Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tracey Hepner,
co-founder of Military Partners & Families Coalition (MPFC), are
among those who will join First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady
Jill Biden as President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union
address on Tuesday.
Prior to being named CEO in August,
2011, Cook was Apple's Chief Operating Officer. He's also held top
management posts in Compaq, Intelligent Electronics and IBM. In
2011, gay glossy Out named Cook the most powerful gay person
in America, but the all-business CEO has yet to publicly acknowledge
his sexual orientation.
Hepner's MPFC provides support,
resources, education and advocacy for LGBT military partners and
their families. She is a master behavior detection officer in the
Department of Homeland Security and is married to the first openly
gay general officer in the military, Army Brigadier General Tammy
Smith.
Also joining Obama and Biden will be
Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to the president; Sergeant Sheena
Adams, lead instructor for Female Engagement Team; Alan Aleman, DREAM
student; Jack Andraka, winner of the 2012 Intel International Science
and Engineering Fair; Susan Bumgarner, early childhood educator; Deb
Carey, owner of New Glarus Brewing Company; Sergeant Carlos Evans,
wounded Marine; Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton and Nathaniel A.
Pendleton, parents of murder victim Hadiya Pendleton; Menchu de Luna
Sanchez, registered nurse; Bobak Ferdowsi (AKA “Mohawk Guy”),
flight director for Mars Curiosity rover; Bradley Henning, machinist;
Peter Hudson, CEO of iTriage; Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber;
Avondale, Arizona Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers; Amanda E. McMillan, pay
discrimination victim; Lee Maxwell, community college graduate;
Lieutenant Brian Murphy, first police officer to arrive at the scene
of the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin; Lisa Richards, single mom;
Kaitlin Roig, first grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary; Abby
Schanfield, beneficiary of the Affordable Care Act; Haile Thomas,
12-year-old co-founder of the HAPPY Organization; Desiline Victor,
102-year-old retired farmworker and naturalized U.S. citizen from
Haiti.