Col. Preston McLaughlin, USMC Ret., Chairman
Preston McLaughlin, USMC Ret. is the Chairman of SFS’s Board of Directors. Col. McLaughlin has a 27-year long military career (1983-2010) retiring as a Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps. He was appointed an Associate Professor of National Security to the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security in August 2017. He also currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Aquilae Consulting Services, LLC. He previously served as the Deputy Program Manager for Operations and Support in the System High Corporation Support Team at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)’s Security & Intelligence Directorate from 2012-2016. After retirement from the Marine Corps, Col. McLaughlin served on the Staff and as Adjunct Faculty of The Citadel, The Military College of SC as a Program Manager for the Krause Center for Leadership & Ethics and as Director of Cadet and Teach, Advise and Coach (TAC) Officer Professional Development from 2010-2012.
Dr. James Carafano
Dr. James Carafano is the Senior Counselor to the President for International Engagement and the E.W. Richardson Fellow at The Heritage Foundation. Dr. Carafano is a leading expert in national security and foreign policy challenges, an accomplished historian and teacher, and a prolific writer and researcher.
He is a regular guest analyst for the major U.S. network and cable television news outlets. He has a wealth of experience in public service and academia, including serving for 25 years in the U.S. Army, as well as on the Homeland Security Advisory Council from 2012 to 2014 and 2020 to 2021.
Mark Walker, Treasurer
Mark A. Walker is the Treasurer of SFS’s Board of Directors. Mr. Walker, a senior executive with 25 years of experience on Capitol Hill as a senior congressional staffer, has been a leader in developing policy and legislation- and is recognized as an expert in management, budgeting, fundraising, and political organization. Mark Walker has served as a Chief of Staff, Senior Congressional Committee Staffer, and Staff Director for 9 Members of Congress, as well as a Senior Campaign Staffer for both Vice President Mike Pence and former Vice President Dan Quayle of Indiana. He most recently served as the Senior Staff Director for the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere. During his tenure on Capitol Hill, Mr. Walker shepherded five major pieces of bipartisan legislation through the House and Senate that became Public Laws when they were signed into law by the President. Mark Walker received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from Wabash College where he was awarded an Eli Lilly Scholarship- and attended the Sorbonne Université in Paris.