association’s Alumni Service Award, and the USC Asa V. Call Alumni Achievement Award. Ernst & Young named him San Diego’s Entrepreneur of the Year for the real estate industry. He is a member of UCSD Rady School Dean’s Advisory Council and a member of the Chief Executives Organization and the Young Presidents Organization. He graduated from the Viterbi School at USC in 1962 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering.

Secretary Chuck Hagel served as the 24th Secretary of Defense from 2013 to 2015. He is the only Vietnam veteran and enlisted combat veteran to serve as Secretary of Defense. He represented the state of Nebraska in the U.S. Senate for two terms from 1997 to 2009. In the Senate, Hagel was a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations; Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; and Intelligence Committees. Previously, Hagel was co-chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, deputy administrator of the Veterans Administration, a distinguished professor at Georgetown University, chairman of the Atlantic Council, chairman of the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration Advisory Committee, co-chairman of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Corporate Council, president and CEO of the USO, president and CEO of the Private Sector Council, and co-founder of Vanguard Cellular Systems, Inc. Hagel serves on the RAND Corporation’s board of trustees, among other current commitments including senior adviser to GALLUP; distinguished statesman at the Atlantic Council; centennial scholar, Georgetown Walsh School of Foreign Service; distinguished scholar, University of Nebraska at Omaha; board of directors of the Public Broadcasting Service; advisory board member of Corsair Capital; director and founding member of the American Security Project; and advisory board chairman of the HillVets veterans organization. He is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.