MacArthur Week Speaker Biographies
Deanna Alexander
Deanna Alexander is a Milwaukee County Supervisor and Chairwoman of the Emergency Medical Services Council. In 2013 she was recognized as a “Right Woman to Watch” by Right Wisconsin while the American Conservative Union designated her a “Top 10 Under 40” future leader. Prior to serving in elected office, Deanna worked in the accounting department of Milwaukee County’s Behavioral Health Division and as an Accountant and Auditor at a Milwaukee CPA firm. Born and raised in Southeast Wisconsin, she earned a degree in Business Management from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and has studied law and public policy under former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft at Regent University. Deanna served in a Field Artillery unit of the Wisconsin Army National Guard and was part of a national security support mission on the U.S. / Mexico international border. She credits much of her draw to public service to her military experience and personal faith while striving to make Servant Leadership the foundation of her work. She lives in northwest Milwaukee with her husband and two daughters and hopes to become a foster parent in the near future.
The Honorable Kim Beazley
Australian Ambassador to the U.S. Since February, 2010. BA and MA, University of West Australia; Rhodes Scholar; Master of Philosophy, Oxford University; Former Minister of Defense, Finance, Transport and Communications, Employment Education and Training, Aviation and Special Minister of State; Deputy Prime Minister (1995-96), Leader of Australian Party; Winthrop Professor, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Western Australia; Chancellor of Australian National University; In 2009, awarded the Companion of the Order of Australia for service to the Parliament of Australia for development of government policies in relation to defense and international relations and as an advocate for indigenous people and to the community.
Michael M. Berzowski
Chair, Milwaukee County War Memorial Center Board of Trustees; Partner, Weiss Berzowski Brady Law Firm; BBA, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; JD, Marquette University Law School; Lecturer, University of Wisconsin and Marquette University Law Schools; Marquette Law School, Dean’s Advisory Board; Distinguished Alumnus in Law Award, Marquette University; Certified Public Accountant; retired U.S. Army Major General; U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal; Invested in the orders of St. George and the Knights Templar Grand Croix order of Merit and Deputy Grand Prior region VI.
David Black
Emeritus Professor with honorary Doctorate of Letters, Curtin University, Perth, West Australia, where taught Australian history and politics for over 30 years; Historical Consultant, John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library; radio and television commentator on state and federal politics for over 30 years; current Parliamentary Fellow, Parliament of Western Australia. Author: Friendship is a Sheltering Tree: John Curtin’s Letters 1907 to 1945; the General and the Prime Minister – Douglas MacArthur and John Curtin; recipient of the Order of Australia.
Therese Burkhart
Therese Burkhart recently retired from Northwestern Mutual as director of information systems, holding multiple leadership positions throughout her career in information technology. Therese served as a United Performing Arts Funds Loaned Executive in 2012, where she learned firsthand the key ingredients to running a successful campaign. As a co-chair of the 2014 UPAF campaign, she brings her energy to serve the community, particularly in areas of education and women’s leadership. She is currently president of the Marquette University Women’s Council, and serves on the board of directors for After Breast Cancer Diagnosis (ABCD) and Notre Dame Middle School. She also serves on the investment committee of the Woman’s Club of Wisconsin
Louis A. DiMarco
Retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army during 2005 after more than 24 years of active service. His civilian education includes an Bachelor of Science Degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, a Masters in Military Art and Science from the U.S. Army Command and Staff College, a Master of Arts Degree in International Relations and a PhD in History. Colonel DiMarco works on the faculty of the Army Command and Staff College, where he teaches military history and elective courses on the history of modern urban warfare and modern warfare in the Middle East. He has authored several key Army doctrinal manuals on urban operations and counterinsurgency.
Sherman L. Fleek
Command Historian, U.S. Military Academy, West Point; BA, Brigham Young University; MA, University of Colorado; retired Lt. Col., U.S. Army; Served as an aviator, Special Services officer, enlisted armor crewman and in Air Calvary, Air Assault and Fixed Wing Support units; Previous history appointments: Civil War Preservation Foundation, recorded and wrote official U.S. Army record of reconstruction in Iraq and first historian ever for Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Author of numerous military history articles and books. Currently writing book about General Douglas MacArthur; Awards include Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medals and multiple additional service medals.
