Our Executive Board

Our Surviving Spouse Advisory Board

Andy Baldwin

U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Andrew Baldwin, M.D. is a physician, humanitarian, and diving medical officer at the Navy's Bureau of Medicine and Surgery in Washington, D.C. where he serves as a spokesman and advocate for Navy medicine.

Additionally as an Ironman triathlete and National Health and Fitness Specialist, Andy assists the U.S. Surgeon General with his initiative Healthy Youth for a Healthy Future.

Andy's public persona as a TV celebrity on network television and the star of ABC's hit show "The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman" has transcended into a commitment to humanitarianism through his practice of medicine.

Roy Baldwin

Roy was born in Bridgehampton, Long Island, New York and grew up on a potato farm in western New York State. He attended Cornell University and graduated with a degree in Agricultural Engineering. His work experience includes working for twenty five years in engineering, marketing and human resources at the New Holland farm machinery company, five years working at engineering companies and four years as a State Representative in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives.

Roy developed a sense of community service when he was a member of the New Holland Jaycees. A line in the Jaycee Creed reads "Service to Humanity is the Best Work of Life"

He attended Leadership Lancaster Class in 1986. LL provides training in volunteer work and non-profit organization. Roy has held office on several non-profit boards over the last thirty years and is currently on four boards.

Roy is married to Cynthia and has three children; Andy, Matt and Susie and a dog named Zoe.

Kathleen Gagg

Kathleen Gagg brings her knowledge, passion and ability for promotion to Got Your Back Network. Her experience with non-profit organizations combined with her experience in developing and implementing strategic result oriented public relation and marketing campaigns has helped the organization gain important recognition and support. Kathleen was instrumental in the first major fundraising and promotion efforts of The Got Your Back Network including our evening with the New Jersey Nets.

While serving as Executive Director for another 501(c)3 foundation she has also successfully brought awareness about Congenital Heart Defects in children to help prevent Sudden Cardiac Death by early detection. Kathleen has planned, executed and successfully implemented a program to offer free heart screenings to school age children to promote awareness about Automated External Defibrillators (AED's), as well as the placement of AED's in our schools and accessibility at all sporting events.

Kathleen feels as an American it is her turn to return the salute to our country's bravest!! Kathleen is a successful business woman and is also recognized as a successful multimillion-dollar producer in real estate.

Kathleen resides in Northwest New Jersey with her husband and 3 children.

Andy Abboud

Andy has held this post since 2004, prior to which he served as Director of Government Relations and Community Development for the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino. Possessing some of the most diverse political experience in the gaming industry, Andy's duties include managing the political and governmental affairs for LVSC along with aiding and assisting in the company's expansion efforts and development projects.

Andy is a graduate of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln with a Bachelor's degree in Economics. He began his career working on local, state, and federal campaigns in the late 1980's. Shortly thereafter, he was appointed to serve as Executive Director of the Republican Party of Harris County, Texas. In 1992, Andy returned home to Nebraska where he worked on the Republican National Committee's Victory Campaign for the Midwest region. At the campaign's conclusion, he went on to serve as the Executive Director of the Douglas County Republican Party. He was then appointed to serve statewide as the Executive Director of the Nebraska Republican Party until 1997 when he left to manage the Christensen for Governor Campaign.

Since 1998, Andy has been instrumental in instituting The Venetian and Las Vegas Sands Corp.'s political and community development activities, along with helping to ensure The Venetian and LVSC properties continue to set the industry's standards. Abboud oversees the company's political activity and lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., Carson City, as well as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He led the company's campaign to obtain a gaming license in Pennsylvania, spearheading a proposal to redevelop the former Bethlehem Steel property into a mixed-use resort development. He continues to lead the company's expansion opportunities in other jurisdictions within the United States.

