National Review Institute Announces Washington Fellows 2010 Class

National Review Institute is pleased to announce the selection of 25 Washington Fellows for its new class. The Fellows, with diverse experiences in the public and private sectors, were chosen from an impressive group of applicants eager to study the conservative movement’s history and tenets. They will be joining a new network of talented young professionals engaged in public policy.

In the Institute’s unique, demanding program over the next year, the Fellows will gain a fuller appreciation of modern conservatism by studying the ideas, authors, and institutions that have shaped it.

National Review Institute’s Washington Fellows 2010 Class

Karin Agness is an attorney at a Washington, D.C. firm, and is the Founder and President of the Network of enlightened Women (NeW), the nation’s premier organization for conservative college women. Started as a book club at the University of Virginia in 2004, NeW has expanded to over 20 college campuses nationwide. Ms. Agness is a regular writer for Townhall.com, and has had her columns published in The Washington Post, The Washington Times and The Richmond Times-Dispatch. She has debated on CSPAN’s Washington Journal and appeared on national shows, such as CNN’s American Morning, the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and the Laura Ingraham Show. A proud Midwesterner from Indiana, Ms. Agness interned for the Office of Senator Richard Lugar and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. She earned both her undergraduate degree and law degree from the University of Virginia.

Daniel Allott is senior writer at American Values, a Washington, D.C. area public policy organization. His opinion and commentary pieces have appeared in more than a dozen publications, including the Houston Chronicle, the Wall Street Journal Online, the Washington Times, Politico, the American Spectator and National Review Online. While he has written about a wide variety of topics—including language, disability, sports, travel and Cuban and Sudanese politics—his commitment to the pro-life cause informs all of his writing. Mr. Allott is also as associate producer with In Altum Productions, a documentary film company founded by his twin brother, Jordan. One of their current projects is Oscar’s Cuba, a feature-length documentary about imprisoned Cuban democracy advocate Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, which was released to acclaim in April and is currently screening in America and Europe. He received his Master’s of Public Policy from Georgetown University, where he was academic editor of the Georgetown Public Policy Review. He received his B.A. in English and International Relations from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Mr. Allott was born in Reading, England, and resides in McLean, Virginia.

Howard Anglin is a lawyer with Wiley Rein in Washington, D.C. Beyond his legal practice, he has written articles and reviews for National Review Online, The American Conservative, The National Post, The Ottawa Citizen, The Montreal Gazette, The Salisbury Review, as well as numerous online publications on topics including international law, national security, politics, literature, architecture, food and wine. Mr. Anglin is also a sometime speechwriter and political advisor and has been invited to testify before the Parliament of Canada on questions including the application of the Geneva Conventions, the involvement of children in armed conflict and refugee law. Prior to moving to Washington, Mr. Anglin clerked on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and practiced law in London. He is a graduate of McGill University and New York University Law School.  

Benjamin Bowman recently completed a master's degree at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Bologna, Italy, and Washington, D.C., with a concentration in Global Theory and History and International Finance. Specific research topics included elitism in American politics, prospects for democracy expansion, and the 2008 financial collapse. Prior to SAIS, Mr. Bowman participated in several entrepreneurial endeavors. He was a cofounder and manager of a Pennsylvania firm that manufactures and distributes novel products for pick-up trucks. The company grew from product prototype to nationwide sales in two years and currently continues to increase revenue and employ more than twenty people. He also established a mobile construction company that completed building projects in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean. In addition, he worked on a project for Corning-Asahi to help redesign plant production lines. While obtaining a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Grove City College, he designed a water pump that harnessed river energy and was implemented in Honduras to irrigate crops. Mr. Bowman grew up in Frostburg, a small town in western Maryland

Miles Coleman currently serves as a law clerk at the United States Court of Federal Claims. Mr. Coleman earned a law degree with honors from the University of South Carolina where he was a member of the Law Review, the moot court team, the mock trial team, and was the president of the Christian Legal Society and the Federalist Society. While in law school, Mr. Coleman served as the minister of music at his church and worked on judicial selection for the South Carolina Senate. Prior to law school, he attended Bob Jones University, graduating in 2005 with a degree in Rhetoric and Public Address. Mr. Coleman is a Blackstone Legal Fellow, a published author, a past editor for the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, and has argued cases before the South Carolina Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. He is an ironman triathlete and has run many marathons and one ultramarathon.

