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Stephen G. Lakis President Stephen joined the State Legislative Leaders Foundation in 1972 when it was then a small research organization funded by the Ford Foundation. Throughout the 1970's he worked on a variety of legislative reform initiatives for the leadership in the Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine legislatures. In the early 1980's the impetus for legislative reform had waned and the SLLF was destined to close its doors. Instead, Stephen chose to reincorporate the Foundation as a nonprofit, nonpartisan independent organization with a new mission, "to represent and serve the interests of state legislative leaders with educational programs focusing on aspects of leadership and critical public policy issues." In 1981 the Foundation's Board of Directors appointed Stephen to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. Under his leadership SLLF has grown into the preeminent state legislative leadership organization in the nation every year reaching state legislative from across the country with its national and international educational programs, research on leadership issues, and publications. He is credited with creating the blueprint for bringing political and business leaders together in academic settings where they can examine critical public policy issues and aspects of leadership without regard for partisanship, ideology and special interest biases. Stephen is also the principal author of a number of research grants and co-author of several major research studies including studies focusing on children-at-risk and national welfare reform. As well, he writes and speaks on a broad range of topics including legislative leadership, ethics, international relations, and building effective public/private sector partnerships. His understanding of legislative leadership extends well beyond our national borders. In 1998, Stephen created a new transatlantic branch of SLLF in Europe with permanent offices in Berlin, Germany. Currently he is in the process of establishing new ties with China. In 2009, SLLF held the first annual US/Sino Forum for business and political leaders in Beijing. More than fifty US state legislative leaders attended this inaugural event. Before joining the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, he briefly served as an intern and research assistant in the Connecticut State Senate. He is a graduate of The University of Bridgeport in Connecticut and attended graduate school at American University in Washington, D.C. His wife, Evelene, is a former office manager for Congressman John Larson, Connecticut, and now works for the Foundation. Stephen has four children: Christopher, Stephen Emmanuel, Caitlin and Emily, and two step-children, Thomas and Danielle. |
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Marcia B. VanderVoort Marcia VanderVoort has been with the State Legislative Leaders Foundation since 1981 and has served as Vice President since 1999. Over the years Marcia has been involved with creating, planning and managing many of the Foundation's national and international educational programs. She has also assisted in editing several major research studies. She works closely with the Board of Directors and has responsibility for the annual board meetings and the National Speakers Conference. Marcia is a graduate of Newcomb College of Tulane University. She and her husband Tom have two adult children - Betsy (a graduate of Smith College and Suffolk Law School), and John (a graduate of Union College and now serving as a pilot in the Air Force) - and a beautiful granddaughter, Kinley Elizabeth.
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Debra J. Bohlin Debbie began working for the Foundation in September of 1993. She is responsible for assisting with program logistics and is the Executive Assistant to the Vice President. She is in charge of preparing the program notebooks for all SLLF national educational programs and manages the contact database. Debbie and her husband reside on Cape Cod and together have 6 children and 8 grandchildren. |
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Roberta G. Duane Roberta G. Duane has been with the SLLF since 1987. Beginning as an office assistant, her responsibilities have steadily grown to the point where she is now serves as Editor of The National Speakers Directory. Roberta also manages several of the Foundation's national educational programs including all of the Foundation's highly popular Spouses Programs. Roberta lives on Cape Cod, she has one son and two spectacular granddaughters. |
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Janice Govoni Janice Govoni joined the SLLF team in 1989. She handles what all of us regard as one of the most challenging and important jobs in our office: travel and lodging for all program participants. Janice maintains detailed grids and schedules for every national program and meeting the SLLF conducts including the National Speakers Conference annual meeting. Her precision is exceptional. Janice and her husband Tom live on Cape Cod and have 2 grown children. |
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Janneck Herre Janneck Herre was born March 19, 1973 in Berlin, Germany. He studied in Berlin, Germany, and Williamsburg, Virginia, focusing on Modern History, Political Science and American Studies. He is now a graduate student in these fields at Humboldt University in Berlin. Before joining the staff of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, he worked as a Program Manager for the Partnership of Parliaments, the Initiative Berlin-USA, and the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation. Aside from this, he worked for the artist Christo in 1995, when he wrapped the German parliament building, the REICHSTAG. He frequently teaches English. Janneck is a member of the Partnership of Parliaments, the Berlin Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the NAACP, and the German Organization for the United Nations. Since 2001 he has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Initiative Berlin-USA. In 2003 he was elected, and in 2005 re-elected as Vice-President for the German-Hungarian Association. In his spare time he likes to read, go to concerts and the movies, and spend time with friends. |
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Evelene Lakis Evelene Lakis recently returned to the SLLF to assume the position of Program Manager responsible for several of the Foundation's international and national programs. From 1999 to 2002 she worked for SLLF as an Assistant Program Manager. In 2002 Evelene moved to Washington, D.C. taking on a new position as Office Manager and Scheduler for United States Congressman, John B. Larson, Connecticut. She is the mother of two children, Thomas and Danielle, and the wife of Stephen Lakis. Evelene graduated from Suffolk University in 2001. (B.S., Business) A citizen of the USA since 2003, her native home is County Wexford, Ireland. |
