W&M MILVET Advisory Group

Chancellor Robert M. Gates '65, L.H.D. '98 |  W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group Honorary Chair

Robert Gates served as the 22nd Secretary of Defense (2006-2011). He is the only Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in office by a newly elected President. Dr. Gates served eight U.S. presidents in total across both parties. He has led a distinguished career of service and institutional reform both in and out of government. On his last day as Secretary, President Barack Obama awarded Gates the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor.

Gates began his career at the Central Intelligence Agency in 1966 and spent nearly 27 years as an intelligence professional, including 9 years on the National Security Council. He is the only career officer in CIA's history to rise from entry-level employee to director. He served as Director of Central Intelligence from 1991 until 1993 and, through the collapse of the Soviet Union, restructured the intelligence community for a post-Cold War world.

Gates next served as President of Texas A&M University, one of the nation's largest universities, from 2002 to 2006. As President, he launched a successful campaign to make Texas A&M one of the nation's top twenty research universities.

As Secretary of Defense, Gates reversed losing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan while preparing the U.S. military for unconventional warfare and for dramatic reductions in federal spending. Among his many initiatives, Gates championed the production and deployment of Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, saving the lives and limbs of thousands of U.S. servicemembers. Gates is fondly remembered as the "Soldiers' Secretary."

Currently, Gates is a principal in the strategic consulting firm Rice, Hadley, Gates & Manuel, LLC, with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley, and Aspen Strategy Group Executive Director Anja Manuel.

Gates serves as Chancellor of William & Mary. He is the first William & Mary alumnus in the modern era to serve as Chancellor. He is National Chairman of the Eisenhower Fellowships, having succeeded General Colin Powell in 2018. Additionally, he is Board Chairman of the Holdsworth Center, a Texas nonprofit institution dedicated to improving K-12 public education by supporting and developing education leaders. Gates is a member of the Board of Directors of the George and Barbara Bush Foundation and has served as National President of the Boy Scouts of America.

A native of Kansas, Gates received his bachelor's degree from William & Mary, his master's degree in history from Indiana University and his doctorate in Russian and Soviet history from Georgetown University. In 1967, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and served as an intelligence officer at Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. Gates has been awarded honorary degrees from more than a dozen universities and colleges, including Notre Dame, Yale, Morehouse College, and all three of his alma maters.

Gates has authored four books – Exercise of Power: American Failures, Successes, and a New Path Forward in the Post-Cold War World, published in 2020; A Passion For Leadership: Lessons on Change and Reform from Fifty Years of Public Service, published in 2016; Duty: Memoirs of a Secretary at War, published in 2014; and From the Shadows: The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War, published in 1996.

Daniel Louis Arczynski | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

Dan is President and CEO of Index AR Solutions.  Index is a majority veteran owned company that develops and deploys trailblazing digital tools that make workers safer and more productive.  Dan co-founded Index in 2015 and the company has grown to become a premier workforce development partner for large US clients.  

For nineteen years prior to Index AR Solutions, Dan held a series of executive positions in the shipbuilding industry. He served as Corporate Vice President of both Business Development and Strategy at Huntington Ingalls Industries as well as Sector Vice President of Strategy at both Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding and growth initiatives.  Dan also served on the Board of Directors for Continental Maritime of San Diego, AREVA Newport News and Savannah River Nuclear Solutions.  

Prior to shipbuilding, Dan was Vice President of Strategy and Vice President of Mergers and Acquisitions for Shawmut, a large New England regional bank. He was also a consultant for Marakon Associates, a firm focused on creating shareholder value for its clients.  

Dan is a veteran of the U.S. Army and served for twelve years attaining the rank of Major. During this time, he led five platoon-size units and commanded a light infantry company. He also taught economics, finance and investments at West Point.  

Dan is a 1978 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy where he was on the Dean’s List, Commandant’s List and Superintendent’s List. He is a 1986 graduate of the Harvard Business School where he graduated with Highest Distinction and was elected Baker Scholar.  

Fred Caprio  ’85  | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

 Fred earned his BA from William & Mary in 1985. Following graduation, he enjoyed a 35-year career with the Minnesota Mutual Companies. As a corporate officer in their Financial Institution Group, he focused on strategic growth and risk management while leading divisions in the organization’s group insurance and reinsurance markets. In 2020 Fred formed The Caprio Group, serving as a Board Observer, Board Advisor and Executive Consultant to several public and privately held companies. 