Stephen J. Cox is a senior associate at the prestigious law firm of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, where his practice currently focuses on high-profile Congressional investigations, defense and national-security matters, public policy, and crisis management. He also does a significant amount of pro bono work, representing, for example, Hannah Giles in ACORN-related litigation and consulting to the FBI on certain counterterrorism issues. Prior to joining the law firm, Mr. Cox worked in the Bush Administration at the Department of Homeland Security as counselor to the Assistant Secretary of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He also clerked for the Honorable J.L. Edmondson on the Eleventh Circuit. Mr. Cox was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and grew up in Houston, Texas. He studied computer science and engineering at Texas A&M University, after which he worked as a management consultant in the energy industry, and then went to law school at the University of Houston, where he graduated summa cum laude. He is married to the incomparable Cristina Maria Cox.

Paul Edattel currently serves as the Legislative Director to Congressman John Shadegg (R-AZ). In this capacity, he also advises Congressman Shadegg on health care and entitlement issues. Prior to working on Capitol Hill, Mr. Edatell began his career in Washington, D.C. working for former Secretary of Education William J. Bennett and 1996 GOP Vice-Presidential nominee Jack Kemp at Empower America. He subsequently worked as a regulatory consultant and paralegal at Beveridge & Diamond P.C. with a focus on environmental law. Mr. Edatell is a Yonkers, N.Y. native and received his B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in Public Law from the University at Buffalo.

Tyler Grimm currently serves as Director of Research at Public Notice, an independent non-profit dedicated to providing facts and insight on the economy and how government policy affects Americans’ financial well-being in a non-partisan way. Mr. Grimm also serves as research assistant to Stephen Moore, senior economics writer for the Wall Street Journal editorial page. He has been published in The Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy and The Wall Street Journal among other places. He has also contributed to several studies and books, including Art Laffer, Stephen Moore, and Peter Tanous’s The End of Prosperity, and Glenn Beck’s number 1 New York Times bestseller Arguing with Idiots. Mr. Grimm received a degree in Government and International Politics from George Mason University, where he was a member of the policy debate team, and also spent a semester at Oxford University studying postmodernism and contemporary political thought. Mr. Grimm hails from a suburb of Pittsburgh, PA.

Kevin P. Gundersen is a Republican Professional Staff Member on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security. In that role, he is responsible for the Intelligence and Counterterrorism portfolios for Ranking Member Peter T. King (R-NY). Prior to joining the Committee, Mr. Gundersen was Manager of Program Development at the Organization for International Investment (OFII), a trade association representing 160 U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies. Before working at OFII, Mr. Gundersen was a Credit Analyst at CreditUs.com, Inc., a Miami-based business-to-business credit report repair company. A graduate of Boston College High School, Mr. Gundersen holds a BA in Political Science from Fordham University and is currently pursuing a MS in Strategic Intelligence at the National Defense Intelligence College at the Defense Intelligence Agency. A native of Hanover, MA, Mr. Gundersen is an avid Boston sports fan and enjoys the beaches of Cape Cod.

Benjamin Hackett, from Brooklyn, NY, is an associate at the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. Previously, as an Information Officer at USAID, Mr. Hackett worked on civil society issues with the Cuba Program and project management in new technologies with the Development Leadership Initiative. Currently, Mr. Hackett serves as editor for International Affairs Forum. Presently, he also works with Advanced Campaign Solutions, a new media startup creating solutions for conservative campaigns. Before returning to the US, Mr. Hackett lived in the Middle East. While in Bahrain/Qatar/UAE, he co-founded the United States and Bahrain Civil Society. Mr. Hackett served as policy advisor to GCC Ministries and as a Leadership Development Professional in a venture between the State Department and Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior. Early in his career, he worked in network/nodal analysis of terrorist organizations with CASOS at CMU, gaining exposure to open-source intelligence exploitation. A Master Mason at Federal Lodge #1 F.A.A.M, Mr. Hackett is active in the DC metro community. He serves on boards at the McClendon Center, Arlington Young Republicans, and worked with the Arlington DHS Citizenship Program. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Mr. Hackett triple majored in Public Policy and Management, International Relations, and Political Science.

Gene Hamilton will be working as an attorney for a federal agency in the metro D.C. area starting this fall. He graduated magna cum laude and was elected to the Order of the Coif at the Washington and Lee (W&L) School of Law. While at Washington and Lee, Mr. Hamilton was tapped into Omicron Delta Kappa; served as President of the W&L Federalist Society; taught Legal Research as a Burks Scholar; and was a semi-finalist in the Mock Trial program. He also served as a research assistant for a Professor at W&L; served as a research assistant for a Professor at the Coast Guard Academy; and served as an Editor on the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy’s Annual Symposium Issue. Mr. Hamilton interned with a political office during his first semester of law school; worked for the Department of Homeland Security during the summer after his first year of law school; and worked for the Air Force General Counsel's office after his second year. Before law school, Mr. Hamilton worked in the commercial landscape industry. Mr. Hamilton received his bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the University of Georgia. Mr. Hamilton and his wife, Rebecca, will live in Northern Virginia.

