Andrew J. Cowin, President
Andrew has been a private investor since 1998, and chairman of the Yankee Institute since 2003.
Prior to that, he was executive director of the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Civic Innovation. In that position, Andrew worked with mayors from around the country to find new ways of addressing urban problems.
He served from 1994 to 1995 as minority counsel to the Subcommittee on Crime and Criminal Justice in the U.S. House of Representatives.
From 1989 to 1993, Andrew was the United Nations analyst and Jay Kingham Fellow for International Trade at The Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C. He also wrote numerous papers, articles and op/eds on subjects outside the field of international affairs, including crime, drugs, federalism, and campaign-finance reform.
Andrew lives in Connecticut, is married to Allyson Tucker Cowin, and has three daughters. He has a B.A. from Tufts University and a J.D. from New York Law School.
Gerald Gunderson, Treasurer
Gerald Gunderson is the Shelby Cullom Davis Professor of American Business and Economic Enterprise, and Director of the Shelby Cullom Davis Endowment, at Trinity College in Hartford. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Washington, with a thesis in economic history supervised by Douglass North, a Nobel Laureate. He has held faculty appointments at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Mount Holyoke College, and North Carolina State University.
Professor Gunderson has published numerous academic papers, including studies of the cause of the American Civil War, the demise of the Roman Empire, and models of entrepreneurship. He also has authored columns in more than 20 newspapers throughout the nation, including the Wall Street Journal. He has worked with national professional associations concerning entrepreneurship, economic and business history, private enterprise systems, economic education, and public policies. He served as president of the Association of Private Enterprise Education and is now editor of The Journal of Private Enterprise. He was a founding member, serves as a member of the executive board as treasurer, and directs the Academic Advisory Board for the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Inc. He received the Freedom Foundation’s award for Excellence in Private Enterprise Education in 1980. In 1996, he was appointed by the governor to the Educational Improvement Panel to develop solutions to poor public schooling in Connecticut.
Dr. Gunderson is the author of A New Economic History of America (McGraw-Hill, 1974) and The Wealth Creators: An Entrepreneurial History of the United States (E.P. Dutton, 1989) which Peter Drucker, the mentor of modern management, described as “brilliant.” He continues working on the topics of global entrepreneurship as well as the growth of anti-slavery sentiment in the U.S.
Daniel Gressel
Daniel Gressel is the president and founder of Teleos, a global macro hedge fund based in Stamford. He has served as a board member of the Yankee Institute since 2004.
From 1988 until forming Teleos in February 1991, Daniel was a portfolio manager at G.T. Capital Management. From 1986 to 1988, Daniel worked as an economist for G.T. Management (Asia) in Hong Kong. From 1984 to 1986, he traded futures and options for his own account on the Comex and New York Futures Exchange. Daniel taught economics and consulted from 1978 to 1993, teaching at Baruch College in New York and Catholic University in Santiago, Chile.
Dan received a B.S. in Business Administration from Ohio State University in 1976, and an M.A. in 1978 and Ph.D. in 1984 in economics from the University of Chicago.
Ken Boudreau
Ken Boudreau is an investor and active member of his community. In addition to his service on the Yankee Institute Board of Directors, he is a a Trustee for the New Britain Museum of Art in New Britain and Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford.
Mr. Boudreau is a Past Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the CT Chapter of National Association of Staffing Services, the Wheeler Clinic in Plainville, CT, a Past President of the Board of Trustees of The Mark Twain House in Hartford, CT, a Past Director of the CT Business and Industry Association, a Past Trustee of Catholic Charities, Archodiocese of Hartford, and a Past Trustee of the Hillstead Museum in Farmington.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of Hartford and Ken also served in the United States Marine Corps as a commissioned officer, serving in Vietnam where he rose to the rank of captain.
Ken resides with his wife Judy in Farmington. They have a daughter and son-in-law and one granddaughter.
