AFF Board of Directors
Stuart Taylor
President & CEO
Since 2011, Stuart Taylor has served as the President and CEO, of the Allied Forces Foundation, Inc., (AFF) an American-British philanthropic organization that promotes awareness and funding for the common wounded, ill and injured (WII) service personnel and their families affected by the conflicts and most recently Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr. Taylor served 25 distinguished years with the British Army where he rose too the position of Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) Command Sergeant Major. Mr. Taylor completed multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. This drove him to support the needs of wounded warriors, families, and caregivers with challenge-based events.
Mr. Taylor is the President & CEO of Stucan Solutions, Corp a Defense and Security consultancy supporting international companies penetrate the U.S. market and is based out of Leesburg, Virginia.
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Danny Alvarez
Chair
Danny attended the University of Florida as a second generation Gator and received his Bachelor’s of science in Journalism. While there, he was the Captain of the UF Club Lacrosse Team and the Cadet R.O.T.C. Battalion Commander. During his tenure in Gainesville, Danny served in the Florida National Guard with the 124th Infantry Regiment in Leesburg, Florida.
Upon graduation, Danny was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the United States Army. During his time in the military, Danny was deployed to South Korea as a line platoon leader and later assigned to various leadership positions within the US Army Airborne School. While there, he was a jumping member of the historic Fort Benning Command Exhibition Parachute Team, “The Silver Wings.” Before he separated from the service, he earned a Masters of Science degree in Education from Troy State University in Alabama.
Danny attended Stetson University College of Law in Gulfport, Florida. After passing the Florida Bar exam, he attended University of Miami School of Law LL.M program in Estate Planning.
Wanting to practice and help clients on a day-to-day basis, Danny later joined the Sanchez Law Offices in South Tampa. Danny lead the Firm’s Litigation and Estate Planning Group.
In May of 2011, Danny formed The Alvarez Legal Group to help individuals whose voices are often drowned out in the legal system. While the Firm specializes in Personal Injury and General Civil/Commercial Litigation a strong focus remains on Estate Planning and Entertainment Law.
Danny is a Business Law Professor at the University of Tampa. He is a member of the Florida Bar and is a member of the Hillsborough Bar Association Leadership Institute. In 2010, Danny was appointed by the Hillsborough County Commission to a four-year term on the Hillsborough Children’s Services Advisory Board. He is admitted to practice in all Florida State Courts and the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
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Dr. Kelly Brown
Vice Chair
Dr. Brown is a retired U.S. Army combat veteran and highly respected leader with nearly 30 years of success managing high performing joint military and international government teams. As a Blackhawk Pilot, Strategist, and Force Manager, she has extensive experience across multiple disciplines including continuity of government, national contingency operations, homeland security, emergency management, disaster response, policy development, and aviation operations. Her wide-ranging military career includes service in the President’s Emergency Operations Center at the White House, Senior Military Fellow for the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group, and Military Advisor to Commissioner, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Secretary, Department of Homeland Security. Her combat experience includes deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) – Afghanistan.​
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Dr. Brown continues to selflessly serve others. She is the Vice Chair of Allied Forces Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to supporting wounded, ill, and injured servicemembers. Kelly serves as a nationally registered Emergency Medical Technician and as the Assistant Chief for the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department. She is also a member of the White House Military Aides Society Board of Advisors, the Army Aviation Association of America Scholarship Board of Governors, the West Point Field Force, and the Liaison Officer Association Executive Board.
A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, Dr. Brown holds a Bachelor of Science in International Relations and American Legal Studies with a minor in Systems Engineering, a Master of Public Administration with a specialization in Criminal Justice, Master of Strategic Studies, and a Doctorate of Business Administration with a specialization in Homeland Security Leadership and Policy.
John Perkins
Secretary
Senior operations executive with over 25 years of serving clients and building relationships in the Manufacturing, Public Sector, Healthcare and Financial Services industries. Consistent delivery of high impact results exceeding client expectations. A team-building leadership style that promotes value delivery, operational excellence, sales and individual growth. Proven blend of strategic vision combined with pragmatic problem solving skills. Repeated successes with breaking new ground in both industry and consulting settings.
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Mark Newdick
Treasurer
Bio coming soon.
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Mylee Cardenas
Board Member
Bio coming soon
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Colonel Paul Bates
Board Member
Colonel Paul Bates is the UK National Liaison Representative to the NATO Headquarters Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. He is married to Claire, a journalist, who is currently Head of Defence Communications in the UK Embassy in Washington DC. They have two boys - Joe, 17 and Jimmy, 15.
He was commissioned to the Royal Artillery of the British Army in 1992 and was immediately deployed for his first operational tour to Northern Ireland as an infantry platoon leader.
Since that time, he has completed two tours in Iraq; the first in 2004, leading his Battery in an infantry role training Iraqi Border Police, and the second as a Battle Group Chief of Staff. In addition, he has deployed twice with the United Nations in Cyprus in a peacekeeping role. His last deployment was to Afghanistan for a year in 2011-12 where he was embedded with the United
States Marine Corps as the Deputy Operations Officer for 2 Marine Expeditionary Force in the 2-star headquarters responsible for south west Afghanistan. There, he was awarded the US Meritorious Service Medal for his work.
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His career has also included being an instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Operations Officer in a UK Artillery Brigade, Operations Officer in NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, the officer in charge of recruiting for the Royal Artillery and the second-in-command of a Field Artillery Battalion.
He has a passion for teaching and training and in addition to his time at Sandhurst has been an instructor on the British Army's staff training course for Field Grade Officers as well as spending two years as a member of the faculty on the US Army's Command and General Staff Course at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Additionally, he commanded the 800 strong Artillery Battalion in the UK responsible for delivering training support to the entire Royal Artillery. Most recently, he was a Divisional Director on the Advanced Command and Staff Course at the UK Defence Academy.
Before his Divisional Director role he was the Assistant Military Attaché in the British Embassy in Washington DC for 3 years where his wife was also speechwriter to the Ambassador.
He has a Master of Arts in Defence Studies from King's College, London (KCL), a Post Graduate Certificate of Academic Practice in Higher Education from KCL, a Batchelor of Engineering (with Honours) from the University of Salford in Manchester, England and has completed advanced staff training at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom. He is currently undertaking an Institute for Leadership and Management Level 7 qualification in Executive Coaching and Mentoring.
An all-round sportsman, he loves cricket and football and is a qualified coach in both. On advice from his knees, he now lives these sports vicariously through his sons. With any spare time, he likes to walk his dogs, watch any sport, ski and spend time with his family.
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