National Board of Directors
| MADD's national board of directors is made up of volunteers – most of whom began their involvement at MADD by volunteering their time at local MADD offices in their communities – and nationally recognized researchers and business leaders. |
Chris Johnson, Chairman of the Board
Bio
Chris Johnson first became involved with MADD in 1995 after a drunk driving crash that killed both of his parents and injured his uncle. The drunk driver was convicted and sentenced to the maximum Intoxication Manslaughter penalties and fines. As a dedicated volunteer, Johnson has worked with MADD on the National, State and Local levels. He is currently serving as a National Board Director and Vice Chairman, Texas Public Policy Chair, and East Texas Affiliate Advisor. He has provided testimony before the Texas Legislature to help pass .08 legislation, support sobriety checkpoints and ignition interlocks, and speaks in support of MADD's mission at many venues. Johnson resides in Hideaway, Texas.
Laura Dean-Mooney, MADD National President
Bio
Laura Dean-Mooney was elected to the MADD National Board in 2002. Dean-Mooney became involved with MADD in 1993 after a drunk driver traveling on the wrong side of the road killed her husband, Michael Dean in November of 1991. Michael was traveling from Oklahoma to his mother’s home in Texas. Left to raise their eight-month-old daughter alone, Dean-Mooney became determined to make a difference. Hoping to prevent another family from suffering a similar tragedy, Dean-Mooney made a donation to MADD Texas from the proceeds awarded from the offender’s estate. Soon after attending her first MADD meeting in 1994, Dean-Mooney was elected to the Brazos County (TX) board. In 1999, she was elected MADD Texas State vice chair and in 2000 served as state chairwoman. While still holding this position, she served as chapter advisor to the MADD National Board of Directors in 2001. Laura is now active in the MADD Central Florida Chapter. In 2000, MADD presented her with a 20th Anniversary Difference Maker award. Laura now lives with her husband Karl and daughter Tara in Orlando, Florida.
Art Brown
Brian Demers
Deborah Duncan
Susan Ferguson
Susan A. Ferguson, Ph.D. is President of Ferguson International LLC, a highway safety research and aerospace consulting company. Dr. Ferguson received a B.A. in psychology in 1980 and a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the George Washington University in 1991. Formerly the Senior Vice President for Research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Dr. Ferguson directed research activities in a wide range of highway safety areas determining research priorities and overseeing their execution. During her 15 years at the Institute (1991-2006) Dr. Ferguson conducted research in many different highway safety areas with emphasis on vehicle safety issues, including occupant restraints, alcohol and driving, young and older drivers, and child occupant protection, and has published more than 100 scientific papers. She has presented research to diverse audiences both in the U.S. and around the world.
Dr. Ferguson serves on many committees and advisory boards both within the U.S. and internationally. Dr. Ferguson is program manager for a multi-year research program for the development of advanced alcohol detection technology that is funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Automotive Coalition for Traffic Safety. The goal of the research effort is to develop in-vehicle technology that may prevent alcohol-impaired driving. Dr Ferguson also serves as chair of the Blue Ribbon Panel that will act as an advisory board to this effort. She has served or is currently serving on the MADD National Board of Directors, the Executive Board of the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, the Transportation Research Board Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation, the Advisory Board of the Allstate Foundation Teenage Driver Project, the AAA Traffic Advocacy Advisory Panel, and the Airbag 2008 International Advisory Board.
Dr. Ferguson continues to conduct research in the area of highway safety and since leaving IIHS has authored review papers on the topics of teenage drivers, airbag performance, electronic stability control, and advanced in-vehicle alcohol detection technology.
Sally Ganem
David Levy
Bio
David Levy is the Manager of Affiliate Finance for Exxon Mobil Corporation in Irving, TX. He holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.B.A. from New York University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Levy joined Exxon in 1989, and has worked in a variety of assignments with increasing responsibilities throughout the finance function, including assignments in Houston, Dallas, the Netherlands, and Thailand. David currently serves as the Treasurer and Chairman of MADD's Finance Committee, and is proud to serve such a vital and important organization.
