We Own Adventure

Scouting News for the DC Metro Area

nesa

Meet 2022 NOESA Honoree David Morriss

by

David Morriss is a native of Elizabethton, Tennessee.  He is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1979, and spent the first five years of his Navy career as a surface warfare officer.  After serving as the Supporting Arms Coordinator for the U.S. Marines in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983 at the time of the Marine Barracks bombing, he was accepted to the University of Virginia School of Law under the Navy’s law education program.  He graduated in 1987 with a Juris Doctors degree and was assigned to Charleston, South Carolina, prosecuting and defending courts-martial and providing legal advice to Navy commanders.  In 1990, he was selected to become the Assistant Special Counsel to the Chief of Naval Operations in the Pentagon.  In 1992, Morriss was assigned to the Administrative Law Division in the Office of the Navy Judge Advocate General and in 1994 he was admitted to Harvard Law School to pursue a Masters in Law focusing on international and environmental law.  Following graduation in 1995, Morriss was assigned as the Fleet and Force Judge Advocate for the U.S. Fifth Fleet and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command headquartered in Manama, Bahrain.

In 1997, he returned to the United States to serve in the Navy’s Office of Legislative Affairs.  Morriss was selected for and assumed command of Naval Legal Services Office, North Central in Washington, DC in 2000.  In late 2001, he became the Legal and Legislative Counsel to the Vice Chief of Naval Operations and in 2003 he returned to the Navy’s Office of Legislative Affairs as the Director of Legislation.  Morriss retired from the Navy in 2005 as a Captain after 26 years of commissioned service and immediately joined the Senate Armed Services Committee staff under its Chairman John Warner.  In 2007, Morriss was selected to become the Minority General Counsel for Senator John McCain.  In 2011, Morriss became the Minority Staff Director.  In 2012, Morriss left the Senate for the private sector and joined General Dynamics.

Morriss joined the Boy Scouts in 1968.  He attended the 1969 National Boy Scout Jamboree, went to Philmont in 1972, and became an Eagle Scout that year.  He served as Senior Patrol Leader for his troop at the National Jamboree in 1973.  He is a member of the Order of the Arrow.  His son, Graham, is also an Eagle Scout.

Congratulations to David and his fellow 2022 NOESA Honorees! Please join us on March 23, 2022 at Army Navy Country Club for a celebration honoring the 2022 NOESA recipients. For more information visit, www.ncacbsa.org/noesa/.

Meet 2022 NOESA Honoree Charles Allen Jr.

by

Charles Allen is focused on building a Ward 6 with great schools at every level and a neighborhood you can always call home.

Charles Allen, his wife, Jordi Hutchinson, and their children, Cora Neal and Everett, live at 15th and D Streets, NE.

For over a decade, Charles has worked in Ward 6 neighborhoods, helping bring about school reforms, working with small businesses, and improving our community. His years of public service to Ward 6 mean he knows and understands our neighborhood issues like no one else.

What makes our neighborhoods so special is that people choose to make Ward 6 home, whether for five generations or just in the last five years – because our neighborhoods are an extension of our front steps. Ward 6 shares a vision of great schools we can walk to, thriving local businesses that know us by name, parks and playgrounds for our families, and safe streets for all. But we must ensure all our neighborhoods have these amenities, while protecting everyone’s ability to live, work, and raise a family in our community.

Charles began his career in the District as a graduate fellow with the federal Department of Health and Human Services, working on expanding community-based health options across the nation. Charles quickly understood that to make true change he needed to return to his roots working at the local and community level, so he began his service to the District as policy director for the DC Primary Care Association, where he helped bring about legislative, budget, and policy changes that expanded health care options for almost every DC resident. Two of his signature efforts – bringing physicians, dentists, nurses and other healthcare providers to medically underserved communities and creating a District-owned captive insurance company to provide free and low-cost medical malpractice insurance to non-profit providers – remain a vital part of the city’s health care safety net a decade after he helped create them.

At the same time, Charles helped found DC for Democracy and served as Chair of the organization to bring a needed voice for progressive priorities and social justice issues facing the city. These experiences led Charles to become an elected delegate for the District at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, elected President of the Ward 6 Democrats, and serve as Chief of Staff to then-Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells.

