Christian CookCofounder and President

Mr. Cook is currently a Professional Staff Member on the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. He previously worked as a Senior Associate at The Cohen Group, a strategic advisory firm started by former Secretary of Defense William Cohen in 2001. The Cohen Group provides global business consulting services and advice on tactical and strategic opportunities in virtually every market. Prior to joining The Cohen Group, Mr. Cook served as a member of the U.S. National Security Team at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he provided strategic solutions to government clients in the intelligence community.

Mr. Cook also served as a Special Agent in the United States Secret Service, where he assessed and protected against threats to our nation’s leaders. He designed and executed security measures both domestically and abroad for the President and Vice President of the United States, as well as numerous foreign heads of state. He also helped to conduct investigations into complex financial crimes.

Mr. Cook won three NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse championships at Princeton University and was honored as a First-Team All-America and NCAA Division I Defensive Player of the Year in 1998. He played for 8 years in Major League Lacrosse and was honored as the Warrior Defensive Player of the Year in 2002. Mr. Cook also represented his country as a member of the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2006 World Championships of Lacrosse in New London, Canada.

Mr. Cook graduated from Princeton University with a degree in Politics, holds a Masters in Business Administration from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and a Masters in Security Studies with a focus on U.S. National Security Policy from the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

He is a Director of WINNERS Lacrosse, an organization dedicated to providing lacrosse instruction and mentoring to historically underserved neighborhoods in the greater Washington metropolitan area; and a Director of US Lacrosse, the sport's national governing body.

Lauren CookCofounder and Vice President

Ms. Cook is currently Vice President of Client Strategy at JESS3, a creative interactive agency that specializes in data visualization and visual storytelling. There, she leads all client-facing efforts including strategy, PR, and new business development for the agency. Before joining JESS3, Ms. Cook was CEO & Founding Partner of Swarm Collective, a social media marketing firm based in Denver, CO. Swarm’s client portfolio included several high profile projects, including spearheading NBC’s Twitter coverage of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Ms. Cook got her start in social media at New Media Strategies, a pioneer in online brand intelligence and viral marketing based in Washington DC. There, she worked as a Project Manager within both the Corporate and Entertainment Practices where she helped develop, manage and execute social media marketing campaigns for several Fortune 500 companies, movie and television studios.

Prior to focusing on social and online media strategy, Ms. Cook worked as a Marketing Associate at The Maritime Intelligence Group, helping to promote homeland security initiatives in maritime ports and educate top officials on the maritime terrorist threat. Her first stint in marketing began at The Advisory Board Company, a health care consulting firm located in Washington, DC.

Ms. Cook earned her BA in English and Creative Non-Fiction, with high honors, from Emory University.

Diane CookSenior Patient Advocate

Mrs. Cook is a management consultant with 30 years experience in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. She has focused on leadership development, team building, coaching and training, often in the international arena.

Mrs. Cook is currently a Managing Director of Cook & Company, a strategic consulting and executive coaching company. She previously served as President of the National Council for International Visitors and as an organization development consultant to the US Department of State, the U.S. information Agency, and USAID. Mrs. Cook founded the Tulsa Global Forum, was Executive Director of the International Visitors Service Council in Washington, D.C. and Program Director for the NYC Commission to the United Nations & Consular Corps. She has twice testified before Congress on the value of cultural diplomacy and international exchange. Mrs. Cook also served on the Management Team of the Chopra Center for Well Being and managed Deepak Chopra’s international seminar business.

Mrs. Cook was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease (PD) in the fall of 2008. In the three years since her diagnosis, she has attended the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation’s Clinical Research Learning Institute, been certified as a National PD Clinical Research Advocate, participated in nine research studies and clinical trials, facilitated the enlistment of hundreds of individuals in research studies, made presentations on PD to local groups, started two support groups for those recently diagnosed with PD under the sponsorship of the Colorado Neurological Institute and the Parkinson Association of the Rockies, and presented an abstract at the Parkinson’s World Congress in Glasgow as a delegate. She co-authors a blog, www.recentlydiagnosedwithPD.org, that has a large international following. Recently, she was elected to the Colorado Neurological Institute Board of Directors and was awarded their Hope Award for her patient education efforts and serving as an inspiration to others.

Mrs. Cook is under the care of a skilled movement disorders neurologist. As a believer in the holistic approach, Diane uses physical therapy, Pilates, dance, Power Plate, jogging, bicycling and meditation to help keep her body strong and flexible, her spirits up, and her life balanced.

Gary CookSenior Advisor

Mr. Cook brings a wealth of management and consulting experience to his current role of Managing Director of Cook & Company. Cook & Company provides coaching and executive development assistance to a wide variety of CEOs, senior leaders, and teams. Mr. Cook built valuable experience as Director and / or CEO or President of a wide range of organizations ranging in size from $9 billion in assets to $150 million in sales.

Mr. Cook has previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary in two U.S. Executive Branch Departments, the U.S. Representative to the OECD Industry committee in Paris, the Alternate U.S. Delegate to the International Labor Organization in Geneva, an Executive Assistant to a US Cabinet Secretary, and Member of a State Board of Corrections. From 1967 through 1970, Gary was a management consultant with McKinsey and Company in New York City. Mr. Cook earned his BA in Economics, with honors, from Wesleyan University and his Juris Doctor from Harvard University Law School.

Mr. Cook is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the Board of Directors of the Education Credit Management Corporation and the Social Sciences Foundation (University of Denver Korbel School of International Studies). He is President of Vineyard Enterprises, LLC.

Mr. Cook's new book, Consilience Leadership, is now available on Amazon.

Ric GreféSenior Advisor

Mr. Grefé is the CEO of AIGA, the professional association for design. He is involved in all of AIGA’s activities, although his major contributions are in strategy, formulating new initiatives to enhance the competitive success of designers, and advocating the value of design.

Mr. Grefé previously managed the association responsible for strategic planning and legislative advocacy for public television and led a think tank on the future of public television and radio; crafted books at Stinehour Press; spent several years serving his country and conducting intelligence work in Asia; reported from the Bronx County Courthouse for AP; and wrote for Time magazine on business and the economy.

Mr. Grefé earned his BA from Dartmouth College and his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Harrison BernsteinSpecial Advisor for Exercise Therapy

Mr. Bernstein founded Satori Sports to bring the best coaching techniques to sports and fitness. Satori has grown to coach many professional, collegiate, and high school athletes, as well as fitness enthusiasts.

Mr. Bernstein served as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach to the Washington Redskins of the National Football League for three years and has provided speed and strength instruction for numerous sports at Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, and Catholic University.

Mr. Bernstein previously played Arena Football and is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He is also an adjunct professor in the Masters Program of Exercise Science at George Washington University.

Mr. Bernstein earned his BA in Economics from Johns Hopkins University where he was a three time All-America selection and Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 1997.