Our Board
The Secure World Foundation was established in December, 2002 as an endowed, private, operating family foundation by Marcel and Cynda Collins Arsenault who wished to put their financial resources to work toward creating a stable and secure world for future generations. They have a strong belief in the capacity of the world to solve problems with intellect, wisdom and compassion. The Board of Directors is comprised of Arsenault family members (Family Directors) and elected Community Directors. The Board relies heavily on the expertise of their staff and Advisory Committee to set the direction and goals of the Foundation.
Cynda Collins Arsenault, Co-founder, Board Chair and President. She also co-founded and serves on the Boards of the Arsenault Family Foundation and One Earth Future, an operating foundation working to catalyze systems that eliminate the root causes of war. She has 45+ years of experience in non-profit work including peace and justice, criminal justice, mental health, disability rights and environmental issues.
In her personal philanthropy she focuses on bringing women’s critical skills to the table for solving the difficult problems we face, with a focus on women, peace and security. She helped establish and works with One Earth Future’s initiative Our Secure Future - Women Make the Difference. She is a member of the Women's Donor Network, Women Moving Millions, and The International Women’s Forum. She is the founder of Women Powering Change, an annual gathering of women working to create a better world.
Ms. Collins Arsenault received her BA in Sociology and Psychology at University of California Berkeley and her MA in Education from Colorado State University.
Marcel Arsenault, with his wife Cynda Collins Arsenault, is co-founder of One Earth Future, as well as the Arsenault Family Foundation and the Secure World Foundation. Through these foundations, Marcel pursues his passion of promoting systems of governance which prevent war.
Marcel served as a board member for MARC for 5 years (currently Arc Thrift-funding advocacy and inclusion for people with developmental disabilities). His achievements have won him numerous awards including the “Conservationist Award” for his participation in Open Space projects in Boulder, Colorado and the distinguished “Steven B. Hart” award from the Colorado Historical Society for restoring the Tabor residence and the Tabor Grand Hotel in Leadville. He was also Vice Chair of Eco-Cycle Boulder, one of the earliest and largest non-profit recycling organizations in the United States.
As founder of Real Capital Solutions, Marcel oversees a portfolio exceeding $1.5 billion in real estate assets. He has delivered numerous presentations to various universities and real estate organizations. He has authored several articles on real estate, including one academic publication, and is a contributing author of How to Build a Real Estate Empire.
He earned a B.S. degree from McGill University and was working toward a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Colorado when he started his career as an entrepreneur.
Dr. Angie Bukley was elected to the SWF Board in 2019 and is the Director for Program Formulation and Partnerships in the Space and Technology Directorate at The Aerospace Corporation. Her duty station is Houston, TX, USA. Dr. Bukley has over 30 years of professional experience providing technical and management expertise in the defense and space sectors, including 10 years in academic administration. She holds a PhD from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Dr. Bukley has nearly 100 technical publications, including three books, and has received over 20 awards for technical merit. She is a Member of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Space 2016-2018 and is active in the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics (Associate Fellow), American Astronautical Society, International Federation for Automatic Control, the American Society for Engineering Education, and Women in Aerospace.
William Van Rensalier Parker is the Principal of Global Engagement Solutions, LLC and the Director of International and Domestic Operations for Strategic Solutions Integrated, Inc. His primary focus area is in finding disruptive technologies and assisting the client in bringing it to market.
Bill retired after 31 years of foreign service with the Department of State with the rank of Minister-Counselor, which is the diplomatic equivalent of Major General. He has accumulated a vast array of contacts critical to national security interests at the highest levels of government and the private sector. His foreign service and other postings include: Foreign Policy Advisor (POLAD), United States Strategic Command; New Delhi, India; the U.S. Mission to NATO, Brussels, Belgium; Davao, Philippines; Paramaribo, Suriname; Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; and numerous temporary duty assignments in Qatar, West Africa and numerous others.
He serves as an International Advisor to the Space Foundation and he previously supported Virginia Tech’s Applied Research Corporation and Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics lab as an Adjunct Fellow.
Bill holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Thiel College. He has trained at the National Security Space Institute (NSSI) and has taken numerous senior level courses at the U.S. Department of State’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center. He speaks French, survivor Spanish and Dutch as well as a few unique dialects learned on-the-ground. He currently resides in Rockville, Maryland with his wife Carol and they have a daughter and son.
Dr. Michael K. Simpson is the former Executive Director of Secure World Foundation and was elected to the SWF board in 2020. Dr. Simpson joined SWF as the Senior Program Officer in September 2011 following seven and a half years as President of the International Space University (ISU). Dr. Simpson holds a post as Professor of Space Policy and International Law at ISU. He is a member of the International Academy of Astronautics and the International Institute of Space Law and is a Senior Fellow of the International Institute of Space Commerce. After 23 years of service, Dr. Simpson retired from the Naval Reserve in 1993 with the rank of Commander.
Dr. Simpson's practical experience includes service as a Political Military Action Officer, observer representative to the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, participating organization representative to the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) and member of the Association of Space Explorers International Panel on Asteroid Threat Mitigation. He currently serves on the Commercial Spaceflight Safety and Space Security Committees of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and is a Vice Chair of the Hague Space Resources Governance Working Group. He sits on the governing board of the World Space Week Association, and is a governor of the National Space Society in the United States.
Ms. Marcia S. Smith is the founder and editor of SpacePolicyOnline.com and president of the Space and Technology Policy Group, LLC. Ms. Smith has more than four decades of experience in space policy. Before starting her own company and website in 2009, she was Director of the Space Studies Board (2006-2009) and additionally Director of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board (2007-2009) at The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Previously, Ms. Smith was a specialist in U.S. and foreign military and civilian space activities and other science and technology policy issues at the Congressional Research Service (1975-2006), which provides objective, non-partisan research and analysis exclusively for the Members and committees of the U.S. Congress. During a leave of absence from 1985-1986, she served as Executive Director of the U.S. National Commission on Space, created by Congress and its members appointed by President Reagan to develop long term goals for the civilian space program. Before joining CRS (1973-1975), she worked in the Washington Office of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), then headquartered in New York.
Ms. Smith is a Fellow of AIAA and of the American Astronautical Society (AAS) and has served as an officer or committee member for both many times. She was a founder and President (1987) of Women in Aerospace and was awarded its Lifetime Achievement Award (2003). She is a member and former Vice President of the International Institute of Space Law and was awarded its Lifetime Achievement Award (2015). Among her many other professional activities, she is the North American editor of the journal Space Policy and on the Board of Editors of the journal New Space.
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