LIFT

Jon Budington is the CEO of Global Printing, a manufacturing and marketing services firm based in Alexandria, VA. Jon joined Global Printing in 1991 after graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Printing. He took on the position of CEO in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy and subsequent technology recession when the company was in crisis.

Since taking over the company, Jon has returned Global to profitability and quadrupled revenue.  He has also launched a new interactive studio, Global Thinking, which offers web design, SEO/SEM, and database development services along with print marketing and other infrastructure services.

Throughout Global’s financial crisis in 2001 through today, Jon has maintained a strong personal and company commitment to philanthropic activities. Jon continually authorizes pro bono work for numerous worthy organizations such as Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, the Progeria Research Foundation, and The Dwelling Place. His greatest area of commitment is to LIFT.

In additional to providing all of LIFT's printing at no cost, Jon and his staff have volunteered their time to work with LIFT’s local office, and he serves on the Host Committee for LIFT’s annual Washington, DC fundraiser.  He and his wife Susannah live in Maryland with their five children.

Lee Foley has been a Washington lobbyist for over 28 years. He is the managing partner of Capitol Hill Partners.

Mr. Foley represents various interests before the U.S. Congress and the Executive Branch of the federal government in issue areas including education, employment and training, banking and financial services, community and economic development, asset building, job creation, rural and agricultural programs, small business development, appropriate technology and employment security. Foley also has extensive business and lobbying experience in banking and financial services policy, serving on the boards of directors of financial institutions in Boston, Miami, New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Memphis and as a bank board treasurer and as a chair of a board audit committee. Foley has also advised several of the nation’s major foundations and financial institutions regarding their domestic charitable activities. In the award winning book “Coyote Warrior” investigative journalist and author Paul VanDevelder writes that Foley is “the best in the city”.

Prior to his lobbying career, Foley served in a variety of positions in Washington including as a White House domestic policy advisor, chief of staff at a federal agency and as a staffer for two U.S. Senate committees.

Ted Howard is the founding Executive Director of The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland, a position he has held since 2000. The Collaborative is a national leader in the fast growing field of community wealth building strategies and policy development.

For the past three decades, Mr. Howard has worked in the not-for-profit/civil society sector, including more than 15 years in international development with NGOs and agencies of the UN system. Most recently, he was the Executive Director of the National Center for Economic Alternatives, a research and policy institute. Prior to that, he was Global Communications Director and Chief Operating Office of The Hunger Project, an international NGO.

He is author or co-author of several books, including “Ending Hunger,” “Entropy,” and “Who Should Play God?” His most recent reports on community development include “Linking Colleges to Communities: Engaging the University for Community Development” and “Building Wealth: The New Asset-Based Approach to Solving Social and Economic Problems.” His articles have appeared in numerous publications, most recently The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Shelterforce, The Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, and Yes!

From 1998 to 2007, he served as chairman of the board of Search for Common Ground, the world’s largest conflict resolution NGO. He is currently board chair of Blue Frontier, an environmental advocacy organization committed to saving America’s living oceans.

In addition to co-founding LIFT in 1998 during his junior year of college, Brian Kreiter has assumed leadership roles in a diverse range of organizations and companies.

Brian is currently working as a manager of research analytics at Bridgewater Associates. Previously, he worked as a consultant with McKinsey and Co. and also served as Assistant to the Mayor of Chicago, working closely with the Chief of Staff in areas of management and policy. He has also co-founded Kreiter Greitens LLC, a Chicago-based consulting practice focused on assisting corporations in the acquisition of government contracts and the managerial development of closely held businesses. Prior to that, Brian was CEO of Powerdime Technologies, LLC, an e-commerce and direct marketing firm, and led the company to a November 2000 acquisition by MassMedium, a NYC-based holding company.

Brian received an MBA from Harvard Business School in the spring of 2005. He was chosen by his classmates to be their graduation speaker. During his first year at HBS, he was chosen by his fellow students and the faculty as the recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Student Award and asked to speak to the incoming class on the subject of leadership and values. He received a B.A. with distinction from Yale College in the spring of 2000.

Mr. Obernauer is Chairman of Beverage Distributors Company, a leading wholesale distributor of wines and spirits throughout the state of Colorado. He was formerly Vice Chairman and Director of Applied Graphics Technologies, Inc., a provider of outsourced digital imaging management and pre-press services. He was Chairman and CEO of Devon Group, Inc. (NASDAQ) for almost two decades before the company merged with Applied Graphics, and he spent almost eight years as an Investment Officer with Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette and with First National City Bank (now Citibank).

Among other leadership positions in the business community, he is a Founding Member of the American Business Conference and a Director of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. He was a Trustee of the Trinity School in New York City for twelve years and is a past Treasurer and member of the Board of Governors of the Association of Yale Alumni. He is also a Trustee of Congregation Emanu-el in New York City. Mr. Obernauer earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Harvard University and a Bachelors Degree from Yale University.