Walton Liles is a litigation associate at Goodwin Procter LLP, where his practice focuses primarily on consumer financial services litigation. Prior to joining Goodwin Procter, Mr. Liles on served as a law clerk to Judge Joel F. Dubina of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Mr. Liles received a B.A. in History and Economics from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law. During law school, Mr. Liles served as the Acquisitions Editor of the Alabama Law Review and was a member of the Christian Legal Society and the Federalist Society. Mr. Liles lives in Arlington, Virginia with his wife Grace and their two children.

Christopher Malagisi is President of the Young Conservatives Coalition (YCC) – a DC-based, young professional conservative leadership and networking organization dedicated to organzing the next generation of the conservative movement. He also serves as Director of Political Training at The Leadership Institute – a national conservative political training organization. Mr. Malagisi is also a political science Adjunct Professor at American University teaching two courses titled The Modern Conservative Movement in US Politics: 1945-Present and Campaigns & Political Activism, earning him a 2010 Pollie Award for political education. Mr. Malagisi was also awarded the 2009 Rising Star Award from Campaigns & Elections Politics Magazine for significant achievements in national politics. Previously, he worked on three US presidential campaigns, a high-profile US Senate campaign, the International Republican Institute (travelling to Afghanistan), Capitol Hill, and the College Republican National Committee. He is a published op-ed writer and has been a political analyst on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, and CSPAN. He is orginally from Buffalo, NY, received a Master’s of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, a B.A. in Political Science from American University, is presently an officer with the Republican Party of Virginia (8th Dist.), has worked/studied in 36 countries and recorded two original music piano albums.

Stephen Martinko serves as Legislative Director for Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA), where he acts as chief policy advisor with special emphasis on Rep. Shuster’s activities on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Before joining Congressman Shuster’s staff, Mr. Martinko served as the Director of Floor Debate for the House Republican Conference and Chairman Deborah Pryce (R-OH). He has also worked as a legislative aide for former Rep. Jon Porter (R-NV) and on the staff of former Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV). A native of Toledo, Ohio, Stephen earned a B.A. in History / Public Policy from Brown University and an M.A. in Strategic Security Studies from the National Defense University. Mr. Martinko has previously participated in fellowships with Partnership for a Secure America and the American Enterprise Institute. He is a member of the Middle East Institute, Young Professionals in Foreign Policy, and the Republican Communicators Association.

Tim Peterson is an attorney and journalist who specializes in internet and intellectual property law. Mr. Peterson has served as counsel for SBC Internet Services as well as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for inServ. Mr. Peterson currently provides legal services and consultation to a variety of commercial clients. Most recently Mr. Peterson earned an MSc in New Media from Columbia University School of Journalism. He is also a graduate of Regis High School in Manhattan, SUNY Binghamton, and Boston College Law School. Mr. Peterson has served as Editor-in-Chief for the Authentics Foundation, a London-based international leader in the fight against counterfeit goods. Originally from Brooklyn, Mr. Peterson is active in the Catholic Church and Republican politics, including serving as campaign manager for a Republican State Senate candidate in East Boston. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, the Internet Society, and the Republican National Lawyers Association.

Justin Polin is Research Associate for Senior Fellow Douglas J. Feith at the Hudson Institute's Center for National Security Strategies. There he has worked on a wide range of national security issues including strategic communications, civilian stabilization and reconstruction, arms control, detainee treatment, and others. Mr. Polin has also researched and written extensively about South Asia-related topics such as ideological outreach to Pakistan's Pashtuns, constitutional issues of Pakistan, the ideological foundations of Indian and Pakistani foreign policy, and Kashmir. His work has been published in the New York Times, the Weekly Standard, the Providence Journal, and elsewhere. Mr. Polin serves as a member of the Panel of Experts for Spearhead Research, a Lahore-based research institute headed by former Pakistani Army Chief of Staff and former Ambassador to the United States Jehangir Karamat. Originally from Warwick, Rhode Island, Mr. Polin earned an M.A. in Statecraft and National Security Affairs from the Institute of World Politics and a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University. He is proficient in Italian, speaks intermediate-level Hindi-Urdu, and has studied in Northern India.

