Ms. Kwemo started her career in France at Bestaux Law firm. In Douala, Cameron, she served as the Chief of the Maritime Claims and Disputes Department, and later as the General Counsel for Bollore Technology Group and Geodis Overseas. She worked 7 years in the US Congress as Legislative Counsel for two members of Congress including Rep. Bobby L. Rush, Senior Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. She was instrumental in the U.S. Congress, playing a key role in policy formulation on issues affecting the global economy, coordinating the Middle East Economic Partnership, African Partnership for Economic Growth Caucuses including actively working for the passage of legislations to increase U.S. – trade relations and to improving the U.S. National Export policies.

Ms. Kwemo was President and Founder of the Congressional African Staff Association (CASA) aiming at educating Members, Senators and staffers on the positive progress of Africa. She has received a number of recognitions for her exemplary work in promoting Africa’s economic growth, including a Citation from Maryland’s Governor Martin O’Malley, the District of Columbia Public Service Award, the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business Leadership Award” by the Minority Business Magazine and was named as one of the “World Most Influential African in the Diaspora” by a Paris based Africa 24 Magazine. She regularly publishes articles and featured in the news, including Voice of America TV (VOA) France 24 TV, Africa 24 TV, China Daily, Forbes Afrique, Le Point Afrique and Africa Report. Ms. Kwemo holds a LLM degree in Economics Activity Law from the University of Rouen in France and an LLM degree in International Business Transactions and Human Rights Law from American University in Washington DC.

Born in Belgium, Alex immigrated to the USA in 1976. Educated in physics at universities in Illinois, Alex has broad experience in research, teaching, and consulting in engineering, space research, materials science, and national security issues. While teaching physics at the University of Arizona, he studied property law. As a trainer, he developed courses for professional certification in many aspects of technology, engineering, and business management, delivering these courses to employees of many large companies. Building on these connections with businesses in America and Europe, Alex founded TTT Inc. in 1980, which structured hightech joint ventures in over 30 countries. He sold it in 2007 when he joined the Raytheon Corporation as a Contracts Manager in Tucson.

Patricia Funderburk Ware is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Ware Development Group, Inc. (WDG) WDG is a corporation specializing in networking and relationship building in the areas of media and entertainment, health advocacy, community revitalization, and youth entrepreneurial development. Ms. Ware brings a diverse professional background to her corporation. As an actress, she performed with the National Players Classical Acting Company on a cross-country and world tour. She has also appeared in radio and television commercials, industrial films, and in an Academy Award nominated film. In the health arena, Mrs. Ware served as a political appointee in two presidential administrations, under George H. W. Bush (1990-1993); and George W. Bush Administrations (2001-2004). Mrs. Ware has also served as a consultant, board/committee member or advisor in four other Presidential Administrations: Jimmy Carter; Ronald Regan; Bill Clinton; and Barack Obama (White House Office of Public Engagement- African Affairs).

She has also been appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) Center for Peace (2011); has lived and worked in South Korea (1993-94); and has participated as a Student Ambassador in International Living in Sweden (1970). Mrs. Ware has received numerous awards for her work in the arts, economic and community development and in health education. Among those are: The Order of the Long Leaf Pine, North Carolina’s highest community service award; and the 2011 African Diaspora Development Award from African Leadership Magazine. She has a BA degree from Hampton University, a Master of Fine Arts degree from The Catholic University of America, an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Aspen College, and credits towards a Doctor of Public Administration degree at the University of Southern California.

As the public affairs advocate for the National Tour Association, Richer works with former Congressman and NTA Legislative Counsel Jim Santini to build on NTA’s government relations priorities. He retires from the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, where he served as executive director and was involved in recovery from Hurricane Katrina. Previously, he served as New Jersey’s first director of tourism, the Nevada Commission on Tourism’s first director and the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Bureau’s president. He has received a number of awards, including the 1986 NTA Destination Marketing Organization of the Year, the 1999 Top 100 Marketing Award from Advertising Age, the New-Jersey Pinnacle Award for top marketer for the state, and the top career marketing award in Mississippi.

Scott Sklar runs his strategic marketing and policy firm, The Stella Group, Ltd, which he founded in 1995 and came on full time to lead in 1999. The firm facilitates clean distributed energy including advanced batteries and controls, energy efficiency, geoexchange, heat engines, minigeneration, microhydropower, modular biomass, photovoltaics, small wind and solar thermal specializing on blending technologies and financing for projects, assisting companies to scale-up market penetration, and facilitating federal and state polices to expand markets.

Previously, Sklar served as Executive Director for 15 years of two national trade associations concurrently, the Solar Energy Industries Association and the National BioEnergy Industries Association. He also cofounded and ran for three years the US export consortium of all the renewable energy trade associations, the US Export Council for Renewable Energy, and cofounded its sister energy efficiency entity where he served on its Board of the US Export Council for Energy Efficiency. Prior of running trade associations, Sklar was Political Director of The Solar Lobby for two years, served as Washington Director for two years and Acting RD&D Director for one year of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), a federally-funded applied technology institution promoting renewables and energy efficiency for local communities both in the US and globally.

Sklar started his energy career serving as a military and energy aide to Senator Jacob K Javits (NY) for nine years, and cofounded the Congressional Solar caucus in the mid-1970’s where most of the renewable energy legislation first was passed by the US Congress as a result of the first and second oil embargos. He serves on the Boards of Directors of two national non-profits: Business Council for Sustainable Energy (climate change), Renewable Energy Policy Project (energy analysis), and Co-Chairs the Policy Committee of the Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (building trades). He also serves as Steering Committee Chairman of the Sustainable Energy Coalition, composed of the 20+ national energy efficiency and renewable energy industry organization, advocacy groups, think tanks, and environmental groups. Sklar has coauthored two books, “The Forbidden Fuel: A History of Power Alcohol” and a “Consumer Guide to Solar Energy”.