Program is open to Members and guests of Members only. One must RSVP to attend. Guest list is enforced.

When: February 6 at 12:00 p.m.
Where: Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management - 2000 Avenue of the Stars, Suite 910-N, Los Angeles, 90067
RSVP: Bailey

More About Kevin James:

Kevin began his legal career in 1988 with one of the most prestigious law firms in the country - Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Kevin practiced in the firm's Litigation Department learning legal strategy and negotiation skills and tactics from some of the most respected attorneys in California.

After spending his first two years of law practicing at Gibson, Dunn, Kevin was hired by the United States Department of Justice to work as an Assistant United States Attorney in Los Angeles. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Kevin went after criminals by using the asset forfeiture laws to disband their criminal enterprises in cases involving narcotics, money laundering, insurance fraud, mail and wire fraud, and consumer fraud.

In 1992, Kevin received the Director's Award for Superior Performance (one of the Justice Department's highest awards for an Assistant U.S. Attorney).

In 1993, Kevin returned to private practice where his experience ranged in complexity from the representation of famous entertainers, producers and entertainment executives in complex litigation relating to the entertainment industry and personal litigation matters, to representing large corporate clients in multi-million dollar business litigation cases.

Kevin spent many years donating his time and legal expertise to local charities serving neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles. Kevin began his volunteer work in Los Angeles working for AIDS charities at the peak of the AIDS crisis. Most notably, after serving years as a staff and fundraising volunteer, Kevin joined the all-volunteer Board of Directors of AIDS Project Los Angeles where he served for six years from 1995 through 2000. Kevin was the Vice-Kevin James City CouncilChair of the Board in 1998 and Co-Chair of the Board in 1999 and 2000.

During Kevin's tenure as a Board officer, APLA maintained an annual budget between $15 million and $20 million with a full-time staff of approximately 200 employees. Kevin was instrumental in expanding APLA's services throughout the City of Los Angeles and into East Los Angeles and South Los Angeles in order to meet the ever-growing and demanding needs of minority communities throughout the City and surrounding areas. APLA remains one of the world's leading AIDS service organizations to this day, with nine satellite locations throughout Los Angeles County.

In early 2003, Kevin began his talk radio career as a legal analyst and fill-in host on Talk Radio 790 KABC in Los Angeles. In 2004, Kevin moved to Oklahoma City to host the morning-drive show on 1000 KTOK. Kevin's ratings success in Oklahoma City enabled his return to Los Angeles in early 2005 to host KABC's "Red Eye Radio" - once again achieving great ratings success. Kevin hosted "Red Eye Radio" from early 2005 until April 2007. It was on Kevin's Red Eye Radio show where he continued his crusade to improve the lives of those living and working in and around Los Angeles. In May, 2007, the "Kevin James Show" began on 870 KRLA.

Kevin has also served as a regular panelist for Court TV's "Catherine Crier Live" and appeared on cable news networks as a commentator and legal analyst. Kevin is a member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences and is an avid sports fan. Kevin received his undergraduate degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1985, and obtained his Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston Law Center in 1988. Kevin resides in Los Angeles.

Please check out his popular financial blog, Infectious Greed.

Open to Members and Guests only. Invites are not transferable. Must RSVP to Sarah to attend. Adding program to calendar does not constitute a RSVP.

When: February 8 at 6:00 p.m.
Where:Mortons -15233 North Kierland Boulevard, Scottsdale, AZ 85254
RSVP:  Sarah

Dress: Business Casual
Paul Kedrosky, Economist at the Kauffman Foundation
Dr. Kedrosky is an investor, speaker, writer, media guy, and entrepreneur. In his spare time he is a dangerous Twitterer, analyst for CNBC television, and the editor of Infectious Greed, one of the most popular financial blogs available over the Interweb.

In the dusty distance of long-ago, Dr K. founded what he is reasonably sure was the first hosted blogging site, GrokSoup. After having grown it to be one the largest such services on the Interweb (admittedly before there were other such services), he demonstrated his unerring ability to enter fast-growing markets before they take off, and exit before they have grown large enough to deliver an island-purchasing exit. The rest is history, or least an index entry in one book on blogging.

