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Mr. Kunde joined Ferrero in October 2018 from Sysco Corporation, the leading global foodservice distribution company, where he served as Vice President of Government Relations since April 2015. Prior to Sysco, Mr. Kunde was Senior Vice President of Government Relations at Darden Restaurants. In addition to his corporate experience, he has held leadership positions at several national and state trade associations, including the International Dairy Foods Association, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the Connecticut Association of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors. Mr. Kunde also serves on the board of several non-profit organizations dedicated to promoting education, leadership and entrepreneurship.

Gerald R. Kunde, II (Chip) serves as Senior Vice President, Institutional Affairs & Corporate Communications, Ferrero North America. In this role, Mr. Kunde leads the development and execution of a comprehensive government, corporate communications and public affairs engagement strategy for Ferrero in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. He also represents Area North America on Ferrero Group’s Global Institutional Affairs & Corporate Communications Leadership Team.

Senior Vice President, Institutional Affairs & Corporate Communications, Ferrero North America

Gerald R. Kunde, II (Chip)

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Blushel is an alumna of the University of Southern California. Since 2004, she has been serving the needs of public, private, and civic organizations in the areas of strategic communications, change management, marketing, branding, portfolio management, program management, project management, stakeholder management, proposal management, and business analysis/business process improvement.

Blushel joined the LI Board in 2013 and has been serving as its vice-chair since. Blushel brings to Leadership Initiatives her passion for community service and development.

Blushel has been involved with Leadership Initiatives since 2005 when she established and managed LI's programs in the Philippines. Following the conclusion of her contract in 2007, Blushel became an active volunteer and supporter of the organization, eventually joining the advisory board in 2009 and serving as its chair in 2012.

LI Board Vice Chair; Organizational Change Management Leader

Blushel Ocbina


A native of Bauchi State in Nigeria, Ahmed has lived and visited various countries around the world including Europe, Asia, The Middle East, North and South America, and Africa, earning him the title, “global citizen” among his friends and colleagues.

Ahmed’s academic accomplishments include a Diploma in Computer Studies from Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi State Nigeria, an Associate Degree in Computer Applications Management from Bay State College, Boston Massachusetts, a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from Northeastern University, Boston Massachusetts, and an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management from Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Ahmed has been in the management field for over 13 years. He has managed human resource activities in a Fortune 50 company with sales of up to $50 billion a year and has also successfully lead and transformed recruitment, management functions, and talent acquisition activities at two Ivy League institutions, Harvard University and Dartmouth College.

Harvard Medical School-Director of Talent Acquisition

Ahmed Mohammed

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Bill was also a former Senior Managing Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers and a retired US Army Officer with over 22 years of service. Bill graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1976 and obtained a Master of Science in Business Administration from Boston University in 1981. Bill holds certifications as a CPA, CFE, CGFM, CDFM and and serves on the Board of Directors of 3 Non-Profits..

Bill has over 20 years of Senior Executive Service within the US Intelligence Community, including assignments as Associate Director of National Intelligence for Financial Management, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Deputy Enterprise Management, and DIA Director of DIA Business Solutions.

As a Senior Executive in the federal government, Bill has over 50 years of experience in management, employee training and development, strategic planning, creating global communications and strategic networks, and research & development.

Department of Defense-Deputy for Enterprise Management

Bill Stefan

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She has traveled extensively throughout the developing world, and has a broad background in business development, intellectual property rights and development methods, and is a firm believer in community-identified, established and funded programs as a method for sustainable development.

Whitney was called to the Bar in British Columbia in 2011 after completing her articles with Kahn Zack Ehrlich Lithwick LLP, where she continues to practice civil litigation.

Whitney graduated from the Washington College of Law, American University in Washington, D.C. in 2008, where she focused her JD/MA studies on the effects of trade and foreign investment on development, as well as methods for creating sustainable economic development. She was called to the Bar in California in early 2009, shortly after moving to British Columbia in 2008.

Attorney at Kahn Zack Ehrlich Lithwick LLP

Whitney Derber

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Rick earned a BA in history and a BE in computer engineering from Stevens Tech, an International Business MBA from the University of South Carolina, and a Masters in Military Studies from Marine Corps University. He joined the board of Leadership Initiatives in 2014.

Rick’s career has taken him all over the world, as a logistician, pilot, military officer, humanitarian, project engineer, executive, and more. He managed an engineering consulting start-up in Manhattan, led a water supply project in Kipingi Kenya with Engineers Without Borders, responded to disasters with the American Red Cross in Greater New York, commanded an Air Force rapid-response team that responds to humanitarian and other emergencies, and led strategic level planning teams working directly for decision makers at the 4-Star level and above.

