Launched in 2024, the founding team of The Chamberlain Network brings a wealth of experience in veteran and community organizing, nonprofit leadership, and advocacy.

Having formerly worked together to organize veterans in defense of human rights, their collective background includes leading successful campaigns that harness the unique perspectives and leadership capabilities of veterans to protect and promote democracy. They have spearheaded initiatives to support and defend democracy, relocated and resettled at-risk Afghans, and collaborated with trusted human rights, religious, and refugee organizations.

OUR STAFF

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Christopher Purdy

Founder & CEO

Christopher Purdy has spent over a decade in veteran and community organizing, most recently as the Director of Veterans for American Ideals (VFAI) and Outreach at Human Rights First. Throughout his career, Chris has achieved remarkable success in harnessing the unique perspectives and leadership capabilities of veterans to protect and promote democracy in the face of rising authoritarianism. He has helped to create impactful campaigns to support and defend democracy that have become their own entities. Chris has also been a leader in the Evacuate Our Allies Coalition since its founding in the spring of 2021, a network of trusted human rights, religious, and refugee organizations working alongside veterans and frontline civilians to relocate, welcome, and support the resettlement of as many at-risk Afghans as possible. Chris served for eight years in the Army National Guard, where he was deployed to Iraq in 2011.

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Amie Kashon

Chief Operating Officer

Amie Kashon is an experienced nonprofit leader, advocate, and coalition manager. Most recently, she oversaw advocacy and managed an information center assisting Afghans allies on relocation and resettlement at Human Rights First. Previously, Amie spent nearly a decade in various roles at the Pacific Council on International Policy, including creating the organization’s impact program portfolio as Chief Initiatives Officer. She launched the Council’s U.S.-Mexico Initiative, worked in cooperation with local government on the Global Los Angeles Initiative, and supported the ongoing work of the Leadership Council of Women in National Security and the GTMO Legal Observer Program. Amie holds a BA in Diplomacy and World Affairs magna cum laude from Occidental College. She is a member of the Truman National Security Project.

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Pete Lucier

Research and Advocacy Manager

Peter Lucier is a Marine veteran (2008-2013) with a BA in Political Science from Montana State University and a JD from St. Louis University School of Law. He has written on defense, national security, and veterans issues for the New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, and others. He has served in a wide variety of roles in leading veteran advocacy organizations, including the Veteran Advisory Council for Everytown for Gun Safety and the People’s Council for Courage for America. He served as the social media director for #AfghanEvac and as team leader, volunteer, and board member for Team America Relief. He currently lives in his hometown, St. Louis, Missouri. Go Cards. LGB. #AllforCity.

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A woman with shoulder-length light brown hair, smiling, wearing a black jacket over a colorful patterned shirt, sitting outdoors with blurred purple flowers and greenery in the background.

Arabella Meyer

Communications Manager

Arabella Meyer is a strategic communication and external engagement leader with 25+ years of experience helping mission-driven organizations expand their reach and deepen their impact. She helps organizations tell their story in ways that shift public understanding, mobilize support, and defend what matters. She has experience with nonprofits (Fountain House, UNDP, MedGlobal), educational institutions (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Dartmouth College, Ascend Public Charter Schools), and in the private sector (Deloitte, Chemonics). She has held various roles including Chief Content Officer, Senior Director of Media Relations, Senior Director Global Communications. She is deeply committed to democracy and addressing inequities. 

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A woman with glasses, earrings, and a necklace, smiling, with her hair styled in an updo, wearing a dark blazer and an orange scarf, against a plain white background.

Maggie Seymour

Veterans Organizing Manager

Maggie Seymour is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, former diplomat, and proud Illinois native. She is focused on mobilizing veterans to defend democracy and strengthen civic life. She brings a relational focused, systems-level lens to movement building and believes veterans are uniquely positioned to lead in moments of democratic strain. She holds a BA in Political Science, MAs in Military History, Public Leadership, Sociology, Journalism, and Clinical Mental Health. She has a PhD in International Studies. She lives in rural Virginia with her family where she is an untrained, self-declared baker. Go Cubs.

