Founder, CEO, and President of Newsmax Media

A noted journalist and entrepreneur, Christopher Ruddy serves as CEO and president of Newsmax Media, Inc. one of the nation's leading news media companies.

In 1998, Mr. Ruddy founded Newsmax Media, a multimedia publishing company that publishes online and offline content in the fields of news, politics, health, and finance. Newsmax.com is consistently ranked as one of the country's most trafficked news web sites.

As a journalist, Mr. Ruddy previously worked at the New York Post and the Pittsburgh Tribune Review.

A Newsweek cover story named Mr. Ruddy one of America's 20 most influential news media personalities. Mr. Ruddy has also studied as a Media Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University.

Mr. Ruddy sits on the Board of Directors of the Financial Publishers Association, the industry organization representing investment publications that reach 25 million Americans monthly.

Mr. Ruddy holds a B.A. summa cum laude in history from St. John's University in New York and a master's degree in Public Policy from the London School of Economics.

Probably the most prominent American political consultant, Dick Morris is almost universally credited with piloting Bill Clinton to a stunning comeback re-election victory in 1996 after the president lost Congress to the Republicans two years before. Called "the most influential private citizen in America" by Time magazine, Morris helped steer Clinton to the center and away from the liberal policies he had pursued in his first two years in office. Morris is also credited with advising Clinton to sign the welfare reform bill of 1996 and getting him to back a balanced budget, both key centrist positions.

In November of 1999, Morris founded a Web site in the U.S. called Vote.com where people log on to vote on the major issues of the day. Their opinions are then e-mailed to their senators and representatives and to other significant decision makers. In the first 11 months of the site's operation, more than one million voters registered their e-mail addresses and zip codes with Vote.com and have cast a total of more than 15 million votes. Vote.com is now rated by Media Metrics and PC Data as one of the most trafficked Web sites in the world.

In recent years, Morris has turned to foreign campaigns and served as chief strategist for Mexico's reformer Vicente Fox in his upset victory in July 2000 over the PRI after the party had ruled the nation for 71 years. He also was the chief strategist for the winning campaign of Argentina's new president Fernando de la Rua in November 1999. He also worked for Jorge Battle in his victory for president of Uruguay that same year.

In the United States, Morris has become a familiar figure as a commentator for the Fox News Channel. He makes more than 400 appearances each year and is well known for hard-hitting, nonpartisan, objective commentary about the U.S. political scene. He writes a weekly column for the New York Post and the Hill Magazine in the U.S. and the National Post in Canada.

Eileen McGann is an attorney, consultant, and co-author of numerous books and articles with her husband, Dick Morris. Their most recent book, Catastrophe, is their sixth New York Times best-seller. Morris and McGann write regular columns for the New York Post and have worked together on political campaigns in Europe, South America, and Asia.

Ralph Reed is chairman and CEO of Century Strategies, a public relations and public affairs firm. He has advised numerous Fortune 500 companies and served as a senior advisor to the George W. Bush presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004.

The Wall Street Journal called Reed "perhaps the finest political operative of his generation." He was named one of the top 10 political newsmakers in the nation by Newsweek, one of the 20 most influential leaders of his generation by Life magazine, and one of the 50 future leaders of America by Time magazine. As executive director of the Christian Coalition (1989-1997), he built one of nation's most effective grass roots organizations and played a pivotal role in the election of the first Republican Congress in 40 years. Under his leadership, the Christian Coalition grew from 2,000 members to more than 2 million members and supporters in 3,000 local chapters, with a budget of $27 million.

He is a sought-after political commentator on television whose columns have appeared in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He is the author and editor of three best-selling books. He served as executive director, College Republican National Committee (1982-1984), and as youth co-chairman of the re-election campaign of President Ronald Reagan.

President of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a coalition of taxpayer groups, individuals, and businesses opposed to higher taxes at the federal, state and local levels. ATR organizes the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, which asks all candidates for federal and state office to commit themselves in writing to oppose all tax increases.

Mr. Norquist serves on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association of America and as the president of the American Society of Competitiveness. He also serves as a contributing editor to the American Spectator magazine.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said Mr. Norquist is "The person who I regard as the most innovative, creative, courageous and entrepreneurial leader of the anti-tax efforts and of conservative grassroots activism in America. He has truly made a difference and truly changed American history."

John Fund writes the weekly "On the Trail" column for OpinionJournal.com. He is author of "Stealing Elections: How Voter Fraud Threatens Our Democracy" (Encounter, 2008).

Mr. Fund joined The Wall Street Journal in April 1984 as deputy editorial features editor. He became an editorial page writer specializing in politics and government in October 1986 and was a member of the Journal's editorial board from 1995 through 2001.

Mr. Fund worked as a research analyst for the California State Legislature in Sacramento before beginning his journalism career in 1982 as a reporter for the syndicated columnists Rowland Evans and Robert Novak. In 1993, he received the Warren Brookes Award for journalistic excellence from the American Legislative Exchange Council.

