Leadership

Staff

Research Fellow

Myron Magnet. A journalist and historian, Mr. Magnet is editor-at-large of City Journal magazine and was editor from 1994 through 2006. As editor, he oversaw special issues for which he commissioned designs for a new classical Lincoln Center, an inspiring new development at Ground Zero (including classical monuments by Alexander Stoddart), and proposed skyscrapers featuring traditional architecture. A former member of the board of editors of Fortune, Mr. Magnet has written about a wide variety of topics, from American society and social policy, economics, and corporate management to intellectual history, literature, architecture, and the country’s founding. In addition to his many City Journal and Fortune articles, Mr. Magnet has written for The Wall Street Journal, New Criterion, and New York Times, among others. He has appeared on numerous TV and radio programs. Among Mr. Magnet's most recent books is The Founders at Home: The Building of America, 1735-1817, which examines how the homes of the Founding Fathers reflect their values and ideals, as well as their aspirations for the new nation. Mr. Magnet holds B.A.s from Columbia University and the University of Cambridge, as well as an M.A. from Cambridge and a Ph.D. from Columbia, where he taught for several years. In 2008, President George W. Bush awarded Mr. Magnet the National Humanities Medal.

Board of Directors

Richard R. Hough III, Chairman

Mr. Hough is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Silvercrest Asset Management Group. Mr. Hough joined Silvercrest in 2003 and became a partner in 2006. He has served on the firm’s Executive Committee since 2007 with responsibilities for marketing and corporate strategy and development. Mr. Hough was Silvercrest’s president and chief operating officer from 2010-2013. Prior to joining Silvercrest, Mr. Hough worked as a policy analyst and was the founding national program director of Children’s Scholarship Fund. Mr. Hough is a member of the Board of Governors and executive committee of the Investment Adviser Association. Mr. Hough also serves as Chairman of Board of the Institute for Family Studies, and he serves on the boards of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation; New York Men’s Leadership Forum; Christendom College; Monmouth Council, Boy Scouts of America; and the advisory board of The New Criterion. Mr. Hough received a B.A. in politics and philosophy from Princeton University.

Christian Charnaux, Vice Chairman

Mr. Charnaux is Chief Growth Officer of Inspire Brands, a multi-brand restaurant company whose portfolio includes more than 4,600 Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and R Taco locations worldwide. Prior to Inspire, Mr. Charnaux was with Hilton Worldwide where he served in a number of brand management, commercial services, and finance positions. Most recently, he was Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance where he oversaw the Hilton’s Capital Markets, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Investor Relations efforts. Previously, Mr. Charnaux was with the Boston Consulting Group where he focused on the travel and consumer product sectors. He also worked for J.P. Morgan in the Technology coverage and Mergers & Acquisition groups. Mr. Charnaux is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received a B.A. degree, with Highest Distinction, in History and Political Science and was a Morehead Scholar. He also received an MBA, with Distinction, from Harvard Business School.

David Talbot, Treasurer

Mr. Talbot is the Founder and Principal of Antelope Advisors where he works with clients on their organizational health and fundraising. He was formerly Executive Vice President of Common Sense Society, an international nonprofit network that promotes liberty, prosperity, and beauty. Prior to that, he was Director of Development and then Chief of Staff at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, an educational, research, and human rights nonprofit. Since 2013, Mr. Talbot has served as Treasurer of the National Civic Art Society. He was educated at Hillsdale College and lives in Virginia with his wife and children.

Shaun Rieley, Secretary

Mr. Rieley is Director of Educational Programs & Teaching Fellow at Hillsdale College’s Washington, D.C. campus where he oversees numerous programs and events, including the James Madison Fellowship and the AWC Lecture series, and teaches courses in political philosophy at the Van Andel Graduate School of Government. He earned a Ph.D. in political theory, with a minor in American government, from the Catholic University of America, where he wrote a dissertation on the political philosophy of St. Thomas More. He also earned a master’s degree from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md., where he studied great books in philosophy, political theory, and literature. As an undergraduate he studied political science at the University of Delaware. Mr. Rieley served as an enlisted infantryman in the Army National Guard for nine years, attaining the rank of sergeant. His service included overseas tours in support of contingency operations in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and Iraq. He is a board member and Vice President of the Academy of Philosophy and Letters. A native of Delaware, he resides in Maryland with his wife and two daughters.

