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Following is a list of officers, directors, chairs, and advisors of the Lincoln Heritage Institute.
Charles A. Bedell
Secretary of the Institute and a Trustee
Mr. Bedell, a native of Ohio, is counsel and manager of Environmental and Governmental Affairs for Murphy Oil Company. He received his B.A. from Kenyon College and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky.
After serving as counsel of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, and as the chief minority counsel of the Ad Hoc Select Committee on the Outer Continental Shelf, Mr. Bedell joined the International Association of Drilling Contractors as counsel managing government and environmental affairs.
Mr. Bedell has had extensive experience in international law and has written many papers, articles, and pieces of legislation on domestic and international environmental law; and oil and gas exploration, development, and production.
Phil Brennan
Member of the Board of Trustees
Mr. Brennan not only serves as director of special projects for the Institute but also writes articles for the Institute’s publications. He organized the 1964 GOP Truth Squad for Barry Goldwater and served as its public relations director. He also was a public relations consultant for the Alaska Statehood campaign. From 1961 until 1966 he was director of public relations and special projects for the House Republican Policy Committee, under Representative John Rhodes.
Using the pseudonym of CATO, he wrote for the National Review, where he was the Washington correspondent. His investigative work uncovered many scandals including the Bobby Baker case, and also resulted in a book he co-authored with Ralph de Toledano on Florida governor Claude Kirk which helped defeat him when he ran for re-election.
In addition to his work with the Institute, he is the producer and editor of Wednesday on the Web, a conservative internet magazine, and is the author of ten books.
Harry Burroughs
Advisor and Instructor
Mr. Burroughs served 18 years as senior staff in the U.S. House of Representatives as a legislative director in Congressional offices, and as staff director and professional staff for committees and subcommittees of the House. He was responsible for such legislative issues as the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration, and Endangered Species. Currently he serves as staff director of a subcommittee of the House Resource Committee dealing with endangered species and related statutes.
Mike Catarino
Policy Board Member
Mr. Catarino recently retired as public and government representative of Beneficial Finance Corp. He is currently a legislative and government consultant.
Ray Chambers
Life Member of the Institute’s Policy Board
Mr. Chambers is founder and chair of RBC Associates, a Washington, D.C.-based firm representing railroads and transit companies. He founded and represents the Association of Regional Railroads of America.
Mr. Chambers is a former senior staff member of the U.S. Congress; a former deputy assistant secretary of Health, Education and Welfare; and a former director of Congressional Relations at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Chambers received his B.A. from Redlands University, and his M.A. from Rutgers.
Mickey Craig, Ph.D.
Senior Advisor
Dr. Craig is a professor of Political Science and the chair of the Division of Social Sciences at Hillsdale College in Michigan. He also directs the Washington-Hillsdale intern program.
Dr. Craig received his B.A. in political science from Arkansas State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Claremont. He has published several journals, including The Political Science Reviewer and Benchmark.
Jerry Crandall
Senior Advisor and Instructor
Mr. Crandall is currently press secretary to Republican Caucus of the Michigan State House. He has more than 30 years of news, public relations, and legislative experience, most of it on the firing line. He began his career in broadcasting as a reporter and newscaster, and ultimately the producer of the award-winning 10:00 news for station WJBK-TV in Detroit. He later launched a second career in public relations by joining the firm of M.G. and Casey in Detroit which led him into the political arena.
In 1986, then Senate Majority Leader John Engler named Jerry his chief of staff. When Engler was elected Governor, he appointed Jerry the Michigan State Lottery Commissioner, a position he held until 1994 when he joined Speaker Hillegonds’ staff.
C. Grady Drago
President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees
Mr. Drago spent 23 years with the U.S. House of Representatives. He served as administrative, legislative, and press assistant to various U.S. Congressmen, and as chief minority counsel and professional staff of congressional committees. In those capacities, he was responsible for issues such as domestic oil and gas production, the Panama Canal, taxes, government reorganization, environmental protection, and education. He drafted numerous pieces of legislation that were signed into law, and was involved in many political campaigns. He has had studies and articles published on issues as diverse as schools of choice, alternative energy technologies, outer continental shelf oil and gas development, federal taxes, and the federal budget.
