Advisory Board

Paul Arcangeli

Paul Arcangeli currently serves as a Principal with Invariant Government Relations, a bipartisan government relations and communications firm. He has been a public servant for over three decades, serving in the United States Army, as a Department of Defense civilian, and as a professional staffer to the US House of Representatives. He was recently appointed to a position with the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology.

Until his retirement from the position in 2022, Paul served as the Staff Director of the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) for more than twelve years. He joined the HASC staff in 2004 as a professional staff member serving initially as the staff lead for the Readiness Subcommittee. In his role as Staff Director, he was the primary advisor to the HASC chairman, the 31 majority members of the committee, and the leadership of the United States House of Representatives.

During his tenure with the Congress, Paul worked on a wide range of national security policy issues advising the Speaker, the Leader, committee chairs, and hundreds of members of the House and Senate on defense policy and legislation. 

Before his service with the committee, Paul served as the Director of Department of Defense's (DoD) Humanitarian Demining Training Center. He and his staff trained hundreds of special operations soldiers to establish landmine clearance training programs in 43 countries. He traveled extensively to landmine-affected countries to support this training and was a recognized expert on landmines within the DoD.

Paul acquired his knowledge of landmines during his service as an explosive ordnance disposal officer in the United States Army. During his 13 years in the Army, he served in Hawaii, Alaska, California, and New York in various roles, including explosive ordinance disposal, information technology, and as an ordnance officer.

Paul holds a master’s degree in Information Technology and Management from the United States Naval Post Graduate School and a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of North Georgia.  

Jason Barnaby

Jason Barnaby currently is the Director for Campaign Success at Change.org, the world's largest online social change program. 

Jason started his undergraduate education at the University of North Georgia (UNG) where his father was an instructor in the ROTC program. He took a break in his education to join the military as a member of the military police corps. He returned after his service to complete his Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science, graduating from UNG in 2007.

Soon after graduation, Jason joined Barack Obama's 2008 campaign for President. Following the election, Jason worked with other UNG graduates that were veterans leading an effort through their nonprofit to lobby for the successful overturning of Don't Ask Don't Tell. He spent the next several years working in electoral politics and for various Political Action Committees before joining MoveOn.org as a National Field Organizer for the Midwest Region. Jason transitioned from MoveOn to his current employer in 2013, serving initially as a Deputy Director of Membership for the US and Canada, then shifting to the Campaign Success portfolio in early 2020.

Melvin Gamble

Melvin Gamble founded and is currently President of Gamble Advisory Group, a security-consulting firm. He also serves as an advisor for security matters on the Boards of two Wall Street firms as well as the Boards of the International Spy Museum and the CIA Officers Memorial Foundation.

A retired Senior Intelligence officer, Melvin served in senior executive positions in the Central Intelligence Agency’s Directorate of Operations, including Chief and Deputy Chief of Stations in Africa and Latin America; Chief of Central Asia and the Caucasus; Special Assistant to the Associate Deputy Director of Operations; Deputy Chief of European Division, and Chief of Africa Division. He served five tours in Africa and one in Latin America. Prior to starting his own firm, he worked for several companies in the private sector.

During the course of his career in the intelligence service he received numerous performance awards. Upon retirement, Melvin was presented the Distinguished Certificate of Intelligence Medal, and the Director of CIA Award.

Melvin has a B.A. in History from Howard University and a B.S. in International Public Administration from the University of Southern California.

COL (ret) Peter Hoffman

Pete Hoffman is currently serving as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Coastal Georgia.  He is also Officer Co-Chair of the Fort Stewart Retired Soldier Council and serves on the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Retired Soldier Council.

Until recently, he was the Vice President for Student Affairs at Savannah Technical College. Prior to Savannah Tech, he worked as the Director for Community Engagement and Government Affairs for Georgia Southern University and for Armstrong State University. While at Armstrong, he was also Director of the Armstrong Liberty Campus.

Pete served as an active-duty commissioned officer in the U.S. Army for three decades, having held command and staff positions at a variety of levels, including multiple tours in the 3rd Infantry and the 82nd Airborne Divisions. He has served in a diplomatic capacity, liaising and negotiating with foreign government representatives on critical issues such as arms control and bilateral defense related engagements, and also served as Defense Attaché in the U.S. Embassies in Moscow, Sofia, and Abuja.

COL Hoffman has a Master of Public Administration from Cornell University and a B. A. in Political Science from North Georgia College (now known as the University of North Georgia). He completed advanced Russian language training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, along with post-graduate studies (Russia and the Former Soviet Union) from the U.S. Army Russian Institute in Garmisch, Germany.

Pete has a long history of serving on various boards including the Small Business Assistance Corporation; the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force; the Coastal Georgia Boy Scouts of America Council; the MountainFilm on Tour Savannah; and the Coastal Georgia Military Affairs Coalition. In addition, he has served as Vice Chair of the Chatham County Veterans Council and is an active member of the American Legion, VFW, MOA and AUSA.  Also heavily engaged in the local community, he is a member of the Savannah Rotary Club, the Propeller Club, the Chatham Artillery, the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade Committee and the German Friendly Society.

Ben Jarrard

Ben Jarrard currently serves as the Chief of Staff to the Georgia Senate Majority Leader, University of North Georgia (UNG) alum Senator Steve Gooch. Sen. Gooch represents GA’s 51st district, which includes Fannin, Union, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Dawson, Pickens counties and a portion of White County.

Ben graduated from UNG in 2013 with a degree in Political Science and received a Master’s in Business Administration from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2021.

Ben began his professional career working various roles on GA Gov. Nathan Deal’s 2014 gubernatorial campaign. Following Gov. Deal’s re-election, Ben served as his special assistant, preparing documents, traveling, and logistics, and facilitating media scrums at the Governor’s public appearances. After several years Ben transitioned into the role of a Policy Advisor in the Governor’s office, with a portfolio that included Natural Resources, Transportation, and Economic Development issues.

Between his time with Gov. Deal and Sen. Gooch, Ben worked at UNG as the Executive Director of Government Relations and Economic Development. Ben served as the primary liaison between the University and elected officials and government agencies to promote the University’s legislative and budgetary priorities. His office also worked with economic development entities, education partners, and local leaders to enhance the workforce development pipeline and improve quality of life throughout UNG’s service area. During Ben’s time in this role, the University saw over $80 million in state investment in University capital projects.

Ben is a graduate of the Leadership Hall Class of 2022 and serves on the board of the Georgia Mountains YMCA.

Bryan Lackey

Bryan Lackey currently serves the citizens of Gainesville, GA as City Manager, a position he has held since 2015. Prior to that he spent 20 years in the Gwinnett County, GA government, rising from Division Director of Stormwater Management to Director of Planning and Development in 2009.

As City Manager Bryan oversees the day-to-day functions of the “Queen City” which serves as the economic and urban hub for the Northeast Georgia Mountain region with an overall annual budget of over $200 Million.  Gainesville is a full-service city with a residential population of over 44,000, and a daytime population of over 150,000. The city government provides services ranging from: Water & Sewer; Police & Fire; CVB/Tourism; Transit; Parks & Recreation; Public Works that includes Traffic Engineering; a municipal General Aviation airport; and twice a week Solid Waste pickup, as well as an Economic & Community Development Department that takes the lead on implementing the City’s Strategic Vision initiatives.

Bryan graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agricultural Engineering. In 2005, he earned a Masters’ Degree in Public Administration (MPA) from the University of North Georgia.