Seay the Future Podcast

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The Honorable Dick Armey Mar 22, 2021

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Richard Keith Armey is an American economist and politician. He was a U.S. Representative from Texas's 26th congressional district (1985–2003) and House Majority Leader (1995–2003). He was one of the engineers of the "Republican Revolution" of the 1990s, in which Republicans were elected to majorities of both houses of Congress for the first time in four decades. Armey was one of the chief authors of the Contract with America. Armey is also an author and former economics professor. After his retirement from Congress, he has worked as a consultant, advisor, and lobbyist.

General T. Michael “Buzz” Moseley Mar 15, 2021

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General Moseley received baccalaureate and master degrees in Political Science.

An accomplished fighter pilot, he served as an instructor, flight lead, and mission commander, amassing over 2,800 hours.

In 2001, General Moseley assumed command of the U.S. Central Command Air Forces, overseeing all air combat operations in the Central Command Area of Operations, subsequently becoming Vice Chief of Staff for the Air Force.

He was named the 20th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force in July 2005. Military decorations include the rare Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and many others.

Gabrielle Rubenstein, Co-founder and CEO of Manna Tree Mar 08, 2021

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Gabrielle "Ellie" Rubenstein is Co-founder and CEO of the private equity firm Manna Tree. Manna Tree makes growth equity investments in companies that improve human health through nutrition. Ellie works with global family offices and research partners to connect Manna Tree's mission of improving human health to capital while ensuring the firm is an innovator in a rapidly evolving investment category.
A member of Manna Tree's investment committee, Ellie co-leads fundraising and is on the board of the firm's philanthropic research arm, VIGR, which supports industry R&D around consumer health and behavior and the application of ESG+Health impact reporting. Ellie ensures the firm's investments meet the criteria of improving human health through advancements in scientific research. Manna Tree's five investee companies range from producers of eggs, beef, and plant-based foodtech ingredients to indoor farming.
In addition to her role at Manna Tree, Ellie is a philanthropist through her family office, Mission Ingredients. With a focus on improving population health, Ellie supports organizations and initiatives that create positive change. This includes local food production, ingredient research, outdoor wilderness youth education, and military health and recovery programs. The combination of Ellie's investment and philanthropy activity has attracted other families and institutions to impact investing that creates health and wealth.
Ellie earned her MS in Agriculture Economics from Purdue University, her MBA from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business where she was a Tobias Fellow, and her BA in Sociology from Harvard University where she was a Varsity ski racer. Ellie earned a graduate certificate in Mind-Body Wellness from UCLA's Center for East-West Medicine and the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.
Ellie is an avid hunter and angler and spends her free time on the shores or in the woods of Alaska and Colorado.

Margaret Spellings, Former United States Secretary of Education Mar 01, 2021

Show notes

Margaret Spellings serves as President and CEO of Texas 2036, bringing with her knowledge and experience developed over an exceptional career in public service at both the state and national level.

Most recently, Spellings served as the president of the 17-institution University of North Carolina System, leading the state’s public university into a new period of performance, affordability, and growth with a focus on improving economic mobility, ensuring accountability, and advancing the public good.

Prior to that, Spellings served as president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas, Texas, where she oversaw programs on economic opportunity, education reform, global health, and special initiatives on women’s leadership and military service.

From 2005 to 2009, Spellings served as U.S. Secretary of Education, leading the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, a bipartisan initiative to provide greater accountability for the education of 50 million U.S. public school students. As secretary, she also launched the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, a plan to address challenges of access, affordability, quality, and accountability in our nation’s colleges and universities. Prior to serving as Secretary, Spellings served as White House domestic policy advisor from 2001 to 2005, overseeing the administration’s agenda on education, transportation, health, justice, housing, and labor.

Spellings experience also includes serving as senior advisor to then-Governor George W. Bush of Texas, president and CEO of Margaret Spellings and Company, a Washington, DC, consulting firm that provided strategic guidance on a variety of domestic policy matters, and as a president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, advocating for more effective education and workforce training.

Spellings was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, but spent much of her childhood in Houston. She is a graduate of the University of Houston, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in political science. She also received an honorary doctorate and Distinguished Alumni Award from the university in 2006. Spellings has two adult daughters and resides in Dallas.

General Joseph L. Lengyel Feb 22, 2021

Show notes

General Joseph L. Lengyel serves as the 28th Chief of the National Guard Bureau and as a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this capacity, he serves as a military adviser to the President, Secretary of Defense, National Security Council and is the Department of Defense’s official channel of communication to the Governors and State Adjutants General on all matters pertaining to the National Guard. He is responsible for ensuring that the more than 453,000 Army and Air National Guard personnel are accessible, capable and ready to protect the homeland and to provide combat ready resources to the Army and Air Force.

Prior to his current assignment, General Lengyel served as the Vice Chief, National Guard Bureau.
General Lengyel was commissioned in 1981 through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program at University of North Texas. He served in various operational and staff assignments, primarily as an F-16 Instructor Pilot and Weapons Officer. His experience in the F-16 includes tours in Air Combat Command, Pacific Air Forces, United States Air Forces in Europe and the Texas Air National Guard. He has commanded a fighter squadron, operations group, air expeditionary group and the Air National Guard Readiness Center. General Lengyel is a command pilot with more than 3,000 flying hours primarily in the F-16. Additionally, General Lengyel served as the Senior United States Defense Official; Chief, Office of Military Cooperation; and Defense Attaché, Cairo, United States Central Command, Cairo, Egypt.

