Congressional Advisory Board

during war, major disasters and pandemics within fifty countries for clients such as World Food Programme, USAID, IOM, the Red Cross, and other national governments and NGO’s. Walter is on the Board of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Friends of the Simon Weisenthal Centre, B’nai Brith Canada, and Counterpart International Inc. Walter is one of the founders of the Libyan Jewish Museum in Or Yehuda, Israel, a member of the Israel Policy Forum in the United States and a member of the Magna Carta Foundation in Italy.

He is also the Co-Initiator of the Pearl Initiative, a CEO-led program, promoting transparency and accountability in the Gulf Region. In addition, Mr. Dossal is Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union for Global Partnerships and serves as Commissioner of the Broadband Commission.

Prior to creating the Global Partnerships Forum and the Pearl Initiative, Amir was the U.N.’s Chief Liaison for Partnerships. As Executive Director of this Office, he forged strategic alliances with governments, corporations, foundations and philanthropists while uniting these partners to a common purpose: to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. In 1999, Amir was appointed to manage the $1 billion gift by media mogul Ted Turner to the United Nations.

 

As the primary interface for the UN Foundation, Amir successfully attracted new investments of over $560 million from various donors, which supported 450 international projects for women and children’s health, climate change and bio-diversity. He has developed numerous partnerships and secured sizable social investments from such major names as the American Red Cross, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Coca-Cola, the Rockefeller Foundation, and Rotary International. Amir also oversaw management of the UN Democracy Fund, which he established in 2005 as an instrument to strengthen democratic institutions and enhance governance in new and restored democracies.

These include locations in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia.

In 1981, Cosmo and his wife Janet co-founded Amtech Software, which provides software solutions to over 30,000 business users throughout North America. In 1992, Cosmo assisted Janet in the creation and business development of Futura Services and later Futura Mobility, both national companies in the Healthcare and Enterprise Mobility space. They went on to acquire technology companies Zytek Software (Los Angeles, CA) and Hyperware Software (St. Louis, MO) in 2001 and 2003, respectively.

In 2001, Cosmo co-founded InfoLogix Inc., a leading Enterprise Mobility Solutions provider of Wireless and RFID technology solutions in the healthcare and commercial markets. He was Chairman of the company, helping take InfoLogix public in 2006. In 2011, Cosmo co-founded LogiStar Solutions, a specialized SAP services company focused on helping international SAP customers maximize their operational efficiencies and distribution velocity.

In 2006, Cosmo first entered the sports and entertainment industries, acquiring an interest in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers Arena Football (AF2) team. Cosmo became the sole owner from 2007 to 2009, and under Cosmo’s leadership the Pioneers won 57 games over four seasons and participated in two Arena Cup Title Games. In 2010, Cosmo acquired an ownership stake in the Philadelphia Soul of the Arena Football League. In 2008 Cosmo invested with a group of well known media executives to acquire the brand and related assets of “Chicken Soup for the Soul”. Chicken Soup is a worldwide integrated media and merchandising company providing consumers with inspiring life improvement content, programming, and products.

In early March 2011, Cosmo acquired an interest in the long standing talent management firm J. Mitchell Management (JMM), and formed with Jeff Mitchell, the venture, Mitchell, Koseff, Schuster & DeNicola (MKS&D). The firm, based in New York City, has served the enter¬tainment industry for 25 years, and with the new partnership, MKS&D opened a west coast office on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California to expand the company’s services in the heart of the film and television industries.

Notable past and present clients include James Gandolfini (“The Soprano’s); Robert Iler (“The Soprano’s); Bryan Greenberg (“How to Make It In America”); Molly Shannon (“Saturday Night Live”); Yin Chang (“Gossip Girl” and the Disney film “Prom”); Tristan Wilds (George Lucas’ “Red Tails [2012], “90210” and “The Wire”); Alexandra Chando (“As The World Turns” and the ABC Family series “The Lying Game”); E. J. Bonilla (“The Guiding Light” and the movie “Mamitas” ); Emma Kenney (Show¬time’s “Shameless”) Lily Pilblad (“Lights Out” on FX and “Fringe”); and many others.