Even further back in time, Dr. Kedrosky was one of the first technology equity analysts at a major brokerage firm. Back before there were such things as credit default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, and subprime mortgages, we vandalism-loving greed-heads on Wall Street were forced to take down capitalism the hard way -- by selling over-valued technology companies to an unsuspecting public via initial public offerings. While it eventually worked out (c.f., the tech crash of 2000), the next generation of Wall Street-ers learned from our inefficiency and took down the global money grid in half the time it took us to mess up Nasdaq. Lesson learned.

He is an active investor in public and private equities, despite having watched both sorts of sausages being made. That almost certainly represents, as Samuel Johnson once said about a man's second marriage, the triumph of hope over experience. Nevertheless, Dr. Kedrosky has more than fifty early-stage investments to his credit, and rather than brag in an unseemly way about his many successes he will continue to point to that "fifty" number. Fifty, fifty, etc.

Dr. Kedrosky has a Ph.D. in the economics of technology (which he mostly uses when bluffing outside of poker), a master's degree in finance (which he mostly uses when bluffing in poker), and an undergraduate degree in engineering (which a professor once said he would take away, if he had the means).

For additional reading please review these articles written by Larry Sand:

• A Blueprint for Maintaining the Status Quo - August 23, 2011
• Teacher's Road Map to Nowhere - August 25, 2011
• Grading the Teachers - June 20, 2011

Program is open to Members and guests of Members only. One must RSVP to attend. Guest list is enforced.

When: February 9 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Grande Colonial La Jolla - 910 Prospect St, La Jolla CA
RSVP: Bailey

Larry Sand, President of the California Teachers Empowerment Network

Larry Sand began his teaching career in New York in 1971. Since 1984, he has taught elementary school as well as English, math, history and ESL in the Los Angeles Unified School District, where he also served as a Title 1 Coordinator. Retired in 2009, he is the

president of the non-profit California Teachers Empowerment Network - a non-partisan, non-political group dedicated to providing teachers with reliable and balanced information about professional affiliations and positions on educational issues - information teachers will often not get from their school districts or unions.

CTEN was formed in 2006 because a wide range of information from the more global concerns of education policy, education leadership, and education reform, to information having a more personal application, such as professional liability insurance, options of relationships to teachers' unions, and the effect of unionism on teacher pay, comes to teachers from entities that have a specific agenda. Sand's comments and op-eds have appeared in City Journal, Associated Press, Newsweek, Townhall Magazine, Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union Tribune, Los Angeles Daily News, San Jose Mercury News, Orange County Register, California Political Review and other publications. This past May, after his weekly blog proved to be very popular, he began writing a monthly article for City Journal, the Manhattan Institute's policy publication. He has appeared on numerous broadcast news programs and talk radio shows in Southern California and nationally.

Sand has participated in panel discussions and events focusing on education reform efforts and the impact of teachers' unions on public education. In March 2010, Sand participated in a debate hosted by the non-profit Intelligence Squared, an organization that regularly hosts Oxford-style debates, which was nationally broadcast on Bloomberg TV and NPR, as well as covered by Newsweek. Sand and his teammates - Terry Moe of the Hoover Institution and former U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige, opposed the proposition - Don't Blame Teachers Unions For Our Failing Schools. The pro-union team included Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers. In August 2010, he was on a panel at the Where's the Outrage? Conference in San Francisco, where he spoke about how charter school operators can best deal with teachers' unions. This past January he was on panels in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Mateo in support of National School Choice week. Additionally, CTEN has hosted two informational events this year - one addressing the sinister agenda that is prevalent in many schools these days and the other concerning itself with California's new Parent Trigger law. The latter event was covered by both the English and Spanish language press.

Sand has also worked with other organizations to present accurate information about the relationship between teachers and their unions, most recently assisting in the production of a video for the Center for Union Facts in which a group of teachers speak truthfully about the teachers' unions. At this time, he is conferring with and being an advisor to education policy experts who are crafting major education reform legislation.

