IAHR Officers


Rev. Christopher L. Zacharias Executive Director

Since April 1999, Reverend Zacharias has been the Senior Pastor of the John Wesley A.M.E. Zion Church in Washington, D.C....

He is also a program coordinator for the Leadership Council for Health Communities, a leader of the D.C. Poor People's Campaign, a Vice President of the Mayor's Council on Religious Affairs, and chaired the Faith Community of the D.C. Census 2020 Count.

In San Francisco, he was the NAACP's Third Vice President. He was on the Buchanan YMCA's Board of Directors. He was on the Executive Boards of Unity—Bridging the Gap between African Americans and Jews, Faith in Action. He served on the Interfaith Council in San Francisco and Washington, DC.

A Pittsburgh native, Reverend Zacharias earned his Doctorate of Divinity from the United Theological Seminary, his Master of Divinity from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and his Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Wilkes University.

Reverend Zacharias is a proud father and grandfather married to his lovely wife and soulmate, Kim.

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Lionel André, Chair

Lionel André is a highly experienced litigator who has spent over thirty-five years in government investigations and white-collar issues. ...

Lionel brings a unique and significant work experience of over thirteen years of SEC investigation and litigation. This includes sixteen years of DOJ criminal trial experience.

Lionel served as Assistant United States Attorney in the Fraud and Public Corruption Section in the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. At the U.S. Attorney's Office, he served as Senior Litigation Counsel and Health Care Fraud Coordinator.

Before that, he worked as Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel at the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Lionel defends clients in securities enforcement matters, securities litigation, and white-collar criminal cases. He also conducts internal investigations, participates in Monitorships, and assists companies with updating their compliance programs.

Lionel, who immigrated from Haiti at age five, is extremely passionate about protecting human rights in the United States and abroad. He serves on the Board of Directors of three non-profit organizations.

Rev. Wanda Thompson, Vice Chair

Rev. Wanda Thompson has served since 2014 as the second Pastor of The Ambassador Baptist Church, where she has been a member since 1976....

She is a native Washingtonian. She received her Master of Divinity degree from the Howard University School of Divinity in 1996, receiving the Dean's Award for academic excellence.

Rev. Thompson received her Bachelor's degree in psychology from Dickinson College and her Master's and Ph.D. from Temple University in Clinical Psychology. She is a licensed psychologist in both D.C. and Maryland.

Wanda has completed a year-long George Washington University Master Teacher program, receiving a certificate in leadership development. She has also earned certificates in business; and public advocacy.

Rev. Thompson is active in several community organizations, boards, and committees. She has conducted training and participated in advocacy efforts. Rev. Thompson often testifies before the D.C. Council. She truly believes in serving the community and advocating against Black residents' displacement from the city. Most importantly, she considers herself a servant of God.

Her family includes her siblings, their families, and her church family, of whom she is very proud.

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John Sturc, Secretary

John is currently a professorial lecturer in Law and a ... Visiting Scholar at the George Washington School of Law.

From 2013 to 2016, John was the chief counsel in the Office of Stability at the U.S. Treasury Department. From 1990 to 2013, John was a partner at Gibson, Dunn, and Crutcher where he served as the co-chair of the firm’s national securities enforcement practice group and as a leader of its securities litigation practice.

Earlier in his career, John was an associate director of the Enforcement Division of the Securities and Exchange Commission and an assistant U.S. Attorney.

Carl Bergman, Acting Treasurer

Carl is a computer consultant with a background in public policy. ...

In the DC Government, he served on the Council's staff and as Deputy DC Auditor. He researched and drafted laws concerning consumer protection, police-community relations, Dr. King's Birthday, DC's Metro stations, bicycles, and the budget process.

In computing, he led the first significant use of PCs in the Department of Health and Human Services. He also provided consulting services for private firms, including economists, attorneys, and doctors. Carl managed computer projects at State, Transportation, Education, HUD, and Energy.

Originally from Atlanta, he has a BA from Oglethorpe University and an MA from American University. As an undergraduate, he helped found Georgians Against Capital Punishment and was a Vice President of the State YDs.

Carl is a long-time member of DC's Tifereth Israel Congregation. He has served as an officer and board member for his congregation, Neighbors Inc., the Shepherd Park Citizens Association, Friends of the DC Archives, Friends of the Juanita Thornton Shepherd Park Library, and the HACDC Amateur Radio Club.

Carl holds an Extra Class Amateur Radio License, W3HBK. He lives in Shepherd Park, DC, with his wife, Marjorie Odle. Together, they have two adult daughters and a grandson

IAHR Board Members


Barbara Bezdek

Barbara is an attorney with Gilmore Khandhar LLC in Baltimore, Maryland. She has substantial experience as general counsel for not-for-profit organizations, grassroots groups, and social-benefit entities....

Barbara also has expertise in real estate law, housing, and worker cooperatives, and regional expertise in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

She is certified through Level 2 as a trainer in Kingian Nonviolence and leads workshops throughout the Eastern Seaboard.

A longtime Quaker, she is IAHR's liaison with the Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.

