Jackie G. Cushman, President AMF

Jackie Gingrich Cushman is chair of the Adams Memorial Commission and president of the Adams Memorial Foundation. She is an author, corporate strategist, and board member. She is blessed to have been born a United States citizen and is committed to give back to her country. For over two decades, Cushman has provided leadership and direction for causes that have made her community and our nation stronger. She championed the Chattahoochee Riverlands, a project stewarded by the Trust for Public Land that encompasses 100 miles of river. This project is moving forward rapidly and has had over $250M in private and public investment. She believes as John Adams once wrote to Benjamin Rush, a signatory to the U.S. Declaration of Independence, "Our obligations to our country never cease but with our lives."

Her experience in politics spans five decades and includes work as a volunteer, fundraiser, strategist, and spokeswoman. As an author of three books who penned weekly syndicated columns for nearly two decades, Cushman is a keen observer of world events. She has appeared on numerous national and local programs as a political commentator. In addition to having extensive media experience, Cushman holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. During her years in corporate finance, she ran the financial planning department of a $3 billion wireless company and worked extensively in corporate strategy. She earned her MBA in finance from Georgia State University and her undergraduate degree from Presbyterian College. She and her husband have two children.

Major General (Ret) Army Peter S. Cooke, Treasurer AMF

Peter S. Cooke has over 40 years of experience with public-private partnerships, specifically in the real estate development industry. He has led real estate ventures in affordable housing, military housing, office space, and commercial space. In addition to his corporate experience, Cooke served for 39 years in the U.S. Army Reserve, a tenure that was highlighted by his time as Commanding General of the U.S. Army's 96th Regional Readiness Command. After his retirement from the military, Cooke co-founded and served as Director of the National Center for Veteran's Studies and helped to create initiatives like the Partnership with America & Employer Partnership that provide employment resources for veterans and current reservists.

Cooke serves as the Chairman of the Board of The American College of National Security leaders and was previously a Candidate for Governor and Congress for the State of Utah.

Timothy Harleth, Board Member AMF

Mr. Harleth is the CEO and co-founder of Generational Equity Labs ("Genrae"). Genrae is a financial technology company that aims to make homeownership a viable option for millions of Americans. The Genrae team is dedicated to addressing the affordability problem in today's housing market. From 2017 to 2021, Mr. Harleth served as the Chief Usher of the White House. As a component head within the Executive Office of the President, he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Executive Residence at the White House and the official functions of the President. He held the nation's highest level of security clearance and worked in conjunction with the White House Military Office and Secret Service to maintain operational security of the complex. Additionally, his position functioned as museum administrative oversight for the 60,000 fine art and decorative art objects within the White House Collection.

During his White House tenure, Mr. Harleth oversaw various projects spearheaded by the First Lady, including the construction of the Tennis Pavilion and the renovation of the Rose Garden. He was instrumental in forming new strategic relationships with outside entities; he established a new partnership agreement with the Department of Interior and the Trust for the National Mall. He successfully strengthened existing partnerships with agencies such as the General Services Administration, the United States Secret Service, the White House Military Office, the National Park Service, the White House Historical Association, and the Smithsonian Institution, as well as past presidential administrations.

Richard A. Houghton, Secretary AMF

Richard A. Houghton is a Principal Landscape Architect at Halvorson | Tighe & Bond Studio in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm's expertise in Landscape Architecture and Urban Design creates timeless, engaging landscapes that are rooted in fundamental design principles and inspired by the dynamics of nature. Houghton has 20 years of experience leading complex, transformative landscape architecture projects focused on reimagining and invigorating the urban public real while preserving and enhancing cultural landscapes. His passion for creating outstanding civic spaces has led to collaborations that have memorialized defining individuals and events in American history.

Houghton led the design and project delivery for the Hancock Adams Common in Quincy, Massachusetts, which has become the keystone to the revitalization of Quincy's downtown. The project reorganized the street layout to create a civic open space uniting the historic Old Town Hall and Church of the Presidents, where the crypts of the two Adams presidents are and created a pedestrian promenade punctuated by bronze sculptures of John Adams, Abigail Adams, John Hancock, and two monumental fountains. Recognized for its significance for preservation, engineering, and landscape architecture, the project has received multiple awards. Houghton is an active member of the American Society of Landscape Architects and has been a panelist for the Boston Society of Civil Engineers and the ArchitectureBoston Expo.