James Rice is a Legislative Assistant for U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa for whom he has worked since June 2000. Mr. Rice handles a variety of legislative issues for Senator Grassley including: education, natural resources, governmental affairs, Senate rules, defense, and veterans. His previous professional experience includes positions in the Iowa Senate, the British Conservative Party, and various political campaigns. Mr. Rice speaks French and enjoys international travel. He also serves as the Parliamentarian for the State Society of Iowa. Mr. Rice received a B.A. from Drake University with majors in political science and history. He is a native of Davenport, Iowa.

David Rybicki is an Assistant United States Attorney with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. Rybicki was Assistant Special Legal Counsel to the McCain-Palin 2008 presidential campaign and represented the Republican Party of Pennsylvania in election-law matters, including litigation against ACORN and its affiliates. He has also worked as an associate at Wiley Rein LLP, a Washington, D.C., law firm, and is a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association. Mr. Rybicki graduated from Stanford Law School in 2006, where he was president of the Federalist Society and executive editor of the Stanford Law Review. Following law school, Mr. Rybicki served as a law clerk to Chief Judge Edith H. Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He holds a B.A. from Yale College and an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge, where he was a member of the inaugural class of Gates Cambridge Foundation Scholars. Before entering law school, Mr. Rybicki worked for the State Department in Vienna and Moscow. He speaks German and Russian.

Monica Sanders is currently a legislative assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she has been employed since January 2009. Ms. Sanders handles a variety of issues including homeland security, energy and trade. Ms. Sanders has an L.L.M. in International Business Law from the University of London, a J.D. from the Catholic University of America and completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Most recently, she served as a fellow at the Harvard Project on Negotiation where she worked with an international non-profit. Prior to embarking on a legal career, Ms. Sanders was a journalist for several years and won awards for her work at CNN. She currently resides in Maryland.

Apoorva Shah is a senior research associate in foreign and defense studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) in Washington D.C. His areas of research include the political economy of emerging countries, international security, governance, and development policy, with a regional focus on South Asia and Latin America. Prior to joining AEI, Mr. Shah received a Rice University Wagoner Scholarship to Sri Lanka and Brazil, where he conducted field research on the interaction between non-governmental organizations and public policy. He has also conducted field work in Mexico and Chile. Mr. Shah blogs frequently on AEI’s Enterprise Blog and has written for several publications including Policy Review, The Journal of International Security Affairs, The American, TCS Daily, WeeklyStandard.com, and WashingtonPost.com. He is a Claremont Institute Publius Fellow, a Fulbright Scholarship recipient, and holds a B.A. in Policy Studies and Hispanic Studies from Rice University.

Thomas M. Skypek is a national security analyst specializing in strategic planning, policy analysis, and net assessment. He has supported research and analysis efforts for the Departments of Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, and Intelligence Community. His areas of interest include U.S. foreign policy, international relations, and defense policy. His articles on defense and foreign policy have been published in The National Interest, The Washington Times, The Weekly Standard, China Brief, The Journal of International Security Affairs and The Journal of Military and Strategic Studies. He is a 2010 Nuclear Scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Since 2008, he has blogged on foreign policy and American politics at hopeisnotaforeignpolicy.org. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Western New England College in Springfield, MA and a Master's of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies from Missouri State University. A native of Somers, CT, he currently resides in Northern Virginia with his wife, Shannon, and their daughter, Eleanor.

Marion Smith researches and writes on the principles of U.S. foreign policy at the Heritage Foundation, where he is completing a research fellowship in the B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies. Mr. Smith is a native of South Carolina where his ancestors fought on both sides of the American Revolution. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wofford College in 2007, with a B.A. in government and history. Mr. Smith has studied international relations and law at Oxford University, the University of Amsterdam, and Central European University. In 2009 while living in Budapest, Mr. Smith founded the Common Sense Society of which he remains president (www.commonsensebudapest.com). Common Sense seeks to promote civic engagement, entrepreneurship, and greater understanding of the ideals of liberty in Hungary. Before deciding on politics and international relations, Mr. Smith studied ancient history and participated in archaeological excavations in the Middle East.

Toby Stock is managing director of development at the American Enterprise Institute, focusing on outreach to individuals. He joined AEI after 3 ½ years heading up admissions at Harvard Law School and advising Dean Elena Kagan. Prior to his work at Harvard, Mr. Stock was a partner and co-founder of Brody Admissions, a college and graduate school admissions advising and test prep company, headquartered in Chicago. Before that, he was an associate in McKinsey & Company’s Chicago office, where his work focused on financial institutions. Mr. Stock is a 2001 graduate of Harvard Law School and has a degree in finance from the University of Missouri. He is a native of Des Moines, Iowa.