CTEN maintains an active and strong new media presence, reaching out to teachers and those interested in education reform across the USA, and around the world, with its popular Facebook page, whose members include teachers, writers, think tankers, and political activists. Since 2006, CTEN has experienced dramatic growth.

Program is open to Members and guests of Members only. One must RSVP to attend. Guest list is enforced.

When: February 10 at Noon
Where: Fairmont Hotel Newport Beach, 4500 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach, CA 92660
RSVP: Bailey

About Congressman McCarthy:

Congressman Kevin McCarthy was born in Bakersfield, California, and is a fourth-generation Kern County resident. He was first elected to represent the 22nd District of California in the United States House of Representatives in November 2006, and has focused his work in Congress to represent his constituents in Congress. In November 2010, he was reelected to serve for a third term.

For the 112th Congress, McCarthy was elected by his colleagues to serve as the Majority Whip.  In this Leadership position, Kevin will work with his fellow members of Congress to advance common-sense conservative policies designed to encourage economic growth and job creation in America, restore accountability and transparency in government and ensure that the tax dollars that come to Washington are spent more wisely, efficiently and effectively. Congressman McCarthy will also serve on the Financial Services Committee for the 112th Congress.

For the 111th Congress, Republican Whip, Eric Cantor, appointed McCarthy to serve in the House Leadership as the Chief Deputy Republican Whip, the highest appointed position in the House Republican Conference. McCarthy was also reappointed to the House Administration Committee, where he served as the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Elections.

Congressman's McCarthy's rise in leadership has not gone unnoticed. Newsweek magazine included a quote in their November 2008 magazine calling McCarthy one the GOP's "most persuasive compelling members."  Roll Call newspaper named Congressman McCarthy the 110th Congress' "Rookie of the Year". Additionally, early in the 110th Congress, McCarthy was named by the Weekly Standard as one of three "Young Guns of the House GOP," and was dubbed "the strategist" among the three up and coming leaders in the House.

Congressman Kevin McCarthy Speaking with Californians of the 22nd District

During the 110th Congress, McCarthy served on the following five standing House Committees: Financial Services, Homeland Security, Natural Resources, Agriculture, and House Administration. During this first term, McCarthy was one of only three Republicans appointed by House Republican Leader John Boehner to serve on the House Administration Committee and became the Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Elections. McCarthy was also named to the powerful House Republican Steering Committee, which controls the committee assignments of House Republican members.

Before his 21st birthday, McCarthy successfully opened and operated a small business, Kevin O's Deli. Owning a small business gave McCarthy important experience about the difficulties that entrepreneurs face from burdensome regulations and onerous taxes. After selling his business and finishing his undergraduate degree and Masters in Business Administration at California State University, Bakersfield, McCarthy worked for former Congressman Bill Thomas, and successfully won his first election in 2000 as Trustee to the Kern Community College District.

Congressman Kevin McCarthy and Family

In 2002, McCarthy was elected to represent the 32nd Assembly District in the California State Assembly.  As a freshman legislator, he was selected unanimously by his Republican colleagues to serve as the Assembly Republican Leader, becoming the first freshman legislator and the first legislator from Kern County to assume the top post.  In this leadership role, McCarthy worked with the Governor and Democrat leaders in the state Assembly and Senate to address critical state issues, such as reducing California's budget deficit, overhauling the state worker's compensation system, and enhancing California's poor business climate to create more opportunities for California workers and businesses.

The 22nd District of California includes fertile agricultural lands in the Central Valley and the Central Coast, rich energy resources, strategic military facilities, and growing residential communities.

McCarthy and his wife, Judy, have two children, Connor and Meghan, and they reside in Bakersfield where he travels back every weekend from Washington D.C.

The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization - a think tank - dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues.

Open to Members and their guests only-invitation is not transferable.

