Advisory Board

Peter Bessen, Software Architect

Peter Bessen has over 20 years experience in the software industry. Recently, he has served as a software architect for a number of companies including Commerce One, Slingshot Solutions, Siemens Health Services and Radian Guaranty. He is a graduate of Swarthmore College and a founding officer of Community Focus/Enfoque Comunal, a bilingual newspaper serving Philadelphia's Latino community.

Karen L. Black, Principal, may8software

Specializes in Metropolitan policy, urban and regional politics, demographic trends, community revitalization methods, federal, state and local housing policies, challenges and solutions to large-scale abandonment in urban America, community revitalization, state and local policy, and law and attitudes surrounding housing discrimination. Previous Positions: Director, Metropolitan Philadelphia Policy Center (2000-02); Fellowship with Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School and Community Builder, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (1998-00); Fair Housing Project Director, Public Interest Law Center (1989-98); Fellow, Litt and Stormer; Clerk U.S. District Court, 9th Circuit.

Brent Emerson, Partner, Electric Embers

Brent is a Partner in Electric Embers, an Internet host for progressive nonprofits, artists and cooperatives. As a founding member of the Tech Underground, he previously did technology consulting and support for Bay Area nonprofit organizations. Years ago in the for-profit world, Brent was most recently lead SMTP/DNS support engineer at Pilot Network Services, a national security-focused ISP.

Suzanne Stenson O'Brien, Executive Director—Center for Civic Participation (Board Member)

Center for Civic Participation(http://www.ccp.org) (Board Member) Prior to this position, she was Communications Director for National Voice, managing technology systems and branding efforts of the national NOVEMBER 2 communications and GOTV campaigns. For almost 20 years, Suzanne has worked in social engagement and community organizing—including Executive Manager for Institutional Development of the Independent Television Service (ITVS)—and as p.r. and communications consultant to numerous PBS-bound documentary features, non-profit organizations, community groups, and candidates for office. Her work online has included pioneering e-outreach strategies in the '90s—such as organizing over 900 house parties around the THE GOOD WAR AND THOSE WHO REFUSED TO FIGHT IT, and content development, including lead curriculum developer for the Peabody Award-winning SONIC MEMORIAL.

Sean Sheehan, National Outreach Manager, New American Dream

Sean holds a BA from American University (magna cum laude), Outstanding Public Servant in senior year); former associate, TV-Free America. Sean built the website for Newdream.org and now writes our monthly online action bulletin Step by Step and manages the Turn the Tide program. He is also responsible for the promotion of Step by Step and Turn the Tide to local communities and organizations across the United States.

K. Joey Shepp, Co-Founder and Board Member

Joey Shepp is a visionary artist, entrepreneur, technologist, ecologist, and eternal optimist. In addition to co-founding Alonovo.com, he is the founder of Earthsite.net, a website design, development, and hosting company with a mission of building a global network of sustainable businesses. Mr. Shepp’s professional consulting work in business, marketing and technology has included major players in the sustainable economy movement, including: Global Exchange, Coop America, Green Festivals, Fantastic Foods, Julia Butterfly Hill, GreenMBA, WholeLife, GreenHome.com, and more. Joey holds a degree in Ecological Design and an MBA in Sustainable Enterprise(www.greenmba.com). He currently lives in Marin County, just north of San Francisco, California. There he studies and teaches Aikido, bikes in the surrounding mountains, eats organic food and drives a hybrid car. Learn more about Joey Shepp at (www.shepp.org).

Kara M. Kapczynski

Kara Kapczynski was the chief technology officer, senior vice president, for Gen3 Partners. In her former position, Kapczynski worked on the technical architectures that support a variety of businesses, managed a team of senior technical architects, and provided technology thought leadership for the firm. Prior to Gen3 Partners, Kapczynski was vice president, chief technologist North America for Cambridge Technology Partners. Kapczynski herself works specifically on projects involving technology strategy and the implementation of emerging technologies. During the fall of 1999, she was the chief architect on the company's most sophisticated project - the design of a web-based infrastructure to support the deployment of any interactive application, approximately 120 Internet related "concepts," for one of the ten largest financial institutions in the world.

George A. Polisner (Board, Founder)

George has been working in most aspects of Information Technology since 1981. As a Director at Oracle Corporation, he most recently built the technology and infrastructure for the Critical Engagement function, and formed the Global Innovation and Quality business groups within the On Demand hosting business unit for Oracle Corporation. George joined Oracle in 1993, and ran the Southwest Performance Architecture Oracle Consulting. His career has been predicated upon product and service innovation. He is a frequent contributor to newspapers.

Bob Hornsby

Project development for Overseas Strategic Consulting's health communications division, President of technology startup Slingshot Solutions. Bob holds an MBA from the Wharton School, an MA in African Studies and International Economics from the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins

Dr. Ralph Williams

Dr. Williams was trained as a clinical psychologist with a focus on executive leadership and organization development. Over the last 20 years, he has worked in a number of capacities in both private and public organizations and in private practice. He is interested in the building, nurturing, and sustaining of diverse communities across geographic boundaries through the development of on-line communities that respect and cultivate the individual differentiation of these communities while revealing and integrating their similarities through the on-line experience. Dr. Williams is the Executive Director of the Robert Ellis Simon Foundation, and maintains a private practice.

Dr. John Tepper Marlin, Economist

Dr. Marlin served as Chief Economist and Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of the New York City Comptroller from 1992 to the end of January 2006, when he retired to form CityEconomist.com. He teaches a corporate responsibility course to MBA students as an Adjunct Professor of Business Ethics in the Markets, Ethics & Law Program at NYU's Stern School of Business. A graduate of Harvard (A.B. cum laude), Oxford (BA, MA) and George Washington (Ph.D. in economics) Universities, he served as an economist for five years with the Federal Government. He has also served as President/CEO of the Council on Municipal Performance and of JTM Reports, where he worked on the first-ever stakeholder report at Ben & Jerry's in 1989.