Mr. Drago was as a charter member and president of the historic society in his community. He also served as president of his county historic commission. He is a member of the Capitol Hill Club and a past member of the Capitol Hill Investment Club, the Republication Communications Association, and the Conservative Energy Resource Council. He has also been listed in Who’s Who in American Politics, Who’s Who in the Mid-West, and Oxford Press’s Men of Achievement.
Theodore R. Eck, Ph.D.
Chair of the LHI’s Advisory Committee on Commerce, Science, and International Affairs
Dr. Eck recently retired as the chief economist of Amoco Corporation, which he joined in 1970, after working for Creole Petroleum Corp. Prior to that, He was chair of the Department of Finance for Southern Methodist University, and petroleum analyst for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Dr. Eck is a frequent consultant to the U.S. Department of Energy and to other agencies on petroleum related matters. He received his M.A. in economics from the University of Michigan, and his Ph.D. from Michigan State University.
Pat Hucker
Member of the Board of Trustees
Mr. Hucker is a past national co-chair of Dole for President Committee as well as a multi-year Republican Eagle. He is on his third successful career, beginning as owner of auto carburetor manufacturing plant in Windsor, Ont., Canada, and moving on to housing development.
Charles Laser
LHI Policy Board Member
Charles Laser is an oil and gas “wildcatter” with operations in Wyoming. He has been an independent oil and gas consultant for many years, and was the executive vice president of GeoSpectra Corporation, a leading world-wide geological sensing company.
He has been involved in numerous national and community political activities including serving as the executive director of the Washington, D.C. and Saginaw County, Mich., Republican Parties; former president of the Boca Raton Republican Men’s Club; and chair of Senator Connie Mack’s Palm Beach Round Table. Mr. Laser has been active in many community organizations including Toastmasters, the Boca Raton Rotary Club, and currently serves on the Board of Governors of Northwood University, to name just a few. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 1958.
He has been listed in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in the South, Who’s Who in Science, and Who’s Who in America.
U.S. Representative Robert Livingston
Chairman of the Institute’s Policy Board
Congressman Livingston, now retired, was chair of the Appropriations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. He represented the 1st Congressional District of Louisiana for 19 years. He is a former U.S. attorney, and the chief prosecutor for the Organized Crime Unit of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office.
Mr. Livingston received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Tulane University, and also graduated from Loyola University’s Institute of Politics. He was honorably discharged from the U.S Navy.
Mr. Livingston also served in numerous House leadership positions, including chair of the Republican Study Committee, and was appointed member of the U.S. delegation that observed the elections in El Salvador and in the Philippines.
Lee MacGregor
Advisor
Mr. MacGregor has a proven national record in marketing and direct mail fund raising. He is a founder and partner in Alexander and MacGregor, a full-service, direct-mail and marketing firm located in Washington, D.C. Mr. MacGregor also has a successful record as an employee of the U.S. Congress, serving as an assistant to U.S. Senator Robert Griffin.
Pennsylvania State Representative Ron Marsico
Policy Board Member
Ken Mason
Director of International Trade Policy
Mr. Mason recently retired as the Secretary of the International Trade Commission after 22 years of service. During his tenure with the Commission, he gained a reputation as one of our top experts on imports, and was appointed to two GATT trade-negotiating teams. Mr. Mason has also retired from the Air Force with the rank of colonel after 30 years of service.
Mr. Mason has always been active in his church, and has served as an elder for the St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Potomac, Md., since 1993. He received his B.S. from Rutgers, and his M.S. from the University of Maryland.
John W. McGowan
Member of LHI’s Policy Board
Mr. McGowan is president of Cedar Point Oil company and the McGowan Working Group. He graduated with a degree in geology from Louisiana State University in 1956 and served two years in the army. He then worked two years in the oil fields for various service companies doing seismic exploration, surveying and oil formation core analysis. Mr. McGowan began purchasing and re-equipping oil wells 37 years ago and today produces oil from refurbished fields in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Presently he lives in Jackson, Miss., with his wife Diane. They have seven children and fourteen grandchildren.
D. Joseph Olson
Member of LHI’s Policy Board
Mr. Olson is currently vice president of Amerisure of Michigan. Previously he was appointed by then-Governor John Engler to be the insurance commissioner for the state of Michigan. He also served as vice president and general counsel for Citizens Insurance Company of America, and associate counsel for United Services Automobile Association of America.