Francisco Gonzalez, National Review Institute Feb 15, 2021

Show notes

Francisco Gonzalez is the Director of Philanthropy at National Review Institute, responsible for managing relationships with NRI friends and supporters in Florida, Texas, and the Southeast. Born and raised in South Florida, Francisco earned his B.A. in History from Florida Atlantic University, and an M.A. in History from the University of Maryland.

Prior to joining NRI, Francisco was the Vice President of Advancement for The James Madison Institute, Florida’s premier free-market think tank, where he worked from 2008-2017. He served in campus leadership and development roles for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute from 2004-2007.

Francisco is the host of the Agents of Innovation podcast, where he interviews entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and artists. He currently serves on the board of trustees for The Philadelphia Society and for AMIkids Orlando. Francisco is on the Advisory Council for Turning Point USA and is a member of Class VII of Connect Florida, a program for emerging leaders in the Sunshine State. He previously served on the boards of Project Veritas (2010-2014) and Rock By The Sea (2010-2016).

An adventurous traveler, Francisco has visited 47 U.S. states and 21 countries. However, he currently resides in the happiest place on earth, Orlando, Florida.

Bobby R. Inman, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.) Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

Adm. Bobby R. Inman became an adjunct professor at The University of Texas at Austin in 1987. He was appointed a tenured professor holding the Lyndon B. Johnson Centennial Chair in National Policy in August 2001. He served as interim dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs in 2005 and again from January 2009 to March 2010. Inman served in the U.S. Navy from November 1951 to July 1982, retiring with the permanent rank of admiral. On active duty he served as director of the National Security Agency and as deputy director of Central Intelligence.

After retirement from the Navy, Inman was chairman and CEO of the Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) in Austin, Texas, for four years and chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Westmark Systems Inc., a privately owned electronics industry holding company, for three years. Inman also served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1987 through 1990.

His primary business activity since 1990 has been investing in startup technology companies, serving as managing director of Gefinor Ventures and Limestone Capital Advisors. He serves as a trustee of the American Assembly and the California Institute of Technology. Inman is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.

Dr. Phil Schubert, President of Abilene Christian University Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

Dr. Phil Schubert, a 1991 graduate of Abilene Christian University, became its 11th president in June 2010.

During his tenure as president of one of the largest private universities in the Southwest, ACU has experienced remarkable growth in facilities, enrollment, and financial strength. Abilene Christian is the highest-ranking university in Texas in a U.S. News & World Report benchmark focused on student success. It achieved Top 20 status in three of eight high-impact categories among 1,500 universities in the nation and was the only one in Texas recognized in five of the categories.

Prior to becoming president, Schubert served as executive vice president at ACU and was responsible for university-wide strategic planning as well as the oversight of operational areas. He received his B.B.A. in accounting from ACU, an MBA from Duke University, and an Ed.D. in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Gretchen Seay, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Clearsight Advisors Feb 04, 2021

Show notes

Gretchen Seay is the Managing Director and Co-Founder of Clearsight Advisors, Inc. Gretchen’s experience includes sell-side, buy-side and recapitalization transactions for private and public companies and she leads the firm’s activity in the Big Data Analytics and Public Sector Technology markets. Prior to joining Clearsight, Gretchen served as a senior member of the M&A teams at Agility Advisors and Updata Capital where she executed over 35 M&A and financing transactions for software and information technology services clients.

During the financial crisis, Gretchen worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in assisting the federal government with divestitures of assets acquired through bank failures across the US. Gretchen led the Federal Transaction team at PwC and created the process through which billions of dollars of assets were sold back into the private sector. Gretchen began her career with Arthur Andersen where she spent four years in the Global Emerging Markets group working in Russia, Uzbekistan and Egypt on privatization and public–private partnership programs.

Gretchen’s personal background includes honing her skills by negotiating with her three children on a daily basis and volunteering in school programs such as Girl Scouts and Co-Chair of the MadScience and Foreign Language programs. Gretchen was also appointed to serve on The Advisory Council for the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. She is also a member of the TeXchange Board.

Gretchen earned a B.A. in International Studies from the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington and later earned an MBA in finance from the Chicago Booth Graduate School of Business.

Dr. Mark P. Jones, Political Science Professor Feb 01, 2021

Show notes

Mark P. Jones, Ph.D., is the fellow in political science at the Baker Institute, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies and a professor in the Department of Political Science at Rice University.

Jones also serves as the faculty director of Rice’s Master of Global Affairs program. His research focuses on the effect of electoral laws and other political institutions on governance, representation and voting. He has received substantial financial support for this research, including grants from the National Science Foundation. His research has been published in journals such as the American Journal of Political Science, Electoral Studies and the Journal of Politics, as well as in edited volumes published by Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press and Penn State University Press, among others. He is a frequent contributor to Texas media outlets, and his research on the Texas Legislature has been widely cited in the media as well as by numerous political campaigns.

Jones regularly advises U.S. government institutions on economic and political affairs in Argentina and has conducted research on public policy issues in Latin America and Texas for numerous international, national and local organizations, including the Inter-American Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the U.S. Department of Defense, the Texas Department of Agriculture and the city of Houston.

He is a frequent commentator in local, state, national and international media on government, politics and public policy. He is currently working on two principal research agendas, one that examines the impact of political institutions on politics and public policy in Latin America, and the other that analyzes the evolution of partisan politics in Texas over the past 50 years. Jones received his doctorate from the University of Michigan and his bachelor’s degree from Tulane University.

Jones leads the Baker Institute's Argentina Program and helps direct the Presidential Elections Program.

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