Over the past 25 years Fred has served as a Board Director and Officer for four non-profit organizations. They include a national group focused on Military Veterans, their families and caregivers, a regional group focused on financial literacy for the unbanked and underbanked, and a community-based group focused on accessible health care for the underserved. 

Fred and his wife Rebecca ‘88 met at W&M as students and they moved back to Williamsburg in 2017. Now retired, Fred has found new opportunities to serve in volunteer roles at William and Mary. He was accepted as an Executive Partner with the Mason School of Business in 2021. He was also invited to serve as a Director of the Veteran Affairs Advisory Group in 2022 and a Director of the Annual Giving Board in 2024. Fred and his wife Rebecca ‘88, are members of the Chancellor's Society, the Griffin Society and the Bell Society. 

Walter L. Davis '79  | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

Walt transitioned from full-time employment at Cypress International in January 2023, after serving 10 years as their Vice President of Army Aviation and Department of Defense Vertical Lift Programs. In that role, he was responsible for managing and supporting a broad range of Defense Industry consulting agreements ranging from DoD Vertical Lift and Unmanned systems programs to high-end technology components in weapons and combat systems, including sensor, electronic warfare, lethality, and survivability systems.

Before joining Cypress International in January 2013, Walt served almost 34 years in the Army …initially in successive operational Army Aviation assignments, culminating in command at the Brigade level. At the flag officer level, he served in successive positions where he formed, organized, and employed the 20^th Support Command (CBRNE), focused on the world-wide mission of providing specialized CBRNE and Explosive Ordnance Disposal capabilities, and the Joint Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center of Excellence, focused on developing and validating operational concepts and plans for Service Unmanned Aircraft Systems capabilities. Additionally, Walt served as the Director for Army Aviation, overseeing the synchronization of resourcing and employment of the Army’s Aviation portfolio of capabilities, served as the Deputy Director of the Army’s Requirements and Capabilities Development Integration Center, responsible for supporting and synchronizing the requirements development activities of the Army’s Centers of Excellence, and served at the Deputy Commanding General for US Army North/Fifth Army in his final assignment.

Walt holds an MS in Resourcing of the National Security Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, the succession of professional military education including the Command and General Staff College, and a BS in Physical Education from the College of William and Mary where he was a Distinguished Military Graduate from the College’s ROTC Program.

Walt currently supports Army business development requirements  for W. R. Davis, Inc and AVX Defense Technologies companies, serves as a Board Member Emeritus to the Quilts of Valor Foundation, and is a Past President and active National Executive Board Member of the Army Aviation Association of America.

Rosalie Alejo Duarte '95  | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

Colonel Rosalie Alejo Duarte is an international personnel and workforce leader who directs placement, development, and welfare programs that strengthen U.S. partnerships and multinational interoperability. In her current Pentagon role she leads the International Airmen and Guardians Division in the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, overseeing exchange, attaché, security cooperation, liaison officer, and overseas developmental education programs.

She is the Department of the Air Force’s Foreign Area Officer career field manager for more than 600 total-force airmen. A career personnel officer and Foreign Affairs Officer with a regional specialty in Latin America, Rosalie commissioned as a Distinguished Graduate of Officer Training School and has commanded at multiple levels and has served in higher headquarters and joint staff assignments. Her senior roles include Director of Manpower, Personnel, and Services for Headquarters Pacific Air Forces and Vice Commander of the 78th Air Base Wing. Her military decorations include Legions of Merit and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.

While at William & Mary, she served four years as an athletic trainer and was a founding member of the Accidentals a cappella group. She serves on the College’s APIM (Asian, Pacific Islander & Middle Eastern) Association and as a member of the W&M MILVET Advisory Group.

Rosalie is married to Dr. John Duarte, a professional educator and director of resilience programs. She hails from Virginia Beach, Virginia.

B.S., Kinesiology, College of William & Mary, Class of 1995

M.P.H., Public Health, University of South Carolina

M.A., Organizational Leadership, George Washington University

M.S., Inter-American Defense and Security, Inter-American Defense College

Susan S. Gaston '88, P MBA '25 | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

Susan S. Gaston, '88, P MBA '25 Founder and President of the Gaston Group, LLC and co-founder of Fetlock, LLC, an equine policy-focused consulting firm, is a native of Henderson, Kentucky and is a government relations and public affairs consultant. Susan has been involved in the political and legislative fields for most of her life, having watched her father lobby for the oil and gas industries at the state and federal levels. With over 20 years of governmental affairs and lobbying experience in the United States Congress, the General Assembly of Virginia, federal and state regulatory agencies, and local government bodies throughout the Commonwealth – and concentrated in Hampton Roads - Susan has created strong relationships and contacts with elected and appointed officials on both sides of the political aisle. 

