Board Members

Thomas Turner, Vice Chair

Thomas is a lifelong resident of Suffolk, Virginia. He is a graduate of Liberty University and has been active in Conservative Politics since 2012.  He has worked for numerous campaigns in the Commonwealth and the East coast. He most notably worked for former Rep J. Randy Forbes’s campaign and most recently Glenn Youngkin’s Gubernatorial Campaign. Thomas is active in local, state and national politics and holds numerous roles in the Republican Party.  

Thomas has served on his School Boards Safety Audit Committee from 2020-2022 and has many years working in the Suffolk Circuit Court. He works as the State Director for Conservatives for Clean Energy Virginia.

Preston Main, Secretary

Preston Main was raised, and still resides, in Hanover County with his husband and eleven-year-old son. He has worked for the Hanover County Public Safety Emergency Communications Department (9-1-1) for the last sixteen years, where he currently serves as the Senior Supervisor of Quality Assurance. Preston is a member of the Virginia Chapters of the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) and National Emergency Numbers Association (NENA) where he currently serves on the APCO Legislative Committee, Conference Committee, and chairs the Policies and Bylaws Committee. He also served his local community as a volunteer firefighter and EMT for many years. Preston currently serves as the Secretary for the Richmond Chapter of Log Cabin Republicans.

The Honorable R. Clarke Cooper

The Honorable R. Clarke Cooper is the founder and President of Guard Hill House, LLC, serves as the International Affairs Advisor for Hellenic Group, LLC, is a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Atlantic Council, and serves on the Board of Governors of DACOR and the DACOR Bacon House Foundation.

Mr. Cooper has over two decades of experience in diplomatic, intelligence, and military roles. He served as U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs from 2019 - 2021, where he led a global enterprise and on an annual basis oversaw $170 billion in arms sales and $16 billion in security assistance. In 2021, he received the Superior Honor Award for coordination and implementation of the security cooperation elements of the Abraham Accords in support of the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Kingdom of Morocco normalizing relations with the State of Israel.

In previous diplomatic posts, Mr. Cooper served as U.S. Alternate Representative to the United Nations Security Council, U.S. Delegate to the United Nations Administration & Budget Committee, Senior Advisor in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, and Advisor at U.S. Embassy-Baghdad. His active-duty military assignments included tours with Joint Special Operations Command, U.S. Africa Command, Special Operations Command Africa, Joint Special Operations Task Force Trans-Sahara, and Special Operations Command Central.

From 2010-2012, Mr. Cooper served as Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans, the national LGBT conservative political and educational organization. There, he secured the Republican votes in the U.S. Congress to repeal the “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” ban on gays and lesbians openly serving in the military, served on the Republican National Committee’s Finance Committee, and managed a political action committee dedicated to supporting pro-equality Republican candidates nationwide.

‎An outdoor enthusiast, he served as an Assistant Director of the National Park Service early in his career and attained the Eagle Scout rank in his youth.

Mr. Cooper is a graduate of The Florida State University with a bachelor’s degree in history, is an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in National and International Security program and is a graduate degree candidate at the University of Oxford in England.

A field grade officer in the U.S. Army Reserve, Mr. Cooper is married to fellow combat veteran, Lieutenant Colonel Michael J. Marin. They reside in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley in rural Warren County, Virginia.

Kerry Flynn

Kerry Flynn is a lifelong Virginian and Richmond area native. He grew up in Chesterfield County, and graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Masters of Teaching in secondary social studies. While in college he interned for two members of the House of Delegates and conducted research for HR 151 to Commemorate the life and legacy of Boaz Fleming. An active community leader, he serves on various committees, including the Virginia Council for the Social Studies, and has been active in Virginia politics since college. He is currently a history teacher in Richmond City Public Schools and lives in Petersburg with an independent cat named Fruit Cake.

Jason Geske

Jason Geske is a policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunication and Information Administration. NTIA’s programs and policymaking focus largely on expanding broadband Internet access and adoption in America. 

Teri Crawford Brown

Teri Crawford Brown was born and raised in Jewel Ridge, Va., and as a child never went off the mountain unless it was for a special family trip to Dairy Queen. Teri now lives in Richlands, Va., in a century-old church that she has been sustainably renovating with her husband. To her, the mountains of Virginia have always been home, and a home she wants to protect.

Mrs. Crawford Brown serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Blackberry Winter, a nonprofit dedicated to providing a “hand up” to people during a “cold snap” in their lives.

Mrs. Crawford Brown earned her MSN with a concentration in Nursing Administration and Leadership at VCU Medical Center. She was appointed to the VA LGBTQ+ Advisory Board by Governor Glenn Youngkin in 2022.

Tuan Ho

Tuan is a serial founder and Partner at Xfund. Prior to Xfund, as co-founder of Philo, Tuan pioneered live-streaming television, marking Xfund's first investment. While building Philo, Tuan’s commitment to entrepreneurship at Harvard extended through his role in helping to launch the Harvard Innovation Lab. After Philo, Tuan was instrumental in establishing the Founder-In-Residence program at Atomic Labs, where he became the Co-Founder & CEO of Raydiant, a leading AI platform for automating in-store customer experiences. In North Carolina, Tuan was a key figure working with investors, partners, and the local government to transform the historic Lucky Strike tobacco factory into a dynamic startup hub.

Tuan earned his A.B. degree in Chemistry & Physics at Harvard College and M.P.A. from the Harvard Kennedy School, specializing in tech policy and national security. Beyond his involvement with Xfund, Tuan actively advises and angel invests in startups specializing in telemedicine, robotics, data infrastructure, and blockchain. Tuan also serves on the Governor of Virginia’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Board.

Alonzo Mable

Alonzo Mable is originally a Washington, D.C. native and is now a resident of Henrico County.

Mr. Mable is a senior logistician and systems manager for the Naval Sea Command within the U.S. Navy. He is a 2014 graduate of Geneva College where he completed a degree in Biochemistry and played strong safety for four years on the Geneva football team.

He continues his love for sports and football by coaching for the last 7 years at St. Christopher’s School in Richmond and has also been a coach for the Richmond Black Widows womens football team and team captain for the National Gay Flag Football League champion team - The DC Admirals.

Mr. Mable and his partner John attend St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond and are active in community and charitable fundraising events. Alonzo travels overseas extensively and has worked or toured in more than 40 countries in Europe, Central and South America, Asia and Africa.

Jacob Carasella

Jacob Carasella is a proud native of the Virginia Peninsula. He grew up in Yorktown before attending James Madison University, where he earned degrees in International Affairs and Political Science. After graduating, he chose to return home, motivated by a deep commitment to strengthening the community that shaped his life.

Over the years, Jacob has built a wide-ranging background in public service. He has worked on political campaigns across multiple levels of government and served as a Legislative Aide to several members of the Virginia General Assembly. His career also includes impactful work in the nonprofit sector, where he supported initiatives focused on advancing responsible energy development throughout Virginia.

Today, Jacob serves as an External Affairs Representative with Dominion Energy. In this role, he collaborates with customers, community partners, and local leaders throughout Hampton Roads, working to support the region’s success and long-term vitality. His dedication to the area is reflected not only in his work, but in his active participation in regional organizations.

Jacob serves on the Tidewater Trails Alliance, the Central Business District Association in Town Center Virginia Beach, and the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center Foundation. He is also a 2024 graduate of LEAD757 through the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce.

He currently lives on the Peninsula with his fiancé and their dog, Duke.