George W. Schiele
George W. Schiele is president of George Warren Schiele, Inc., president and CEO of 4003 Corporation, and a director of Connecticut Innovations, Inc., where he serves as chairman of the Investment Advisory Committee.
George has been a Yankee Institute board member since 2001, and was appointed to the executive board in 2005. He is also a member of the Cato Institute, and Rainier and Penn Clubs.
An accomplished author, with bylines in over 30 newspapers and trade publications, including the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Naval Institute Proceedings, Los Angeles Times, and Forum, in 2003 George had an article published in Investor’s Business Daily that analyzed the growth of public employment in Connecticut and the state’s growing debt.
George resides in Greenwich with his wife Joan. They have three children and three grandchildren.
He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, College of Liberal Arts and Wharton School, Bachelor of Science in Economics (Finance).
Andy Jones
Andy founded North Star Partners, LP, an alternative investment program. Prior to that, he was a managing director at Tweedy, Browne Company, LP and a Securities Analyst at Glickenhaus & Company.
Andy served as a director of Cornell Companies, Inc., a private corrections operator, from 2007-2010. During 2008, he also served as a director of Chem Rx Corporation, an institutional pharmacy provider.
Andy is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the New York Society of Securities Analysts. He received a B.S. in Finance from Ithaca College and an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago.
Kevin North
Kevin is the founder and President of Talcott Realty Investors. Prior to founding Talcott, he was vice president and director of real estate for The Hartford.
Kevin is involved with a number of local and national associations. He is president of the Simsbury Fire District, chairman of the Simsbury Fire District’s Building Committee, a board member of the Children’s Educational Opportunity Foundation, trustee of the Masons Island Yacht Club, vice chair of the Simsbury Republican Town Committee, and a member of the Board of Finance of Simsbury.
Kevin also served as a member of the board for Mechanics Bank, a past member of the Salvation Army’s Advisory Board, and is an honorary Life Member of the Simsbury Volunteer Fire Department.
He received his B.A. in Economics from Trinity College. He is married to Valerie, his wife of 38 years, and they have two daughters, Megan and Lindsay, both graduates of Trinity College.
Sam Caligiuri
Penny Young
Penny Young is an active member of the community. In addition to her commitment to the Yankee Institute, Penny is a board member for the League of Women Voters, Stamford Symphony Orchestra, New Canaan Garden Center, Senior Center of New Canaan, Waveny Care Network, Southwestern CT Area Agency on Aging and Norwalk Community College. Penny has served on the New Canaan Town Council since 1997.
She is also president of the Connecticut Area Agencies on Aging and the Elder Care Council of New Canaan. In 2007, Penny was appointed to the CT Commission on Aging, which she still serves.
Penny is a graduate of the University of Delaware, B.A. in Modern Languages, and the College of New Rochelle, M.S. in Gerontology. Penny and her husband Bob live in New Canaan.
Robert R. Simmons
Source: www.JoinRobSimmons.com
Rob Simmons is the great grandson of Irish immigrants who fled their homeland in search of a better life in the United States. Within a generation, America’s promise and free enterprise system gave Rob’s grandfather the opportunity to send his only son – Rob’s father – to college and retire as a successful owner/operator of five small family businesses.
On his mother’s side, Rob’s grandfather was a newspaper editor who in 1934 won a Pulitzer Prize for “meritorious public service” for his campaign against “unscrupulous politicians” who were exploiting the Depression economy and utilizing violence to seize political power in Oregon. The family passed the Pulitzer medal to Rob in recognition of his own dedication to public service.
Rob’s family upbringing instilled in him a deep appreciation and unwavering confidence in our American way of life, and a sense of responsibility for doing his part to protect it.
Rob’s public service career began when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1965 as a Private, and spent 19 months in Vietnam where he earned two Bronze Star Medals. Rob continued his military service in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Military Intelligence Officer, retiring as a Colonel in 2003 with over 37 years of active and reserve service.