Erich Telfer is a career Coast Guard officer who graduated from Penn State University. In his 19 years of service, he has held assignments in Search and Rescue and Maritime Law Enforcement operations. He has worked afloat on the cutter Reliance and ashore in Miami, San Diego, and the Midwest. Mr. Telfer was a military attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City and recently left command of a Deployable Specialized Forces unit focused on counter-smuggling operations in the Pacific and Caribbean oceans and the Persian Gulf. In the 1990s, he served as a senior White House Social Aide. Mr. Telfer holds a Master’s degree in Military Studies from the USMC Command and Staff College. He is married to the former Jennifer Wickersham of Houston. The Telfers have three children.

Spencer Wayne is a legislative assistant for US Senator George LeMieux, focusing on budget, taxes, entitlement reform, transportation, banking, and economic issues. He has over five years of experience examining and scrutinizing appropriations bills as they work their way through the Senate. Mr. Wayne uses this experience in the appropriations and budget process to help Senator LeMieux propose bills and amendments to limit federal spending and ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent effectively. Prior to working for Senator LeMieux, Mr. Wayne served as a legislative assistant to Senator Mel Martinez. Originally from Kentucky, Mr. Wayne holds a B.S. in Political Science from the University of Louisville (UofL). While in college, he led UofL's College Republican chapter, and started a conservative campus newspaper. He lives in Silver Spring, MD with his wife Lisa.

Events

Charles Kesler meets with NRI’s Washington Fellows
July 21, 2010
Charles Kesler, Professor of government and editor of the Claremont Review of Books, meets with NRI’s Washington Fellows to discuss the philosophical origins of progressivism and conservatism and their historical trajectories.

NRI welcomes 2010 Washington Fellows
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 / Washington, DC / *By Invitation Only*
Author Jonah Goldberg joins NRI in welcoming the new class of Washington Fellows.

John O’Sullivan (CBE) meets with NRI Washington Fellows
April 13, 2010
John O’Sullivan (CBE), executive director of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, former editor of National Review, and formerSpecial Advisor to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, met with NRI’s Washington Fellows to discuss his book, The Pope, The President, and The Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World.

Ron Haskins meets with NRI Washington Fellows
March 9, 2010
Brookings scholar Ron Haskins met with NRI’s Washington Fellows to discuss his experience reforming federal welfare policy detailed in his book, Work over Welfare: The Inside Story of the 1996 Welfare Reform Law.

Stephen Moore meets with NRI Washington Fellows
January 13, 2010
The Wall Street Journal’s Stephen Moore met with NRI’s Washington Fellows to discuss his book, The End Of Prosperity, co-authored with economist Arthur Laffer.

Steve Hayward meets with NRI’s Washington Fellows
November 18, 2009
AEI scholar Steven F. Hayward met with NRI’s Washington Fellows to discuss his newly published history, The Age of Reagan: The Conservative Counterrevolution: 1980-1989.

Brit Hume meets with NRI’s Washington Fellows
November 2009
Journalist Brit Hume met with NRI’s Washington Fellows to discuss the media and politics.

Jonah Goldberg meets with NRI’s Washington Fellows
October 14, 2009                                                         
Journalist Jonah Goldberg met with NRI’s Washington Fellows to discuss his bestseller, Liberal Fascism.

George Nash meets with NRI’s Washington Fellows
September 9, 2009
George Nash met with NRI’s Washington Fellows to discuss his celebrated history, The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America.

Rick Brookhiser meets with NRI’s Washington Fellows
August 4, 2009
Bestselling historian and journalist Rick Brookhiser met with NRI’s Washington Fellows to discuss his recently published memoir-cum-history, Right Time, Right Place.  He also discussed his best-selling book on Washington, Founding Father.

Charles Kesler meets with NRI’s Washington Fellows
June 30, 2009
Professor of government and editor of the Claremont Review of Books Charles Kesler met with NRI’s Washington Fellows to discuss the philosophical origins of progressivism and conservatism and their historical trajectories.

“I had dinner last night with the NRI Washington Fellows last night. Charming bunch, some of them were very impressive (and not only because they paid for my drink!). Congratulations to Kate O'Beirne and April Ponnuru for such a successful launch of the program. I strongly encourage those interested and eligible to apply next year. I just wish I could have done something like that ten years ago.” — Jonah Goldberg

2009 Inaugural Class of Washington Fellows

John Andrews is a defense analyst specializing in strategic systems, deterrence strategy and policy, and arms control. Born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, he received the Bachelor of Science in Engineering in 2005 from Princeton, where he was Publisher of the Tory and a Junior Fellow in the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. In 2006, after receiving a master’s degree from Georgia Tech, he moved to Nebraska to work for U.S. Strategic Command. He sang in the Opera Omaha Chorus and in Saint Cecilia Cathedral, where he met his wife, Mary. He now works for the Air Staff and lives in Bethesda with Mary, an intern at National Naval Medical Center, and their daughter, Cecilia.

