Expert Sources for News Media

To schedule an interview with one of these expert sources, contact:

Rick Cook / Jon Schmid
Cook & Schmid
2760 Fifth Avenue, Suite 210
San Diego, CA 92103
619/814.2370
info@cookandschmid.com

Expert Sources: Downloadable PDF file

• Bark Beetle Infestation, Vegetation Mortality, Fire Safety, Fire Prevention, Wildfires
  Mountain Area Safety Taskforce (MAST) — San Bernardino, Calif. — Several experts available, depending on specific topics related to preventing catastrophic wildfires, combating the bark beetle infestation, vegetation mortality, hazardous tree abatement, fire safety, healthy forest initiatives, emergency planning, public outreach, and public awareness and education campaigns.

• Biotechnology, Cancer Research, Venture Funding
  Ivor Royston, M.D. — Forward Ventures, San Diego, Calif. — World-renowned expert and speaker in matters related to cancer research, biotechnology start-ups and venture funding; co-founded Hybritech (acquired by Eli Lilly), Idec Pharmaceuticals (now Biogen Idec) and the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. Currently, Dr. Royston is the founding chairman of Targegen in San Diego, and was elected chairman of Morphotek in Exton, Penn. He also serves on the board of directors of Avalon Pharmaceuticals, and Favrille, where he was the founding chairman. He served on the faculty of the medical school and cancer center of the University of California-San Diego (1977-1990); he received his B.A. and M.D. degrees from Johns Hopkins University and completed post-doctoral training in internal medicine and medical oncology at Stanford University. In 1997, President Clinton appointed Dr. Royston to a six-year term on the National Cancer Advisory Board.

• Biotechnology, Pharmacology, Small Organic Compounds
  Lewis J. Shuster — Kémia, Inc., San Diego, Calif. — Prior to joining Kémia as president and chief executive officer, Shuster held several executive positions with Invitrogen, concluding as president of Genomics. Prior to Invitrogen, he was chief financial officer of Pharmacopeia, where he facilitated Pharmacopeia's successful IPO in 1995 and later served as chief operating officer of Pharmacopeia Laboratories. Shuster founded Human Genome Sciences, Inc., and grew the start-up to a public company with a staff of 140 in 2 years. Prior to HGS, he was executive vice president and chief executive officer of Microbiological Associates, a global specialty biological testing services company. Shuster also serves on the Board of Directors of Epitomics, Inc.

• Biotechnology, Pharmacology, Small Organic Compounds
  Jan Lundström, Ph.D. —Kémia, Inc., San Diego, Calif. — As vice president of biology and pharmacology, Dr. Lundström is responsible for characterizing the biological activity of Kémia’s lead compounds and establishing their ADME/toxicity profiles. He most recently headed AstraZeneca’s pharmacokinetic program and has three decades of experience in preclinical drug development. He also has worked as chief pharmacist in the pharmaceutics department, National Board of Health and Welfare, Division of Drugs, in Stockholm. Dr. Lundström holds a Ph.D. from the University of Uppsala and completed post-doctoral work as a visiting fellow at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

• Concrete/Cementitious Materials Composition and Repair, Construction Defect Litigation
  Geoffrey Hichborn — Hichborn Consulting Group, Orange, Calif. — Otherwise known as the “Concrete Detective,” Hichborn serves as an expert witness, providing pivotal testimony in cases involving allegations of sulfate attack as well as defective concrete and cement. He is a certified civil engineer and recently received a fellowship award for his long standing commitment and contributions to the American Concrete Institute. He has devised and directed specialized tests and evaluations for research and development. Hichborn also served as a technical expert to news media covering the sensational double-murder trial of Scott Peterson as well as the Tropicana Casino Resort parking garage collapse that resulted in the tragic loss of four lives.

• Human Resource Management, Employee Assessment, Golf Pro
  Jim Plotkin — The Plotkin Group, Carlsbad, Calif. — President of one of the assessment industry’s leading advisories, including golf club management and credit unions. Plotkin spent seven years as a touring golf professional, playing on two foreign tours and several U.S. mini-tours. He won 10 events, including the 1987 Canadian PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament and the 1986 Southern California Open.

• Ship and Boat Design, Naval Architecture, Shipbuilding, Virtual Shipyard, Canting Ballast Twin Foil (CBTF)
  Bill Burns — M Ship Co., San Diego, Calif. — As co-founder and executive director of M Ship Co., Burns led the development of the revolutionary M-hull technology and the design and construction of the M80 Stiletto. The Stiletto is high-speed, shallow-draft vessel built of carbon-fiber composites for the Office of Force Transformation and the brown-water navy of the 21st century. Burns has done extensive design work on fast ferries, commercial ships and recreation boats, and he has been involved with the advancement of innovative concepts for the Naval Research Lab, Office on Naval Research (Carderock), Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and America's Cup syndicates, among others. Burns is also a co-founder of CBTF Co., developer of the patented Canting Ballast Twin Foil (CBTF) technology for offshore racing yachts.

• Public Relations, Media Relations, Marketing Communications
  Rick Cook — Cook & Schmid, San Diego, Calif. — Cook has counseled public relations clients for more than two decades. A strong public relations strategist, he is particularly skilled in media relations, investor relations, corporate communications, community relations, branding and reputation management programs. Cook has advised clients on such diverse challenges as environmental racism, airport expansion, and minority education, outreach and marketing. He has both agency and corporate experience, having worked at Weber Shandwick Worldwide and as a vice president and public relations manager for PNC Bank (NYSE: PNC), a Fortune 250 Company.

• Public Relations, Media Relations, Marketing Communications
  Jon Schmid — Cook & Schmid, San Diego, Calif. — Schmid specializes in strategic counsel and media relations, helping corporate, non-profit and governmental clients better manage their reputations with media and other key stakeholders. His prior experience includes more than a decade of work as a professional journalist at a number of publications, including the Chicago Sun-Times, one of the nation’s largest metropolitan daily newspapers. As a journalist, Jon was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.