Contact by email

Address:
Wounded Warrior Careers Foundation
4705 Ruffin Road
San Diego, CA 92123
Phone: (858) 974-8134
Directions

Board of Directors

Pete Abel – founding owner of AbelCineTech, one of the nation’s leading professional film and video sales, rental and service companies. AbelCineTech will supply all film and video equipment for the documentary and film training center.

Al Bernard – Senior Vice President of Washington D.C. Operations for the Manitowoc Company.  Prior to entering the business community, as a Marine infantryman in Vietnam, he earned the Bronze Star with combat "V" and the Purple Heart.  Upon completing his education, he enlisted in the US Coast Guard, and later accepted a commission upon completion of OCS.  He holds a B.A. from Fordham University and an M.A. from the Naval War College.  He is the Chairman of The Navy League Foundation.

Phillip V. Caruso – award-winning veteran of stills photography for major motion pictures as well as a film professor, Phillip also serves as Dean of the Wounded Marine Training Center for Careers in Media.

Kevin A. Lombard – co-founder of the Wounded Marine Career Foundation and documentary filmmaker with more than 35 years in the entertainment industry. He holds three Emmys and several industry awards as a director and for his work behind the camera, including the Reading Rainbow series, Sesame Street and fashion/corporate commercials. Kevin’s father was a Marine in World War II, served in the South Pacific and went on to win four Emmys at NBC.

Judith Ann Paixao – married to Kevin Lombard, she is co-founder of the Wounded Marine Career Foundation. A real estate developer for 25 years, specializing in urban waterfront mixed-use developments, she started a second career as a noted jewelry designer.

Joseph M. Preis, Esq. (USMC 1990-1994; USMCR 2002-2005) – enlisted in the USMC right out of high school and served in Operations Fiery Vigil (PI), Desert Storm, and U.N. Operations in Somalia. Meritoriously promoted to Non-Commissioned Officer in 1992 and honorably discharged from active service in 1994. Utilized G.I. Bill to attend Community College and was able to forego the remaining two years of undergraduate studies and proceeded directly to law school on a merit scholarship. Re-enlisted into the USMCR following terror attacks of 9-11. Mobilized in 2004 and served as Acting Deputy Staff Judge Advocate of the First Marine Division. Attorney in Orange County, California office of Pepper Hamilton LLP.

David K. Storrs – graduated from Yale University and Harvard Business School and then managed the Yale University endowment. He currently manages a fund of hedge funds in Southport, Connecticut.

Landon T. Storrs – previously a professional pilot and flight instructor, she is currently a civic leader and fundraiser in Southport, Connecticut.

Board of Trustees

LCDR Cliff B. Carnes III, US Navy Reserve – Senior Vice President, Operations at Johnson Capital, the largest privately held real estate investment bank in the U.S. Prior to joining Johnson Capital, Cliff served as the senior watch officer for 2nd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company in Iraq. Cliff had a follow-on assignment for eighteen months as the Director of Public Affairs for the First Marine Expeditionary Force/ Lt. Gen. Mattis at Camp Pendleton, California.

CAPT Francis T. Coleman (USMC Ret.) – partner in the Washington, DC office of Williams Mullen, specializing in labor and employment law. After graduating from Georgetown Law School, he served as a Marine JAG officer in Vietnam. He has spent his entire career in private practice, where he has been recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America in his field.

VADM Barry Costello (USN Ret.) – recently commanded the Navy’s Third Fleet. Prior to that he was the Chief of Legislative Affairs for the Navy, commanded the CONSTELLATION Strike Group during wartime, and was the Deputy Director for Strategy and Policy on the Joint Staff. VADM Costello serves as Military Liaison between the Foundation Board and the Armed Services.

James Egan – professor at the prestigious USC Graduate School of Cinema in Los Angeles and an award-winning producer of feature and documentary films, James is the CEO of Wild At Heart Films, just completed the documentary film “Angels In The Dust” for Participant Productions (“An Inconvenient Truth”) and has recently won a Special Jury Prize at the Seattle Film Festival. “Angels In The Dust” will premiere in NYC and Los Angeles this Fall to qualify for Oscar consideration.

Martha Paixao Faller – Martha is a Navy wife of 23 years and is married to Captain Craig S. Faller, EA to ADM Fallon, CDR CENTCOM. Martha has been deeply involved in the many communities that Craig’s Navy career has taken the family. She currently volunteers at the VA Hospital singing for the wounded military, is a mentor and member of the Advisory Board for the Command Spouse Leadership Course in Newport, RI and served as the initial spark to start this Foundation.

Sarah Farnsworth – works with former USMC Commandant GEN Jim Jones (USMC Ret.) as his Executive Director for Strategy and Programs on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for the 21st Century. She served as Vice President and Chief of Staff of the USO World Headquarters, working closely with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, members of Congress, the White House and the Pentagon to develop programs and support for America’s military personnel and their families.

Amy Garcia, RN, MSN – a Registered Nurse with expertise in occupation health and “return to work” issues, she is Executive Director of the National Association of School Nurses, leading more than 700 personnel and managing programs for multiple hospital departments at distant locations. As the wife of a combat-injured Marine, she understands the challenges of military medicine and rehabilitation.

Mark Jonathan Harris – an award-winning documentary filmmaker, journalist, novelist, and Distinguished Professor at the School of Cinematic Arts at USC, where he has taught since 1983. Among the many documentaries he has written, produced and/or directed are “The Redwoods” (Oscar for Best Short Documentary, 1968) and “The Long Way Home” and “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport,” Oscars for Best Feature Length Documentary in 1997 and 2000.

GEN James L. Jones (USMC Ret.) – served as the 32nd Commandant of the Marine Corps and Commander of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, the first Marine general to lead NATO’s military forces in Europe. General Jones was chair of the Commission of Security Forces of Iraq and has currently been appointed as special envoy for Middle East Security.

GEN Paul X. Kelley (USMC Ret.) – served as the 28th Commandant of the Marine Corps and Member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1983 until his retirement in 1987. Subsequently, he served under three Presidents as Chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission. In this position he was responsible for the design and construction of the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and the legislation, construction and dedication of the National World War II Memorial. General Kelley currently serves as Vice Chairman Emeritus for the public policy firm, Cassidy and Associates.

SGT Matthew Zbiec (USMC Ret.) – enlisted in the USMC ten days after graduation from high school in 2005. At the age of eighteen SGT Zbiec was given leadership of a squad of 20 men. He was severely injured by an IED in Fallujah and has been medically retired as of August 2007. While in the USMC SGT Zbiec received three Meritorious Promotions in one year, one of the highest honors granted to deserving Marines.

SGT Austin K. Wolf (USMC Ret.) – Of Counsel to the Board, Austin received degrees from Yale University and Harvard Law School, thanks to his service in the Marine Corps and the GI Bill. He is co-founder of Cohen and Wolf, P.C. and is listed in the Best Lawyers in America since 1986. He was recently honored with the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award by the Connecticut Bar Association’s Planning & Zoning Section.