Michael Curtis

Mr. Curtis is a sculptor, painter, historian, architectural designer, and poet who has taught and lectured at widely, including at The Institute of Classical Architecture, The Center for Creative Studies, and The National Gallery of Art. His pictures and statues are housed in over 400 private and public collections, including the Library of Congress, National Portrait Gallery, and U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Curtis has made statues and medals of presidents, generals, Supreme Court justices, captains of industry, and national heroes, including Davey Crockett, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Justice Thurgood Marshall. Curtis' History of Texas, located at the Texas Rangers ballpark in Arlington, Texas, is the largest American frieze of the 20th century. Mr. Curtis' plays, essays, verse, and translations have been published in over 30 journals. He is the author of the book of poems Modern Art: An Exhibition in Criticism, which was published by the National Civic Art Society. His recent nonfiction books include The Classical Architecture and Monuments of Washington, D.C. Mr. Curtis studied classical architecture at the University of Michigan, and painting, sculpture, and engraving at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florence, Italy.

Brian H. Hook

Mr. Hook is Vice Chairman of Cerberus Global Investments. He previously served in the administrations of Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump. During the Trump Administration, he served as Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, U.S. Special Representative for Iran, and Director of the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff. He was a key official on the team that negotiated peace agreements between UAE-Israel, Bahrain-Israel, Sudan-Israel, and Morocco-Israel, known collectively as the Abraham Peace Accords. He also led the creation of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy and the deepening of bilateral relations between the United States and India. Mr. Hook held a number of senior positions in the George W. Bush Administration, including Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations; Senior Advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations; Special Assistant to the President for Policy at the White House; and Counsel in the Office of Legal Policy at the Department of Justice. From 2009 to 2017, he founded and managed Latitude, LLC, an international strategic consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. He was a corporate lawyer at Hogan & Hartson from 1999 to 2003. Mr. Hook currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center at the Smithsonian Institution.

Thomas D. Klingenstein

Founder and principal of Cohen, Klingenstein LLC, a New York City investment firm, Mr. Klingenstein is a playwright whose plays include "If Only" and "Douglass." He is chairman of the Board of Directors of the Claremont Institute.  

Seth Levey

Mr. Levey is Head of U.S. Government Relations and Corporate Affairs at Glencore, one of the world’s largest globally diversified natural resources companies. In this role, he manages U.S. government affairs, stakeholder engagement, policy development, and advocacy strategy for the company. Prior to Glencore, Mr. Levey was Head of Public Policy and Sustainability at thredUP, one of the largest resale platforms for apparel, shoes, and accessories. In this role, he led thredUP’s policy, government affairs, and broader environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts. Mr. Levey has also served as Director of Government Relations and Public Affairs and Head of Low Carbon Advocacy for the U.S. at Equinor, where he was responsible for the company’s U.S. climate, sustainability, environmental, and innovation policy development and advocacy. Prior to that, he held roles at the Edison Electric Institute, where he represented investor-owned electric companies before policymakers, and at Exxon Mobil Corporation, in corporate public and government affairs. He previously advised U.S. state governors on energy, economic development, and international affairs issues. Mr. Levey earned his B.A. from the College of William and Mary and an MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Joseph Malchow

Mr. Malchow is the founder of Hanover. A private technology investment partnership in Menlo Park, Calif., Hanover invests in transformative early-stage computer science-driven companies. In the past, the fund has been fortunate to support entrepreneurs whose advances have reordered a number of important global industries. Mr. Malchow was a cofounder of Publir, the widest-reaching political digital advertising exchange in the U.S. He has been an occasional contributor to The Wall Street Journal. ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Jake Tapper profiled him in 2008. In 2012, he was named to the Forbes "30 Under 30" list. A 2008 graduate of Dartmouth College, he studied at the Law and Business schools of Stanford University, receiving a J.D. in 2013. Originally from New Jersey, he lives in Menlo Park, Calif.

