A nation must think before it acts.
FPRI Elects Three New Members to Its Board of Trustees
FPRI is pleased to welcome three new members to its Board of Trustees—J. Michael Barron, Robert O’Donnell, and Hillard R. Torgerson
J. Michael Barron is Senior Wealth Director for the Mid-Atlantic Region of BNY Mellon Wealth Management. Michael has more than 20 years of experience as a professional investor and business owner. During that time he has worked closely with some of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs, executives and families. Prior to joining BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Michael was a Portfolio Manager & Director at ICC Capital Management. As member of the Quantitative Strategies Group, he managed single and multi-strategy portfolios. Previously, Michael was the CEO, Portfolio Manager and Principal at Knott Capital. As CEO he was responsible for management of the firm’s investment, marketing and business operations. Michael has also served as Director of Real Estate Securities at INVESCO, overseeing the management of client assets worldwide. He has been a regular guest on Bloomberg TV, CNBC, in addition to being sought out by well know industry publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Institutional Investor, Investment Business Daily and Barron’s. He is a graduate of The Hill School and received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Villanova University. Michael has also completed executive study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Real Estate.
Robert O’Donnell is a Philadelphia-based attorney and a former Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. As a member of the House for 19 years, Bob rose through the ranks of leadership, serving as Caucus Chairman, Majority Whip, Majority Leader, and Speaker of the House. While in public service, he developed a reputation as a thoughtful, dynamic, and intellectually honest member of the House. Mr. O’Donnell currently serves as an adviser to the City Controller of Philadelphia on pension related matters. O’Donnell has been a part of study missions to Egypt, Israel and Germany as well as trade missions to Taiwan and Chile. As a trainer, he has participated in a US State Department sponsored program for Journalists and Non Government Organizations in Ukraine as well as a National Democratic Institute legislative governance program in the Republic of Georgia. He has also conducted study programs for the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Japan. He currently participates in the International Visitor’s Council, hosting legislative, business and government leaders from around the globe. Bob is a graduate of Temple University and its law school, and attended The Hague Academy of International Law. Honorary degrees have been awarded to Bob by Arcadia College and Philadelphia University. He has received many public awards including citations from the Pennsylvania League of Cities, Service, and Common Cause.
Hillard R. Torgerson is Senior Manager of the Chinook Program Business Development at Boeing Vertical Lift Systems in Philadelphia, PA. Torgerson’s extensive Boeing Business Development experience includes having leadership of both Boeing’s V-22 Osprey and CH-47 domestic and international market development activities. He has a long and successful track recording in international sales leading the company’s Chinook business development campaign to the Government of Canada and for the recent selection by the United Kingdom for 14 new Chinook helicopters. He has most recently lead Boeing’s effort in the development of the Japanese market for the V-22 Osprey. Previously he served as Boeing Mobility Rotorcraft’s UK and Europe market lead. For 14 years he was the lead press spokesman and advertising manager, as well as Pennsylvania state and local government affairs manager for Boeing. Prior to joining Boeing, Bob served as spokesman for Fairfax County, Virginia, the largest suburban county in Washington, DC. He has also written for numerous newspapers and magazines. Bob has advanced degrees in Finance/MBA (University of Iowa); Journalism and Communications (Iowa State University) and International Business (Georgetown University). He received his undergraduate degree from Luther College Decorah, Iowa.
FPRI’s Board is chaired by Robert L. Freedman (Of Counsel, Dechert LLP); its three vice-chairs are Dr. John M. Templeton, Jr. (President, Templeton Foundation), the Hon. Dov S. Zakheim (former Undersecretary of Defense), and Samuel J. Savitz (former Chairman of The Savitz Organization).
About the Foreign Policy Research Institute
The Foreign Policy Research Institute was founded in Philadelphia in 1955 on the premise that “a nation should think before it acts,” as founder Robert Strausz-Hupé put it. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, FPRI is devoted to bringing the insights of scholarship to bear on the development of policies that advance U.S. national interests. We add perspective to events by fitting them into the larger historical, cultural, geographical context of international politics. In the area of education, FPRI sponsors the Marvin Wachman Center for Civic and International Literacy and the Madeleine and Keen Butcher History Institute. FPRI publishes Orbis, a quarterly journal of world affairs.
Next year, FPRI will celebrate its 60 anniversary.