Overview

The Defense Community Council (DCC) is ADC’s service-aligned advisory body that organizes, connects, and elevates defense communities nationwide. It gives the military, Congress, stakeholders, and the public a single, credible way to find and engage defense-community contacts. It formalizes community input and leadership and strengthens the defense-community voice in policy and practice.

Structure: The DCC will operate through three military service councils – Army | Navy/Marine Corps | Air Force/Space Force

Membership: The Council will be comprised of representatives from defense communities that are ADC community members (in good standing) and are connected to one or more installations or defense missions. In locations where there are multiple member organizations connected to an installation, each organization will have the ability to appoint a representative to the Council

Leadership: Small ADC-appointed Coordinating Committees with Co-Chairs and Board Liaisons guide each Service Council’s work.

Council Membership

  • The Defense Community Council is comprised of representatives from ADC community member organizations that support one or more military installations or defense missions.
  • Each ADC community member organization may appoint one Representative and one Alternate for each installation or mission it supports.
  • If more than one ADC community member organization supports the same installation, each organization may designate its own Representative and Alternate.
  • Representatives serve one-year terms, with an annual ADC update process to confirm appointments.
  • Organizations may update their Representative or Alternate at any time by emailing ADC.

How to Join the Council

Joining the Defense Community Council is simple:

  • Confirm your organization is an ADC community member in good standing.
    Not sure? Contact info@defensecommunities.org.
  • Complete the Member Survey [Link] to confirm your installation or mission connections and identify your DCC Representative and Alternate.
  • ADC will add your organization to the Council and connect your representatives to Service Council meetings and online community activities.

The DCC is open to ADC community member organizations that support one or more installations or defense missions, including community, regional, and state organizations such as military-community partnering groups, local and state government, chambers of commerce, and redevelopment authorities.

Leadership

DCC LEADERSHIP (2026)

Each Service Council will be led by a Council Chair, an executive committee and an ADC Board Liaison. The following indivuals are leading the council for 2026:

Army

  • Co-Chair: Maria Tobin, Program Manager, South Sound Military & Communities Partnership (Joint Base Lewis McChord, WA)
  • Co-Chair: Tom Clark, Executive Director, Alliance for Fort Gordon, (Fort Gordon, GA)
  • Dorsey Newcomb, Executive Director, Leonard Wood Institute (Fort Leonard Wood, MO)
  • Kent Glasscock, Executive Director, Flint Hills Regional Council (Fort Riley, KS)
  • John Trylch (ADC Board Liason), Assistant City Manager, City of Fountain (Fort Carson, CO)

    Navy, Marine Corps & Coast Guard

    • Co-Chair: Will Lewis, Mayor, City of Havelock (Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, NC)
    • Co-Chair: Paul Whitescarver, Executive Director, Southeastern Connecticut Enterprise Region (Subbase New London, CT)
    • Rick Dwyer (ADC Board Liaison), Executive Director, Hampton Roads Military & Federal Facilities Alliance, VA

      Air & Space Forces

      • Co-Chair: Brekka Kramer, President & CEO, Minot Area Chamber EDC (Minot AFB, ND)
      • Co-Chair: Rob Devall, Director of Military Affairs, Aurora Chamber of Commerce (Buckley SFB, CO)
      • Randy Norwood, Assistant Vice President, Military & Strategic Affairs, Omaha Chamber of Commerce (Offutt AFB, NE)
      • Megan Delarosa, Executive Director, Kirtland Partnership Committee (Kirtland AFB, NM)
      • Kimberly Huth (ADC Board Liason), Executive Director of Military Affairs, St. Clair County (Scott AFB, IL)

      Role of DCC Representatives

      • Serve as your organization’s primary point of contact to the Defense Community Council and help ADC connect with local partners and stakeholders.
      • Appointments are for one year (January 1–December 31); ADC will contact communities each fall to confirm or update Representative and Alternate information.
      • Representatives or Alternates attend quarterly virtual Service Council meetings and respond to occasional ADC requests, with communications shared across local members for transparency.
      • DCC engagement at in-person events will focus on open town halls and planning sessions rather than representative-only meetings.
      • Optional working groups may form around mission areas such as depots, installation missions, and readiness and resilience.
      • Representatives and Alternates will be listed in ADC’s directory as community points of contact for stakeholders.

      DCC 2026 Schedule

      March 2026 – Virtual kickoff meeting (Date TBD)

      May 2026 – Meeting at ADC 50 (Washington DC)

      July/August – Virtual Meeting

      October – Meeting at IIF26 (Tampa)

      *additional schedule details will be released shortly

      DCC Membership List

      Coming soon

      More information?

      Contact the ADC team at dcc@defensecommunities.org