When:  February 13 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Provided at RSVP
RSVP:  Bailey

More on Robert Levy

Robert A. Levy is chairman of the Cato Institute's board of directors. He joined Cato as senior fellow in constitutional studies in 1997 after 25 years in business. He also sits on boards of the Institute for Justice, the Federalist Society, and the George Mason University School of Law. He founded CDA Investment Technologies, a major provider of financial information and software, and was its CEO until 1991. Levy clerked for Judge Royce C. Lamberth on the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and for Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. From 1997 until 2004, Levy was an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University. He has written numerous articles on investments, law, and public policy. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today,Washington Post, National Review, and many other publications. Levy has also discussed public policy on national radio and TV programs, including ABC�s Nightline, CNN'sCrossfire, Fox's The O'Reilly Factor, MSNBC's Hardball, and NBC's Today Show. His latest book, co-authored with William Mellor, is The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom. Levy received his Ph.D. in business from the American University and his J.D. degree from the George Mason University School of Law.

The Cato Institute is a public policy research organization - a think tank - dedicated to the principles of individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peace. Its scholars and analysts conduct independent, nonpartisan research on a wide range of policy issues.

Open to Members and their guests only-invitation is not transferable.

When:  February 14 at 8:00 a.m.
Where: Provided at RSVP
RSVP:  Bailey

More on Robert Levy

Robert A. Levy is chairman of the Cato Institute's board of directors. He joined Cato as senior fellow in constitutional studies in 1997 after 25 years in business. He also sits on boards of the Institute for Justice, the Federalist Society, and the George Mason University School of Law. He founded CDA Investment Technologies, a major provider of financial information and software, and was its CEO until 1991. Levy clerked for Judge Royce C. Lamberth on the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., and for Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. From 1997 until 2004, Levy was an adjunct professor of law at Georgetown University. He has written numerous articles on investments, law, and public policy. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today,Washington Post, National Review, and many other publications. Levy has also discussed public policy on national radio and TV programs, including ABC�s Nightline, CNN'sCrossfire, Fox's The O'Reilly Factor, MSNBC's Hardball, and NBC's Today Show. His latest book, co-authored with William Mellor, is The Dirty Dozen: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom. Levy received his Ph.D. in business from the American University and his J.D. degree from the George Mason University School of Law.

Please read a recent article announcing Adam's pledge to not take his pension: http://www.westernfreepress.com/2012/01/24/kirk-adams-pledges-to-not-take-a-congressional-pension/

Open to Members and Guests only. Invites are not transferable. Must RSVP to Sarah to attend. Adding program to calendar does not constitute a RSVP.

When: February 14 at Noon
Where: Rose Law Group: 6613 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 200, Scottsdale 85250
RSVP: Sarah

More about Kirk Adams

Speaker Kirk Adams is a principled advocate for less government spending, lower taxes, individual freedom, and limited government. While serving in the Legislature, Speaker Adams fought to strengthen Arizona's small businesses and economy, advocating an aggressive agenda of reform and job creation.  His legislative efforts include: healthcare reform; pension reform; initiative reform; tax reform; CPS reform; and transparency in government.

Kirk, a lifelong East Valley resident, married, started his family, and built a successful property and casualty insurance business in Mesa.  Hoping to craft conservative policies that would make Arizona an even better place to live and work, Kirk was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2006.

Frustrated by the failure of the Republican majority to stop the liberal policies of Janet Napolitano and the Democrats, Adams decided to run for Speaker of the House after just one full term in office.  He pledged to aggressively push a truly conservative agenda and fight for more transparency in the Legislature.

Adams, at only 35 years of age, shocked political observers when his long-shot bid against the veteran Speaker was successful and Adams became one of the youngest Speakers in Arizona history.

During his three years in the top leadership post, Adams turned the tide in the House. In the aftermath of Janet Napolitano's spending spree, Adams-without any accounting gimmicks or debt financing-negotiated and authored the first structurally balanced budget in at least five years. Adams' ambitious spending cuts totaled more than $3 billion and put Arizona back on a path towards fiscal responsibility.

Adams also fought to alleviate the burden on Arizona's taxpayers.   His Jobs Bill resulted in the largest permanent tax cut ever in Arizona. Adams even took on public-employee unions, authoring and passing a top-to-bottom reform of the state pension system to free taxpayers from ever increasing liabilities. Demonstrating his commitment to government pension reform, he personally opted out of the elected officials retirement plan, earning him recognition from the National Taxpayers Union.