The firm also represents Nikki M. James, one of the stars of the Broadway smash hit musical “The Book of Mor¬mon”. The role earned her a Tony award for Best Performance by an Actress in Featured Role in a Musical at the 2011 Tony Awards.

Cosmo has held many civic and trade Association board positions. He currently resides in Montgomery County, PA with his wife Janet and has two adult children, Michael and Morgan.

While running Izmo, Mr. Epstein formed off-shoot businesses such as cosmetics, graphics, and advertising. Mr. Epstein started heavily investing in commercial and residential real estate in 1990. He co-founded Ossa Properties Inc., a real estate management company in 1992, and managed properties owned by him and others.

Mr. Epstein decided to semi-retire at age 39 to be able to devote more time to non-profit interests including Cooper Union, The New School Concert Series, the New York String Orchestra Seminar, Ballet Inc., the United Nations and the Humpty Dumpty Institute.

Perfect World has over 10 subsidiaries in Europe, Asia and North America. Previously, he served as SVP, COO and co-CEO until he was appointed by the board as CEO of Perfect World in March, 2013. Prior to this, he held key positions in strategy and talent management functions of multinational companies including Motorola, Cisco System, Philips and Dell where he managed key executive areas including strategic management, leadership development, human resource development, organizational efficiency improvement, staff training, recruitment of strategic talent, employer branding, employee commitment enhancement, and organizational change management. He also provided consulting services in technical applications, management skill enhancement, human resources management and business development to clients from both the United States and China.

Dr. Xiao participated in the leadership of many large consultation research projects on talent strategy and organizational reengineering oriented to Chinese companies, mainly including the planning and implementation of MOTO's China Accelerated Management Program (CAMP) and LEAD program, Cisco's local manager development program CHAMP, Philips' advanced local manager development program TOTAL, Dell China's leadership development program CLDP and other flagship talent development programs.

His cooperation with many international and domestic companies in multiple fields equipped him with first-hand experience in successful strategies and operations of private and international companies in China. These experiences became the foundation for Dr. Xiao in joining a newly rising Chinese internet company - Perfect World -- in May 2008. It also helped him successfully lead the change and optimization of corporate culture and internal management system. This, in turn, led to the honor of "best employer" in online game industry from 2009 to 2012.

Since he became CEO of Perfect World, Dr. Xiao has been building Perfect World from an ordinary Chinese public company into a global enterprise representing the highest level of online games in China. The concept of "global development, global publishing and global partner" long advocated by Dr. Xiao has become the company’s leading philosophy recognized by the online game industry in China. PWIE and ARC of Perfect World, a global trading platform for online games and a global standardized online game publishing platform respectively, as well as the global investment plan PWIN, etc., each play important roles in the implementation of the concept of "Perfect entertainment for World sharing".

Dr. Xiao has also proposed four possible future dimensions of next-generation internet entertainment including multi-dimensional display, vertical integration, technology revolution and global innovation. Currently, Perfect World is in the process of establishing a series of innovative research centers including a next-generation internet entertainment technology research institute, a digital arts institute, a global digital entertainment development research center and a China digital arts association. These research centers will move forward under a division of the company called Guangdong Perfect World Educational Investment Co. Ltd., a subsidiary in Zhuhai City of Guangdong Province. The purpose of these new centers of digital innovation is to train new talent in digital entertainment and promote industrial and technological revolution and innovation in digital entertainment. Under Dr. Xiao’s leadership, Perfect World is committed to developing special global strategies in an effort to become China's most competitive digital entertainment industry group, as well as an effective envoy for global cultural exchanges.

Perfect World places high priority on fulfilling its corporate social responsibility. The Perfect World Employee Foundation, officially established in 2013, makes charitable contributions to public welfare works and projects including disaster relief, helping “drop out” and disabled children and building "Perfect World” villages in the poor areas of Yunnan Province.

The Perfect World brand also enjoys strong “word-of-mouth” in China due to its contributions to the country’s national economic and social development. Dr. Xiao is often invited to visit other countries with other state leaders to deliver speeches and contribute ideas international economic development and social harmony and stability at significant international conferences such as the Davos Forum, the Boao Forum in Asia, the World Knowledge Forum, and the APEC CEO Summit etc… Dr. Xiao was named one of the "Top 10 Influential Figures within China's Game Industry In 2013" by State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television of China, and "Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year 2013" by the China Software Industry Association.