David is married and lives with his wife and two children in Dallas, TX.
Jeff Levy
Bio
Jeffrey A. Levy is recently retired. He was previously Chairman of the Board of Intelli-Check – Mobilisa, Inc. (NYSE-IDN) and President and CEO of LeaseLinc, Inc.. Prior to that ,he served as a senior executive in several companies following a career in the US Air Force as a fighter pilot, unit commander and senior staff officer. Colonel Levy was born and raised in Rochester, New York. Following one year at the University of Michigan, he attended and graduated with honors from the U.S. Air Force Academy. He then attended the University of Stockholm as a Fulbright Scholar where he received a graduate degree in Economics and International Relations. He later received an MBA from Marymount University.
Mr. Levy is a member of MADD’s National Board of Directors and serves on its Executive Committee. He is also President and CEO of Virginia College Parents, Inc and was a founding Director, former Chairman of the Board and President of the Air Force Academy Society of Washington D.C., a member of the Military Order of Foreign Wars and the National Association of Equipment Lease Brokers. He was a founding member and Secretary/Treasurer of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association, a Flight Captain in the Order of Daedalians, a board member of the Washington Chapter of the American Technion Society and a member of the West Point Society of New York. He is also National Spokesperson for the International Institute for Alcohol Awareness, District Representative to the Fairfax County Oversight Committee on Drinking and Driving, a board member of Security on Campus, Inc. and the Washington Regional Alcohol Program and previously served as a member of the Virginia Attorney General’s Task Force on Drinking by College Students, MADD’s National Commission on Colleges and the Virginia State Crime Commission Task Force on Campus Safety and Security.
Nicole Nason
Kathryn Nelson
Paul Romero
Bio
Paul Romero is currently the Director of the Office of Health Equity which is New Mexico’s version of the Office of Minority Health for the Department of Health. The Office seeks to reduce health disparities in minority populations and improve the public health and well being of all New Mexicans. He has been in this position since 2001. He began his career as a public servant as a Child Protective Services Supervisor with Children, Youth and Families Department. Previous to his current position, he was employed by the NM Department of Finance and Administration as the Program Manager of the state’s Local Drinking While Impaired (LDWI) program from 1995 through 2001. Paul has been a member of MADD New Mexico since 2001 where he has served as the state Public Policy Chairman and the state Treasurer. He also served on the Governor’s DWI Task Force and the Santa Fe County DWI Planning Council.
Kathryn Stewart
Bio
Kathryn Stewart is the Director of Dissemination at the Prevention Research Center in Berkeley, California. She is a founding partner in Safety and Policy Analysis, International, a consulting firm that deals with alcohol and other drug issues in public policy. Until recently, she was a Senior Research Scientist at the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation and the Deputy Director of the Underage Drinking Enforcement Training Center. She has broad experience in research and evaluation related to the prevention of problems related to substance use, with a special emphasis on impaired driving and alcohol policy. Ms. Stewart’s particular specialty is the development of communication strategies to assist States and communities to apply research findings to reduce impaired driving and other substance-related problems. She is the recent past chair of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Transportation of the Transportation Research Board and co-edits The Reporter, the newsletter of the International Council on Drugs, Alcohol, and Traffic Safety.
Robert Strassburger
Bio
Robert Strassburger is Vice President, Vehicle Safety & Harmonization for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Since joining the Alliance in April 2000, Strassburger has overseen the development of several voluntary industry standards and commitments to enhance motor vehicle safety. Strassburger also oversees the Alliance’s safety research which includes development of new crash test dummies, crash investigations, and fundamental injury causation studies.
Strassburger joined the Alliance from Nissan North America where he had been Director of Government Affairs. Strassburger has been affiliated with the automotive industry in various capacities for over 29 years. Prior to joining Nissan, Strassburger held several safety, engineering and vehicle emissions positions at Mazda North American Operations. In 2004, Strassburger was appointed by Governor Bill Richardson (D-NM) to the governor’s Task Force on Ignition Interlock Technology and Development. Strassburger earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan.
