Board Member and Advisor Bios
NSF Members,
Before our All Members Meeting on Thursday, we wanted to send out brief bios on our Board Members, Advisors, and Staff. Each person plays an integral role in keeping the National Security Forum a success.
See you Thursday!
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BOARD
JIM MEGQUIER
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Jim assumed the chairmanship of the NSF from Dick Barnard last year and also oversees the Board’s Development efforts. Megquier retired after 33 years as an oral surgeon in Reno, having completed his dental education at the University of the Pacific Dental School and the University of Michigan for his surgery training and residency. Married to the late Lynn Walsh for over 50 years, Jim has three daughters. He served on the UNR Foundation for nine years, two as Chair and on the Board of the Reno Rodeo Foundation.
TYRUS W. COBB
Founder and Board Member
Ty served as Special Assistant to President Reagan for National Security Affairs (1988-89) and before that as Director of Soviet, European, and Canadian Affairs on the Reagan NSC staff. He was the Executive Secretary for President Reagan’s Summit meetings with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in Geneva (1985) and Reykjavik (1986). A graduate of UNR, Ty earned a Masters Degree at Indiana U. and a PhD from Georgetown. He taught at West Point as a tenured professor, as well as in China, Italy and Russia. He is married to the former Suellen Small of Reno and they have two daughters and a son. On the NSF board Ty is responsible for arranging and conducting our programs and preparing and posting commentaries on the website.
ELAINE ALEXANDER
Elaine Alexander has been a Nevada CPA since 1988. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Nevada and a Masters in Taxation from Golden Gate University. Elaine was hooked on politics and social matters beginning with her first college level political science class and has been attending NSF meetings for more than a decade. She is constantly impressed by the resumes and levels of expertise the NSF speakers bring to northern Nevada, as well as the intellects and backgrounds of the attendees.
RICHARD BARNARD, CPA
Dick was the first Chairman of the National Security Forum Board. He founded Barnard, Vogler & Co., CPAs in 1969 and has just recently retired. Prior to that he was with the international accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Business Administration. Dick has served on the board of numerous community organizations and was Chairman of the Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) for over twenty-five years. He is married to the former Ann Bridge of Pittsford, New York, and they have a son and a daughter.
RICHARD “DICK” BARTHOLET
Dick is a Research Associate at the University Center for Economic Development, College of Business, University of Nevada, Reno. His areas of research and outreach include energy, economic and fiscal policy, economic development and “special projects.” Prior to UNR, Dick was an owner, president and corporate broker at Pennington & Associates, a Reno business-brokerage firm. He is on the board and is past-president of the Regional Alliance for Downtown and also serves on the board of the Nevada Capital Investment Corporation, appointed by NSHE Chancellor Dan Klaich. Dick has a MBA from UNR and is a business school graduate from Montana State University. Dick and his wife of 42 years, Gracie, have four children and six grandchildren.
CARINA BLACK
A native of Argentina and a citizen of Switzerland and the U.S., Carina Black has lived in the United States since 1987. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1997 in Comparative Politics. She is the first Executive Director of the Northern Nevada International Center (NNIC). As an adjunct faculty member at the University of Nevada, Reno, Carina has taught courses in global studies, world politics, comparative politics, democratization, international organizations and Latin American politics. At the NNIC, Carina has focused her energies on growing programs through the US Department of State and USAID.
SKIP HANSEN
Skip joined the National Security Forum when it was first meeting at the Gold and Silver Restaurant. He has been a Board member unofficially and then officially as the logistics coordinator when it formally became a 501c3. He has been a Real Estate Broker since 1959, and served as a Board member on many non-profit boards over the years. He holds the CCIM designation in Real Estate, the highest in the Commercial and Investment earned award from the National Association of Realtors. He has been married to Nilsine for over 53 years. They have one daughter, Kate.
MAJOR JERRY MORRIS
MAJ Jerry Morris is an Armor Officer with over 20 years of combined active duty service, and is currently the Logistics Officer with the Nevada Army National Guard. Jerry is currently pursuing a PhD in Computer Information Security at Northcentral University and plans to attend War College next year. He enjoys time on his ranch with horses, as well as restoring antique and classic cars.
BEN TEDORE
Originally from Iowa, Ben moved to Reno where he graduated High School from McQueen and then UNR with a degree in Digital Media and Information Systems. Ben is currently the Web Communications Specialist for the Nevada Small Business Development Center in the College of Business at UNR. He has worked for the Nevada SBDC since 2007 and really enjoys helping entrepreneurs and businesses grow. Ben likes spending time outdoors with his wife and two kids whenever he has free time.
ADVISORS
JAMES “JIM” BRADSHAW
Jim is a partner at the law firm of McDonald, Carano Wilson, practicing in the Litigation, Construction Law and Employment Departments of the firm. He serves as the Chairman of the Firm’s Litigation Practice Group and Ethics Committee and is a member of the Firm’s Construction Law, Intellectual Property and Employment Law practice sections. In addition to his career as attorney, Jim dedicated more than 24 years of service to the United States Air Force and Nevada Air National Guard. He retired in 1995 as a Lieutenant Colonel. Born and raised in Reno, Jim is a fifth generation Nevadan.
GARY HIPPLE
Gary spent over 30 years in law enforcement. Most of that time he was a federal criminal investigator; 9 years with IRS Internal Security and 20 years with the US Customs Service as a special agent. He worked cases involving money laundering, drug trafficking, international firearms trafficking and fraud. He spent over 4 years undercover on various matters. In addition to case specific work, Gary worked 10 years in the intelligence field as team leader for a multi-agency, multi-discipline intelligence team dedicated to international narcotic trafficking and terrorism. He retired in 2003 and moved to the Reno area where he volunteered with several groups. He has been NSF’s door keeper since its inception.
STAFF
LAUREN PAROBEK
Lauren has been the Executive Assistant for the National Security Forum since 2014. With a background in politics, she enjoys working with the NSF board members to bring presenters to the northern Nevada area to educate the community on key national security issues, as well as getting to know the participants of the Forum. She is a graduate of Reno High School and continues her studies at the University of Nevada, Reno.