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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Dr. Kelly Brown
Board 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.​
Dr. Brown continues to selflessly serve others. She is the 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
John Perkins is a retired Partner from Deloitte Consulting and now operates his own firm SRJ Consulting, LLC. John has extensive experience consulting in the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The most rewarding experience of his entire career was working as a Deloitte co-leader establishing the Warrior Games with the DoD, VA and US Olympic Committee. Until his retirement in 2018 John continued his support of the wounded, ill and injured service members through the Warrior Games and PGA Hope. John has served as an Allied Forces Foundation Board ember since 2021 and is currently Board Secretary
John earned an MBA from Anna Maria College and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts – Lowell.
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Mark Newdick
Treasurer
Independent Consultant
- COMMERCIAL INSURANCE/ RISK MANAGEMENT: Audit / Oversight / Self-Insurance Reserve / Process / Premium Accounting / Fiduciary Management / PPACA Legislation (SBC)
- PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX (Plant & Machinery): Rental Industry (mobile/ fixed assets) / Analysis / Render Exceptions / Developed Proprietary Program Software
- GENERAL ACCOUNTING: Operations / Audit / Process / Consolidation Reporting / Business Analysis
- INTERNATIONAL: Europe, Saudi Arabia, Sudan & Somalia / Military contracts and oil & water exploration
- US/ UK citizenship
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Mylee Cardenas
Board Member
Mylee Cardenas is an Army veteran who spent twelve years serving the United States in two conflicts during the Global War on Terror. Always pushing the envelope, Mylee pioneered new ground in the military as a woman, traversing heavily entrenched barriers in the U.S. Special Operations community, ultimately serving with small Special Forces teams in rural Afghanistan. Combat has a tendency to ignore gender. Realizing and adapting to this fact this early on, Mylee was able to positively contribute to daily combat operations shoulder-to-shoulder with her male teammates.
Upon returning home from the battlefield, Mylee was diagnosed with advanced stage breast cancer. After another hard fought battle, and with her daughter at her side, she emerged cancer free and ready for life's next challenge. Now medically retired from the military, Mylee continues to press the boundaries of generally male dominated professions. Returning to some of the most dangerous places on earth, this time as a civilian, she has pushed deep into war-torn Kurdistan to tell the stories of female Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.
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Phyllis Wilson
Board Member
MA, BSN, RN - US Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 (Retired) President, Military Women’s Memorial Chief Wilson began her Army career as a Military Intelligence (MI) German linguist Voice Intercept Operator. During more than 37 years of active and reserve service, she has served at all echelons from tactical to strategic, with duty in Germany, Iraq and the United States. In August 1990, she was mobilized to support OPERATION DESERT SHIELD/ OPERATION DESERT STORM and served as the Signals Intelligence collection manager for XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, NC. In December 2002, she mobilized in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM as a senior Counter Terrorism Analyst. She served seven years at U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa, FL as an intelligence analyst in support of Information Operations focused on the War on Terrorism. She deployed twice to Iraq with a highly specialized Joint Special Operations Task Force.
Chief Warrant Officer Five (CW5) Phyllis J. Wilson served as the 5th Command Chief Warrant Officer (CCWO) for the United States Army Reserve. She was a key member of the Executive Team managing an organization with an annual operating budget of more than $8 Billion. She completed a Senior Fellowship with the Chief of Staff of the Army’s Strategic Studies Group focused on Global issues 2050 and beyond.
Chief Wilson holds a master’s degree in Management from Webster University, two Bachelor of Science degrees: nursing (registered nurse) and liberal arts (sociology/German) and three Associate of Science degrees. She has attended the Defense Language Institute for German and Spanish as well as the Defense Strategic Debriefer Course. She is a 2008 graduate of the Warrant Officer Senior Staff Course and has studied at the George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch, Germany, completing the Program for Advanced Security Studies in 2009. She also holds a certificate in Non-Profit Management from Duke University. She is pursuing a second master’s degree in Public Administration with a Non-Profit Organizations focus.
Chief Wilson’s military decorations and awards include the Legion of Merit, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and the Army Parachutist Badge. She was inducted into the Army Women’s Foundation Hall of Fame in 2017.
Her non-profit experience includes being the President of the Women in Military Service for America (WIMSA) Memorial Foundation – the only major national memorial honoring all women who have defended America throughout history from the Revolutionary War to today. She also founded Wounded Warriors Have Families Too, Inc. She is a member of the Board of Directors for Allied Forces Foundation; the Army Women’s Foundation; and she is the first Army Warrant Officer ever to serve as a member of the Association of the United States Army’s (AUSA) Board of Directors. She is also a Senior Fellow at AUSA.
She has eight children: Joseph, Jeremy, Rebekah, Matthias, Rachel, Jared, Maria and Jesse. Four sons: Joseph, Jeremy, Matthias, and Jared are in the military and are all combat veterans. She has twelve grandchildren and counting!
Neil Smith
Board Member
Coming Soon
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