Neil Brown is an advisor to the United States Senate’s most senior Republican, Richard G. Lugar of Indiana.  He serves as a Senior Professional Staff Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, with responsibility for the Nunn-Lugar non-proliferation program and energy security.  Neil earned masters degrees in political theory and forced migration while studying as a Rhodes Scholar at University of Oxford (UK). He also holds a BA from Harvard University.  He has done substantial field work while living in South Asia, Namibia and Egypt. He is a board member of the Association of American Rhodes Scholars and Merton College Charitable Corporation.  Neil is from Iowa, where his family farm is located.

Brock Dahl, who is originally from Wichita, Kansas, has served for the U.S. Department of the Treasury in Baghdad and on the Afghanistan Interagency Operations Group in Washington, D.C. In those capacities, he helped formulate and implement U.S. policy relating to the fiscal and macroeconomic environments in Iraq and Afghanistan, and supported ground-level reconstruction and counterinsurgency efforts. Brock holds a masters (M.Phil.) from the University of Oxford, where he wrote his thesis on the collapse of the Lebanese state. He reads Arabic and speaks Turkish, and has lived and travelled extensively throughout the Middle East. His work in the region included field research involving former Lebanese militia members, intensive language training at the Ahl al-Bayt University in Jordan and the Tömer Centre in Turkey, and working with the Order of the Incarnate Word. He recently published an article in The Colloquium, the U.S. Army and Marine Corp’s counterinsurgency journal, addressing methods for attacking organized criminality in conflict countries. Brock currently studies law at The George Washington University Law School. 

Ryan J. Dwyer is a congressional policy advisor with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Washington, D.C. In this role, he advises the bishops on pending legislation, liaises with congressional staff, and drafts public statements articulating the public policy positions of the Conference. Before joining the USCCB in 2007, Mr. Dwyer served as an assistant state’s attorney in northern Indiana where he prosecuted a variety of criminal cases on behalf of the state. He received his J.D. from the Notre Dame Law School in 2005 where he was a Thomas J. White Scholar with the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy. He is a Blackstone Fellow with the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) and has recently co-authored an amicus brief on behalf of the ADF. He graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in government. Mr. Dwyer resides in Silver Spring, MD with his wife Caitlin and his son Jack.

Reggie Gibbs currently serves as the Director of National and International Programs for Business Executives for National Security (BENS). Before joining BENS in 2007, Reggie was an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps for six years. During this period, he completed four overseas deployments to Southeast Asia and the Middle East with the First Battalion, Fourth Marine Regiment eventually serving in Iraq as the head of the Babil province Iraqi police force in 2003. Following his time in the Marines, Reggie served at the Pentagon in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (Eurasian Affairs) where he managed U.S. defense partnership programs throughout countries of the former Soviet Union. Reggie holds a MA in international security studies from the University of Kentucky (2006), and a BA in international politics from The Citadel (1998). In 2005 he was a visiting scholar on Middle Eastern security issues at Sandia National Laboratories in Amman, Jordan. He is currently pursuing a second MA at Georgetown University in Russian foreign policy and politics. Reggie’s military decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat “V”, Combat Action Ribbon, Humanitarian Service Medal, and Presidential Unit Citation. He also holds term membership at the Council on Foreign Relations. 

Matthew J. Glover is a Research Associate for Judge Robert H. Bork at the Hudson Institute. He worked on A Time to Speakthe recently published collection of Judge Bork’s writings, and is now working on a book about Watergate that will detail Judge Bork’s experience in the Nixon and Ford Administrations. He has also worked for Judge Bork on Freedom’s Paper Trail, a book which will attempt to provide a documentary history of constitutional liberties. Matt graduated with honors from Claremont McKenna College receiving a B.A. in government and legal studies. While at Claremont he was a Harrison Fellow at the Salvatori Center, and the Salvatori Fellow in Civil Liberties and New Technology for which he conducted research on the potential Fourth Amendment protection of email.  He also served as a research assistant to Professor Joseph Bessette and Professor Ralph Rossum. During his undergraduate education Matt spent a term studying Irish law and the European Union the University College Cork. Matt’s main research focus is constitutional law and legal history.