Bryce Templeton
Traci Toomey, Ph.D
Bio
Dr. Traci L. Toomey is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health. Her current memberships include the American Public Health Association Governing Council, the Scientific and Policy Advisory Board of Prevention File: Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs, the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Project of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, and the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Drug Prevention Advisory Board. In the past, Dr. Toomey has served in numerous positions including membership of the Alcohol–Related Injury & Violence Advisory Board Trauma Foundation and the Alcohol Policy XIII Conference Planning Committee.
Brian Ursino
Bio
Brian retired as Assistant Chief of the Washington State Patrol in February 2010 after more than 30-years of service and is now the Director of Law Enforcement for the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Brian has a Bachelor of Science in Business and an M.B.A. in Managerial Leadership from City University in Seattle. Brian also attended the Kennedy School for Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard. Brian has been a member of the MADD Board of Directors since July 2008.
Nina Walker
Bio
Nina Walker joined MADD in October 2002 following the drunk driving crash that took the life of her 22 year old daughter Ginger. In addition to two sisters, Ginger left behind a three year old son that Nina and her husband Gary are now raising. Nina is passionate about making a difference in the hopes no other family has to bear the tragic effects of a drunk driving crash. Nina is an active speaker for MADD San Diego County, speaking at Victim Impact Panels, many military bases and high schools. She is also the Chair for the San Diego Walk Like Madd and participates on the MADD San Diego County Advisory Board, MADD Victim Services Committee and the MADD Victim Support Group. She and Gary reside in San Diego, California.
William Windsor
Bill Windsor is Associate Vice President of Consumer Safety for Nationwide. In that role, Bill is an advocate for safety initiatives that help Nationwide policyholders prevent losses and protect what matters to them most including key issues like drunk driving, underage drinking, teen driving, building codes and distracted driving. Bill works with many different safety organizations including the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, Lifesavers, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Highway Safety Coalition, Governor’s Highway Safety Association, and sits on the Board for the following organizations:
- MADD
- Institute for Business and Home Safety
- National Safety Council
- Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety
- Network of Employers for Traffic Safety
Bill Windsor has been in the insurance industry for 30 years, serving across a wide spectrum of functional roles in both the life and property/casualty industry. He has spent the last 24 years with Nationwide Insurance in both field and staff positions, including agency management, finance, marketing, underwriting and safety.
Bill received his Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Rider College and his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School. He has earned both the CPCU and CLU designations.
Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the largest and strongest diversified insurance and financial services organizations in the U.S. and is rated A+ by A.M. Best. The company provides a full range of personalized insurance and financial services, including auto insurance, motorcycle, boat, homeowners, life insurance, farm, commercial insurance, administrative services, annuities, mortgages, mutual funds, pensions, long-term savings plans and health and productivity services. For more information, visit www.nationwide.com.
Jan Withers, MADD National Board of Directors
Bio
Jan Withers joined MADD in 1992, after her 15-year-old daughter, Alisa Joy, was killed by an underage drinker who chose to drive after consuming numerous beers. She first volunteered by sharing her story and lobbying for tougher legislation. Her new focus in life was to try to make a difference by helping to stop this preventable violent crime. She actively participated in campaigning to lower the illegal limit of blood alcohol content for drivers from a .10 BAC to a .08 BAC, both on the national level and in Maryland. She was privileged to be present in the Oval Office when President Clinton signed the federal bill into law.
Her passion, though, is providing support for other victims of this violent crime. She is a certified victim advocate as well as a certified trainer for National MADD victim services. Jan serves as the MADD Chesapeake Region (Maryland and Delaware) Victim Advocate. In this capacity she facilitates a support group for victims of homicide and vehicular manslaughter. She was elected to the MADD National Board of Directors in 2005 and serves on various committees.
Prior service was as the Director of Victim Services with the Maryland Crime Victims’ Resource Center. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Colorado Women’s College, and has been trained in group facilitation, crisis response, victimization, bereavement, and trauma. Jan was born and raised in Colorado. She is married to Joe Sikes, MADD Chesapeake Region Council Chairperson. They reside in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. Together they have 5 surviving children and 4 grandchildren.