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Former Rep. Beverly Byron Joins Board of Regents of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

13 April, 1999

Roslyn, Va. - Former U.S. Rep. Beverly B. Byron (R-Md.) will join the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies as a Member of the Board of Regents. In this capacity, she will advise the Chairman and Board of Directors on the strategic direction of the Institute.

"We are honored and pleased that Represenative Byron has decided to join the Board of Regents," said Michael Swetnam, President and Chairman of the Board of the Potomac Institute. "Her expertise and leadership will be invaluable to the Institute as we address the technology policy issues of the next century."

Byron was western Maryland's Representative to Congress from 1978 to 1992, elected to seven consecutive terms. She served as a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, where she was elected subcommittee chairman having oversight of 42% of the Defense Department's budget. From 1983-1986, Byron chaired the House Special Panel on Arms Control and Disarmament. In 1987, she was elected Chairman of the Military Personnel and Compensation Subcommittee, becoming the first woman chosen for a prominent leadership role on the Armed Services Committee. During her tenure, she presided over policy issues that, with the dismantling of the Warsaw Pact and the stunning changes in the Soviet Union, reshaped the American military.

Upon leaving Congress in 1993, President Bush and then President Clinton appointed Byron to the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission. She was also appointed by President Clinton to the Board of Visitors, United States Naval Academy in 1995. She currently chairs that Board. Byron was a member of the Board of Visitors of the Air Force Academy from 1981 until 1991. In 1994, she founded Byron, Butcher and Associates to provide advice and assistance in Congressional and government affairs.

Byron currently serves on several boards and is involved in many policy studies. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including the President's Medal from Johns Hopkins University. She resides in Frederick, MD, with her husband B. Kirk Walsh. She has three children and six grandchildren.

The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization formed in 1994 to provide non-partisan analysis of technology and technology policy to leaders in government, business and academia. The institute has conducted studies on the topics of defense acquisition reform, dual use technology, space commercialization and biological terrorism.