He is past commander of the 434th Military Intelligence (MI) Detachment New Haven, CT, which won the Reserve Officers Association’s Outstanding Small Unit Award in 1996. In 1998, Rob was recognized by for his contributions to the Military Intelligence Corps with the Knowlton Award for “Integrity, Moral Character, Professional Competence and Selflessness.”
Following his active duty service in the Army, Rob joined the Central Intelligence Agency, working as an Operations Officer for a decade, including five years on assignment overseas in East Asia where he participated in difficult and dangerous missions to protect America’s national security.
Upon his return from East Asia, Rob left the CIA to join the staff of Senator John H. Chafee (R-Rhode Island) where he was Legislative Assistant for Military, Foreign and Veterans Affairs.
In 1981, he was assigned as a staff member to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and soon thereafter was appointed by Chairman Barry Goldwater (R-Arizona) to serve as Staff Director of the full committee. Rob worked with the committee and the Reagan Administration on some of the most important national security challenges of the Cold War. CIA Director Casey presented him with the Agency Seal Medallion – its highest civilian award – in 1985.
That year, Rob returned to his hometown of Stonington, Connecticut where he chaired the Police Commission, and taught courses on government at both Yale College and the University of Connecticut.
In 1991, Rob was elected by the people of Stonington and North Stonington, and the villages of Mystic, Old Mystic and Pawcatuck to represent them in the Connecticut General Assembly. In his first term, Rob opposed the imposition of a state income tax, fought for fiscal responsibility and took a lead role on transportation issues. Rob developed a reputation as a strong advocate for his constituents. As a result, he won reelection four times.
Troubled that entrenched 10-term 2nd District incumbent Congressman Sam Gejdenson had lost touch with his constituents, Rob challenged him in 2000 in a campaign many said a Republican could not win. In that race, Rob came back from a double-digit deficit to defeat Gejdenson in a district where Democrats outnumbered Republicans by 34,000 voters. He was the first Republican in 50 years to win three terms in the district.
In Congress, Rob served on the Armed Services, Transportation, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Committees. Rep. Simmons also served as the Chairman of the Homeland Security Intelligence and Veterans’ Health Subcommittees.
Rob continued to fight for fiscal responsibility and low taxes, voting for the 2001 and 2003 federal income tax cuts, increasing the child tax credit, and eliminating the marriage penalty and death tax. Rob also authored the “Simplify Tax Filing For Seniors Act,” requiring the IRS to offer a simplified tax form for seniors, and supported legislation to repeal the 1993 tax on Social Security benefits.
While in Congress, Rob fought to make sure his fellow veterans received the benefits they were promised. He helped pass the historic “concurrent receipt” legislation that allows military retirees to collect their military retirement and the disability benefits to which they are entitled, and secured critical funding for new construction at the Veterans Home in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
Rob’s landmark accomplishment was working with Team Connecticut to save the Groton Submarine Base when it was targeted for complete closure by the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Rob led the fight to keep the base operating, saving 31,000 Connecticut jobs and a critical national security asset in the “Submarine Capital of the World.”
After three terms in Congress, Rob was appointed by Governor M. Jodi Rell as Connecticut’s first Business Advocate. During his two year term, Rob visited over 400 local small businesses to listen to employers and workers, and help them address the challenges facing small businesses in Connecticut.
Rob Simmons is a 1965 graduate of Haverford College, PA, where he won six varsity letters and was captain of the cross-country and track teams. He earned a Master in Public Administration degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in 1979, where he was a Littauer Fellow.
Rob and his wife, Heidi, have been married for 35 years. She is a public school teacher at the Regional Multicultural Magnet School in New London, CT, specializing in early childhood education and literacy.
Rob and Heidi are blessed with a daughter, Jane, who is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford and lives in New York City; and a son, Robert, who is a graduate of Providence College and lives in Boston.
Rob and Heidi live with their three dogs — Bailey, Lucy and Grigio — in Stonington, CT.