Mr. Olson has been very active in professional and community organizations including serving as president of the Michigan Insurance Federation; a member of the board of directors of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce; and as a member of the board of directors of the Lansing Symphony Association.
Mr. Olson received his B.A. (magna cum laude) from Oklahoma City University, and his J.D. (summa cum laude) from the University of Santa Clara.
Pennsylvania State Representative Merle Phillips
Policy Board Member
Phillips’ 18 years of legislative experience is only a part of his dedication to his district and the citizens of Pennsylvania. His numerous community affiliations include the Sunbury Community Hospital, Northumberland County Historical Society, the NRA, and Sons of American Revolution, among others. Some of his numerous awards include the Institute’s Guardian Award, NFIB’s Guardian of the Year, Pomona Grange Official of the Year, and Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsman’s Sportsman Legislator of the Year. Currently he is the administrator of the Pennsylvania State House Republican Caucus.
Albert Small, Ph.D.
Senior Advisor for International Commercial Policy
Dr. Small is currently president of INPRO, a Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm. Previously, he served as director of strategic planning for the Bureau of International Commerce at the U.S. Department of Commerce; assistant director of operations at the Price Control Commission; and deputy assistant to the Administrator of the Agency for International Development.
Matt Surrell
Senior Advisor
Mr. Surrell is currently the vice president for university relations of Northern Michigan University. He served three years as press secretary to U.S. Senator Robert Griffin, and as a political consultant on two of former Governor Milliken’s campaigns. Prior to that, Surrell spent many years in the broadcast industry, including five years as anchor and news editor of WJR radio in Detroit, Michigan.
Jeff Suzenski
Director of Operations for the State of Pennsylvania
Mr. Suzenski is a member of the law firm of Stevens and Lee, which has six offices throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Suzenski attended Pennsylvania State University majoring in electrical engineering.
He is the senior government affairs representative for Stevens and Lee, and in that capacity works closely with the executive and legislative branch of government on regulatory and legislative matters.
Charles Van Eaton, Ph.D.
Member of the Board of Trustees
Dr. Van Eaton is currently director of the Bryan Center for Critical Thought and Practice at Bryan College in Dayton, Tenn. Prior to this, he was chair of the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University. He has also served as chair of the School of Economics at Hillsdale College, where he held the McCabe UPS Endowed Chair of Economics.
A nationally recognized expert on the privatization of government, Dr. Van Eaton authored a paper that has become a benchmark on privatization entitled “Re-vitalization of the American City: A Market Perspective for Detroit.” He writes a weekly column and lectures across the nation on a wide range of issues including education, and the privatization of municipal services, jails, and prisons.
He holds a degree in divinity from Harding College in Kentucky, and received his Ph.D. in economics from Tulane University
Thomas Vasti, Jr.
Life Member of the Institute’s Policy Board and Director for New York operations
Mr. Vasti is a founding partner, and currently the managing and directing partner, of Vasti and Sears, Esqs., a Pleasant Valley, N.Y., general practice law firm. Mr. Vasti’s areas of concentration are land development and tort litigation.
He is a native New Yorker, educated in the New York public school system. He received his Bachelors of Law degree from Brooklyn Law School, his B.S. from Loyola University, and his J. D. from Brooklyn Law School. He is licensed to practice before the New York Supreme Court, the Tax Court of the U.S., and the Southern and Eastern District of the U.S. District Courts.
He has been involved in numerous legal associations (he is listed in Who’s Who in American Law), and has served his local communities in numerous capacities including receiving the Democratic nomination for the 98th District seat of the New York State Assembly.
Recently, Vasti has been named the director of International Development for Enviro-tech, U.S.A., Inc.
Gilbert Ziegler
Lifetime Member of the Policy Board
Mr. Ziegler is president of Alken-Ziegler, Inc., of Kalkaska, Mich., which was awarded the General Motors Supplier of the Year award for two consecutive years. He also owns Harbour Air in Traverse City, Mich., an aviation service and electronics company, and has recently opened one of the largest auto parts plants in the nation in Georgia.
Mr. Ziegler has been very active in community and professional organizations, including member of the board of the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, member of the board of control of Northern Michigan University, and member of the President’s Club of Northern Michigan University.
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