Our Board

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    Scott Cooper

    Scott Cooper served 20 years in the Marine Corps, serving as a Naval Flight Officer in the EA-6B aircraft and as a forward air controller. He deployed five times to Iraq, twice to Afghanistan, and once to the Far East, concluding his career commanding a squadron and serving as the speechwriter to the head of Marine Corps aviation. After retirement, Scott joined Human Rights First, leading their national security work. Much of that effort focused on refugees, specifically the Special Immigrant Visa program that helps our wartime allies in Iraq and Afghanistan to find safety in America. He also founded Veterans for American Ideals, a grass-roots, community-based group of veterans working to bridge divides and regain a shared sense of national community. Today he is the Vice President of Government Relations at Peraton, a national security and technology company. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a senior nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council. Scott holds a B.S. in political science from the U.S. Naval Academy, and an M.A. in international relations from the University of Maryland. He and his wife, Maggie, split their time between Washington, DC, and Rixeyville, VA.

  • A smiling bald man with glasses wearing a light blue button-up shirt standing in front of a colorful geometric-patterned backdrop.

    Jason Dozier

    Jason Dozier is a Councilmember for Atlanta City Council District 4 and an experienced Operations Director with 16 years of expertise in metrics-driven operations management and strategic planning. He has a strong background in both the United States Army and the non-profit sector, where he has held various roles, including Manager of Plans and Operations, Director of Program Operations and Evaluation, and Innovation Strategist at Hire Heroes USA. Jason is committed to community engagement, having served as a board member for organizations such as the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and Advance Atlanta. He holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Georgia and a Master of Science in Real Estate from Georgia State University. Jason is dedicated to improving local government administration, economic development, and veteran services.

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    Crystal Ellington

    Crystal is a dynamic, agile storyteller, who is passionate about speaking up for those who have historically been disenfranchised, systemically excluded and institutionally oppressed. She leverages her service to her country to ensure that those that have served, and those still serving, have a voice and a safe space. Currently, she is a Strategic Communications Analyst with SAIC, where she supports the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, specifically within Research and Engineering—Critical Technologies. She has been a fellow in the George W. Bush Presidential Center Stand-To Veterans Leadership Program, the Veterans Program for Politics and Civic Engagement at Syracuse University, the New Politics Leadership Academy, and the Next Step Management Program at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She also currently serves as an advisory board member for the Veterans Studies Association and PsychArmor. In her military career, she served four years in the United States Army as a helicopter mechanic in the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment and is now a combat veteran. She is an alumna of Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Aviation Communications and is currently at ERAU earning her Masters of Science in Management. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, brunch, volunteering and spending time with her family.

  • Smiling woman with short gray hair wearing gold jewelry, a black blazer, and a floral top, sitting near a window in a well-lit indoor space.

    Jennifer Faust

    Jennifer Faust is an independent consultant, possessing 30 years of community development, public affairs and democracy work as a seasoned non-profit executive director/CEO. In her CEO roles, Jennifer Faust focused on growing organizations through business model and workforce transitions to align with strategy. Recently as CEO of Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara, Faust transformed the organization from direct service to an advocacy-oriented agency championing rights of girls and youth. Jennifer Faust served as the chief operating officer (COO) of the McCain Institute at Arizona State University leading fiscal and operational sustainability, future direction, and organizational growth. She was Executive Director of the Pacific Council on International Policy, a University of Southern California-based think tank. Faust offers significant experience in international social justice and policy efforts. Her work with policy teams has produced findings implemented by the White House, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Congress. Faust deployed with United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization for American States (OAS) for voting and elections work. Volunteering for the U.S. Peace Corps/ Haiti, Faust organized programs for community development. Jennifer Faust earned her B.B.A. cum laude at The George Washington University and holds an M.Sc. in Politics and Economics from The London School of Economics and Political Science with Distinction Honors for her dissertation on democracies. Faust advises voting and gender rights community groupsas a board member of the Women Connect4Good Foundation and Treasurer of The Chamberlain Network.

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    Camille Mackler

    Camille Mackler is a thought leader, strategist, and legal expert specializing in the intersection of global issues with local concerns, particularly in migration, national security, foreign policy, and human rights. Over the past two decades, she has actively addressed migration crises, including the Muslim Travel Ban, family separations, and the evacuation of Afghan allies. She advocates for women’s leadership and inclusive efforts in policymaking. At the local level, Mackler has significantly enhanced immigrant rights, notably drafting a groundbreaking state-based right to counsel law and increasing funding for immigration legal services in New York. She founded and leads Immigrant ARC, works with the Truman Center for National Policy, and has been recognized as a 2024 Trailblazer in Law. A Georgetown University and New York Law School alumna, she frequently lectures, publishes on immigration policy, and has testified before various legislative bodies.