Andy has been at the forefront of several of the company's political and community initiatives including the creation and development of LVSC's Responsible Gaming Program. In the development of this program, he facilitated a partnership with the Harvard University Medical School and Cambridge Health Alliance Division on Addictions to develop a cutting-edge training curriculum for all team members, establishing LVSC as the foremost leader in responsible gaming in the world.

Andy also organized and oversees the charitable arm of the Las Vegas Sands Corp. 501c (3) charitable foundation, the Sands Foundation. The Sands Foundation has distributed millions of dollars in charitable contributions to thousands of organizations and individuals in need throughout Southern Nevada and the world focusing on youth, health, and education. The Sands Foundation has comprehensive scholarship programs for team members and residents of the communities in which the company operates. In recent years, Andy has helped facilitate Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson's program to bring wounded warriors and their families to Las Vegas for VIP treatment as a show of gratitude for their service to our country.

Andy is also active in several civil and charitable organizations, sitting on the Board of Directors for the Problem Gambling Center, Three Square Foundation, Got Your Back Network and the Sands Foundation.

Andy's hobbies include reading, exercising, and most importantly all aspects of University of Nebraska Football.

Cindy Baldwin

Cynthia Baldwin is a highschool math teacher in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She earned her BA in mathematics in 1972 from Cornell University. She is married to Roy Baldwin and has three children. In her early years she lived overseas because of her father's employment with the US State Department. She lived in the Marshall Islands, Lybia, and Paraguay and returned to the US at age 14.

Susie Baldwin

Susie grew up in Lancaster, PA in a family with a strong sense of community service and a desire to help and empower others. This desire helped her choose a career path. Susie graduated from Cornell University in 2008 and will graduate with a Master in Social Work from Columbia University School of Social Work in May 2010. During graduate school, Susie has learned and developed skills to be used in work with both children and adults, and in the face of life-threatening illness, loss, trauma, and chemical dependence. Susie has experience with short-term and long-term counseling in both the school and the hospital setting.

Susie is the daughter of Roy and Cindy Baldwin and has two older brothers, Andy and Matt.

Shana Smith

Shana has been volunteering within the domestic violence community for the past 7 years serving on fundraising boards, volunteering at events and shelters and creating t-shirts for the Clothesline project. In addition Shana has started a program, A Case of Hope, providing pillowcases with essential items to children entering domestic violence emergency shelters and will begin a program working towards increasing self esteem in young at risk girls to help them avoid violent relationships.

Mrs. Smith is the proud mother of a 5 year old daughter and wife of an Army MP. She works full time in healthcare and loves spending her free time with her family. Her hobbies include working out, scrapbooking and playing Hungry Hungry Hippo. Shana was awarded the title of Mrs. Southern California United States 2010 in September 2009 and has remained extremely busy promoting her platform, Domestic Violence Awareness and Education.

Barbara Allen

Barbara Allen is a mother of four and lives in New York. Her husband,Lt Louis Allen, was killed in Iraq in June 2005. Barbara is enrolled in American Military University's Masters Program,pursuing a degree in criminal justice. She has written her first book, due out later this year.

Ursula Bowen

Ursula is the surviving spouse of SFC Collin J Bowen. He met his wife, Ursula, at the University of Maryland Baltimore County when he was enrolled in a Spanish class she taught.

SFC Bowen volunteered to go to Afghanistan in November 2006. On January 2nd 2008, only two weeks before coming back home, he was injured in an IED attack. He passed away on March 14th, 2008. They had one daughter, Gabriela, who was only 3 years old at the time of his death. His other two daughters from his previous marriage, Erin and Katelyn, were 13 and 10 years old.

Ursula is originally from Bogota, Colombia, but has lived in the US for more than a decade now. She holds two Master degrees in communications, and for the last five years has worked as Director of Marketing and Operations for a real estate auction company in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ursula as a military wife, mother, worker and immigrant thought she had confronted strong challenges throughout her life, until she was faced with the injuries and later death of her husband. Now, a few years later, she is happy to offer her knowledge, diverse background and first hand experience of widowhood to Got Your Back Network.