Speakers & Panelists
Rear Admiral Arthur J. Johnson
Commander, Naval Safety Center
Prostate Cancer Survivor
Rear Admiral Arthur J. Johnson graduated from the United States Naval Academy in May 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in International Security Affairs. He earned his naval aviator wings of gold in February 1981.
He served in command and various staff positions in Hawaii, California, Keflavik, Iceland, Guam, Japan and the Pentagon. He has deployed extensively throughout the Arabian Gulf, Indian Ocean, and Pacific regions. Afloat, he served as Operations Officer, Administrative Assistant, as well as Sea and Anchor Detail Officer of the Deck onboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), where he earned Third Fleet’s Shiphandler of the Year honors for 1990.
In June 1994, he graduated with a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government where his studies focused on U.S. Business and Government Relationships and Third World Politics. He is also a member of the Millennium Class at the National War College in Washington, D.C. and was awarded a master’s degree in national strategic studies in June 2000.
Rear Adm. Johnson completed command tours at Naval Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, where he commanded the “Golden Swordsmen” of Patrol Squadron 47 and at Naval Air Station Brunswick, Maine, as Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Five. He also served as the Assistant Deputy Director for Politico-Military Affairs-Asia in the Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate of the Joint Staff.
Admiral Johnson’s first flag assignment was Commander, United States Naval Forces Marianas and U.S. Pacific Command Representative Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of Palau. Following that assignment, he commanded Patrol and Reconnaissance Forces FIFTH Fleet, Patrol and Reconnaissance Forces SEVENTH Fleet and Fleet Air Western Pacific. He assumed duties as Commander, Naval Safety Center on 24 August 2007.
Otis W. Brawley, MD
Chief Medical Officer
American Cancer Society
The chief medical officer is the Society’s most senior clinical staff position, providing management oversight of the organization’s intramural and extramural research, surveillance and epidemiology, cancer control science and international programs and activities. The American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer frequently serves as chief spokesperson for the global nonprofit on medical and scientific policy issues.
Dr. Otis Brawley, a practicing oncologist, most recently served as professor of Hematology and Oncology and Epidemiology at Emory University, as medical director of the Georgia Cancer Center for Excellence at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, and as deputy director for cancer control at Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University. Previously, Dr. Brawley served in a variety of capacities at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), with his most recent NCI position as that of director of the Office of Special Populations Research. He is a renowned leader in the field of health disparities research. He led the National Cancer Institute Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial and also focuses his clinical research on breast cancer.
Dr. Brawley is a member of the American College of Physicians, the National Medical Association, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Association for Clinical Research. He has received numerous awards throughout his career, including in 2006 the U.S. Public Health Service Crisis Response Service Award, the U.S. Public Health Service Distinguished Service Commendation and the Key to St. Bernard Parish for his work in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Dr. Brawley currently serves as chair of the National Institutes of Health Consensus Panel on the treatment of Sickle Cell Anemia, and as a member of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection and Control Advisory Committee. He previously served as a volunteer member of the American Cancer Society’s Prostate Cancer Committee and as a co-chair of the Surgeon Generals Task Force on Cancer Health Disparities.
Dr. Brawley has published extensively in medical journals and has served in editorial roles for Contemporary Oncology, Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases, Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, the British Journal of Urology and Cure. Dr. Brawley is a graduate of University of Chicago, Pritzker School of Medicine and completed his internship at University Hospital of Cleveland, Case-Western Reserve University, his residency at University Hospital of Cleveland and his fellowship at the National Cancer Institute.
Howard Duncan, PhD
Howard Duncan is native Virginian, born in Charlottesville, the youngest of four children. He was raised in Campbell County where he attended elementary and high school. His undergraduate studies were done at Hampton University where he received a B.A. in Biology. As an ROTC cadet at HU he entered the United Stated Army after graduation and served two years active duty as an Air Defense Artillery Officer at Fort Bliss, Texas.
He returned to HU to complete an M.A. degree in Biology and left to teach at North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina for one semester. He ended up spending 14 years in North Carolina where he taught at NCCU for eight years, completed his PhD at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. While in graduate school he met his future wife, Bernadine Moses.
He accepted a job in the Biology Department at Norfolk State University in 1984 and he is also an adjunct professor of Immunology and Microbiology at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He lives with his wife and twin daughters in Virginia Beach. He has been a volunteer with the American Cancer Society for eight years, is the past President of the South Hampton Roads ACS unit and serves on both the South Hampton Roads and South Atlantic Division Board of Trustees.