Charles graduated from Washington and Lee University and he holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. 

Congratulations to Charles and his fellow 2022 NOESA Honorees! Please join us on March 23, 2022 at Army Navy Country Club for a celebration honoring the 2022 NOESA recipients. For more information visit, www.ncacbsa.org/noesa/.

 

Meet 2022 NOESA Honoree Aaron Burciaga

by

Aaron Burciaga is a renowned Data Scientist, AI Engineer, Author, and Advisor. As a seasoned technology and business leader in both startup and enterprise settings, he has focused his career on delivering efficiency and value through automation, data science, machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, quantum computing, and emerging concepts and innovative technologies. His development and implementation of programs and initiatives have enhanced multi-billion dollar programs and operational efficiencies across industries in commercial, federal, and defense.

Aaron’s roles have included Senior Practice Manager for Artificial Intelligence System Integration at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Vice President Data & Artificial Intelligence at ECS Technology, Global Operation Director Analytics & Artificial Intelligence at HCL Technologies, CTO at Analytics2Go, Vice President Data Science & AI at Booz Allen Hamilton, Global Analytics Platform Lead at Accenture, and Senior Research Scientist at Elder Research.

Before turning his attention to commercial and public sectors, Aaron was a Marine Corps officer and Iraq war veteran and was the head operations research analyst and director of an operations analysis activity at the Pentagon, supporting the Marine Corps Headquarters. He is also a Marine Reservist, where he supports the Chief Information Officer at Headquarters Marine Corps-Pentagon as Lead Data Technologist.

Aaron is a Forbes contributor, frequently invited keynote and speaker, and Certified Analytics Professional (CAP). He is an appointed member of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Technology Information Service advisory board. Aaron received his M.S. Operations Research from the Naval Postgraduate School and his B.S. from the US Naval Academy.

Congratulations to Aaron and his fellow 2022 NOESA Honorees! Please join us on March 23, 2022 at Army Navy Country Club for a celebration honoring the 2022 NOESA recipients. For more information visit, www.ncacbsa.org/noesa/.

You’re Invited: NESA Networking Luncheon

by

Submitted by: Brett Coffee and Conor Russo.

Did you know that NESA-DC hosts free networking luncheons for local Eagle Scouts on the second Thursday of most months? NESA-DC started these lunches to meet and connect with other Eagle Scouts, and hear from fellow Eagles who are doing something interesting, noteworthy, or even extraordinary.

NESA DC Eagle Scout Lunch with Astronaut Tom Jones

We’ve had astronauts, high ranking government officials, adventurers, people with careers you never knew existed, and people you never thought you’d meet.  The series was started by Merritt Green and for many years was hosted in Tysons Corner, VA.


Eagle Scout luncheons on Zoom have brought our speaker series showcasing the continuing contributions of Eagle Scouts to a broader community who can attend from across the country and globe.

When the pandemic hit, we decided to move our luncheons to Zoom.  We got a wider audience, and people didn’t have to suffer through DC traffic.  More importantly, it became much easier to get really interesting speakers.

While it might look easy, there’s a lot of preparation behind the scenes to pull off each lunch, which occurs monthly except for July, August, and December.

There’s no cost to join us for lunch, but you provide the lunch itself.  There’s the ability to network and interact with most speakers, but we do remind you that Scouts are courteous.

NESA DC Eagle Scout Lunch with Eagle Scout Tara Presnall

The lunches begin at 12:00 pm, and you can sign up here.  Conor Russo is our luncheon coordinator, and he does a great job lining up interesting speakers, moderating the discussion, and connecting the audience.

NESA DC Eagle Scout Lunch with Morgan Sullivan, Executive Managing Director, JLL

Although the lunches are free, please consider making a donation to Scouting at www.ncacbsa.org/give  to help support our luncheons as well as the great Scouting experience.  Who knows—you might be helping a future luncheon speaker write their story!

And if you or someone you know are interested in being a guest speaker at one of our lunches, or you have a suggestion or idea, please contact us at NESADC@NCACBSA.org.

For updates and registration on upcoming networking luncheons, follow us on Facebook, add us on LinkedIn, or check out our schedule on the National Capital Area Council’s Calendar of Events.