Susan works with her clients to develop successful legislative strategies that include direct lobbying, public policy advocacy and message development, public testimony, media relations and coalition building. She is experienced in running effective, successful grassroots and grasstops advocacy campaigns that focus on community influence and earned media. Her clients include multiple professional trade associations; Fortune 50, 200 and 500 companies; and other business interests that span the fields of housing, real estate and development, flooding and natural disasters, land use and zoning, landlord-tenant, water supply and water resources, consumer finance, casino gaming, tobacco production and processing, industrial hemp and cannabis production, robotics and technology engineering, ports operations, rare earth and critical minerals, renewable and alternative energy, telecommunications and technology, the arts, agriculture, large animal and equine, seafood production and processing, commercial fishing, higher education, economic development and veterans and military affairs. 

Susan is an Honors graduate of William & Mary with a degree in American Government and English. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Human Resources Development from The George Washington University. A former intern and staffer in the Washington, D. C. office of United States Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Susan is an avid workout enthusiast as well as an accomplished and dedicated equestrienne. She also gardens extensively and is known for her creative yet traditional floral design arrangements.  

Susan serves as the Secretary and is on the Board of Advisors for the Sorensen Institute for Public Policy at the University of Virginia, a high honor for a government relations professional in the Commonwealth. She serves on the Board of Virginia FREE (Virginia Foundation for Research and Economic Education) and is a member of the Insurance Committee at the National Association of REALTORS®. To share her love of horses and the equine industry, Susan serves on the Regulatory Committee of the American Horse Council.  

An active member of her community, Susan is a member of the Peninsula Board of Directors of Old Point National Bank and also is on the Board of Directors for the William &Mary Libraries system.  Always wanting to give back to her alma mater, Susan is the Class Ambassador for her graduation year and a Greek Ambassador for the William & Mary Alumnae Association. A lifelong Episcopalian, Susan is a member of Bruton Parish Episcopal Church where her activity focuses on the altar and floral guilds. She is active in the Williamsburg Garden Club as well as the National Society of Colonial Dames, where she just began the first of two years as the Chair of the Susan Constant Committee.  Her previous community activities include serving as President of the Junior League of Hampton Roads, President of the St. Andrew’s Episcopal School Parents’ Council and a member of the Board of Directors for the Virginia Symphony, as well as numerous volunteer activities at the Virginia Living Museum and the Peninsula Fine Arts Center, among others. 

Susan is married to Dr. David W. Gaston, Ed.D., '88 President and CEO of Gaston Educational Consulting, a partner in Gaston-Shaeffer Ed, and the former Superintendent of Schools for Charles City County. They have two sons, John, a Captain in the United States Marine Corps serving as the Division Adjutant and Legal Officer to the 10th Marine Unit and who currently is earning his M.B.A. from William & Mary, and Henry, a graduate of The University of Virginia, who is preparing to return to the private sector from the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Agency; in mid-May, he begins his new position as the Director of Business Development for the Hampton Roads Alliance. The Gaston’s reside in Williamsburg with their Labrador Retrievers, Anne Morgan and Mary Turner, and their Dutch Warmblood dressage horses, Fallston and Bon.   

James Golden, HON '24, G '24 | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

James "Jim" Golden HON '24, G '24 is a retired Army brigadier general and a retired William & Mary vice president.  As W&M VP for Strategic Initiatives, he co-chaired the university’s strategic planning process and had operational responsibility for the Offices of Economic Development, University Relations, Creative Services and Government Relations.  Since his W&M retirement in 2014, he has held a volunteer consulting position in the Office of the President.   