John Gordon IV
Senior Policy Analyst, Rand Corporation, Washington, D.C.; Adjunct professor at George Mason and Georgetown Universities; PhD in public policy, George Mason University; MA in international relations, St. Mary’s University; MBA, Marymount University; BA in history, the Citadel. twenty year U.S. Army career including service in the Pentagon; Joined Rand in 1997 and works as a senior policy analyst; participated and led numerous studies of the office of the Secretary of Defense and the Departments of the Army and Navy; Also led or participated in Rand research projects for the governments of the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Germany; teaches graduate level courses on counterinsurgency and military operations at Georgetown and George Mason; Author or co-author: several Rand studies on counterinsurgency and irregular warfare; Author: Fighting for MacArthur: the Navy and Marine Corps’ Desperate Defense of the Philippines, which is one of topics discussed by Dr. Gordon at the 2014 MacArthur Memorial Week in Milwaukee.
Kyoko Inoue
Emerita Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago; research and publication focusing on the intellectual history of modern Japan and comparative American and Japanese cultures; Author: MacArthur’s Japanese Constitution: A Linguistic And Cultural Study of Its Making (1991) which was named an outstanding book by Choice; Author: Individual Dignity In Modern Japanese Thought: The Evolution of the Concept of Jinkaku In Moral And Educational Discourse (2001); and (with Richard Muller, her husband), Liberal Education in Japan: Deweyan Experiments; Developed Japanese language program; taught theoretical linguistics, focusing on English syntax-semantics; and, taught comparative studies of American and Japanese cultures and histories.
Paul Lima
Major General U.S. Army, retired. Graduate of U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Boston University, University of Virginia and the U.S. Army War College. Served as the Deputy Joint Combatant Commander, U.S. Southern Command. Military awards include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star(s) and the Combat Infantry Badge.
Currently serves as Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army; Chairman of the U.S. Army Community Advisory Board of Wisconsin and Wisconsin state manager of the West Point Admissions Field Force.
Ray A. Moore
Emeritus Professor, Amherst College, Amherst, Massachusetts; Leading scholar in the history of modern Japan and the American occupation following World War II, including the modern constitution of Japan; During 1953-55, studied at International Christian University (ICU) which opened in 1952 with the previous support of General MacArthur; Served in Korean War and was sent to Korea from Japan the same day President Truman removed General MacArthur from his command. Author: Partners for Democracy: Crafting the new Japanese State under MacArthur, Fulbright and Ford Foundation Fellowships, University of Chicago; A.B., M.A. and PhD, university of Michigan. Established East Asian Studies program, Amherst College. Recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun from the Japanese government.
Charles “Chas” Mulcahy
Chairman, Milwaukee County War Memorial, Inc. (1976-84); President, Milwaukee County Historical Society: (1979-81); Honorary Consul of Belgium: 1988-2008. Co-Chair, MacArthur Memorial Week: June 8-14, 1979; Adjunct Professor, Marquette University Law School: (1975- 90). U.S. Air Force & Reserve: (1962-67); Co-founder, World Trade Center Wisconsin; Knight of the Order of Leypoldt from King Albert II, King of Belgium. Graduate of Marquette University and Marquette Law School. Co-Founder: Veterans Community Relations Team (VCRT), 2012 and VCRT MacArthur Forum, Inc. 2014.
John P. Otjen
Lieutenant General U.S. Army, retired. 1964 graduate of West Point. His great grandfather, Milwaukee Congressman Theobald Otjen, appointed Douglas MacArthur to West Point in 1898. In 1964, Otjen and fellow cadets were invited to attend the General’s 84th birthday celebration, on January 26, 2023 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. When MacArthur died later that year on April 5, Otjen carried the General’s flag in the Washington, D.C. funeral procession. When the Douglas MacArthur statue was dedicated on June 8, 2023 at MacArthur Square in Milwaukee, Otjen escorted the General’s widow, Jean Faircloth MacArthur to unveil the statue as part of the 1979 MacArthur Memorial Week. General Otjen will make a presentation at a breakfast honoring Jean Faircloth MacArthur and Women in the U.S. Military on June 7, 2023 at the War Memorial Center.