His work on these issues has been recognized with the following awards:

The 2011 legislator of the year by Arizona Parents for Education, The 2008 "Courage for Children" Award by the Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents, for his work on CPS reform. The 2008 "Freedom of Information" Award from the Arizona Newspaper Association.

Adams is a partner at The Adams Agency, a property and casualty firm with 20 employees and locations in Mesa, Apache Junction and Yuma.

He and his wife JaNae have five children and live in Mesa.

Program is open to Members and guests of Members only. One must RSVP to attend. Guest list will be enforced.

When: February 16 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Location prvided upon RSVP
RSVP: Brittni

More on Sally Pipes:Sally C. Pipes is president and chief executive officer of the Pacific Research Institute, a San Francisco-based think tank founded in 1979. Prior to becoming president in 1991, she was assistant director of the Fraser Institute, based in Vancouver, Canada.

Mrs. Pipes has written multiple books on health care reform and is one of the nation's foremost experts on the topic. She addresses national and international audiences on health care, women's issues, and the economy. She has been interviewed on CNN's The Glenn Beck Show, NBC's The Nightly News with Brian Williams, Dateline and other prominent programs.

She has written regular columns for Chief Executive and Investor's Business Daily. Currently, she writes a monthly column on health care issues for the Examiner newspapers. Her opinion pieces have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times of London, and The Boston Globe to name a few. 

In 2005, she was named one of the Top 10 Women in the Conservative Movement in America as published by Human Events. She was also featured in a new book "Women Who Paved the Way" as one of 35 most outstanding women in business in the nation.
Ms. Pipes, a former Canadian, became an American citizen in 2006.  Married to Professor Charles Kesler, she is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society.

Open to Members and Guests only. Invites are not transferable. Must RSVP to Sarah to attend. Adding program to calendar does not constitute a RSVP.

When: February 22 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Skybar at the Mondrian - 8440 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, 90069
RSVP: Bailey

Program is open to Members and guests of Members only. One must RSVP to attend. Guest list will be enforced.

When:  February 28 at 6:00 p.m.
Where:  Provided Upon RSVP
RSVP:  Brittni

More on Michael Medved:

Michael Medved is a nationally syndicated radio host, best-selling author, and veteran film critic. His daily three hour broadcast reaches 2,000,000 listeners on more than 180 stations across the country - drawing an audience that consistently ranks his show as one of the top ten political talk shows in the United States.

Born in Philadelphia, educated in public schools in San Diego and Los Angeles, Michael attended Yale as a National Merit Scholar, graduating with honors as an American History major. He then attended Yale Law School where his classmates included Bill and Hillary Clinton. Michael has worked as a political speechwriter and consultant for a variety of democratic candidates and office-holders, including Jimmy Carter. His columns on media and society appear regularly in USA TODAY where he is a member of the Board of Contributors.

Program is open to Members and guests of Members only. One must RSVP to attend. Guest list is enforced.

When: March 22 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: TBD
RSVP: Bailey

More about Lucy Dunn:

Lucy Dunn is President and CEO of Orange County Business Council, where she leads a dynamic organization of business members, working with academia and government, to ensure the county's economic prosperity and high quality of life.

Before joining the Business Council, Lucy was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and confirmed by the California State Senate in 2004 to serve as Director of the California Department of Housing and Community Development. In June 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger appointed her to the California Transportation Commission where she was unanimously confirmed by the state Senate. She also served as a member of the Green Building Code Advisory Committee of the California Building and Standards Commission developing the nation's first green building standards. She is a member of Orange County's working group to develop the county's 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness.

Lucy twice received the California State Legislature "Woman of the Year" in 1997 and in 2009 for her civic involvement and influence. In 2001, she served as the first woman president in the 80-year history of the Building Industry Association of Southern California and was slated to be president of the state-wide California Building Industry Association when Governor Schwarzenegger appointed her to his team. She also hosted the 2006, 2007 and 2008 OC Mayors' Summits, ULI and City of Irvine's Summit on Green Building and serves on the board of advisors of the Hobbs Institute at Chapman University with the theme, "Green Both Ways" meshing law, environment and real estate.