Before coming to W&M in the fall of 1999, he was a senior executive at Tenneco, then a Fortune 200 corporation headquartered in Greenwich, CT.  There he served as executive director of corporate technology and innovation in the strategy department, and then executive assistant to the chairman and CEO helping to coordinate the corporation’s executive management team.  Prior to Tenneco, he completed a 31-year Army career and retired as a Brigadier General.  He joined the tenured faculty at the U.S. Military Academy after service as an artillery officer at Fort Sill, Fort Carson and with the 25th Infantry Division in Vietnam.  At West Point he became Professor and Head of the Department of Social Sciences.  He directed a sixty-member economics and political science faculty and supervised the Office of Economic and Manpower Analysis that performed studies for the Army leadership.  While on the West Point faculty, he served intermittently on short-term assignments as a senior staff economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers under Presidents Nixon, Ford and Carter, working primarily on industry regulatory issues.  He  directed a multiagency Presidential task force on export controls for President Ford.  He also spent a year as a Fulbright Professor at a German research institution in Bavaria. 

He graduated from West Point with a bachelor of science, standing fourth in the Class of 1965.  He was a starting midfielder on the Army soccer team that went to the final four in the NCAA tournament his last two years.  He holds two Harvard degrees, a public administration master’s from the Kennedy School and a Ph.D. in economics.  He is the author of nine books on economics and strategy, including NATO Burden Sharing, The Dynamics of Change in NATO,  and  Economics and National Strategy in the Information Age.  His military decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service as an air observer in Vietnam, two awards of the Air Medal, the Bronze Star, two awards of the Legion of Merit, and the Distinguished Service Medal.  

Rebecca Milkowski-Gerdelman, M.B.A. ‘12  | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

Colonel Rebecca Milkowski-Gerdelman is a US Army Logistics Officer serving on active duty at Ft Lee, Virginia.  In February 2024, she assumed duties as the Command Inspector General for the US Army Combined Arms Support Command (CASCOM) and Fort Lee, VA, where her team serves as fair and impartial fact finders, conduct critical leader development and training, and find creative solutions to complex problems for the command.

Over the last 24 years Rebecca has served in a variety of key command and staff positions, supporting sustainment operations across tactical, operational, and strategic levels of command in garrison and combat environments.  Most notably from June 2020 to June 2022, she served as the Commander of Army Field Support Battalion-Germany in Vilseck, Germany her team was critical in the support to US Servicemembers deploying to Europe in support to NATO’s response to the crisis in Ukraine in January of 2022.  From July 2022 to February 2024 Rebecca lead the Commander’s Planning Group for CASCOM where she was responsible for developing and managing strategic communications and planning for the two-star headquarters in Virginia.

Rebecca holds a BA in History from The Pennsylvania State University and earned her MBA from the College of William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business in 2012 as member of the inaugural class of Major General James Wright MBA Fellows.  She currently serves as a Board Member for the W&M Alumni Association’s Board of Directors. 

Rebecca is married to her husband, Mark Gerdelman, MACC & MBA ‘13 and they have a son, Benjamin.

John Johnson '92  | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

John D. Johnson is the former Managing Director, General Counsel, and Head of Legal, Americas of Amundi Asset Management US. Prior to joining Amundi US in 2013, John served as the head general corporate and governance attorney for Federated Investors, Inc., John has also worked in private practice at the law firms of Reed Smith LLP, K&L Gates, and McGuire Woods LLP.

 John received his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1995 where he served on the Articles Review Board of the Virginia Journal of International Law, and received a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies and History, cum laude, from the College of William & Mary in 1992.

John lives in Chapel Hill with his wife Kim. They have five sons: John Monroe, Vance, Paul, Franklin and Teddy. John’s oldest son, John Monroe, attended the U.S. Naval Academy and was selected as an officer candidate for Naval Special Warfare (SEALs) prior to his untimely death in December of 2020 during his final year at the Academy. John’s third son, Paul, was recently accepted into the Marine Corp’s Platoon Leaders Course for summer 2024. Following John Monroe’s death, John successfully lobbied for a change in military policy resulting in the US Naval Academy adopting a posthumous degree policy for the first time in its 175+ year history. John also recently completed training to serve as a peer mentor in the military-related Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). In his free time, John enjoys fishing, reading history, playing ice hockey, miniature painting, and playing strategy board games.

Major General Charlie Lyon, US Air Force (Ret.) | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member 

General Lyon served in the United States Air Force for more than with 32 years.  He concluded his career as Air Combat Command’s Director of Operations at Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia.  He is a five-time commander who led units from squadron through expeditionary task force. Lyon served as the initial 9th Air Expeditionary Task Force-Afghanistan commander during the 2010–2011 surge operations. A fully qualified joint specialty officer, he served on the Joint Staff (United States), Allied Air Forces Southern Europe (NATO) staff, and the Air Staff. A decorated veteran, he is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Bronze Star. 