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Thomas H. Little, PH.D. Thom Little is the Director of Curriculum Development and Research for the State Legislative Leaders Foundation. He has coordinated and participated in numerous educational and training programs for state legislative leaders and advocacy groups over the last ten years. He has made presentations on effective advocacy for the National Education Association (June, 2000), at a conference sponsored by the National Center for Children in Poverty, the Institute for Child and Family Policy and the Chapin Hall Center for Children (2003) and before the Democratic Caucus of the North Carolina House of Representatives (2004). In addition to his work with SLLF, he is a Lecturer at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where he teaches courses in state government, American politics, leadership and elections. Little earned his Doctorate from The Ohio State University in 1991 and taught at the As the Director of Research and Curriculum for the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, Dr. Little has worked closely in the writing and production of several publications including, State Legislative Leaders: Keys to Effective Legislation for Women and Children, Welfare Reform and the Advocacy Community: Opportunities Missed, Opportunities on the Horizon, What Have You Gotten Yourself Into? A Guide for New Legislative Leaders, and several case studies about legislative leadership. He is also the co-author of The Legislative Branch of State Government: People, Processes and Politics (ABC-CLIO, 2006). Dr. Little and his wife, Dr. Catherine Scott-Little, reside in Greensboro, North Carolina with their two daughters, Virginia and Rebecca where they are active in church. Dr. Little serves on the Board of Directors of the Greensboro Ballet and the UNCG Baptist Student Union Alumni Association. |
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Martin G. Madden Martin G. Madden served in the Maryland State Senate from 1995 to 2002 where he In 2003, Madden was named as a Special Assistant to the Governor and later confirmed as Chairman of the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission, a position he held until 2007. On February 24th, 2006, Madden was named the recipient and presented with The First Citizen Award by the Senate of Maryland for his service to the citizens of his state, becoming only the 34th Marylander so honored. Marty Madden currently serves on the board of the Maryland Humanities Council, Saint Vincent Pallotti High School, and is a member of the Selection Committee for the William M. Bulger Excellence in State Legislative Leadership Award. He previously served on the boards of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation, the Maryland State Arts Council, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore. Madden attended Iona College, where he received a B.A. in Economics. The father of four children, Donald, Thomas, Christina and Marguerite, he currently resides in Clarksville, Maryland with his wife, Julia. |
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Ken Morton Ken joined the State Legislative Leaders Foundation in 2000. He is managing editor of publications for the Foundation and an integral part of the communications team. Before moving to Cape Cod in the spring of 2000, his career trajectory took him through a number of positions from Publicist to Acquisitions Editor with various publishing companies in New York and Boston. In his spare time, he enjoys birding, biking, boating, and gardening. |
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Papalinka Paradise Papalinka Paradise was hired for her exceptional creative talents in design and marketing. She oversees the Emerging Political Leaders Program and the Excellence in State Legislative Leadership Award. Papalinka and her husband, John, live in Sandwich with their three children Lily, Anna, and Griffin. |
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Alfons Schöps Alfons Schöps was born on January 3rd, 1966, in Berlin, Germany. After graduating from high school in Berlin, Mr. Schöps began his studies at the Free University of Berlin where he studied Political Science and Law. From January 1991 until December of 1992, Mr. Schöps served as Chief Assistant to a member of the German Federal Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag). In January of 1993, Mr. Schöps began the first of six years as Deputy Executive Director of Initiative Berlin-USA e.V. At that time, he also assumed the Executive Directorship of the Partnership of Parliaments, a position which he holds to this day. Between December of 1995 and March 1999, Mr. Schöps served as Program Director to the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation in Berlin. In 1999, the SLLF announced the creation of SLLF/Europe, a new branch dedicated to bringing key European, American, and Canadian parliamentary leaders together to examine public policy issues of mutual interest. Alfons was made Director of European Operations. Since April 2010 he is self-employed, and he founded his own company "TransIPM" (Transatlantic and International Project Management). The European office of SLLF is based in Berlin, Germany. Together with his wife Christiane he lives in Berlin. |
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Steve Sviggum Steve Sviggum is first a father, secondly a farmer, and third a public servant. Elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in 1978 Steve spent 29 years in the State Legislature. He was elected the House Republican Minority Leader in 1992 and then elected Speaker of the House in 1999. Steve served as Speaker until 2007, making him the longest serving Speaker in Minnesota history. Currently, Sviggum is a fellow at the University of Minnesota's Hubert Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. He is married to his wife of 32 years, Debbie, and has three children ( all of whom are Doctors). |
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Mike Villines Mike Villines was elected to the California State Assembly in 2004 to represent the 29th Assembly District, which includes the counties of Fresno and Madera. Known as the heartland of California, this region is an agriculturally rich and ethnically diverse part of California. After serving six years in the California State Assembly, which is the maximum service allowed under California’s Constitution, Mike went back to his private sector roots and opened the Villines Group, a Public and Government Relations firm with offices in Sacramento and Fresno California, where he serves as CEO. He has given Keynote speeches and lectured on leadership, budget/economics, government and accountability at some of our country’s greatest forums, including at the John F. Kennedy Library, “The Rotunda” at the University of Virginia, The Emerging Leaders Program for the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and throughout California at universities and business forums. Mike was also the 2010 recipient of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award, the nation’s most prestigious honor for an elected public servant, and the Legislator of the Year award from the American Legislative Exchange Council for his work on advancing public policy principles of free markets, limited government and individual liberty. Villines recently served on the Board of the State Legislative Leaders Foundation. In addition, he currently serves on the Board for the Senator Kenneth L. Maddy Institute for Leadership and Ethics at CSU Fresno. Mike has been happily married to his high school sweetheart, Christina, for over 18 years and they have three beautiful children. |
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Lucky Lakis Born oct 4, 2006. He has been a faithful companion to SLLF providing insightful observations on anybody who visits our offices. |