He and former Pennsylvania Rep. James K. Coyne are co-authors of the book "Cleaning House: America's Campaign for Term Limits." Mr. Fund attended California State University where he studied journalism and economics.

Kessler is the New York Times best-selling author of 18 nonfiction books about the Secret Service, the war on terror, the FBI, the CIA, Joseph P. Kennedty, and Palm Beach. His latest is "In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes With Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect."

Kessler began his career as a journalist in 1964 on the Worcester Telegram, followed by three years as an investigative reporter and editorial writer with the Boston Herald. In 1968, he joined The Wall Street Journal as a reporter in the New York bureau. He became an investigative reporter with The Washington Post in 1970 and continued as a staff writer until 1985.

Kessler has won 17 journalism awards, including two George Polk Awards. He won the first Robert Novak Journalist of the Year award given at the 2010 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

Dr. Russell Blaylock, M.D., is a nationally recognized board-certified neurosurgeon, health practitioner, author, lecturer, and editor of The Blaylock Wellness Report. He attended Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans and completed his internship and neurosurgical residency at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. For the past 26 years, he has practiced neurosurgery in addition to having a nutritional practice. He recently retired from his neurosurgical duties to devote his full attention to nutritional studies and research. Dr. Blaylock has authored three books on nutrition and wellness, including "Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills," "Health and Nutrition Secrets That Can Save Your Life," and his most recent work, "Natural Strategies for The Cancer Patient."

A board-certified family physician and one of the foremost practitioners of holistic medicine and editor of Dr. David Brownstein's Natural Way to Health newsletter. Dr. Brownstein has lectured internationally to physicians and others about his success with natural hormones and nutritional therapies in his practice. His books include "Drugs That Don't Work and Natural Therapies That Do!," "Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It," "Salt Your Way To Health," "The Miracle of Natural Hormones," "Overcoming Arthritis," "Overcoming Thyroid Disorders," "The Guide to a Gluten-Free Diet," and "The Guide to Healthy Eating." He is the medical director of the Center for Holistic Medicine in West Bloomfield, Mich.

Faith Whittlesey served as Ronald Reagan's Ambassador to Switzerland twice at the height of the Cold War, from 1981-83 and again from 1985-88. She is a steadfast conservative; the President's selection of Ms. Whittlesey signaled a great deal about his approach in foreign policy.

Ms. Whittlesey was also the Assistant to the President for Public Liaison in the Reagan administration. President George W. Bush asked her to be a member of the delegation to represent the United States at the United Nations small arms treaty negotiations. She continued in this position as needed throughout the Bush presidency.

She has a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where she was the Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Special Assistant Attorney General in the Pennsylvania Department of Justice. She was elected to the Pennsylvania Legislature for two terms.

Ms. Whittlesey has achieved many firsts in her accomplished career. For example, she was the first woman to be admitted to Union League Club of New York.

Ambassador Whittlesey's career in public serve and law provide important insight into foreign policy decisions in today's world.

Mr. Grant has been in the radio business for more than 50 years. Controversial, opinionated and wildly popular, Mr. Grant has ruled the airwaves in New York for several decades. The title of his best-selling book, Let's Be Heard, represents an abbreviated version of his original radio show opener, "And let's be heard! Good afternoon, Ladies and Gentlemen, and welcome to another hour of the free and open exchange of ideas and opinions in the belief that as American citizens you have the right to hear, and to be heard. While on WOR-AM, Mr. Grant often closed his show with the phrase, "Someone's got to say these things, it has to be me!" He calls himself the inventor of controversial talk radio. And today, Mr. Grant can still be heard on WABC, New York, Sundays from noon to 2 p.m.

James Humes was a speech writer to five presidents, including Ronald Reagan. He is a best-selling author, having written 30 books. His biography on Winston Churchill was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Mr. Humes is also a lawyer and educator. He is a master of the language and a colorful orator. Renowned for his impersonations of Churchill, you will not want to miss his talk on the British leader during the Newsmax cruise.

Asa Hutchinson was the first Under Secretary of Homeland Security in January 2003 shortly after the department was created. As one of the nation's top-ranking homeland security officials Mr. Hutchinson was responsible for more than 110,000 federal employees housed in such agencies as the Transportation Security Administration, Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center.

Prior to DHS, Asa Hutchinson served as a Member of Congress from Arkansas from 1997-2001. In Congress, Asa served on the Judiciary, Transportation, Intelligence, and Veterans Affairs committees, where he worked to secure federal funding for Arkansas highways, secure health facilities for veterans in rural counties and helped lead the fight against violent traffickers of methamphetamines.

After being re-elected to his third term, Asa Hutchinson was appointed by President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), where he combined tough law enforcement initiatives with advocating increased investment in treatment and education programs.