Mr. Xiao received his bachelor’s degree in physics in 1989 from Beijing’s influential Tsinghua University. He then earned a Masters degree and a Ph.D in engineering from the University of Southern California in 1991 and 1995 respectively.

As an Ogden CAP principal, she assists in guiding the company’s operations in New York and Washington, DC, including overseeing the three-year renovation of The Jefferson, an historic Washington hotel and landmark.

Ms. Milstein has translated her entrepreneurial skills and success into creating innovative and sustainable philanthropic projects, and her devotion to public-spirited causes such as job creation and education, medical research, the arts, and supporting veterans of the US Armed Forces and their families, is widely recognized.

In 2004, she founded Connie’s Corp., which operated Connie’s Bakery & General Store. The bakery was a socially responsible enterprise committed to empowering individuals who were homeless, unemployed or had special needs by giving them an opportunity to work and learn new culinary and business skills, with all profits going to charitable causes through her Foundation Sweet Success. Ms. Milstein is a founding Board Member of Blue Star Families, the nation’s largest support organization for US military spouses and families. Connie’s Bakery and Blue Star Families are proud to host annual holiday events for wounded warriors at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, MD.

Ms. Milstein believes no military veteran who wants to work should be unemployed. So in 2013, Foundation Sweet Success formed a joint venture with the newly-launched non-profit Dog Tag Bakery organization (DTB), based in Washington, DC, that will feature Connie’s baked goods. In addition to providing employment for disabled military veterans and their spouses, DTB - through a cooperative arrangement with the School of Continuing Studies at Georgetown University - will provide practical education and training in the culinary arts and entrepreneurship so participants can later pursue jobs and business ventures on their own. DTB will commence full operation in 2014 with a production, training and retail facility in Georgetown, Washington DC.

Ms. Milstein is actively engaged in global education and international humanitarian efforts, and is a longtime supporter of the United Nations. She is a former board member of UN Watch based in Geneva, Switzerland, serves as a Board Member Emeritus of Refugees International, and is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Seton Hall University School of Diplomacy. A decade ago, as a member of the United Nations Association of the United States of America (UNA-USA), Ms. Milstein conceived and underwrote the Global Classrooms project of the United Nations Association, providing conflict resolution skills to underprivileged children in high schools around the New York City metro area.

She co-founded the Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI), a non-profit organization that works with the United Nations and public-private partnerships to implement large-scale humanitarian projects in developing countries. During her tenure with HDI, she pioneered programs to foster Congressional relationships with senior level UN Representatives and Ambassadors - with an emphasis on bringing women leaders to the table - in order to create greater dialogue and understanding of how to work together to address major global issues. HDI has a Congressional Advisory Board of more than 20 sitting Members of the US Congress and has worked with governments all over the world since 2005 on projects ranging from literacy to hunger relief to landmine excavation and removal.

Ms. Milstein has worked in cooperation with the Third Way Foundation and other partners to orchestrate and coordinate conferences that broadened the global political conversation on how governments can advance progressive goals within the reality of the new economy. In 2002, Ms. Milstein personally chaired an historic gathering of current and prospective transatlantic leaders at Hartwell House in the United Kingdom to discuss global political challenges and cooperation; participants included President William J. Clinton, then - Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, as well as many other European and American political leaders. She has served as Treasurer and as Counselor to the Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) and as a former Board Member of the National Democratic Institute.

Ms. Milstein’s humanitarian efforts expand into the fields of medicine and healthcare, as well. She is a staunch supporter of heart research dating back to her first job working for the North Carolina Heart Association. She was the driving force behind the creation of the Vivian and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center, a world-renowned facility which opened in 2010 that offers comprehensive, interdisciplinary cardiovascular care at New York - Presbyterian Hospital. Ms. Milstein has been an active member of the hospital’s Board of Trustees since 2000 and sits on the Quality and Performance Improvement Committee as well as the Real Estate and Major Facilities Committee, and the Joint Conference Committee.

