Board of Directors
Robert D. Comfort,
president
In 2011, Bob Comfort retired as the chief tax officer at Amazon.com, a position he held since 2000. Before joining Amazon, Bob was a senior partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, resident in the Philadelphia office, where he was manager of the firm’s tax department and active in both firm and office management. He held leadership positions in the Tax Sections of both the American Bar Association and the Philadelphia Bar Association and was a member of the American College of Tax Counsel. Bob taught various tax courses as an adjunct professor at the law schools of the University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, Rutgers University, Temple University, and the University of Washington. He also served for many years as a member and president of the Board of Education in Haddonfield, NJ.
Bob received his A.B. summa cum laude from Princeton in 1973 and was class valedictorian. He received his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard in 1976 and was Supreme Court Note Editor of the Harvard Law Review. Following law school, Bob clerked for the Hon. James Hunter III on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and for the Hon. Lewis F. Powell on the Supreme Court of the United States.
Loretta M. Comfort,
secretary
For much of her career, Loretta taught middle and high school students in the areas of literacy and social studies. Early on, Loretta distinguished herself as a teacher leader and ultimately became a school district curriculum administrator who led the professional development of teachers and administrators in house as well as at state and national conferences. In addition, she has published articles in professional journals, contributed to a book on civil rights, and wrote original middle school text for state assessments.
Loretta received recognition from NJ Governor Kean as teacher of the year as well as Senator Bill Bradley as a “meritorious” social studies teacher. Instrumental in securing a four-year grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts through the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia Schools of Excellence, Loretta created a team of teachers to formulate a plan that would foster cultural sensitivity in her ethnically homogenous school district. She also served as a Penn Fellow through the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies. Loretta graduated with a B.A. in history from Douglass College of Rutgers University and completed graduate work in English at the University of Maryland. Her M.Ed. was earned at Temple University.
Currently, Loretta spends her time writing and volunteering with early readers in a Palm Beach County elementary school.
Adam B. Comfort,
treasurer
Adam is a Senior Advisor to the US Government with the University of Maryland Applied Research Lab for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS). He has seventeen years in the national security space, including time on Capitol Hill, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and managing various contracts with the Military Services and the Intelligence Community. Prior to joining ARLIS, he was Vice President of DoD cyber solutions at Parsons, and has held various management roles at EverWatch, Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems and Detica. His work has centered on helping to stand up new government organizations, from the Department of Homeland Security to the Joint IED Defeat Organization to US Cyber Command.
Additionally, he has served as a policy advisor to the Director of the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, The Director of Defense Intelligence – Warfighter Support, and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict. He earned a Masters in International Affairs from American University and a Bachelors in History and Music from Bowdoin College.
Operations
Kate V. Comfort,
executive director
Kate Comfort has over a decade of experience working in support of the federal government both as a civil servant and consultant in the areas of defense and security. Initially focusing internationally, Kate completed research in Egypt, China and at the European Union in support of her degree in International Affairs. Her international experience supported her in work as an analyst for the US Department of State, Missile Defense Agency and Office of Naval Intelligence. For her efforts while in Iraq supporting Naval Special Warfare missions, she was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Global War on Terrorism in 2008. Departing federal service in 2009 Kate transitioned to work in the federal contracting industry, supporting Intelligence Community and Department of Justice customers.
After completing her Masters in Business Administration, Kate established her own small business offering strategy and management consulting services for the United States Marshals Service where she evaluated policy as well as organizational and operational risk. Her professional experiences have a commonality of working to analyze mission effectiveness and developing risk mitigations which she looks forward to applying to community-based philanthropic efforts on behalf of The Comfort Family Foundation.
Kate a member of the Board of Directors for Arts on the Horizon, LLC. which is an Alexandria, Virginia performance arts organization specializing in theater for young audiences. She is also Board member for the Junior Friends of The Campagna Center as well as a volunteer for the Virginia Medical Response Corps.
Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.
–President James Garfield
