Wayne Coulson
Wayne Coulson is CEO of the Coulson Group and Coulson Aviation, a family-owned company headquartered in Port Alberni, British Columbia. A third-generation leader, Wayne has helped guide the company’s evolution from its forestry origins into a global aviation organization known for complex aerial operations and world-class aerial firefighting.
Wayne has been central to building Coulson Aviation’s large air tanker and rotary-wing capabilities, with a focus on operational reliability, disciplined maintenance, and technology-driven innovation. Under his leadership, the company has expanded internationally to support government agencies and partners with specialized aircraft, highly trained crews, and a safety-first culture.
Today, Wayne continues to drive Coulson’s long-term vision by investing in next-generation aircraft, training, and systems that enhance wildfire response, especially in high-risk, time-critical environments. His leadership blends practical, operations-forward decision-making with a relentless commitment to protecting communities and landscapes from wildfire.
Lanhee J. Chen, Ph.D.
Lanhee J. Chen, Ph.D. is the David and Diane Steffy Fellow in American Public Policy Studies, Co-Chair of the Health Care Policy Working Group, and a member of the Project on Taiwan in the Indo-Pacific Region at the Hoover Institution. He is also the Director of Domestic Policy Studies and Lecturer in the Public Policy Program at Stanford University.
A veteran of several high-profile political campaigns and himself a candidate for statewide office in California, Chen has worked in politics, government, business, and academia.
In addition to his academic appointments, Chen is an NBC News Contributor and writes a column for CNN Opinion. He is also a Partner at the Brunswick Group, a global business advisory firm, where he advises clients around the world on public affairs and geopolitical issues. Chen is a member of the Board of Directors at El Camino Health in Northern California and is on the Advisory Council of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF).
Chen was a candidate for California State Controller, the state's chief financial officer, in 2022. He earned more votes than any other Republican candidate in the country in the general election and won endorsements from every major newspaper in the state.
Chen has advised numerous major political campaigns, including as a senior aide to four U.S. presidential efforts. In 2012, he was policy director of the Romney-Ryan campaign, and served as Governor Mitt Romney’s chief policy adviser, a senior strategist on the campaign, and the person responsible for developing the campaign’s domestic and foreign policy.
From 2014 to 2018, Chen served as a presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed member of the Social Security Advisory Board—an independent, bipartisan panel that advises the president, Congress, and the Commissioner of Social Security on matters related to the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs. He also served in the George W. Bush Administration as a senior official at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Chen earned his Ph.D. and A.M. in Political Science from Harvard University; his J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School; and his A.B. magna cum laude in Government from Harvard College.
Mitchel S. Berger M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.A.N.S.
Mitchel S. Berger M.D., F.A.C.S., F.A.A.N.S. is the Berthold and Belle N. Guggenhime Professor of the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and Director of UCSF’s Brain Tumor Center. He is currently one of three members of the President’s Cancer Panel, appointed by President Biden in 2023 to develop the scope of the National Cancer Program.
Dr. Berger is a pioneer of intraoperative brain mapping — a technique used to avoid functional areas of the brain during surgical resection of a tumor. His work has enabled surgeons to perform more extensive resection of tumor with less chance of producing sensorimotor or language deficits.
Dr. Berger is a leader of translational research and is the principal investigator of the UCSF Brain Tumor Research Center’s Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) in neuro- oncology, funded by the National Cancer Institute. He has held this role for the 24 consecutive years that the SPORE has been funded at UCSF.
During his distinguished career, Dr. Berger has served as President of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), President of the Society for Neuro-Oncology, and President of the American Academy of Neurological Surgery. He has also been a director of the American Board of Neurological Surgery; a member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons; a member of the National Football League’s Head, Neck and Spine Committee; and a member of the Blue Ribbon Panel for the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative. He has received the Cushing Award for Technical Excellence and Innovation in Neurosurgery from the AANS and is a past recipient of the Winn Prize – the highest honor awarded by the Society of Neurological Surgeons for scientific excellence in neurological surgery.
Vikram D. Amar
Vikram D. Amar returned to UC Davis School of Law (webpage link here) in 2023 after serving for eight years as the dean and the Iwan Foundation Professor of Law at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign College of Law. Amar has also taught law at (then) Boalt Hall School of Law (UC Berkeley), (then) UC Hastings College of Law, UCLA School of Law, and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.
One of the most eminent and frequently cited authorities in constitutional law, federal courts, and civil procedure, he has produced several books and more than 100 scholarly articles in leading law reviews and legal compilations. He is a co-author (along with Akhil Reed Amar) of the upcoming revised multi-volume Treatise on Constitutional Law (West Publishing Co.) pioneered by Ron Rotunda and John Nowak. He is also a co-author (along with Jonathan Varat and Evan Caminker) of Constitutional Law: Cases and Materials (Foundation Press, 17th ed. Forthcoming 2025), a co-author on multiple volumes of the Wright & Miller Federal Practice and Procedure Treatise (West Publishing), a co-author (along with John Oakley) of a one-volume treatise on American Civil Procedure (Kluwer, 2008), and a co-editor (along with Mark Tushnet) of a compilation of essays featuring Global Perspectives on Constitutional Law (Oxford University Press, 2009).
He writes a biweekly column on constitutional matters for Justia.com (and before that for its predecessor, Findlaw.com), and is a co-author (with Akhil Reed Amar) of a biweekly column for Scotusblog.com. He is a frequent commentator on national (and local) TV and radio, and has penned dozens of op-ed pieces for major newspapers and magazines.
According to the New York Times and AI, a recent friend-of-the-Court brief submitted by Professor Amar (along with former Congressman Mickey Edwards) to the U.S. Supreme Court in Learning Resources v. Trump "provided the legal and theoretical foundation that the Court used to strike down President Trump’s tariff regime."
A steadfast proponent of public and professional engagement, Amar is an elected member of the American Law Institute and has served as a consultant for, among others, the National Association of Attorneys General, the United States Department of Justice, the California Attorney General’s Office, the ACLU of Southern California, and the Center for Civic Education. In late 2025 Professor Amar was invited to join the Task Force for American Democracy, a bipartisan organization with 30 or so members (including Judges J. Michael Luttig and Thomas B. Griffith, former Representative Richard Gephardt, former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, former ABA President Mary Smith, journalist Judy Woodruff and political analyst William Kristol) focused on maintaining the rule of law, election integrity and civic education.
Amar earned his bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley and his juris doctor from Yale Law School, where he was an articles editor for the Yale Law Journal. He then clerked for Judge William A. Norris of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the United States Supreme Court before joining Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, where he handled a variety of complex civil and white-collar criminal matters. Professor Amar was the first person of South Asian heritage to clerk at the U.S. Supreme Court, and the first American-born person of Indian descent to serve as a dean of a major American law school.