Ms. Milstein helped launch Medical Missions for Children, a charity located on the campus of St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Paterson, NJ which provides healthcare via telemedicine and teaching networks to young critically-ill patients in more than 100 developing countries. She also provides considerable support to LUNGevity Foundation, an organization committed to combatting lung cancer and serves on the Board of Directors of Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE), a non-profit organization dedicated to finding a cure for epilepsy.

Ms. Milstein earned her undergraduate degree from New York University (NYU) and her J.D. cum laude from the North Carolina Central University Law School, where she served as Comment Editor of the North Carolina Central Law Journal (in 2007 the name was changed to NC Central Law Review). She currently serves as a Trustee of New York University, which conferred upon her the 2009 College of Arts and Science Distinguished Service Award and the Albert Gallatin Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Society in 2010.

Devoted to helping develop young minds, Ms. Milstein conceived of a program to promote 21st century education, and provided critical guidance and support for the expansion of NYU into the nation’s capital. The Constance Milstein and Family Global Academic Center at New York University’s Washington, DC campus prepares future leaders by supplementing academic training with job and internship opportunities in government, politics, public administration, and journalism education and research.

A supporter of and contributor to the arts, Ms. Milstein serves as a member of the Kennedy Center International Committee on the Arts, an advisory board comprised of arts advocates from the US and overseas who support the international exchange of ideas and cultural programming at The Kennedy Center. She is a member of the National Symphony Orchestra Board of Directors, serves as a Trustee of the Washington National Opera and was Chair of the 2013 National Opera Ball. She has also served as Board member of the historic Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC.

Ms. Milstein has been honored for her service and generosity with many awards, including the prestigious 2000 National Human Relations Award by UN Watch and its parent organization, the American Jewish Committee. In 2004, Ms. Milstein received the Celine Marcus Award from the New York Neighborhood Coalition for Shelter for her long-time advocacy for the homeless. Other honors include YWCA’s 2006 Salute to Women and Racial Justice Award for outstanding achievement in business and the 2007 Urban Visionary by Cooper Union for outstanding urban citizenship.

Ms. Milstein is the proud mother of two daughters and a granddaughter. She is married to the The Count de La Haye Saint Hilaire and carries the title of The Countess de La Haye Saint Hilaire. The couple resides in Washington, DC, as well as Old Greenwich, CT and Normandy, France. She speaks French and conversational Italian and Spanish.

Mr. Sonnenfeldt is past Chairman of the Israel Policy Forum and is a board member of the Synergos Institute.

He is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He holds a number of other non-profit board positions and has received an Honorary Doctorate from Ben Gurion University.

Prior to joining Senator Risch at the U.S. Senate, Mr. Sandy was Chief of Staff to the Governor of Idaho in Boise and served in the Idaho State Senate. In addition, Mr. Sandy is one of the leading businessmen and political leaders in Idaho. He was the Chairman of the Idaho Republican Party, Chairman of the Idaho Bond Bank, and Co-owner of the Trout Co-Hydroelectric Plant and the Owner-Manager of Habitat Holdings LLC. Mr. Sandy currently serves on the U.S. Global leadership Coalition Advisory Committee.

 

John Sandy is a respected conservationist in Idaho working to protect local habitat and animal species. His work in preserving the pristine environment of Idaho has been recognized. He has been awarded "Man of the Year" from the University of Idaho Aqua-culture Research Institute and "Clean Idaho Guardian" for defending clean-up and removal of nuclear waste from Idaho.

 

Mr. Sandy attended the University of Idaho where he received a Bachelor of Science Agriculture. He also received accreditation from the PSA-Harvard Negotiation Program and as an Advanced Practitioner from Neuro Linguistic of Utah.

He served as acting abbot for three years after the sudden death of his predecessor, the Venerable Hsin Ping, in 1995. Ven. Hsin Ting currently serves as President of the Board of Director of Buddha's Light International Association, a 501 (c )( 3 ) non-profit organization registered in the state of California. According to Fo Guang Shan's order of precedence, Ven. Hsin Ting is the third highest monastic in the order after the late Ven. Hsin Ping. Ven. Hsin Ting is expected to succeed Grand Master Hsing Yun as the head teacher of Fo Guang Shan in the future.