In 2005, she received California Building Industry Association's D. Gregg Brown Award for "passionate and effective advocacy on behalf of housing." The Orange County Business Journal honored her with its 2006 "Women in Business" award, and in 2007, she received the prestigious "Vision and Visionaries" Award from her alma mater, California State University, Fullerton. In 2008, she received the Women in Transportation Seminar-OC Chapter "Woman of the Year" award for advancing women in transportation and for leadership in renewal of Orange County's Measure M for transportation. She was named by Red County Magazine as No. 3 of "The OC's Top 40 Politicos" and has been twice named as one of OC Metro's "20 Women to Watch."

Lucy is an attorney admitted to practice before the California State Bar, the federal bar and the U.S. Supreme Court. She is a director of a number of non-profit organizations including the Lennar Charitable Housing Foundation dedicated to ending homelessness, and founder of the Bolsa Chica Conservancy dedicated to advocating for and restoring 1000 acres of wetlands in Huntington Beach.

She is the mother of two adult sons who reside in San Francisco, one of whom is a San Francisco Deputy Sheriff and the other an account manager for a major online marketing firm.

Open to Members and Guests only. Invites are not transferable. Must RSVP to Nicole to attend. Adding program to calendar does not constitute a RSVP.

When: April 11 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: TBD             
RSVP: Sarah

Matthew H. Paull was Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of McDonald's Corporation from July, 2001 until he retired from that position effective, January 2008. While serving as McDonald's Chief Financial Officer, he was responsible for all financial matters of the company and had direct reporting responsibilities for Accounting, Facilities and Systems, Information Services, Investor Relations, Tax, Treasury and (from 2003 until January, 2005) Corporate Strategy.  From 2004 through 2007, McDonald's Ventures also reported to him.  McDonald's Ventures included McDonald's investments in Chipotle Mexican Grill (80+%), Boston Market (100%), Pret-a-Manger (33%) and Redbox DVD (50%), a vended DVD rental business.

Previously, Paull had been Senior Vice President - Finance from 1999 until his promotion to Chief Financial Officer.  In that position, his responsibilities included supervising the Tax, Insurance, and Facilities and Systems departments. He was an advisory director on the McDonald's Board from 1999 to 2000.  He sat on the McDonald's Japan Board from 2002-2003.

Prior to joining McDonald's in 1993, Paull was a partner at Ernst & Young where he managed a variety of financial practices during his 18-year career. His practice included consulting with many large multinational corporations.

Paull has served as a board member of the Loyola Ronald McDonald House and as an advisory council member for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.  He was named to the Best Buy Co, Inc. Board of Directors in September 2003 and continues to serve as a Director of Best Buy.

Paull became an Advisory Director of Pershing Square Capital in September, 2008.

Paull earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and his Master's degree in accounting at the University of Illinois.

During most of 2008, Paull was a part-time faculty member in the Business School at the University of San Diego.

This Program is open to Members and guests of Members only. The conversation will be off the record.

Open to members and guests only.

When: May 10 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: TBD
RSVP: Bailey

Mark McKinnon

McKinnon is an award-winning media producer and communications strategist who has served as principal media advisor for hundreds of corporate and political campaigns around the world. McKinnon has helped engineer five winning presidential primary and general elections.  He has been awarded more than 30 Pollie and Telly awards, honoring the nation's best political and public affairs advertising.

According to Broadcasting and Cable magazine, McKinnon is one of "a handful of players behind every big decision, consensus or roadblock in Washington...putting a unique, sometimes hidden stamp on the outcome of today's debates."

He currently serves on the boards of the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Change Congress, an organization dedicated to campaign finance reform, and lectures at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

McKinnon attended UT Austin and served as editor of the award-winning university newspaper, The Daily Texan. He spent several years in Nashville working as a song-writer with Kris Kristofferson. McKinnon also is a two-time Ironman finisher.   He is married and has two daughters.