Barbara joined Gilmore Khandhar after more than 30 years as a law faculty member at the University of Maryland. At Maryland, she taught community development, housing, and real estate courses and provided transactional representation to community organizations. Barbara was a U.S. Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer in Law from 2010 to 2011. This enabled her to teach land use, law, and community rights in economic development in Shanghai and many cities throughout the People's Republic of China.

Before teaching law, she worked as a public interest attorney in Washington, D.C., representing neighborhoods, tenant associations, and housing cooperatives and litigating public health & safety cases and corporate responsibility.

Mary Bohan

Mary Bohan recently retired from a 29-year career with the Department of Justice. Primarily, she served in the Civil Rights Division. ...

Over her career with the Civil Rights Division, Mary investigated, visited, and worked with dozens of institutions, including jails and prisons across the United States. She worked to ensure that the people detained received legally required care.

Early in her career, Mary clerked for the Hon. June L. Green of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. There, she observed jail and prison conditions cases. She saw them from the perspective of a judge supervising prisoner cases in the District of Columbia.

She has served on boards of directors for an eclectic assortment of organizations. These include My Sister’s Place, a shelter for battered women in the District; Overlee Preschool, a cooperative preschool; and Overlee Pool, her neighborhood community pool. She is a volunteer immigration attorney with the D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project.

Mary is a lifelong Catholic and a member of the Holy Redeemer parish in Washington, D.C. She is married to Brad Bennett. They live in Arlington, Virginia.

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Lauren Champaign

Lauren A. Champaign is a senior counsel and litigation lawyer with Foley and Lardner LLP. ... Her practice includes commercial litigation and counseling clients in securities litigation, product liability defense, antitrust, and consumer finance matters. She is a member of the Business Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Securities Enforcement and Litigation, Antitrust & Competition, Distribution and Franchise, Government Enforcement Defense and Investigations, and Consumer Financial Services Practices.

Ms. Champaign represents clients on various matters, including:

• Representing and counseling clients in various manufacturing industries, such as automotive, alcohol, and pool product industries, with product liability claims, antitrust litigation, commercial contractual disputes, and contract enforcement.

• Successfully representing clients in all litigation phases, from pre-litigation demands to commercial claims and defense litigation and negotiating favorable client settlements.

• Conducting internal investigations into violations of federal securities laws.

• Representing and counseling clients in enforcement actions before state and federal regulatory agencies.

• Representing clients in complex, multistate litigation, including large class actions based on allegations of anticompetitive conduct.

• Managing and counseling clients concerning electronic discovery and forensically sound document production.

Arnold Podgorsky

Arnold (Arnie) Podgorsky is USGI Medical, Inc.'s interim chief executive officer. ...

USGI Medical is a biotechnology company that develops incisionless procedures for gastroenterology patients.

Previously, he was a lawyer in Washington, D.C., specializing in commercial, transactional, and energy regulatory proceedings.

Arnie is a longtime supporter of IAHR. He was a past president of the Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C. He serves on the board of the Masorti Foundation, a national organization working to ensure a pluralistic, egalitarian, and democratic Israel.

John Shuchart

Dubbed a "serial entrepreneur" by the Kansas City Business Journal, John Shuchart is a successful businessman, educational innovator, and author. ...

John began his career as a middle school teacher. Then, he entered the insurance industry. He developed a breakthrough product that enabled parents to insure their mentally disabled children. John later sold his insurance business and returned to the classroom.

Following the September 11th terrorist attacks, he worked with students to develop a curriculum that eased the anxiety of young people impacted by those horrific events. That led to two books, Kids' Letters to Terrorists and Israeli Kids' Letters to Terrorists. The latter included a foreword written by then-Israeli President Shimon Peres.

A victim of verbal and emotional abuse by his parents, John has battled depression for years. Recently, he decided to speak about his condition and draw attention to it to help others by directly addressing the stigma associated with mental illness. John now resides in Maryland, continuing his philanthropic work with the Jewish and interfaith communities.

Maurice Dixon

A native of Washington, D.C., A Graduate of Dunbar Sr. High, attended Glenville State WV., and The University Of The District Of Columbia, were he Studied Business Management. ...

Maurice is a Return Citizen and a community leader where he received a Ward 7 Hero Award. He sees his opportunity as an opportunity to help others.

He employs return citizens, and taught Culinary Arts with Amalia Lives where he received a DC Health link Campaign ad on the WAMATA platform, being recognized as a person creating change to prevent violence.

Maurice had the honor of being selected to discuss program funds Start-Up Capital and funding for entrepreneurs as a panelist with Senator Dirksen on the PPI progress. He is a 2-time grant winner with DSLBD Aspire Program and The Greater Washington Urban League Organization.

As a Returning Citizen, Maurice is a Community Advocate with Voices Unbarred. The organization performs Oppress Theater of incarcerated individuals that creatively write poetry and plays.

Maurice is an advocate for prison reform policy change to include policy dealing with current incarcerated individuals, Post released incarcerated individuals, and pre-release individuals. He believes this work is continuous and non-stop in order for voices to be heard.