Leadership

Southern California and of the Southwestern University School of Law. He is also an Associate Member of the Naval Academy Alumni Association, an honor awarded in recognition of his recruiting activities for the Naval Academy.

Mr. Clopton served in the Navy’s Judge Advocate General Corps from 1978 to 1997 in a variety of billets, both at sea and ashore. He was Command Judge Advocate in USS AMERICA (CV 66) from 1980 to 1982, during which time the carrier made its historic transit of the Suez Canal as part of an Indian Ocean deployment. After a tour as Deputy to the Force Judge Advocate, Submarine Force Atlantic Fleet, he was the first Judge Advocate assigned as Legal Advisor to the Admiral commanding a Carrier Battle Group, making two extended Indian Ocean deployments in that capacity. Other assignments included service as the Operational Law Advisor to Commander, U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) from 1993-1995, providing counsel on the ramifications of highly sensitive world-wide operations. His final Navy assignment was as the senior uniformed legal advisor at Naval Air Systems Command, the Navy’s aviation acquisition command. After having served in that capacity for approximately six months, he was asked by the Commander, Naval Air Systems Command to assume additional duties as the Command Inspector General. In that capacity he investigated matters of procurement, efficiency, safety, ethics, personnel and management practices, allegations of sexual abuse, racial and gender prejudice and whistleblower retaliation.

After retiring from the Navy in the rank of Commander, he spent nearly nine years as General Counsel to a major independent government relations firm, where he was responsible for ethics, advice on conflicts of interest, travel, gifts and post-employment issues, and contracting.

He is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of the State of Florida, and is a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia.
Dr. Linda Kovalesky-McLaine, Board Member and Clinical Director. Linda has more than 40 years’ experience in military family advocacy, 20 of them as a mental health clinician working with adults, couples and families.

Since 2005, Linda has clinically supported more than 4000 post-combat veterans and their families addressing grief, relationship and re-integration issues.  Linda has received 300 hours in post combat-stress training including participation in programs at the National Center for PTS and the Department of Defense.

She has served as a consultant to military commands, chaplains, veterans’ groups and local universities and has also lectured on PTSD, traumatic brain injury and post-deployment at the United States Military Academy and at George Mason’s Law School and School of Social Work.

Earlier in her career, she served as the first Training Director of the Military Family Resource Center; as Community Liaison Officer at the American Embassy in Brussels; and as a special education coordinator for the American Military Schools in several countries in Western Europe.

As a keynote speaker or workshop facilitator, Linda has presented both internationally and nationally on life events faced by military and the Department of State families, and was one of the first Americans to address Russian military personnel in Moscow on American military family life.  Other presentations in Germany, England, Norway and Belgium included topics on sexual abuse, self-care of educational staff, and caring for children during terrorist crises.

Dr. McLaine maintains a private practice in Fairfax, Virginia.  Her husband is 30 years retired Navy; her son is slated as XO on a submarine; and her daughter is a former Supreme Court Clerk who, with her husband and family, recently returned from his tour in Bahrain.

Donald C. Brewster, Jr., Board Member.  Mr. Brewster is a prominent businessman, board member, entrepreneur, and technology inventor within the Washington DC. metropolitan area with over 25 years of business experience. Founding Innovative Technology Application Inc. (ITA Inc.) in 1995, Mr. Brewster as Chairman, majority shareholder, and Chief Operating Officer has overseen the award of $Bs of dollars  of Federal and Defense contracts to ITA, including directing the successful performance of more than $250M of highly complex information technology, software, hardware, and engineering projects as the Prime Contractor.  Over the past 18 years he has won 7 Deloitte Awards for outstanding business performance among Washington DC peers, along with dozens of other awards, articles, and mentions.  He serves as a trusted advisor and Board Member to dozens of area firms spread throughout the Federal Contracting and Technology arenas as well as several major Army IT organizations that oversee $Bs of Defense IT Acquisitions and efforts.

Mr. Brewster is a West Point graduate and holds a BS in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics.   As an active duty Army officer Mr. Brewster advanced to the rank of Captain and served as a Platoon Leader and Executive Officer in the tactical command post of the 2nd Armored Brigade, 24th Mechanized Infantry Division in its unparalleled destructive advance through 10 Iraqi Divisions during Desert Storm and Shield, where he received several combat decorations and citations for meritorious service.

Mr. Brewster is married and devoted to his three sons and two daughters.  He has spent at least 5 years as active member in Washington DC groups American MENSA, the Country Club of Fairfax, the Young Presidents Organization (YPO), FirstWave Academy Graduates, The Executive Council (TEC -now Vistage), and the Executive Lunch Klub (ELK).  He enjoys family time, tennis, fast cars, motorcycling, and fishing.

J. Richard Brown, Board Member. Mr. Brown founded, and was President of Whitney, Bradley & Brown, Inc. (WBB), an award winning technical consulting business providing time critical assessments and solutions to pressing developmental, acquisition and deployment requirements within the DoD and Federal market space.

Prior to founding WBB, Mr. Brown served 20 years as a Naval Aviator in the United States Navy, flying jet fighters. He flew 385 combat missions; was an Engineering Test Pilot, serving as Head, Fighter Flight Test, testing weapons and weapons systems on: F14, F4, A6, A7 and F86; and was Director, F-14 Foreign Military Sales. Mr. Brown served 14 months at Khatami AFB, Iran as Commander, F14 Program, Iran, and subsequently served as Deputy, F14 Program Manager (PMA-241) where he directed the re-design of the F14 Weapons Control System (AWG-9) and the AIM-54 Phoenix Missile system as a result of the collapse of the Iranian government in November 1979.

Mr. Brown is a past President of the National Aviation Club and The Crusader Association; has served on the Boards of the National Aeronautic Association and the Navy League, is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Navy League, Naval Academy Alumni Association, Association of Naval Aviation, Tail Hook Association, and many other community and social organizations.

He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the U. S. Naval Academy, and Masters Degree equivalent as a graduate Engineering Test Pilot from the U. S. Naval Test Pilot School, and is a Graduate of the Defense Systems Management College.