A career pilot, Lyon has over 3,800 flight hours, including the F-16, B-1, RC-135, E-8C, KC-135, MQ-1, and HH-60. His combat flight hours include operations in Iraq, Serbia, and Afghanistan. 

General Lyon is a Distinguished AFROTC graduate from The Citadel where he earned a B.A. in Mathematics/Computer Science. He holds an M.S. in National Security Strategy from the National War College and is a Seminar XXI Fellow from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

After retiring from the Air Force, General Lyon spent 10 years as a senior executive in a major aerospace & defense corporation where he focused on matching emerging air & space technologies development to Air Force needs.   

He resides with his wife in Williamsburg, Virginia where he serves as an Air Force adjunct contract professor, non-resident senior fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, defense-related studies mentor at William & Mary, and actively participates in the local Air & Space Forces Association chapter. 

Carlane J. Pittman-Hampton, Ph.D '03 | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member 

Dr. Pittman-Hampton is the Chief of Staff for President Katherine Rowe at William & Mary.  In this role she uses her extensive knowledge in higher education to be a strategic partner to the senior leadership team, implement new programs and initiatives and enhance institutional efficiency.   Although new to the Chief of Staff role, she has served as the Assistant Dean of MBA Programs at the Raymond A. Mason School of Business, overseeing student affairs and academic support operations for the in-person MBA degree programs for the past 17 years and worked at W&M for over 20 years.  Most of her professional career has been spent in the higher education field.   Dr. Pittman-Hampton’s passion is on strategic leadership and inclusion. She serves on the Board of Directors at the Williamsburg Landing, a premier life planned community in the area.  For the past 8 years, she has had the pleasure of teaching a course in Women in Leadership for undergraduate students on campus.  

Dr. Pittman-Hampton earned her PhD in 2003 at the School of Education’s doctoral program in Educational Planning, Policy, and Leadership at William & Mary.  She received a Master of Education from Hampton University, and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Spelman College. 

Ally Phillips  ’16 | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member 

Ally Phillips '16 is a Senior Intelligence Analyst at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in Washington, D.C., where she leads a team that produces strategic assessments on national security threats with a focus on geopolitical risk and military capabilities.  

She previously worked in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy as an advisor on Strategic Competition in Africa. With over 8 years of experience in intelligence analysis, Ally has supported senior defense and policy decision-makers through detailed reporting, cross-agency collaboration, and briefing senior Pentagon clients.  

She has a Masters of Science in Strategic Intelligence Issues with a focus on China from the National Intelligence University and a B.A. in Government and Business Marketing from William & Mary. A member of the class of 2016, Ally has previously served on the Annual Giving Board and enjoys returning to campus for Homecoming!  

James Schenck | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

James Schenck is President & CEO of PenFed Credit Union, America’s second-largest federal credit union since April 2014. James also serves as CEO of the PenFed Foundation, which has provided more than $55 million in financial support to military service members, veterans, families, and support networks through programs on financial education, homeownership, veteran entrepreneurship, and short-term assistance. 

On PenFed’s leadership team since 2001, James led most of PenFed’s operating divisions. From 2011 to 2014, he was President of a wholly owned subsidiary, PenFed Realty. In past years, he ran the credit union’s operations as COO and Chief Administrative Officer. James began his credit union career in 1999 as a volunteer, serving on the Board of Directors of West Point Federal Credit Union and PenFed.  

Extending the credit union philosophy of “People Helping People,” James volunteers for other business groups. He serves on the board of directors for the US Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Virginia Technology Council.  

During his military career, James flew Black Hawk helicopters in Korea and trained other US Army aviators as a night vision goggle instructor pilot. He served on the Army Staff in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, and was later selected to serve as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. He received the Legion of Merit for his contribution to the Army by overseeing creation of the $453 million Army University Access Online educational initiative. Prior to his assignment to the Pentagon, James taught Economics and Finance at the United States Military Academy. James is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and West Point.  