Mark Fleming, MD
Dr. Mark T. Fleming finished his Medical Oncology Fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. A native of Ohio, Dr. Fleming received his Doctorate in Medicine at the Medical University of Ohio and his B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology completing his residency at the Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
During his fellowship, Dr. Fleming participated in many clinical trials focused on Prostate Cancer and was an active member of both the Prostate and Geriatric Disease Management Teams at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. Along with his hands-on involvement in research, he has also published multiple articles and abstracts within journals such as Clinical Cancer Research, Nature Clinical Practice Oncology and Clinical Prostate Cancer. As a member of both the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG), Dr. Fleming has presented some of his work both nationally at various prestigious academic medical grand rounds and meetings including ASCO and the Prostate Cancer Symposium, as well as internationally at SIOG. He is a member of US Oncology’s Genitourinary Research Committee and will assist in coordinating the VOA genitourinary research program on the Peninsula.
In addition to his passion for providing compassionate, thoughtful, and respectful care for his patients, outside of medicine, Dr. Fleming is also an avid golfer
Torino Jennings, MD
Mark Rawlison
Mark Rawlison has been with Star 94.1-FM since 2002. He hosts the middays from 10am to 3pm and makes the day fun with The All Request Lunch Hour, The Workday Double Play, trivia questions, jokes and frequent guest artist. He also hosts Star 94.1's community affairs program Inside Hampton Roads, which has had guests of local and national acclaim such as Yolanda Adams, Vivica Fox, Dr. Joseph Lowery, and covered topics from money to politics to health.
Bruce Smith
Keynote Luncheon Speaker
Smith, a native of Norfolk, first drew national attention at Virginia Tech when he won the 1985 Outland Trophy, awarded to the outstanding collegiate defensive lineman of the year. He was a consensus All-American that season.
Picked first in the draft by the Buffalo Bills, Smith quickly established himself as a defensive force and was named rookie of the year.
Over the next two decades, he became a dominant pass rusher and was named the league's MVP in 1987 and 1997. He was picked for the Pro Bowl 11 times and voted the defensive player of the year four times. He anchored the defense that helped the Bills get to the Super Bowl four straight years. Amassing 200 sacks during his 19 year career, he now stands as the all-time sacks leader in the National Football League.
For a 6-foot-4, 265-pound defensive end, his stats were phenomenal - 277 games, 909 tackles, 316 assisted tackles and 200 quarterback sacks. Hall of Fame QB Joe Montana called him the best player he ever saw at that position. Smith played his last four seasons with the Washington Redskins and had five sacks in 2003 to run his total to 200.
Edward Sykes
Speaker, Trainer, Motivator, Author, and Coach
Every year, a select group of executive teams, corporate conferences, association meetings and other lucky groups get to hear an electrifying, customized and memorable presentation from Ed Sykes.
Ed is an award-winning motivational speaker, executive speech coach, trainer, and consultant based in Virginia Beach, VA. He has been providing solution-oriented training programs since 1983 as a consultant with Yourdon, Inc., then as Vice President of Global Training Solutions for DSI Micro, then starting his own company, The Joy of Education, which later grew into The Sykes Group.
His motivation, customer service, presentation skills, and leadership articles constantly rank in Google’s and Yahoo’s top ten list in those areas. His articles, “Appreciate to Motivate: 5 Secret Keys to Successful Team Building,” "Ten Tips to Outstanding Presentations," and “Ten Customer Service Secrets to Win Back Customers,” "Ten Tips for Outstanding Presentations," are ranked #1 by the internet search engines Google and Yahoo as the most requested articles in the areas of employee motivation, presentation skills, and customer win back techniques, respectively. His work and life leadership ideas have been published in The New York Times, Newsday, The Virginian Pilot, Diary Queen International, Black Enterprise Magazine, Video Professor Magazine, and Toastmasters Magazine.
Ed is featured, along with Les Brown and Brian Tracy, in a new motivation book, "Ordinary People Can Achieve Their Lofty Goals."
Ed’s unique style of delivery coupled with solid content and practical application spiced with the right amount of humor leaves any audience ready to take action!
“I connect quickly with my audience by doing my homework, this shows them that I care about them, and it enables me to provide them the information they need to achieve success.”
Ed is an expert personal counselor, trainer, coach and consultant to the W.M. Jordan, J.P. Morgan/Chase, Hershey Corp., Aetna Insurance Company, Guy Carpenter, Cendant Corporation, Jackson Hewitt, GE, U.S. Navy, Norfolk State University, Claflin University, and the U.S. Marine Corp.
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