Fred Thompson

United States Senator from Tennessee, 1994-2002

Fred Thompson is one of the most respected and visible figures speaking out on the important challenges facing America today. Senator Thompson’s uniquely American life has been marked not only by recognizing opportunity when it arose, but by answering the call to public service and leadership. His dedication to law and passion for the founding principles that laid America’s foundation led him to serve for eight years as a Senator from Tennessee and to his recent presidential campaign.

Elected to the United States Senate in 1994, his independent approach to campaigning has become legendary; he refused to play by the establishment’s political rules. Driving a red pickup truck, he took to the highways and back roads of the Volunteer State, talking to Tennessee citizens from the back of what became the symbol of his campaign. Mr. Thompson spoke about the need for a competent and ethical federal government, reminding voters of the importance of self-government and lower taxes. His effort paid off; he defeated a 6-term Congressman by a large margin of victory.

Two years later, the people of Tennessee returned him to office with more votes than any candidate for any office in the state’s history at that time. Serving as Chairman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, and as a member of the Finance Committee and Select Committee on Intelligence, Senator Thompson focused on lowering taxes, strengthening national security, and cutting wasteful government spending. In the tradition of President George Washington, a leader Thompson had admired growing up, he walked away from an easy reelection victory in 2002 to seek new challenges.

Prior to his election, Thompson maintained law offices in Nashville and Washington. Earlier in his career, he served as an Assistant United States Attorney in Tennessee. In 1973, he was appointed by Senator Howard Baker to serve as Minority Counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee where Thompson first gained national attention for leading the line of inquiry that revealed the audio-taping system in the White House Oval Office. He detailed his Watergate experience in his Watergate memoir, At That Point in Time. In 1974, after the Watergate hearings concluded, Thompson returned to the practice of law.

Senator Thompson first appeared on screen in the film Marie in 1985, portraying himself in the fact-based story of a high-profile public corruption case he handled in Tennessee. Since then, he has appeared in numerous movies and television programs, including No Way Out, In the Line of Fire, Die Hard II, Days of Thunder and The Hunt for Red October and the television series China Beach, Wiseguy, and Matlock. Recently, he has become known for his portrayal of New York District Attorney Arthur Branch on the Emmy Award-winning NBC drama, Law & Order.

Dee Dee Myers

White House Press Secretary, 1993-1994
Political Analyst and Commentator
Contributing Editor, Vanity Fair
Author, Why Women Should Rule the World

Dee Dee Myers is the first woman and one of the youngest people ever to serve as White House Press Secretary. During the first years of the Clinton Administration, Ms. Myers explained the actions of the new president to a vigilant press corps and to the nation. She earned the respect of both with her sharp political instincts, sense of humor and ability to explain complex subjects in straightforward language.

Ms. Myers brings the same sense of clarity and humor to her speeches that she brought to the White House briefing room, and she talks candidly about the players in Washington and the world of politics. She is uniquely qualified to comment on the complex dynamics at work in the relationship between the president and the press. She also speaks personally and eloquently about the issues facing women in Washington and in leadership positions of all kinds.

Ms. Myers’ new book, Why Women Should Rule the World (Harper Collins, 2008), a New York Times bestseller, makes the case that women’s increasingly powerful role in public life is reshaping the world – and making it better. And it’s not because women are the same as men, she says, but often because of the ways they are different. Blending memoir, social history, and a call to action, Ms. Myers argues that empowering women makes business more productive, politics more representative, and communities healthier and fairer. In a highly competitive and increasingly fractious world, women possess the kind of critical problem-solving skills that are urgently needed to break down barriers, build understanding, and create the best conditions for peace. In other words, it’s not about political correctness; it’s about self interest.

Since leaving the White House, Ms. Myers has worked as a political analyst, commentator and writer. She is currently a Contributing Editor to Vanity Fair magazine and a frequent guest on broadcast and cable television networks. Ms. Myers was also an original consultant to the NBC series, The West Wing, and contributed story lines and technical advice throughout the show’s long, prizewinning run.

Before joining the Clinton presidential campaign in 1991, Ms. Myers worked on a variety of local, state and national campaigns. She served as press secretary for Dianne Feinstein in her 1990 bid for governor, and worked on the presidential campaigns of Governor Michael S. Dukakis and Vice President Walter F. Mondale. She also worked on the staffs of Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and California State Senator Art Torres.

Ms. Myers is a 1983 graduate of Santa Clara University. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband Todd S. Purdum, National Editor of Vanity Fair, and their children.

Alan Katz

Author of Trailblazed: Proven Paths to Sales Sucess

Alan Katz, RHU is a highly respected speaker and writer on issues ranging from sales and marketing to strategic planning to health care reform. Alan is the author of Trailblazed: Proven Paths to Sales Success (to be published January 2010) revealing the perspectives, processes, and procedures professional producers use to achieve substantial sales growth. His consulting firm, the Alan Katz Group, specializes in providing sales development and business strategy support to enterprises both large and small.

Alan has led sales teams to exceptional results for enterprises ranging from start-ups to publicly traded corporations. As a senior vice president for sales at WellPoint his creative approach to supporting broker sales was instrumental in the company being named one of “America’s Top 25 Sales Forces” by Sales & Marketing Management magazine.

A past President of both the California and the National Associations of Health Underwriters (NAHU), Alan was named the state association’s Member of the Year in 2000 and 2007. He received NAHU’s highest honor, the Harold R. Gordon Memorial Award as Health Insurance Person of the Year, in 2003. Alan’s writes a popular blog on health care reform (www.AlanKatz.WordPress.com) which was selected by the Sacramento Bee’s for its “collection of the top blogs covering California politics” and named by LexisNexis one of the “Top 50 Blogs for Insurance.”

In addition to his career in sales, Alan served as an investigating attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Chief of Staff to California’s Lt. Governor and a member of the Santa Monica City Council. Alan received his J.D. from the University of California at Davis, a Masters in Urban Studies from Occidental College in Los Angeles, and his B.A. from UCLA.