Culper is led by a small leadership team with an army of volunteers, and governed by a Board of Directors composed of former Agency officers and trusted leaders who bring diverse experience and a shared commitment to the national security mission. The Board provides strategic and fiduciary oversight to ensure Culper remains focused on supporting officers as they transition beyond government service and continue contributing in meaningful ways. Together, we uphold a trusted professional community so that those who served in silence can continue to lead and make an impact long after they turn in their badge.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Independent Directors
President of KMS Ventures with over 30 years of direct investment, endowment allocation, and management experience in merchant banking, hedge funds, and private equity. Serves on the Board of the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.
Aaron Kozmetsky
Founder of Hayman Capital Management, Conservation Equity Management, and Rochefort Capital. Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and recipient of the 2019 Foreign Policy Assoc Medal. Serves on multiple nonprofit and corporate boards.
Kyle Bass
Founder and Managing Partner of Pacific Strategic Investors; Dir of Investments for a single-family office. Former fixed-income manager at Fischer Francis Trees and Watts. Longtime supporter of the natsec mission; early advocate and financial backer of Culper.
David Napach
Culper Mid-Career Resignee Directors
Co-Founder of Culper. Nearly two decades as a CIA officer, including overseas leadership positions. Co-founder and CEO of freight intelligence company GenLogs, going from $0 to $200M in valuation in two years.
Ryan Joyce
Co-Founder of Culper, having served in technical roles at CIA for nearly a decade. Sold first company, Onyara, for $42M within 6 months of a $1.1M capital raise. Currently CEO of Anno.Ai and Onsights. MBA from MIT and MPA from Harvard.
Steven Witt
Chief Strategy Officer at Fuse, a fusion energy co. Previously Chief of Staff at Quantum Technology company Infleqtion. Over a decade as a CIA case officer with overseas leadership positions. Affiliated with leading national sec and tech policy institutes.
Laura Thomas
Served a decade in the CIA and the National Security Council. Former corporate litigator at Wachtel, Lipton, Rosen & Katz before returning to public service as DOJ Senior Counsel and then as DHS Assistant Secretary for CT, Threat Prevention, and Law Enforcement Policy.
Jeohn Favors
Culper Retiree Directors
28 years of service in the CIA, most recently as Assistant Director for the Agency’s Transnational and Technology Mission Center. Also served as Assistant Director for CIA Counterintelligence. Navy Intelligence Officer in the Reserves from 1999 to 2007.
Sheetal Patel
32 years of service in the US Marines and CIA. Former Chief of Staff to two CIA Directors and was Director of CIA’s elite Special Activities Center. Recipient of multiple awards. USAF Academy, co-founder of the Third Option Foundation, and CEO of Andesite.
Brian Carbaugh
Former CIA Deputy Director of Operations. Multi-time CIA Chief of Station. US Naval Academy graduate and US Navy SEAL.
Tom Sylvester
LEADERSHIP TEAM
Dee Anna Smith
Chief of Operations
Claire Butler
Director of Partnerships
Amy Ambery
Membership Coordinator
Scott Schlimmer
Program Manager - Entrepreneurial Initiatives
Culper is a nonprofit organization recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. In keeping with best practices for nonprofit transparency and accountability, Culper makes its governing documents, financial statements, and IRS filings available upon request.
