Americas Greenzone Board Members

Dr. Peter Balakian

Peter Balakian is the author of 8 books, most recently June-tree: new and Selected Poems, 1974-2000 (Harper Collins 2001) and The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America’s Response (Harper Collins, 2004), which won the Raphael Lemkin Prize and was a New York Times Notable Book and a New York Times Best Seller. His memoir, Black Dog of Fate won the 1998 PEN/Martha Albrand prize for the Art of the Memoir and the New Jersey Council for the Humanities Book Prize, and was a best book of the year for the New York Times, the LA Times and Publisher’s Weekly.

He is also the author of a book on the American poet Theodore Roethke and the co-translator of the Armenian poet Siamanto’s Bloody New from My Friend. Between 1976-1996 he edited with Bruce Smith the poetry journal Graham House Review. He is the recipient of many awards and prizes and civic citations including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, an Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Anaheit Literary Prize. He has appeared widely on national television and radio (ABC World New Tonight, PBS, Charlie Rose, CNN, C-SPAN, NPR, Fresh Air, etc., and foreign editions of his work have appeared in Armenian, Bulgarian, French, Dutch, Greek, German Italian and Turkish.

Peter grew up in Teaneck and Tenafly, New Jersey and holds a BA from Bucknell University and a Ph.D in American Civilization from Brown University. He is Donald M. and Constance H. Rebar Professor of the Humanities and Professor at Colgate University. He was the first Director of Colgate’s Center for Ethics and World Societies and lives in Hamilton, New York with his wife Helen Kebabian and their two children Sophia and James.

Bruce J. Fixelle

Bruce J. Fixelle has served at several prominent firms on Wall Street since his graduation from the State University of New York at Albany in 1981. In 1992, Bruce began a new venture as General Partner and President for Genesis Group LP and Genesis Advisory Services Corporation. Genesis operates as a private hedgfe fund specializing in equity trading, investment banking and Bank conversion. His additional interests include real estate development, working with the National Football Scholarship Program and coaching High School Football. He is a benefactor of many worthy causes. Bruce currently resides in Hillsdale, New Jersey with his wife, Linda and three sons.

Anthony Porter

Tony Porter is an educator and activist working in the social justice arena for over 25 years. He is internationally recognized for his effort to end men’s violence against women. Tony is the visionary and co-founder of A CALL TO MEN: The National Association of Men and Women Committed to Ending Violence Against Women. A CALL TO MEN has gained recognition as one of the leading national men’s organizations addressing not only men’s violence against women, but also the eradication of sexism while maintaining strong coalitions with women’s organizations already doing this important work. As Tony is an engaging and sought after lecturer, his message of accountability is welcomed and supported by many grassroots and renowned organizations. He has worked with the United States Military Academy at West Point and The United States naval Academy in Annapolis. Tony is a renowned international speaker and felt especially privileged to be a guest presenter for the United States Commission on the Status of Women . Tony lives in North Carolina with his wife and children.

William S. Puckett

Bill brings over 20 years of advertising, marketing and promotion experience to the Deploy America effort,. Over the years, Bill has led the development on many important campaigns that are relevant to Deploy America’s challenge. His experience includes effective and award winning campaigns for nonprofits such as a Partnership for a aDrug Free America, Head Start, SKIP of New York, The Leukemia Society and more recently for Military One Source, a non-profit program that supports the military and their families. His breadth of experience in mass multicultural marketing for positive cultural change combined with a passion and understanding of the needs of our American Military and their families makes him a vital component of the Deploy America team. Bill lives in Delaplane, Virginia.

Mary Brooks Puckett

Mary is the founder and current Director of Deploy America. Mary is a psychotherapist, clinical alcohol and drug therapist and clinical Hypnotherapist specializing in trauma and addictions. Mary is the founder of Estuary, Ltd., (www.estuaryhealing.com), an outpatient services center that specializes in the treatment of those men and women who have experienced the multi-faceted faces of trauma. Reflected in the treatment offerings of Estuary are diverse perspectives from her extensive travel and work in Western, Eastern and indigenous cultures. It is the blending of her education, international training and personal experience that define her empathic approach to healing. It is an approach that strives for authentic healing and measurable change. As a professional, she treats men and women. As a professional and a human being, she serves as a witness to their profoundly creative and diverse means of surviving trauma. As a human being she is gifted and awed by their courage and resilience. Mary partners with her clients as they return to life through the darkest days and nights of recurrent memories and the reenactment of their horrific experiences in their present day life. It is her passion, her immeasurable empathy and her unwavering belief in the potential for every human being to heal that has resulted in the founding of Deploy America, Inc. Deeply moved by the valiance and selfless sacrifice of our service members, Mary created Deploy America as a prayer. In gratitude, it is her privilege to serve and support our military men and women, their families and all of Deploy America’s Ambassadors. Mary attended Hamilton College and received her BA and MSW with a Specialization in Addictions from Fordham University. Mary speaks and offers multicultural workshops internationally. She lives in Edgewater, New Jersey.