Program is open to Members and guests of Members only. One must RSVP to attend. Guest list will be enforced.

When: May 17 at 6:00pm
Location: Provided Upon RSVP
RSVP: Brittni

More about Kadita "A.T." Tshibaka:
A.T. has extensive international experience working at Citibank. His positions have included: Country Corporate Officer (CCO) Liberia; CCO and General Manager for 11 countries in Central and Eastern Africa; Regional Supervisor for Citibank's Business Risk Review for Brazil and six other South American countries; Division Credit Officer for Spain and Portugal; and Emerging Markets Region Head responsible for relationships with global companies in Central & Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Middle East and Africa. In July 2002, he was promoted to Head of Corporate Credit Risk for Emerging Markets. Until recently, he was a member of the Board of Directors for the Corporate Council on Africa, a not-for-profit organization focusing on promoting capital and trade flows between the United States and Africa, and serving as a representative of Citigroup. A.T. is currently Risk Director for the Wholesale and International Banking Division of Lloyds TSB Bank. He Holds a B.A. in Economics and a M.B.A. from the Amos Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College. A.T. was born and grew up in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Ed has spoken all around the world,  including the World Economic Forum in Davos and recently at the Google Ideas SAVE Conference in Dublin.  60 Minutes featured the Quilliam Foundation in 2011, which you can view HERE.

Open to Members and Guests only. Invites are not transferable. Must RSVP to Sarah to attend. Adding program to calendar does not constitute a RSVP.

When: June 13 at 6:00 p.m.
Where:The Phoenician: J&G Steakhouse, 6000 E Camelback Rd, Scottsdale, 85251  
RSVP: Sarah

Program is open to Members and guests of Members only. One must RSVP to attend. Guest list will be enforced.

When: June 21st at 6:00 p.m.
Where: Provided upon RSVP
RSVP: Brittni

More on DJ Peterson
Demosthenes James Peterson (familiarly known by his initials, "DJ") is the director of Corporate Advisory Services at Eurasia Group. DJ has more than 20 years of experience as a thought leader and consultant on political trends and their implications for markets and businesses around the world. His clients include many of the leading companies in energy, mining, infrastructure, real estate, automotive, IT, professional services, consumer goods, and retail.

After receiving his BA from Duke University, DJ received his MA and PhD in political science from UCLA, where he focused on politics and government in Russia. Prior to joining Eurasia Group in 2006, he spent more than 15 years at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, where his final position was as a senior political scientist and acting director of the firm's environment, energy, and economic development program. Previously, DJ served as a consultant to the National Intelligence Council and the Central Intelligence Agency, and spent some time at the Wilson Center in Washington as a public policy scholar. DJ has published more than 50 articles, reports, and book chapters and his work has been cited by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the US Congress.

Eurasia Group is the world's leading global political risk research and consulting firm. By providing information and insight on how political developments move markets, we help clients anticipate and respond to instability and opportunities everywhere they do business.

Open to Members and Guests only. Invites are not transferable.  Must RSVP to attend. Adding program to calendar does not constitute RSVP.

When: June 21at 6:00 p.m.
Location: Provided Upon RSVP
RSVP: Brittni

More on DJ Peterson

Demosthenes James Peterson (familiarly known by his initials, "DJ") is the director of Corporate Advisory Services at Eurasia Group. DJ has more than 20 years of experience as a thought leader and consultant on political trends and their implications for markets and businesses around the world. His clients include many of the leading companies in energy, mining, infrastructure, real estate, automotive, IT, professional services, consumer goods, and retail.

After receiving his BA from Duke University, DJ received his MA and PhD in political science from UCLA, where he focused on politics and government in Russia. Prior to joining Eurasia Group in 2006, he spent more than 15 years at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, where his final position was as a senior political scientist and acting director of the firm's environment, energy, and economic development program. Previously, DJ served as a consultant to the National Intelligence Council and the Central Intelligence Agency, and spent some time at the Wilson Center in Washington as a public policy scholar. DJ has published more than 50 articles, reports, and book chapters and his work has been cited by the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the US Congress.

