A former US Navy warship captain and Pentagon strategist, Larry launched a second career helping citizens and political leaders strengthen their communities in our highly competitive and often violent world. He introduced new approaches to community building in a number of American cities including Seattle/King County, Columbus, Ohio, and Washington, DC. Abroad he pioneered new methods of peacebuilding and conflict prevention in the Middle East, Central and South Asia, and Latin America.

For the past several years Larry has also worked as a writer and lecturer, contributing opinion pieces to the Christian Science Monitor and other newspapers and helping create movies on counter-terrorism and other national security topics. Deeply concerned about the state of our democracy, Larry co-founded with his wife, Carla, the Refreshing Democracy Project, a local citizens project to reopen democracy's dialog.

Biographical details:

• Born and raised in a farm family in Idaho and Oregon.
• Interrupted college to work as a polar weather observer, wintering over both in the Arctic and in the Antarctic.
• Graduated from Oregon State College in 1963 in General Science.
• After enlisting in the Naval Reserve in 1962, gained a commission through Officers Candidate School. Went on to command four warships, including the battleship USS IOWA, in operations all around the world.
• Appointed a Federal Executive Fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC.
• Served in a series of strategy assignments in the Pentagon, including duty in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
• Completed a 32 year Navy career in 1994.
• Founded the non-profit Strategy Group, an independent, international "do tank" devoted to creating innovative approaches to peacebuilding, conflict prevention, and community development.

Larry's memberships include:

• Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce
• Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce (and its Military Committee).
• International Institute of Strategic Studies.

More on Larry and his writing is available on-line at www.larryseaquist.com.

Larry and his wife of 29 years, Carla, reside in Gig Harbor, Washington. Carla, who grew up in Chehalis, Washington, is a playwright and writer. Her play "The Washington-Sarajevo Talks," was last produced in the Festival of Emerging American Theatre 2003. Carla's essays have been published by the New York Times, Washington Post, Seattle Times and Tacoma News Tribune. She writes regularly for the Christian Science Monitor. More information on her work and writing is available on-line at www.carlaseaquist.com.