Joe Mornini has spent a lifetime going from adventure to adventure. He holds a master's degree in Environmental Education from Goddard College and has been involved in outdoor education for almost three decades. A Special Education Resource Teacher and counselor, Joe is the coordinator of a program for seriously emotionally disturbed adolescents at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, MD. For 25+ years, Joe’s stress-buster has been whitewater kayaking after school on the nearby Potomac River.

Always the environmentalist and adventurer, Joe has motorcycled across the country three times, walked across Ireland, walked across the state of Maryland and paddled rivers around the country.

In 2004, Joe and kayaking buddy, Mike McCormick, recruited friends and local paddling businesses to support their idea to teach whitewater kayaking to wounded soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. They named the program Team River Runner (TRR) and the goal has been to provide hope, health and healing. Working in partnership with The Wounded Warrior Project and Disabled Sports USA, TRR is a non-profit volunteer organization that now provides adaptive, therapeutic and leadership training programs for OIF/OEF on a national level.

Joe is married and has two daughters. They live in Rockville, MD.

Credentials:
• Recipient of the 2009 AMVETS Silver Helmet Rehabilitation Award
• Washingtonian of the Year, 2007
• American Canoe Association Whitewater Instructor
• NOLS certified Outdoor Educator
• Instructor, Calleva Outdoors
• Instructor, Liquid Adventures
• Red Cross/EMT certified
• MA, Goddard College Plainfield, VT
• BS, Lindenwood University, St. Louis, MO

PetCentre Animal Hospital/National Veterinary Associates

Eric is the Medical Director and Managing Veterinarian at PetCentre Animal Hospital in Manassas, VA. He holds degrees from the University of Virginia (BA, 1980) and Virginia Tech (MS, 1982; DVM, 1986). His previous non-profit experience includes serving as Medical Director of the Washington Animal Rescue League and as a veterinary surgeon for the Washington Human Society. An outdoor enthusiast, Eric has been an active whitewater kayak paddler in the Washington, DC region since 1994. Eric began working with TRR in 2004 as a kayak instructor and trip leader, and he is a founding member of the TRR Board of Directors. He lives in Fairfax, VA, with his wife, Krisa, who also served as a TRR Director from 2006-2009. His "second home" is the Potomac River, but he loves to travel to paddle rivers whenever he can!

Jhpiego

Rich is the Director of New Program Development at Jhpiego, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University. Rich currently gives leadership to new program development at Jhpiego, a global non-profit organization focused on improving health outcomes in 50 developing countries. Through the work of his team, Jhpiego programs have expanded by 80% since he joined in 2007. He previously served as Vice President for Development at Partners of the Americas, where he had the privilege to develop new programs related to sports and youth development, economic development, cultural exchange, democracy and governance, community mobilization and education. He has worked as a consultant in the areas of sustainable development and urban planning for both UN Habitat and the Inter-American Development Bank. Rich spent two years in Chile as a member of the US Peace Corps’ first municipal management program, and holds a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Rich is the son of a career Naval Officer who served in Vietnam.

Merlin International, Inc.

David is currently Chairman and CEO of Merlin International. Prior to founding Merlin, David developed a deep understanding of the federal marketplace during his 25-year career that spanned work in the U.S. Navy, Ford Aerospace, Martin Marietta, Loral Aerospace, and The Aerospace Corp.

By combining his extensive background in satellite command and control, ground systems design and development, and high performance computing, with an extremely successful business model, he has turned Merlin into one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the country.
David has always had a passion for our soldiers, getting involved in such programs as Disabled American Veterans (DAV), AMVETS, and Team River Runner (TRR). He has been involved with TRR since 2008 and joined their Board of Directors in May 2010. David is a Veteran and served in the Navy.

Clark Construction Group

Hal is the Chief Operations Officer of the Clark Construction Group in Bethesda, Maryland. Clark is one of the largest construction contractors in the United States. Hal is the son of a career Army officer who was wounded in Germany in World War II. His father spent a year recovering and rehabilitating at Walter Reed and would have loved to have had a program like Team River Runner at that time. Hal earned a Civil Engineering Degree from Layafette College and a Masters in Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Upon graduation in 1976 Hal began work for Clark Construction (then The George Hyman Construction Company). Prior to TRR Hal served on the Board of Directors of Strathmore Hall for nine years. Hal and his wife, Marylouise reside in Derwood, Maryland and have three boys, Brian, Kevin, and Andrew. The family spends summer weekends boating on Deep Creek Lake in Garrett County, Maryland. Hal has been involved with Team River Runner since 2009.

Watkin Meegan, LLC

John is a member (partner) of Watkins Meegan, LLC, a large regional public accounting and consulting firm. He has served small, mid-market and large businesses, providing a range of services, such as accounting, auditing, tax, business advisory and litigation support in his 30 years with the firm. Watkins Meegan, LLC has a large Non-Profit Industry Group, which serves a variety of charitable organizations and associations. Although not a kayaker (paddling with a golf club doesn’t work), John has embraced the TRR mission.

ABC News

Robin has been vice president and Washington bureau chief for ABC News since March 1993. She is responsible for the editorial supervision and management of the network’s largest bureau. She oversees news coverage of all Washington beats, and serves as the network's liaison to the federal government on news policy matters. She served as director of Washington news coverage from 1992-1993.

Robin joined ABC News in 1981 as Washington bureau chief for ABC News Radio, a position she held until 1992. During her years as radio bureau chief, she produced live coverage of national political conventions, as well as election night analysis for national elections in 1984, 1986, 1988 and 1990. She was producer of Washington coverage during the 1992 elections, and produced radio coverage of numerous presidential trips, news conferences and inaugurations. In addition Robin served as producer of U.S. radio coverage of military operations, including missions in the Persian Gulf, Panama and Libya.

During her career Robin has earned numerous broadcasting honors. She was part of the ABC News team to win the George Foster Peabody, duPont-Columbia, Emmy, and Sigma Delta Chi awards for coverage of the events of September 11th, 2001. In addition, she won the George Foster Peabody Award in 1987 for her work as executive producer of ABC Radio coverage of the U.S. Navy escort mission in the Persian Gulf. She has also received the Ohio State Award, and the Associated Press Outstanding News Operation Award.

Robin began her career as news assignment manager at WMAL-Radio in Washington, D.C., in 1975.

Robin was a member of the advisory board of the Newseum, serving from 1999 -2009. She was a fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School in 2007, writing a research paper on exit polling. She is a member of the Gridiron Club. She also served on the board of the National Press Foundation from 1996 until 2004. From 1998 – 2000, she was vice chairman of the board, and from 2000 – 2002 she was the chairman of the board. She also served on the executive committee of the National Press Foundation board from 2002-2004.

Robin is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University, where she had a double major in bacteriology and English. She and her husband live in Bethesda, Maryland. They are the parents of two daughters.