Creamheld Pepito
Creamheld Pepito is a Vice President and Systems Architect for Information technology at Robert W. Baird in Milwaukee. Prior to Baird, Creamheld served as a Senior Application Architect at Northwestern Mutual. Creamheld was born and raised in the Philippines. She got her degree in Computer Science from the University of the Philippines, Diliman in Metro Manila. She worked with technology companies in the Philippines and Japan before coming to the United States for an I.T. consulting job in March of 2000. Creamheld is the President of the University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Wisconsin and is also an ex-officio trustee in the Philippine Cultural and Civic Center Foundation.
Peter K. Rofes
Professor of Law, Marquette University Law School; BA, summa cum laude, Brandeis University; AM, Harvard University; JD, Columbia University School of Law; Law Clerk, Honorable Max Rosenn, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit; Former Marquette University Law School, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Former Director of Part-time Legal Education; Professor of American Constitutional Law; Writings on American Constitutional Law; recipient of Peter N. Kutulakis Award, Student Services Section, Association of American Law Schools; Advisor to Wisconsin U.S. Senator Herb Kohl and the Judiciary Committee, U.S. Senate, on the nominations of David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court of the U.S.; Co-Director of the Japanese Constitution conference on June 6, 2023 during MacArthur Memorial Week at Marquette university Law School.
Keith Sellen
Graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served 22 years in the Army, the last sixteen as a Judge Advocate, during which he served in Korea and Germany, and on the faculty at West Point teaching constitutional and military law. He is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School, and the Army Judge Advocate General’s School (L.L.M.), where he focused his studies in Public International Law.
Presently, he serves as Director of the Office of Lawyer Regulation, the agency responsible for professional regulation of lawyers licensed in Wisconsin.
Eric Wertheim
Author, columnist and defense consultant; Graduate, American University, Washington, D.C. As author and editor, tracks, analyzes and compiles data and photography on every vessel, aircraft and major weapon system, in every naval and paranaval force in the world – from Albania to Zimbabwe; Participant in news media “on-air interviews” concerning international naval incidents; Speech writer for senior Pentagon officials; Advisor, advancement of high technology weapons and concepts; Author: Combat Fleets of the World, Naval Institute (2002); Lest We Forget column, Proceedings, naval Institute (1994-2004); Combat Fleets column, Proceedings, Naval Institute (2004 to present); Co-author with Norman Polar: Chronology of the Cold War at Sea and Dictionary of Military Abbreviations, Naval Institute Press.
Brady C. Williamson
Brady Williamson is a constitutional and corporate litigator who has taught periodically at the University of Wisconsin Law School for more than 25 years. Williamson has long been involved in constitutional and election law projects in Iraq, Southern Sudan, Egypt and Bangladesh, traveling frequently to Baghdad and East Africa to work with the committees drafting new national and regional constitutions. His constitutional work there has been sponsored, under a grant from the U.S. government, by the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, a nonprofit organization working to strengthen democracy world-wide. In December 2012, sponsored by the Carter Center Democracy Project, he spent a week in Cairo assessing the Egyptian constitutional process.
James W. Zobel
Archivist, MacArthur Memorial, Norfolk, Virginia (January 2013 to present); B.A. and M.A. Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA; Curator of Manuscripts, librarian and caretaker of over 2,000,000 documents, 100,000 photographs, 500 films and a 25,000 volume library at the MacArthur Memorial; Author: A Lady Captures a General (2005); MacArthur and the Fraulein (2004); Writer and Producer: WWI: The Road to War (2013); The MacArthur Story (2012); Presenter: Strategic Surprise, Pearl Harbor to 9/11 (2011); The Commanders: A Study of Leadership in the Pacific War (2002); Pacific D-Days (2001); Justice in the Aftermath, Tokyo War Crimes Trials (1996).
