The Army Heritage Center Foundation (AHCF) has announced the election of four new members to its board of directors: Dr. Rory Cooper, William “Jack” Davis, Andrew Lewis, Nancy Gessner, and Brigadier General George Smawley (USA Ret.). The Foundation also announced the election of board members Robert DeSousa to board chair and Christian Johnson to board secretary.
“This is an incredibly exciting time for the foundation,” said Julie Germany, AHCF president. “Our new board members bring a wealth of expertise and an invigorating approach to our mission: supporting the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center (USAHEC). Over the next few months, we’ll launch several new initiatives aimed at connecting 250 years of Army history with the American public and improving USAHEC’s programs and facilities.”
Dr. Rory A. Cooper is the founding director and VA senior research career scientist of the Human Engineering Research Laboratories, a VA Rehabilitation R&D Center of Excellence in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh. Cooper has authored or co-authored over 400 peer-reviewed journal publications. He has 30 patents awarded or pending. He is the author of two books: “Rehabilitation Engineering Applied to Mobility and Manipulation” and “Wheelchair Selection and Configuration”, and co-editor of “An Introduction to Rehabilitation Engineering”,
“Warrior Transition Leader: Medical Rehabilitation Handbook” and the award winning book “Care of the Combat Amputee”. Cooper is an elected Fellow of the National Academy of
Inventors, as well as RESNA, IEEE, AIMBE and BMES. In October 2023, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation by President Biden and he was inducted into the 50th class of the National Inventors Hall of Fame.
William C. “Jack” Davis is an American historian who was a professor of history at Virginia Tech and the former director of programs at that school’s Virginia Center for Civil War Studies. Specializing in the American Civil War, Davis has written more than 50 books on that subject and other aspects of early southern U.S. history, such as the Texas Revolution. He is the only three-time winner of the Jefferson Davis Award for Civil War history and was awarded the Jules F. Landry Award for Southern History. His book Lone Star Rising has been called “the best one-volume history of the Texas revolution yet written.” For many years, he was editor and publisher of Civil War Times Illustrated. Davis earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts (History, 1969) degrees from Sonoma State University.
Nancy Gessner is a philanthropist and community leader who coordinates corporate donations and sponsorships for Massillon Cable TV, a 3rd generation family owned business that her father-in-law started in 1965. Massillon Cable TV provides business and residential internet, video and telephone services in eastern Ohio and West Virginia. She currently serves on the board of the Stark Community Foundation’s board (where she also chairs the personnel committee) and on the county Capital Campaigns Committee, a group of community leaders who listen to and evaluate large capital campaign requests from local organizations. Nancy and her husband Bob recently chaired a successful capital campaign for the expansion of our local Massillon Museum which raised over $5 million. She has served in leadership positions on a number of volunteer boards, including Massillon Museum, Western Stark Free Clinic, Massillon WestStark Chamber of Commerce and has been involved in grassroots organizing for local schools. Nancy is an alumna of The College of William and Mary.
Andrew Lewis is the President and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation. He previously served two terms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In the private sector, Andrew spearheaded the growth of two small businesses into successful companies before leading a key division at one of the premier regional homebuilding companies in the United States. Andrew is an Iraq War veteran with almost ten years of active duty in Army reconnaissance and counterintelligence. He received five commendation medals, and his assignments included posts in South Korea and at the White House Military Office. He currently serves in the Army Reserve as a Civil Affairs Officer. He holds a BA in political science from Thomas Edison State
University, an MBA from Temple University, and a Master’s in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University. In addition, he is a graduate of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) Entrepreneurial Bootcamp at Syracuse University.
Brigadier General George Smawley (USA Ret.) most recently served as the Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Cyber Command, Fort Meade, MD. His previous assignments include: Staff
Judge Advocate, U.S. Army Pacific, Fort Shafter, HI; Staff Judge Advocate / NATO LEGAD for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan and Operation Freedom’s Sentinel/ NATO Resolute Support Mission
(Kabul, Afghanistan); Executive Officer to The Judge Advocate General of the Army; Staff Judge Advocate, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, HI, including as Staff Judge Advocate for
U.S. Division-North (Tikrit, Iraq) and U.S. Division-Center (Baghdad, Iraq); Assistant Executive Officer to The Judge Advocate General of the Army; Staff Judge Advocate, 10th Mountain Division (Rear) and Fort Drum, NY; Deputy Staff Judge Advocate, 10th Mountain Division including Combined Joint Task Force – 76 (Bagram, Afghanistan); Plans Officer, Office of The Judge Advocate General; Legal Advisor, U.S. Army Special Operations Command and 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Bragg, NC; Chief, Claims and Senior Trial Counsel, Fort Benning, GA; Chief, Claims, Trial Counsel, and Operational/ Administrative Law Attorney, 6th Infantry Division, Fort Wainwright, AK. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Policy Management Studies and English from Dickinson College, and completed visiting undergraduate and law school semester programs in London, Tel Aviv, and Vienna. He also holds a Masters in Military Law (LL.M) from the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s School and a Masters in Strategic Studies (MSS) from the U.S. Army War College.
“In addition to our new board members, I’m thrilled to announce that my former colleague Robert DeSousa has been elected chair of the foundation board,” said Germany. “Bob has been a long-time supporter of our mission and recently spearheaded our overwhelmingly successful fundraising efforts at our annual Membership and Recognition Dinner, which exceeded all of our expectations. He, along with Christian Johnson (our newly elected secretary) and Shawn Brubaker (our board treasurer) will help us continue this trend of mission-focused excellence in service.”
Colonel Bob DeSousa, ARNG, (Ret.) previously served as state director for former Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. DeSousa earned his law degree from Penn State University’s Dickinson School of Law and served the state of Pennsylvania as district attorney, state counsel, and inspector general over the course of his career in both the public and private sectors. He also holds a Bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University and a Masters in Strategic Studies (MSS) from the U.S. Army War College. An Iraq war veteran, DeSousa also served in the Army National Guard for 28 years, retiring from the service in 2020 as a state judge advocate. He is Counsel at the Eckert Seamans Law Firm.
Christian Johnson was the Inaugural Dean for Widener University Commonwealth Law School. Prior to joining Widener, Dean Johnson was the Hugh B. Brown Presidential Endowed Chair of the Law and the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the University of Utah College of Law. He has a Juris Doctor from Columbia School of Law and is an alumnus of the University of Utah.
The Army Heritage Center Foundation helps the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center realize its full potential as a hub of knowledge and expertise for the military, government, academia, and American public.