Wesley Goodman was born and raised in Cardington, Ohio, a small town in Central Ohio, where his family owns and operates a family farm. He attended Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2006 with concentrations in politics, government, and history. During his time at Ohio Wesleyan, he was involved with the College Republicans, mock trial, student government, and was the president of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity. During his junior year, he spent a semester in Washington interning for Senator Brownback (R-KS). He has spent the last three years living and working on Capitol Hill. From July to December of 2006, he served as a staff assistant in the office of Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH). Since January, 2007, he has worked with Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), currently serving as a legislative assistant focusing on health care, education, labor, and traditional values and pro-life issues. 

Nicole Gustafson is policy advisor and legislative council for House Republican Rep. Eric Cantor’s Whip policy shop, where she has been employed since January 2009. Nicole handles a variety of issues for the Republican Whip including judiciary policy, education policy, government reform policy, and values issues. During her five and a half years in D.C., Nicole has served as policy director and counsel to Sen. Cornyn of Texas in the Republican Conference Vice Chair's office, as Judiciary Committee counsel for Sen. Grassley and Rep. Steve King, both of Iowa, and as counsel for the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus. Immediately following graduation from the University of Iowa College of Law, Nicole practiced campaign finance law for the National Right to Life Committee’s general counsel and also clerked with the organization during law school. An Iowa native, Nicole currently resides in Arlington.

J. Curtis Gwilliam is a Marine officer and aviator.  His operational flying experience includes ship-board deployments to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and a tour as a presidential helicopter pilot.  He is a designated foreign area officer and served as a military attache in Mexico and Colombia.  He holds an AB in government from Cornell University and is currently assigned in Washington.

Sean Hayes is an Oversight Counsel for the Republican Staff of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.  During the 2008 election he was an Associate Counsel at the Republican National Committee, where he was responsible for the review and approval of all contracts and outside communications.  He was also the chief RNC contact for the planning and execution of Victory Rallies in coordination with the McCain-Palin campaign. Prior to joining the RNC, Sean was a litigation associate at Wiley Rein LLP, where he focused on matters before the Federal Communications Commission and the Copyright Review Board. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Sean is a graduate of Fairfield University and Stanford Law School. 

Hudson Hollister is counsel to the Republican staff of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  His work focuses on transparency and management within the executive branch.  Hudson previously served as an attorney fellow at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where he worked for the Office of Interactive Disclosure and the Office of International Affairs. In July 2008, he was appointed to the 21st Century Disclosure Initiative, a task force that sought to simplify the nation’s securities disclosure regime. The Disclosure Initiative recommended in January 2009 that the Commission replace its complex paper-based disclosure forms with an electronic system that would use data tagging for greater transparency and accessibility. Before he joined the staff of the Commission, Hudson was an associate in the Chicago office of Latham & Watkins, an international law firm. At Latham & Watkins, he specialized in commercial and securities litigation. His pro bono clients included a blogger sued for defamation. Hudson holds a law degree from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Francis. He served on the editorial board of the Northwestern Journal of International Law and Business.  He has authored and co-authored academic articles on U.S. and international securities regulation and has lectured on corporate governance. 

Jo Jensen is from Billings, Montana and is currently a policy associate at the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation where she assists in the development of grassroots education campaigns and conducts policy research on current threats to economic prosperity. Ms. Jensen is the former executive director of Secure Our Future, a grassroots organization dedicated to issues affecting the retirement security of young people. In her role as executive director, she worked closely with the White House and Congressional leaders to host educational events for young conservatives. Ms. Jensen's work engaging young voters during the 2008 presidential primaries was featured on the front page of The Wall Street Journal, as well as in CNN and Time.com. Before taking on the role of Executive Director of Secure Our Future in 2007, Ms. Jensen served as the chief of staff for Students for Saving Social Security (S4), a project of Secure Our Future. In her role as chief of staff, Ms. Jensen developed the organization’s new media division, oversaw membership growth, and developed the organization into a group over 11,000 members with 350 college chapters nationwide. A graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Ms. Jensen holds a bachelors degree in political science and economics.

Emily Lawrimore currently serves as communications director for the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee (Republican staff). She served as press secretary for the U.S. Department of Commerce during Secretary Carlos Gutierrez’s tenure. Prior to this, she served as an assistant press secretary at the White House under Tony Snow and Dana Perino’s leadership. Early in her career, she served as communications director to Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC). Emily also served at the White House as an executive assistant to Barry Jackson, the Deputy Assistant to the President, and a special assistant to Cathie Martin, the assistant to the Vice President for communications. She began her career on Capitol Hill in August 2002 as a legislative correspondent to former Congressman Charlie Norwood (R-GA). Emily received her bachelor’s degree in speech and communication from Clemson University in May 2002. She is a native of Columbus, Georgia.