Michele Kessler, Board Member AMF

Mrs. Kessler is the Co-Founder and Director of the Kessler Family Foundation. She is a member of the Women's Health Leadership Forum at Brigham and Women's Hospital and member of the President's Advisory Board. She is a trustee of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Miami Cancer Institute. She was Co-Founder of the Massachusetts General Hospital's Leadership Council for Psychiatry.

Mrs. Kessler serves on numerous Boards of Directors including: the United Way of the Town of Palm Beach, the American Ireland Fund, the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach, the Palm Beach Civic Association, the Palm Beach Police Foundation, the Ayenda Foundation, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Palm Beach Zoo as Chairman of the Board.

Mrs. Kessler was awarded the Distinguished Citizen award by United Way in 2017. She also received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2013. She was honored in 2009 by Massachusetts General Hospital with the Leadership Award by the Chief of Psychiatry and with the 2009 American Red Cross International Leadership Award. In 2007, she received the Women of Distinction Award by Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Benjamin C. Adams, Advisory Board AMF

Ben Adams, CFO of Kepro LLC, a technology enabled healthcare services company, has fostered preserving the rich history of our nation by stewarding the Adams Family Papers, housed for 300 years at the Massachusetts Historical Society, a collection larger than the Library of Congress. Their papers are the jewel in the MHS crown, and chairman since 2017, the papers document the American Revolution, the founding documents of our republic, the diplomatic negotiations of peace, to the Civil War and reconstruction. This archive also has the record of friendship between Ambassador to the Court of St James's John Adams, with Georgia's co-founder, General James Oglethorpe. Initially working with Senator Edward Kennedy and David McCullough, Ben spearheaded what has become the Adams Commission and is charged with the construction and programming of the John and John Quincy Adams Memorial. The memorial will borrow from the more than 30,000 volumes at the Adams home in Quincy, MA, a National Historical Park which his family gave the nation. Abigail and Louisa Catherine Adams, Charles Francis, Henry, and other Adams family members who have vastly contributed to the nation's true soul are included. Ben has worked tirelessly and quietly through four presidential administrations to achieve this important monument to the sacred documents and memory of the United States which his ancestors helped to create.

Ambassador Andrew Young, Advisory Board AMF

For almost half a century, Andrew Young has worked for the social, political, and economic advancement of oppressed people worldwide. He joined the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) in 1961 as director of the organization's Citizenship Schools, joining veteran activist Septima Clark to teach literacy and leadership skills to rural southern black women and men. Young was an aide to Martin Luther King, Jr. and a thoughtful strategist for some of the most important protests, including the Birmingham campaign and March on Washington in 1963. Young served as executive director of SCLC (1964-1968). He helped draft the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

After King's assassination, Young was named executive vice president of SCLC (1968-1970). He moved into politics as the first black Georgian elected to the U.S. Congress since Reconstruction (1972-1976). President Jimmy Carter appointed Young U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 1977. With his help, protection of human rights and economic advancement in underdeveloped countries became U.S foreign policy objectives. Young was forced out of that position in 1979 because he met secretly with the Palestine Liberation Organization representatives to help mediate for peace in the Middle East.

Nonetheless, in 1981, President Jimmy Carter awarded Young the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian award. Young returned to Georgia and served as mayor of Atlanta for two terms (1981-1990). In 1994 President Bill Clinton appointed him to oversee the $100 million Southern Africa Development Fund. Andrew Jackson Young, son of a dentist and a teacher, grew up in a predominantly white, affluent neighborhood in New Orleans. Early in life, his parents taught him the importance of giving back to the community. Young graduated from Howard University in 1951 and earned his Bachelor of Divinity degree from the Hartford Theological Seminary in Connecticut in 1955. He married schoolteacher Jean Childs in 1954. The two would raise four children together before her death in 1994. Young served as the minister of churches in rural Alabama and Georgia in 1955, then worked for the National Council of Churches in New York (1957-1961). Young is co-founder of GoodWorks International, a consulting group that promotes initiatives to improve conditions in Africa and the Caribbean. He is also a professor at the Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. Young lives in Atlanta with his second wife, Carolyn.