James was selected by HillVets as one of the nation’s 100 most influential and impactful veterans. He’s been recognized for his significant contributions to supporting the military community with honors including the Association of the United States Army’s John W. Dixon Award, the National Aeronautic Association’s Whitman Trophy and the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Lifetime Service Award. James is still an avid pilot and completed an orientation flight in an F-16 fighter jet. James is always looking for his next adventure. 

Douglas C. Schmidt' 84, M.A. '86 | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member 

Douglas C. Schmidt is the inaugural Dean of William & Mary’s School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics. With more than thirty years of experience as an internationally recognized computing expert, he is a sought-after educator and leader. As Dean, Dr. Schmidt is focused on advancing William & Mary’s efforts to prepare students for success in a data-driven world.

Prior to his role with William & Mary, Dr. Schmidt served as the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), a President-appointed Senate- confirmed position that advises the Secretary of Defense on opera Onal and live fire test and evaluator of Department of Defense weapon and information systems. Before his DOT&E appointment, Dr. Schmidt held a variety of roles at Vanderbilt University, including the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Engineering in Computer Science, the Associate Provost for Research, Co-Director of the Data Science Institute, the Associate Chair of Computer Science, and a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Software Integrated Systems. He was instrumental in building Vanderbilt’s digital learning initiatives and continually developing innovative programs to serve students. Dr. Schmidt has also been affiliated with Carnegie Mellon University’s Software Engineering Institute in various research- oriented positions for 20 years.

In addition to higher education, Dr. Schmidt has served in a number of roles in public and private sectors. From 2010 to 2014, he was a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board (AF SAB), where he served as Vice Chair of a study on Cyber Situational Awareness for Air Force mission operations, as well as a study on sustaining hardware and software for US aircraft. He also served on the advisory board for the joint Navy/Army Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) initiative. From 2000 to 2003, Dr. Schmidt served as a Program Manager in the DARPA Information Exploitation Office (IXO) and Information Technology Office (ITO). He has also worked for a number of private companies, including Prism Technologies and Zircon Computing.

Dr. Schmidt's research over the past four decades covers a range of software-related topics, including patterns, optimization techniques, and quality assurance of frameworks and model-driven engineering tools that facilitate the development of mission-critical middleware for cyber-physical systems and intelligent mobile cloud computing applications. He is a highly cited author with over 50,000 citations to date and has published more than 700 papers and co-authored more than 10 books. He has also developed widely-used open-source DRE middleware, model-driven engineering tools and mobile cloud computing apps. His recent research focuses on prompt engineering techniques and patterns that enhance the accuracy and expressiveness of large language models and generative augmented intelligence platforms. Dr. Schmidt received Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in Sociology from William & Mary and Master of Science and Doctorate degrees in Computer Science from the University of California, Irvine.

Amy Devereaux Thurston' 90 | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

Amy is a U.S. Army Veteran having served on Active Duty for 5 years, including a combat tour in Southwest Asia.  She has over 25 years in the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries, working for Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Organon and Mallinckrodt.  She has done multiple roles of increasing scope and responsibility, earning top awards at every level and role.  Amy has experience across a broad array of roles to include Sales/Sales Management, Global Lead for the Veterans Employee Business Resource Group, Hospital Brand Marketing, National Account Management, National Account Director for multiple segments, including all Federal Accounts (Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, Indian Health and Bureau of Prisons).  Her current role is the US Lead for Government Strategy across all Government Segments (Federal, Medicare, Medicaid) at Mallinckrodt. 

Amy and her husband Michael have twins that are freshman in college, as well as an eighth grader.  They enjoy spending time watching their children compete at the college level and on travel teams.  Amy is an equestrian and enjoys spending time with her four-legged friends to include 3 dogs and a horse that she competes in horse shows. She actively volunteers for the Travis Manion Foundation, serving as a Leadership Ambassador and Mentor for the past 6 years.   

Amy graduated from William & Mary with a BBA in Finance.  She earned her commission in the Army, participating in ROTC for four years and was on the Varsity Track and Cross-County Team, serving as Captain her senior year.  Amy has an Executive MBA in Pharmaceutical Marketing from Saint Joseph’s University and earned her certification as a Scrum Master (CSM).  She is currently pursuing her certification as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).

Elizabeth L. Train '78  | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

Biography and headshot coming soon!

