Bill Belding is a Professor Emeritus at American University’s School of International Service in Washington, D.C.  He was President and CEO of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation, an international humanitarian organization that co-founded the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, the winner of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.  He also served as Chief of Staff of Common Cause.  Bill is an attorney and practiced real estate law in California before becoming fully engaged in the academic and non-profit worlds.  He holds a B.A. in Economics from Yale and a J.D. from the University of California’s Hastings College of Law and served as a Navy SEAL in Vietnam.  In retirement, Bill is Board Chair of Talbot Mentors, a Maryland non-profit dedicated to mentoring and providing undergraduate educational support to under-resourced youth.  He is also a commissioner on Talbot County’s Police Accountability Board.