Derek Hardwick is currently serving as the Country Director for Georgia at the U.S. Department of Defense. He is responsible for advising senior U.S. officials on all politico-military-economic aspects of U.S. security relations with Georgia. Previously, Dak served as a Congressional Affairs Analyst in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense. Prior to joining Homeland Defense, Dak was selected for the prestigious Presidential Management Fellowship program and worked as a Congressional Appropriations Specialist at Headquarters, United States Marine Corps. A native of Huntington, West Virginia, Dak holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs from Indiana University and a Master of Public Administration degree from West Virginia University.

Joe Hurd

Joe is currently the Vice President, Business Development at VideoEgg, Inc., a video technology company based in San Francisco, CA.  At VideoEgg, Joe is responsible for structuring, negotiating and executing strategic partnerships.  He is also the Managing Partner of The Katama Group, LLC, where he consults with Web 2.0 companies on strategy, product marketing and international business development. Prior to VideoEgg and Katama, Joe worked at Friendster, AOL, and Linklaters.  He sits on the advisory board of six startup companies, and is a Term Member on the Council of Foreign Relations.  Harvard College, A.B. East Asian Studies and Government, Columbia University, M.I.A., Harvard Law School, J.D.  Federal law clerk to Judge William G. Young (Massachusetts).