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    Jeffrey Wells

    Jeffrey R. Wells is a leader in cyber, technology, and geopolitical risk with over 35 years of experience. His extensive expertise is vital in addressing threats with significant geopolitical and security implications. As the Chief Security Officer for #AfghanEvac, Wells orchestrates efforts to support Afghan allies and friends of the U.S., providing crucial humanitarian, security, and contingency operations in Ukraine and other conflict zones. Wells is the founder of the Connected Warrior Foundation and serves on several boards supporting various military and youth organizations. A veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, he is a staunch advocate for veterans' issues, actively participating in numerous veterans' organizations. His professional affiliations are impressive, including being a Fellow at George Mason University's Scalia Law School’s National Security Institute & Cyber and Tech Center, a member of the Truman National Security Project Defense Council, and a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is also an alumnus of Colorado State University and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Our Advisory Board

  • Matt Crescenzo is a consultant with over 10 years of experience in the public service sector, working in government, for-profit, and non-profit settings. His current work informs national and regional policies that support the child care industry.

    Matt has a history of advocating for veterans. First, as the Director of Veterans’ Services at the U.S. House of Representatives, where he oversaw a complex casework portfolio, forged relationships with veterans’ service organizations, and advanced policy in the veterans’ health space; and later, as a Policy Analyst for the Department of Veterans Affairs, establishing and modernizing policies that ensure safe, high-quality care for our nation’s veterans.

    He served four years in the United States Army, deploying to Afghanistan, where he worked as the communications specialist for a security team, training and advising our allies in the Afghan Army.

    He is actively involved in change-making, spending time as a field organizer and kitchen-cabinet advisor on local, state, and federal electoral campaigns, and even ran for state office himself.

    Matt holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from Southern New Hampshire University and a master's degree in Public Policy from Northwestern University.

    In his spare time, Matt enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with his partner and their dog, Bloo.

  • Dave has been involved in national security since 2008, and the January 6th insurrection invigorated his desire to restore a balanced, socially responsible, and service-oriented ethos to government and civil society. Throughout his career, he has consistently aimed to promote growth-orientedness and innovation in government and the private sector and a closer relationship between the two as a national security imperative.

    After completing his undergrad in political science at Princeton University in 2008, earning an MA in National Security Affairs from the Institute of World Politics in 2011, and working for several years with the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense, Dave served in Marine Corps intelligence and the Intelligence Community before eventually earning his MBA from NYU Stern in 2021. He then pivoted into the tech industry and focused on national security use cases by creating the public sector practice at Foursquare, a location data provider; growing Program Executive Office relationships and business development paths at Vannevar Labs, a Great Power Competition-oriented open source intelligence collection and analytics startup; and, most recently, co-founding his own firm to scout on behalf of US companies for novel defense and humanitarian technologies in Ukraine and other areas where crisis inspires innovation. He remains connected to the military in the Marine Corps Reserve as a member of the Marine Innovation Unit’s Advanced Capabilities Branch.

    Outside of work, Dave has been a volunteer firefighter in the front range of Colorado and mentored startups through the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)/National Security Innovation Network (NSIN). Alongside the Chamberlain Network, he is an active Defense Council member and Colorado Chapter co-lead at the Truman National Security Project.

  • Lucas Thoma is an Associate Researcher at The RAND Corporation and a student at Pardee RAND Graduate School. Prior to joining RAND, he was the (acting) Cyber Division Chief for Space Systems Command, US Space Force (USSF), responsible for mitigating cybersecurity, counterintelligence, and supply chain threats to over 200 USSF programs. Lucas also served on active duty as a Military Intelligence Officer in a variety of intelligence, cyber, and international affairs positions at US Cyber Command, US Indo-Pacific Command, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Joint Staff. He continues to serve in the Army National Guard.

    Lucas’ academic work focuses on 21st century geopolitics. Specifically, how technology development and great power competition will shape global alignments. He holds an MA in International Security Studies from the University of Arizona and BA in History for Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Lucas lives in the Los Angeles area with his wife and daughter who they are raising to be a die-hard foodie.