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 Home > News & Policies > January 2003

President George W. Bush has appointed a group of individuals to serve as Members of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation

President George W. Bush has appointed a group of individuals to serve as Members of the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation. Click here to review more detailed background on members of the new council as well as video of interviews with some of them from a recent visit to the White House.

Chair
Darrell Green of Virginia. Green played professional football with the Washington Redskins for 20 consecutive seasons, winning two Super Bowl titles. In 1988, Green founded the Darrell Green Youth Life Foundation, which operates after-school and full-time summer programs for children through their Youth Life Learning Centers. Green will serve as Chair of the Council.

Honorary Co-Chair
Robert Dole of Kansas. Elected to both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, Dole served as Senate Republican Leader for 12 years before departing to seek the GOP nomination for President in 1996. Dole also serves as the National Chairman of the World War II Memorial Campaign and Co-Chair of the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund. Dole will serve as Honorary Co-Chair of the Council.

Honorary Co-Chair
John Glenn of Ohio. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1974, Glenn served four consecutive terms in the U.S. Senate and has led a career in public service as a Navy pilot and astronaut. For his service in World War II and the Korean War, Glenn received numerous awards including the American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, and National Defense Service Medal. Glenn will serve as Honorary Co-Chair of the Council.

Sean Astin of California. Astin is an actor and director currently starring in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Astin is also recognized for his portrayal as a young man determined to play football for Notre Dame in Rudy (1993) which continues to inspire young people.

Emily Baldridge of Texas. Baldridge is an active child advocate, having most recently been the founding chairperson of Greater Texas Community Partners, a volunteer organization providing resources and support to abused and neglected children and their families involved with Texas Child Protective Services.

Dixie Carter of California. Carter is an actress and performer best known for her roles as Julia Sugarbaker on the long-running comedy, Designing Women, and more recently as Randi King, on Family Law.

Amber Coffman of Maryland. A junior at Pepperdine University, Coffman has been bringing love to those in need for more than half of her life. Ms. Coffman is the founder and Executive Director of Happy Helpers for the Homeless, which will begin its 11th year of compassionate service in February 2003.

Clotilde Dedecker of New York. Dedecker is President of the National Women's Hall of Fame, Executive Director of the Erie County Commission on the Status of Women and President Emeritus of the Association of Junior Leagues International. She served as co-chair of the U.S. National Committee for the United Nations International Year of the Volunteer.

Dr. Pedro Garcia of Tennessee. Garcia is the Director of Schools for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, working to improve learning among 69,000 students and 129 public schools. Previously, Dr. Garcia served as superintendent of the Corona-Norco Unified School District, one of the 15 largest districts in California.

Luis Gonzalez of Arizona. Gonzalez began his Major League Baseball career in 1990 with the Houston Astros. He currently plays leftfield for the Arizona Diamondbacks and is one of the National League leaders in batting average, homeruns and RBIs. Gonzales also created the Kids Going Gonzo for School program to support economically disadvantaged youth.

Deal W. Hudson of the District of Columbia. Hudson is the Publisher and Editor of CRISIS Magazine. He was associate professor of philosophy at Fordham University from 1989 to 1995 and taught for nine years at Mercer University in Atlanta, where he was chair of the philosophy department.

Wendy Kopp of New York. Kopp is the Founder and President of Teach for America, a national corps of college graduates representing all academic majors and backgrounds who commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools around the country.

Robert Nardelli of Georgia. Nardelli is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Home Depot. Founded in 1978, in Atlanta, Georgia, The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement retailer currently operating 1,502 stores.

Michelle Nunn of Georgia. Nunn is Executive Director of Hands On Atlanta, Inc. (HOA). She is the organization's first Executive Director and staff person, and presided over the organization's expansion from a volunteer base of 100 to more than 25, 000 people.

Bill Novelli of Maryland. Novelli is Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of AARP, a membership organization of over 35 million people age 50 and older, half of whom remain actively employed. Prior to joining AARP, Mr. Novelli was President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and previously served as executive vice president of CARE.

Richard Parsons of New York. Mr. Parsons is the Chief Executive Officer of AOL/Time Warner Inc. He attended the University of Hawaii, and received his law degree from Albany Law School.

Robert D. Putnam of Massachusetts. Putnam is a Peter and Isabel Malkin Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University, where he teaches American politics, international relations, comparative politics, and public policy. Putnam has authored or co-authored 10 books and more than 30 scholarly works, including Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community (2000).

Rebecca W. Rimel of Pennsylvania. Rimel is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Pew Charitable Trusts, one of the nation's largest philanthropies. In 2002, the Trusts committed over $166 million to 287 nonprofit organizations.

Cal Ripken, Jr. of Maryland. Ripken retired from Major League Baseball in 2001 after playing 21 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. Ripken helped found the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, which teaches baseball to young people who would not otherwise have the opportunity, and the Kelly and Cal Ripken, Jr. Foundation, which currently focuses on adult and family literacy and youth recreation programs in the greater Baltimore area.

Cokie Roberts of the District of Columbia. Roberts is a political commentator, observing politics for live news events and regularly scheduled ABC News broadcasts. From 1996 until 2002 she was the co-anchor of "This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts."

Hope Taft of Ohio. Taft became First Lady of Ohio on January 11, 1999. As Ohio's First Lady, she has focused on three basic areas: mobilizing Ohio communities to promote positive youth development emphasizing drug and alcohol prevention, encouraging and recognizing volunteerism, and promoting Ohio's Bicentennial through Ohio's arts and history.

Julie Thomas of Texas. Thomas is the Executive Director of the Volunteer Center of North Texas. The Volunteer Center functions as a volunteer clearinghouse and service provider for over 1,500 nonprofit organizations in Dallas, Tarrant and Collin Counties.

Martha Williamson of California. Williamson, a veteran of the entertainment industry, is currently the Executive Producer of the CBS television series Touched by an Angel. She is a graduate of Williams College.

Steve Young of California. Young is a former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, honored as Super Bowl XXIX Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the NFL's MVP in 1992 and 1994. Young is the founder and chair of the Forever Young Foundation (FYF), a non-profit public charity, dedicated to the development, security, strength, and education of children.

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