Meet 2021 NOESA Honoree Joseph “Bill” Bluff

by

Bill Buff is managing partner of Stratacomm, a communications and marketing firm recognized by Washingtonian magazine as one of “50 Great Places to Work.”  Along with his business partners, Bill carefully nurtures Stratacomm’s corporate culture, which places high value on client service, innovation, entrepreneurship, inclusion, teamwork, learning, ethics and fun.

Bill serves clients by crafting the right messages and campaigns through the careful combination of research, strategic planning, media relations, grassroots activation, coalition building, digital outreach, high-profile events and personal contacts. Besides being a skilled communicator, Bill also knows the ins-and-outs of the complex system of government procurement and leads the firm’s growing federal government practice.

Before joining Stratacomm in 2001, Bill was a client at the American Highway Users Alliance (AHUA). There he oversaw media strategy, public opinion research and external communications as the director of communications and government affairs. He brings two decades of experience with transportation, environmental and energy issues to help clients achieve legislative, regulatory and reputational goals.

Bill graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from Davidson College in North Carolina where he studied anthropology.

Congratulations to Bill and his fellow 2021 NOESA Honorees! Eagle alums, let’s stay connected. Join NESA DC today! www.ncacbsa.org/national-eagle-scout-association/

Meet 2021 NOESA Honoree Richard Harrington

by

Rich has been the CEO of RHED Pixel, a visual communications company in Falls Church, VA, since 1999. He is an expert in motion graphic design and digital video who started his career in broadcast journalism in Iowa. His interest in visual communications can be seen throughout his career. He’s directed live television, published a regional music website, taught at two universities, and wrote for various magazines. He’s helped his clients effectively communicate their message. Some of RHED Pixel’s clients include the American Red Cross, American Diabetes Association, Canon, Children’s National Hospital, LinkedIn, Microsoft, the Obesity Action Coalition, and Skylum. His certification as a Project Management Professional helps him blend creative vision with real-world results.

Rich values sharing what he knows with others. This has been highlighted during the pandemic when he helped multinational companies, local small businesses, and our NCAC scouts communicate virtually as the country quickly moved to online platforms. He shares his enthusiasm and knowledge with more than four million people a year through books, magazines, websites, and conferences. He is a highly in-demand industry speaker and consultant. He has helped develop conferences since 2003 for the National Association of Broadcasters. He has been a featured speaker at conferences such as Adobe MAX, Photo Plus Expo, Macworld, Photoshop World, and other conferences internationally.

Rich has published more than 40 books on technology topics ranging from Photoshop and PowerPoint to Video Production and Podcasting. Many of them have been translated into other languages. Rich is an avid blogger. He has produced more than 1,000 podcasts to help others learn about creative software and manage their projects effectively. Rich owns and publishes the Photofocus website, which reaches 350,000 viewers each month. His tutorials can be found on LinkedIn Learning, Lynda.com, Creative Cow, and other locations. He enjoys sharing knowledge and helping others expand their creativity.

Rich strives to be friendly, positive, and inclusive in his professional life. He has built a diverse network of colleagues and clients that spans the globe. Rich recognizes that his industry needs more women and diverse voices and works to create opportunities at his company, on his website, and when selecting speakers for conferences. He openly engages others in respectful and friendly ways to create a better future for his industry.

Rich believes in giving back to the scouting community in a variety of ways. He is a former Cub Scout Den Leader (2010 – 2013), Assistant Cubmaster (2013 – 2015), Assistant Scoutmaster (2015 – 2017), and Scoutmaster (2017 – 2019). He is currently an ASM for the girls’ Troop 1533 and Advisor for the Venture Crew 2188.

Rich tries to do a good turn daily by being generous with his time. Rich cheerfully runs merit badges for youth in his troop and at the council level on topics of expertise – including Moviemaking, Photography, and Animation. He helps train adult Scouters to communicate more effectively and inclusively by running training sessions at the University of Scouting. Since the need for Scout-At-Home programs began, he has helped develop these opportunities by working with leadership and scouts alike. He lends his skills and service to his council, helping with messaging and website redesign as the Vice President of Marketing for NCAC.

Congratulations to Rich and his fellow 2021 NOESA Honorees! Eagle alums, let’s stay connected. Join NESA DC today! www.ncacbsa.org/national-eagle-scout-association/