Steven Menashi is an Olin/Searle Fellow at Georgetown University Law Center. Previously, he was associate editor of Policy Review, a public affairs fellow at the Hoover Institution, and an editorial writer for The New York Sun. He has published articles in The New York Times, National Review, Notre Dame Law Review, and other publications. He attended Stanford Law School, where he was elected to Order of the Coif; served as senior articles editor of the Stanford Law Review, managing editor of the Stanford Law & Policy Review, and president of the Federalist Society; and won the Kirkwood Moot Court Competition, the Carl Mason Franklin Award in International Law, and the Steven M. Block Civil Liberties Award. He served as a law clerk to Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit. He was also a David and Lucille Packard Fellow at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, and graduated from Dartmouth College, where he edited The Dartmouth Review.

Ben Moncrief currently serves as legal counsel to U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) and as chief counsel to the Senate Aging Committee (minority staff). Before coming to work in the U.S. Senate, Ben served as a law clerk to U.S. District Judge James H. Hancock and spent several years in private practice with the Birmingham, Alabama, based law firm of Bradley Arant Rose & White LLP (now Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP). At Bradley Arant, his practice focused on the litigation of business disputes before state and federal courts and international arbitral tribunals. In 2007, Ben was named one of Birmingham's top 40 professionals under the age of 40 by the Birmingham Business Journal. A native of Mississippi, Ben received his B.A. in Political Science from Birmingham-Southern College in 1999 and his J.D. from the University of Virginia in 2003. In 2000, he received an M.Litt. in international security studies from the University of St Andrews (UK), where he was a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. Ben and his wife Corrie are the parents of a 2-year-old daughter and are expecting their second child, a son, in October.

Matt Patterson is a policy analyst for the National Center For Public Policy Research.  His commentary has appeared in The Washington Post, National Review Online, The Baltimore Sun, Pajamas Media, and Big Hollywood, among others.  He is the author of "Union of Hearts: The Abraham Lincoln & Ann Rutledge Story."  In 2008-2009, Matt served as research assistant to Charles Krauthammer.  In the 2008 Republican Primary race, he served the Rudy Giuliani presidential campaign as policy communications coordinator and a state political coordinator.  In 2007 he graduated cum laude from Columbia University, where he studied Ancient Greek and Latin.  Matt has also performed across the U.S. and abroad as an award winning sleight-of-hand artist.  He grew up in Colorado.

Ilya Shapiro is a senior fellow in constitutional studies at the Cato Institute and editor-in-chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review. Before joining Cato, he was special assistant/advisor to the Multi-National Force-Iraq on rule of law issues and practiced international, political, commercial, and antitrust litigation at both Patton Boggs LLP and Cleary Gottlieb LLP. Shapiro has contributed to a variety of academic, popular, and professional publications, including the L.A. Times, Washington Times, Weekly Standard, Roll Call, National Review Online, and from 2004 to 2007 wrote the "Dispatches from Purple America" column for TCS Daily.com. He also regularly provides commentary on a host of legal and political issues for various TV and radio outlets, including Fox News, CBS, WGN, Voice of America, and American Public Media's "Marketplace." He is also an adjunct professor at The George Washington University Law School and lectures regularly on behalf of the Federalist Society, The Fund for American Studies, and other educational and professional groups. Before entering private practice, Shapiro clerked for Judge E. Grady Jolly of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, while living in Mississippi and traveling around the deep South. He holds an A.B. from Princeton University, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics (UK), and a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School (where he was a Tony Patiño Fellow).

Evan Sparks is the managing editor of Philanthropy, a publication of the Philanthropy Roundtable. Previously, he was an associate editor at the American Enterprise Institute. His articles and reviews have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes.com, The Weekly Standard, The American, TCS Daily, and other outlets. He also writes a blog on aviation policy at EvanSparks.com. Prior to joining AEI, Mr. Sparks coordinated Hurricane Katrina relief at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New Orleans. He received his B.A. in political science and history from Tulane University. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Daniel Suhr is deputy director of the student division at The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies, encouraging and equipping student leaders at 200 law schools across the country to promote conservative and libertarian ideas on their campuses. In addition to his full-time position with The Federalist Society, he is pursuing an LL.M. in law and the public policy process at Georgetown University Law Center. Daniel holds a J.D. from Marquette University Law School and is a member of the Wisconsin State Bar. His legal articles have been published in the Texas Review of Law & Politics, the Wisconsin Lawyer, and State Court Docket Watch. He is an Eagle Scout and a former Capitol Hill intern.