Eurasia Group is the world's leading global political risk research and consulting firm. By providing information and insight on how political developments move markets, we help clients anticipate and respond to instability and opportunities everywhere they do business.

When: June 27 at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Address provided upon RSVP
RSVP: Bailey

More About Richard Riordan:

Born in Flushing, New York, Richard J. Riordan, a partner at Bingham McCutchen law firm, graduated from Princeton University and Michigan Law School. After his service in the Korean War Riordan moved to California. A well-established and highly respected attorney, entrepreneur, and philanthropist Riordan first entered public service as Mayor of Los Angeles from 1993 to 2001 and then California's Secretary for Education until 2005. His appointment as California Secretary for Education in 2003, marked Governor Schwarzenegger's first cabinet appointment.

Riordan was also a founding member of the nationally-acclaimed LEARN school reform effort, and a founding board member for L.A.'s BEST (Better Educated Students for Tomorrow), a nationally recognized after-school program serving thousands of children in Los Angeles' underserved neighborhoods.

In 1981, Riordan created the charitable foundation that bears his name with one goal in mind: to teach children how to read and write. Through its signature "Rx for Reading" program, the Riordan Foundation has distributed some 21,700 computers to 2,100 schools in 40 states and enabled the purchase of 128,000 books for elementary classroom libraries.

Currently Riordan is Chairman of the Board of the Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF), a consortium of Los Angeles Public Charter Schools.

In addition to Riordan's education work for young students, he co-founded The Riordan Programs at The Anderson School at UCLA with Professor William Ouchi, The Riordan Programs consist of The Riordan Scholars Program and The Riordan Fellows Program, serving high school students and college students/recent college alumni respectively.

Riordan has three children and three grandchildren. Riordan is an ardent reader and an avid bicyclist.

Open to Members and Guests only. Invites are not transferable.  Must RSVP to attend. Adding program to calendar does not constitute RSVP.

When: July 19th at 6:00 p.m.
Where: TBD
RSVP: Brittni

More about Jake Cusack:

Jake Cusack is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps who served in Iraq from 2005 to 2008.  A graduate of University of Notre Dame, he was commissioned as a Marine Officer and served as a Sniper Platoon Commander and Intelligence Officer in Iraq. Notably, he led in the capture of the kidnappers of American hostage Jill Carroll, and was awarded the Bronze Star for his work against foreign fighters on the Syrian border. He has subsequently worked as a researcher, consultant, and private equity investor in Iraq, Afghanistan, Jordan, UAE, and the West Bank. His writings have been published in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek; he has presented at the Senate Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committees, the Council on Foreign Relations, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and on National Public Radio. Cusack is finishing his final year in a joint graduate program at the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School.

This program is open to Members and invited guests only.  Entry will only be permitted to confirmed guests.

When: July 26 at 6:00 p.m.
Where: TBD
RSVP: Bailey

About Michael Pento:

Mr. Michael Pento is the President of Pento Portfolio Strategies and serves as Senior Market Analyst for Baltimore-based research firm Agora Financial.

Pento Portfolio Strategies provides strategic advice and research for institutional clients. Agora Financial publishes award-winning newsletters, critically acclaimed feature documentaries and international best-selling books.

Mr. Pento is a well-established specialist in the Austrian School of economics and a regular guest on CNBC, Bloomberg, FOX Business News and other national media outlets. His market analysis can also be read in most major financial publications, including the Wall Street Journal. He also acts as a Financial Columnist for Forbes, Contributor to thestreet.com and is a blogger at the Huffington Post.

Prior to starting Pento Portfolio Strategies and joining Agora Financial, Mr. Pento served as a senior economist and vice president of the managed products division of another financial firm. There, he also led an external sales division that marketed their managed products to outside broker-dealers and registered investment advisors.

Additionally, Mr. Pento has worked for an investment advisory firm where he helped create ETFs and UITs that were sold throughout Wall Street.  Earlier in his career Mr. Pento spent two years on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.  He has carried series 7, 63, 65, 55 and Life and Health Insurance Licenses. Mr. Pento graduated from Rowan University in 1991.