Caryn A. Wagner  ’79 | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

Caryn Wagner is currently a consultant, speaker, and instructor on national and homeland security intelligence issues and serves on several non-profit boards, including those of the Military Women’s Memorial Foundation, the National Intelligence University Foundation, and the William & Mary Military & Veteran Advisory Board. From 2013 until 2023, she was an adjunct faculty member at the National Intelligence University. From February 2010 to December 2012, she served as the Undersecretary for Intelligence and Analysis in the Department of Homeland Security. In that capacity, she was the senior intelligence advisor to the Secretary; the Department’s Chief Intelligence Officer and Chair of the Homeland Security Intelligence Council, comprised of the chiefs of all the intelligence elements of the Department’s operating components; and the Information Sharing Executive for the Department. Immediately prior to her confirmation, Ms. Wagner served on the Intelligence agency review team of the Obama-Biden Transition Project and as an instructor in Intelligence Community management for The Intelligence and Security Academy, LLC.

Before her call to serve on the Obama-Biden transition team, Mrs. Wagner had retired from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) on October 1, 2008, where she served at various times as Budget Director, Cyber Security Coordinator, and Staff Director for the Sub-committee on Technical and Tactical Intelligence. Ms. Wagner also served in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) as an Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Management and the first Chief Financial Officer for the National Intelligence Program (NIP). She had previously served as the Executive Director for Intelligence Community Affairs (EXDIR/ICA), directing the Intelligence Community Management Staff, which provided strategic planning, policy formulation, program assessment and budget oversight for the Intelligence Community until the creation of the Office of the DNI in 2004.

Prior to becoming the EXDIR/ICA, Mrs. Wagner spent more than seven years at the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), serving as the senior Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Representative to United States European Command (USEUCOM) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and as the DIA Deputy Director for Analysis and Production, responsible for providing tailored, all-source military intelligence analysis support to the Combatant Commands; the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; and the Secretary of Defense.

Mrs. Wagner was also an associate at Booz-Allen and Hamilton for several years, working in the areas of national support to military operations, intelligence planning, and systems architecture development. She began her intelligence career as a Signals Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Officer in the United States Army for eight years, serving in Arizona, Texas, and Germany.

Mrs. Wagner received a Bachelor of Arts in English and History from William and Mary in Virginia in 1979, and a Master of Science in Systems Management with a concentration in Information Systems from the University of Southern California in 1987. Ms. Wagner was born in Columbus, Georgia on September 22, 1957. Her home is in Arlington, VA and she is married to Carlyle Lash.

Ardine Williams | W&M Military & Veteran Advisory Group member

Ardine Williams received her B.A. from Pacific Lutheran University and completed the executive program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. Her passion lies at the nexus of workforce and economic development, while her professional experience ranges from middle school teacher to corporate venture capital. 

In 2014, Amazon recruited Williams out of retirement to scale talent acquisition for the rapidly growing Amazon Web Services cloud computing business. Her work as vice president of talent acquisition helped grow the organization from 4,400 to more than 28,000 employees in just over two years. She moved into a newly created role as vice president of people operations for Amazon’s logistics business in 2017. Two years later, Williams relocated to Washington, D.C., to serve as vice president for workforce development, focusing on Amazon’s HQ2 in Virginia. 

As vice president, she advised businesses across Amazon on talent attraction and development. She focused on accelerating the company's initiative to re-train 350,000 employees by 2025 for careers in high-demand fields. She also worked closely with community and state leaders to grow a strong talent pipeline for the region and to ensure educational pathways include the digital skills necessary for the careers of today and tomorrow. Williams also served on the Washington Education Investment Oversight and Accountability Board and the Greater Washington, D.C., Partnership CoLAB (Collaborative of Leaders in Academia and Business) Advisory Board. 

Before Amazon, Williams served from 1997 to 2014 at Intel Corporation in multiple executive roles ranging from product management to corporate venture capital to enterprise services. Most recently, she served as vice president of human resources enterprise services. Prior to her time at Intel, Williams worked in the NetServer Division of Hewlett Packard and in various positions for Behring Company. 

A U.S. Army veteran, Williams is known for her work in recruiting military veterans and their spouses. She served as the executive sponsor for American Veterans at Intel and represented the company in meetings about veterans’ issues and immigration with multiple government agencies. Williams was also a member of the White House's Joining Forces Initiative industry working team and the President's Job Council working team. Among her many accolades is a Seven Seals Award from the U.S. Secretary of Defense. 

Ms. Williams currently serves as Vice Rector of the Board of Visitors.