Honorable Christopher D. Coursen

Honorary Board

Mr. Coursen founded The Status Group in 1986 to provide strategic planning, policy analysis, consultation, and representation to executives in private industry in the areas of Telecommunications and Government Affairs. The concept of confidential intelligence and strategic planning combine with active representation grew out of Mr. Coursen’s own extensive work in the private sector, on Capitol Hill, and in national politics.

Prior to starting his own firm, Mr. Coursen was a partner with the prominent Washington law firm of O’Connor & Hannan, where he provided a full range of legal and government affairs services to major corporations in many areas, including health care, tax, banking, and telecommunications.

After the 1980 elections, Mr. Coursen joined the United States Senate as Majority Communications Counsel for the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. As Majority Counsel, Mr. Coursen served as personal advisor and counsel on all Telecommunications matters to Senator Bob Packwood, the Chairman of the Committee, and served as Chief Counsel to Senator Barry Goldwater, the Chairman of the Communications Subcommittee.

Mr. Coursen is an active member of the Republican National Finance Committee, and served on the Leadership Committee for the Republican Senate-House Dinners from 1996-1999, the Leadership Committee for the Presidential Galas from 1997-1999, and as an official at the 1995 Republican Inaugural. He served as an Advisor on the Romney-Ryan ’12 Campaign, the Bush-Cheney ’04 and ’00 Campaigns, on the Dole-Kemp ’96, and the Bush-Quayle ’88 and ’92 Campaigns. Mr. Coursen was very active in the Bush-Quayle ’88 Campaign, serving as Chairman of the Telecommunications Task Force and as a member of the Executive Committee of Commerce and Industry Leaders for Bush. In addition, he served on the Reagan-Bush ’84 Campaign as an Attorney-Advisor and Convention Official, and on President-Elect Reagan’s 1980 Transition Team for Telecommunications.

Mr. Coursen received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington & Lee University in 1970, and his Juris Doctor degree from The National Law Center, The George Washington University, in 1975. He is a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court and the District of Columbia and is admitted before all federal and local courts of Washington. Mr. Coursen also served as an Adjunct Professor of Telecommunications at the George Washington University Law Center.

Mr. Coursen’s honors include appointments by President George H. W. Bush to the President’s Advisory Board for Cuba Broadcasting, where he served for over 13 years, under 3 Presidents, the last 7 years as Acting Chairman, and by President Reagan to the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. Mr. Coursen is the recipient of the Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom and the Republican Majority Medal. Mr. Coursen served on the Children’s Hospital Foundation Board, and on the Advisory Board of the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Economic Reconstruction of Cuba. He currently serves as a member of the Children’s National Emeritus Board.

Mr. Coursen founded the Boys and Girls Club of Lexington, VA, while in college. He volunteered as a Big Brother to three inner-city children while attending law school in Washington. In addition, he is an active member of the ONE and RED campaigns to fight childhood Aids in Africa. Mr. Coursen serves as an Advisor to the Veteran’s National Recovery Center, and as a volunteer for the Wounded Warriors Project. He also serves as a volunteer for the U.S. Marine Corps. Mr. Coursen serves as a member of the Metropolitan Police Department Auxiliary, and he has been active in Concerns of Police Survivors (Concerns of Police Survivors). Mr. Coursen currently serves as an active member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Congressman Michael T. McCaul (R-TX)

Honorary Board

Congressman Michael T. McCaul is currently serving his sixth term representing Texas’ 10th District in the United States Congress. The 10th Congressional District of Texas stretches from Austin to the Houston suburbs and includes Austin, Bastrop, Colorado, Fayette, Harris, Lee, Travis, Washington and Waller Counties.

Homeland Security Chairman

Washington Reformer

Congressman McCaul has a strong track record as a leading fiscal conservative in Congress.  He never forgets that every dollar the Congress appropriates is the People’s money, not the government’s.  As such, Congressman McCaul has fought against the failed $787 billion stimuli, the $700 billion bailout, the Cap and Trade national energy tax, and the Affordable Care Act. In addition to his conservative voting record, Congressman McCaul led the charge against earmarks, which was adopted as the official policy of the House of Representatives during the 112th Congress.

In recognition of his pro-growth, pro-jobs voting record, Congressman McCaul has been awarded the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Spirit of Enterprise Award each year he has served.  Congressman Michael McCaul’s stand against unprecedented government expansion and out of control spending has also been recognized by the American Conservative Union, which presented McCaul its coveted ACU Ratings Award.

High Tech Leadership

With many NASA employees, universities and high tech companies in the 10th District, Congressman McCaul’s service on the Committee on Science and Technology provides him the ability to enhance Texas’ role as a global leader in technology.

Congressman McCaul is co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional High Tech Caucus and the Cybersecurity Caucus.  In 2008, Rep. McCaul co-chaired the Commission on Cybersecurity for the 44th Presidency which, along with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), developed and presented recommendations to President Obama to secure cyberspace and protect our national interests.

The Information Technology Industry Council awarded Congressman McCaul its coveted Legislator of the Year Award for 2009 for his support of congressional policies that benefit American technology companies.  TechNet, the bipartisan political network of CEOs that promotes the growth of the innovation economy, also awarded Congressman McCaul its annual Founders Circle Award, one of four members of Congress recognized by the organization for their outstanding leadership to champion the nation’s innovation economy.

Fighting Childhood Cancer

In the 112th Congress, McCaul’s legislation, the Creating Hope Act, was signed by the president and became law in October 2012, creating incentives for pharmaceutical companies to create new treatments for pediatric cancer patients.  McCaul co-chairs the Congressional Childhood Cancer Caucus, which he founded shortly after he was first elected to Congress.

Personal
Prior to Congress, Michael McCaul served as Chief of Counter-Terrorism and National Security in the U.S. Attorney’s office, Western District of Texas, and led the Joint Terrorism Task Force charged with detecting, deterring and preventing terrorist activity.  McCaul also served as Texas Deputy Attorney General under current U.S. Senator John Cornyn and served as a federal prosecutor in the Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section in Washington, D.C. A fourth-generation Texan, Congressman McCaul earned a B.A. in Business and History from Trinity University and holds a J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law. In 2009 Congressman McCaul was honored with St. Mary’s Distinguished Graduate award.  He is also a graduate of the Senior Executive Fellows Program of the School of Government, Harvard University. Congressman McCaul is married to his wife, Linda.  They are proud parents of five children: Caroline, Jewell, and the triplets Lauren, Michael, and Avery.

Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX)

Honorary Board

Lamar Smith represents the 21st Congressional District of Texas.

He serves as Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

The Committee oversees agency budgets of about $40 billion, where the primary focus is on research and development.

Congressman Smith continues to serve on both the Judiciary Committee and the Homeland Security Committee. He is a former Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Ethics Committee.

Representative Smith was ranked the most effective member of the House in the 112th Congress (2011-2012) in a study jointly conducted by the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University. He also has been named Policymaker of the Year by POLITICO for his work on patent reform legislation.

A fifth-generation Texan and native of San Antonio, Congressman Smith graduated from Yale University and Southern Methodist University School of Law. He and his wife, Beth, have an adult daughter and son.

The 21st Congressional District includes parts of Bexar, Travis, Comal, and Hays Counties and all of Bandera, Blanco, Gillespie, Kendall, Kerr, and Real Counties. The district’s population is about 700,000. Congressman Smith maintains district offices in San Antonio, Austin, and Kerrville.