Lynne Platt’s career of U.S. Government service spanned 31 years, 24 of them in the U.S. Foreign Service.

She retired in 2018 with the rank of Minister-Counselor, having worked overseas in Cairo (1995-1997), Casablanca (1995-1997) USNATO (2001-2004), Paris (2004-2008), Baghdad (2008-2009), Port-au-Prince (2009-2011), London (2011-2014), and Vancouver (2014-2017) as Consul General.

Domestically, she served in the State Department’s Near East Asia Bureau (1999-2000) and at the non-partisan Wilson Center as senior State Department Fellow at the Canada Institute (2017-2018).

Lynne received her BA (Phi Beta Kappa) and MA in Political Science from the University of Washington. She and her husband relocated to Saint Petersburg, Florida, in November 2020.

Dr. Alfredo Anthony is the founder of NuMillennium Strategies, LLC. 

He retired from the United States Army as a Lieutenant Colonel after successfully serving his country for 21 years. 

He has over 27 years of proven leadership gained as a Deputy Program Manager in private industry and serving as a military intelligence officer. 

He is a purposeful leader, manager, business developer, and intelligence operations planner.

Thomas W. Smith (Board Member and Co-Founder of the St. Petersburg Conference on World Affairs) is Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean of the Judy Genshaft Honors College at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.

He holds a B.A. in Anthropology from the College of William & Mary and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.

He has taught at USF since 2000. From 1997-2000 Dr. Smith was an assistant professor of International Relations at Koç University in Istanbul.

During the summer of 1999 he was a visiting scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University.

He spent the 2007-2008 academic year at Stanford University.

Douglas L. McElhaney is an American diplomat.

He served as the Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina 2004–2007.

Doug was the instigator of the St Pete Conference on World Affairs, having previously participated in a similar conference in Boulder, Colorado. When he moved to St. Petersburg in 2007 to take care of aging parents, he noted that international issues did not get the time and attention in the lives of busy Floridians that they warranted.

Jim Cardoso is the Senior Director of University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute.

Before coming to GNSI, he was Senior Manager for CAE, which specializes in modeling and simulation for the Department of Defense.

He served 30 years in the U.S. Air Force, the majority in special operations command, staff and operational roles, retiring as a Colonel. Cardoso’s last Air Force assignment was Professor of Aerospace Studies and Commander of the Air Force ROTC detachment at USF, from 2014-2018.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and master’s degrees in Strategic Studies from National Defense University and in Aviation Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

John Flores is Vice President and Client Advisor at Bernstein Private Wealth Management in Tampa, Florida, where he works closely with founders, entrepreneurs, executives, global families, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals, throughout Florida’s west coast—from Tampa to Naples.

With a career that spans the technology, real estate, and financial services sectors, John brings a uniquely well-rounded perspective to wealth management.

He began his professional journey at Verizon Communications, gaining foundational experience in software and technology. He later transitioned into real estate, advising high-net-worth clients on contracts and complex negotiations.

His path into finance began with Merrill Lynch’s Financial Advisor Training Program and continued with a successful tenure at J.P. Morgan in Sarasota and St. Pete Beach, where he advanced quickly and served as a Private Client Banker for some of the firm’s most valued relationships.
He holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix, a Certificate in Financial Planning & Wealth Management from the Corporate Finance Institute, and a Certificate of Specialization in Finance & Accounting from Harvard Business School.

Deeply committed to mentorship and education, John serves as a corporate mentor at the University of South Florida and Eckerd College.

Maurice has a BA from Eckerd College where he spent much of his time honing sailing skills which morphed into several years as a sailing pro.

From there he entered small manufacturing, becoming a design engineer and project manager with an award-winning consortium in the development, fabrication, and installation of “hands-on” interactive exhibit activities for science and children’s museums.

His creations are found in prominent institutions nationwide in the USA, the UK, Brazil, and Egypt.

Diane Seligsohn is an American journalist and university lecturer who has lived in Paris for over 3 decades and now divides her time between France and St Petersburg, Florida.

Diane received her BA from McGill University in Montreal, Canada and her MA from NYU.

She began her career in journalism at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s New York office, where she worked for 5 years before moving to France.

Maureen Murphy has spent her entire career serving the nonprofit community. She wholeheartedly believes in the mission of the World Affairs Council, bringing seven years of experience with the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia to St. Pete. She is passionate about civic dialog, engagement, and creating a more informed electorate on matters of national and international significance.

Maureen holds a BA in the French language and a MS in Nonprofit Management. She joined SPWAC Board of Directors on December 4, 2025.