First Officer, American Airlines & Vice Wing Commander (Colonel) USAF Reserve

Rick Kuehn

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Now, as the planning manager of medicine and occupational health worldwide, he was charged with the well-being of 80,000 employees in 50 countries. Carullo is a dedicated supporter of civic organizations in his home community as well, especially Food for Others, of which he was a board member and retired treasurer, 2003-2010. It is the largest distributor of free food directly to people in need in Northern Virginia. He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus since 1989, former finance leader for the Emergency Oil Spill Response Team, and retired treasurer of Felicity Cove Association Inc.

A former division one college baseball player on half scholarship, Carullo currently assists with several youth baseball activities. His family has a patent pending related to hitting fundamentals.” His favorite pupils are his 2 grandson baseball players and 2 granddaughter softball players! He greatly enjoys his many years of continued service as a Board Officer to Leadership Initiatives as well as other not for profit Boards he has served on.

Carullo's ExxonMobil career has taken him from New York, where he worked in accounting and finance; to Singapore and Indonesia to Virginia, where he has worked in various controller and finance positions, as coordinator of government reporting, and as assistant secretary for shareholder relations.

Since graduating from Wagner College with a BA in economics and masters in finance, Carmine C. Carullo has built a nearly 42-year career with ExxonMobil Corporation. He has always combined his business expertise with civic engagement locally and worldwide.

ExxonMobil-Planning & Performance Analysis Manager for Medicine & Occupational Health (Retired)

Carmine C. Carullo

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An alumna of Clemson University, Nancy is a registered nurse with extensive experience in career and technical education. Her work includes program management, curriculum standards, and assessment development and implementation, professional development models, and partnership building. Her commitment to teachers and students allows NCHSE to serve as the collaborative to support the preparation of future health professionals and community leaders; ultimately impacting the healthcare workforce needs.

At the conclusion of her contract as the HOSA Associate Director, Nancy was named executive director of the National Consortium for Health Science Education (NCHSE).

Nancy was introduced to Leadership Initiatives in 2017 when a connection was established between LI programs and HOSA–Future Health Professionals, an international student organization with talented members in pursuit of careers in the health professions. Through this relationship, a large percent of the LI participants are now also HOSA members.

National Consortium for Health Science Education Executive Director

Nancy Allen

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She transitioned to a career in real estate after holding several legal and senior management positions in the District of Columbia. Ms. Slaughter was the legal advisor and FOIA officer to the DC Auditor; deputy general counsel and senior attorney advisor to the DC Public Service Commission, and a special assistant and deputy at the Office of the Attorney General.

Prior to her District service, she worked in the federal government as a political appointee in the Clinton Administration for two terms at the Department of Energy. Prior to that, she was a Congressional staffer, serving as Chief of Staff and tax and trade attorney to two US Representatives.

Leigh Adams Slaughter is a REALTOR®, licensed in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia. Ms. Slaughter served as a lawyer, lobbyist, community and health care liaison, and Congressional staffer.

Realtor/Attorney & Board Member Of The Black Women’s Agenda, Inc.

Leigh Slaughter

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Before coming to work at LI, Bryan served as the New Hampshire Field Director for Senator John McCain’s 2008 Presidental campaign. He also has extensive experience working to elect GOP candidates to state and federal officials as well as work on two other national Presidental campaigns. He is a graduate of American University in Washington, DC.

Bryan also helped create and still oversees the daily operations of Leadership Institute’s campus news site CampusReform.org. Under his leadership, the site has exposed countless examples of liberal abuse in America higher education.

Bryan Bernys is the Leadership Institute’s Vice President of Campus Programs. He is responsible for all the Institute’s student training programs, it’s national field team and a nationwide network of more than 1,800 conservative student organizations.

Leadership Institute-Vice President for the Campus Leadership Program

Bryan Bernys

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Senior Pricing/Financial Analyst PNC February 2010 – March 2011 (1 year 2 months)Greater Pittsburgh Area. Design, deploy, and administer a system to allow management of over 200000 price points across Consumer Lending products. Execute ad-hoc analysis using data from a variety of sources to support Pricing Managers.

Pricing Manager PNC March 2011 – October 2012 (1 year 8 months) Greater Pittsburgh Area. Develop, recommend, and execute pricing strategy for the Consumer Retail product portfolio (Home Equity Loans/Lines of Credit, Auto, Personal Loans/Lines of Credit, etc), including account acquisition and account management programs with joint accountability with key partners.

Portfolio Manager PNC October 2012 – Present (2 years)Cleveland/Akron, Ohio Area. Develop, execute, and refine portfolio management strategies to optimize the value of high-risk Non-Strategic and Consumer Retail assets in conjunction with functional partners. P&L ownership of broker-originated Home Equity portfolio.

Operations Strategy & Analytics Leader at Wells Fargo

Nicolas Benore

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