James C. McCrery, II, AIA

Mr. McCrery is an assistant professor at the Catholic University of America's School of Architecture and Planning, where he directs the Concentration in Classical Architecture and Urbanism at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. He is the founding principal of McCrery Architects, a Washington, D.C.- based practice specializing in civic, religious, and institutional projects. His built works throughout the United States have received many awards and include installations at the U.S. Capitol and United States Supreme Court, and the recently completed Cathedral Church in Knoxville, Tennessee; his projects have been reviewed in national publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, Traditional Building, the Classicist, and the National Review. Mr. McCrery earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture and Master of Architecture degrees from the Ohio State University; he has lectured widely to professional and academic audiences. He is a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a life member and an executive board member of the Supreme Court Historical Society, a founding member of the National Civic Art Society, an inaugural Fellow of the Institute for Human Ecology at Catholic University, and he serves as a National Design Peer of the U.S. General Services Administration.

Peter Milligan

Originally from Nebraska, Mr. Milligan is a Partner & General Counsel at Ember Infrastructure Partners, a private equity firm that invests in diversified energy infrastructure assets and businesses with a focus on low carbon investment opportunities. He previously worked as a corporate mergers and acquisitions attorney in the New York office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. He regularly participated on teams representing public and private companies, as well as private equity funds in connection with acquisitions, dispositions, minority investments, financings, joint ventures, and restructurings. He has extensive experience working with private equity clients and portfolio companies on a broad range of general corporate, securities laws, and governance matters, including management arrangements. Before practicing law, Mr. Milligan worked for Catterton Partners, a Greenwich, Conn. private equity fund. He received his J.D. and his M.B.A. from Cornell University, where he was Managing Editor of the Cornell International Law Journal and Associate Editor of the Legal Information Institute Supreme Court Bulletin. He is a Trustee of New York City’s Central Presbyterian Church.

Howard Segermark, Chairman Emeritus

Mr. Segermark is a businessman with decades of prior experience as a Congressional staffer involved with economic policy issues. He has long had an amateur interest in classical art and architecture, and his strategic vision has been central to the development of the Society’s agenda. He is president of Howard Segermark Associates, his wholly-owned government relations firm. He is senior trustee on the American Motorcyclist Association Political Action Committee and a director of the Committee for Monetary Research and Education. He also serves as Vice President of the American Business Defense Council. Mr. Segermark is a longtime resident of Washington, D.C.
 
Justin Shubow. (See above.)

Marion Smith, Chairman Emeritus

Mr. Smith is founding president of Common Sense Society, an international foundation that promotes civic engagement, entrepreneurship, and leadership virtues among young professionals in the United States and Europe. He is former executive director of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC). As Executive Director, he provided strategic leadership for VOC and spearheaded its educational initiatives. He was previously a visiting fellow at the B. Kenneth Simon Center for Principles and Politics at the Heritage Foundation. His articles have appeared in publications including USA Today, The Hill, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and the National Review. He is a regular guest analyst on major network and cable television news channels, including ABC, NBC, MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN. Mr. Smith is a native of South Carolina.

Board of Advisors
 

Philip Bess
Victoria Coates
Hon. Bruce Cole†
Ambassador J. William Middendorf II
John Norquist
R.R. Reno
Roger Scruton†
George Weigel

Founding Directors Emeriti
 

Michael M. Franck, AIA
Franck and Lohsen Architects, Washington, D.C.

Catesby Leigh
Art and Architecture Critic, Washington, D.C.