Along with Ven. Hsin Ping, he is a forty-ninth lineage holder of the Linji Chan school. He was born into a family of farmers and grew up in Taiwan. In 1968, he became a monastic under Grand Master Hsing Yun and took full ordination the following year in Keelung. Hsin Ting graduated from the Eastern Buddhist College and the India Research Institute of the Chinese Cultural University. He further received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the Fo Guang Shan-affiliated University of the West in Rosemead, California in 1998. The Venerable Hsin Ting is an American citizen.

 

As a monastic of Fo Guang Shan, Hsin Ting has held a variety of posts, such as the secretary of Fo Guang Shan's Religious Affairs Committee, the Managing Director of the Ilan Buddhist Society, abbot of Long Hua Temple in Malaysia, abbot of Hsi Lai Temple in California, and of Kaohsiung's Pu Hsien Temple, President of the American Buddhist Youth Association, and Vice President of Buddha's Light International Association of R.O.C. Upon the sudden death of Master Hsing Yun's eldest disciple and abbot, Venerable Hsin Ping, Hsin Ting was immediately promoted to the said position, and served the rest of Hsin Ping's term until 1997, when he was unanimously and officially elected abbot in 1997 as Fo Guang Shan's sixth abbot.

 

Hsin Ting is well versed in speaking the Dharma, instruction in Chan (Jp: Zen) meditation, construction projects, Buddhist chant, and the composition of music and lyrics.

 

He ended his term as abbot in 2005, when Venerable Hsin Pei was elected to the position of Abbot. Ven. Hsin Tin travels around the world constantly looking after the organization’s humanitarian projects in South America and Asia, giving dharma lectures, and presiding over Buddhist ceremonies on behalf of the grandmaster Hsing Yun.

She is one of the earliest employees of Perfect World, joining the company in its infancy. Early in her career, she managed Perfect World’s game operation, marketing and promotion in China’s domestic market. She organized and fostered one of the best top-ranking online game operating teams in the industry. Currently, she presides over Perfect World’s brand construction and promotion, and manages the company’s strategic cooperation, global affairs, governmental relations, and public relations. She is also responsible for the release of all official information to the public and the press on behalf of the company.

Additionally, Ms. Wang oversees the operational capability and business development of Guangdong Perfect World Educational Investment Co., Ltd. She also leads the establishment of Perfect World’s International Institute for Digital Art. In this capacity, she promotes international cooperation by collaborating with well-known domestic and overseas universities and colleges in order to cultivate high-level technical and management experts in the cultural and creative fields of the digital industry.

 

Ms. Wang graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Masters Degree in Business Administration.

Under Jennifer’s leadership since its establishment in 1997, the Diamond Family Foundation has supported a range of projects that particularly emphasize educational development as a vehicle for poverty reduction. Examples of missions the Foundation has funded include research projects aimed at developing gifted and talented primary school programs in the USA, financial literacy training programs in the UK, and campaigns supporting HIV education and awareness in the USA and sub-Saharan Africa.

Jennifer holds a B.Sc. from Michigan State University and an M.A. in Anthropology from University of London. She began her career working as an engineer in the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to her role with the Diamond Family Foundation and now with the Humpty Dumpty Institute, Jennifer serves as a trustee on a number of boards, she is a US-UK Fulbright Commissioner and she is a partner in Cobble House LLC, a multimedia development company.

The Board of Directors of the Humpty Dumpty Institute announced in June 2018 that Mrs. Islam Mustafa will join the Board as an Associate Director. HDI Executive Director Joseph Merante praised Mrs. Mustafa’s support of HDI’s programming in Africa and said that Ms. Mustafa’s involvement will further expand HDI’s work in the Middle East and Africa. 

 

Islam Mustafa has held leadership positions in a number of international organizations including the Arab American Women Council (AAWC) and the American Global Institute (AGI). She is currently the Vice President of American Global Consulting and co-owner of the Swiss School of Management Bahrain. 

 

Mrs. Mustafa currently lives in Virginia. She was born in Sudan where her family was active in the business and cultural community. She is a graduate of Khartoum University and have two children, Lana and Omar.