Executive Director, Committee for Justice
Ashley Baker serves as Executive Director at the Committee for Justice. Her focus areas include the Supreme Court, regulatory policy, antitrust, and judicial nominations. Her writing has appeared in Fox News, USA Today, The Boston Globe, The Hill, RealClearPolitics, The American Spectator, and elsewhere. Ashley is also the founder of the recently-formed Alliance on Antitrust coalition. She has testified before the United States Senate on the topic of antitrust law.
Ashley is an active member of the Federalist Society, where she serves as a member of the Regulatory Transparency Project's Antitrust & Consumer Protection and Cyber & Privacy working groups. As a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association, she has served as a speaker on the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary.
As an expert on the judicial nominations process, Ashley worked closely on the efforts to confirm Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh.
Much of Ashley’s work is at the intersection of the courts, regulation, and technology. Ashley also engages in policy analysis and outreach on legislation and regulations related to these issues by writing op-eds, letters to Congress for committee hearings, and regulatory comments.
Consultant, American Edge Project and U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute
Elizabeth “Beth” Akers is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where she focuses on the economics of higher education. Before joining AEI, she worked as a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a visiting research scholar at the Federal Reserve Board, a fellow at Brookings Institution, and a staff economist at the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush.
Dr. Akers is the coauthor of Game of Loans: The Rhetoric and Reality of Student Debt (Princeton University Press, 2016) and the coauthor of the chapter “Understanding Changes in the Distribution of Student Loan Debt over Time” in Student Loans and the Dynamics of Debt (Upjohn Institute Press, 2015).
She has testified before Congress, and her writing and research have been published or featured in Bloomberg View, Boston Globe, E21 Manhattan Institute, Education Next, New York Daily News, New York Post, Newsweek, Quartz, Time, The Hill, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and USA Today, among others. Her broadcast appearances include ABC News, Bloomberg Television, C-SPAN, and CNBC.
Dr. Akers has a PhD in economics from Columbia University and a BS in mathematics and economics from the State University of New York at Albany.
Vice President, Center on Education Data and Policy at the Urban Institute
Matthew M. Chingos directs the Center on Education Data and Policy at the Urban Institute. He leads a team of scholars who undertake policy-relevant research on issues from prekindergarten through postsecondary education and create tools such as Urban’s Education Data Portal.
Chingos is coauthor of Game of Loans: The Rhetoric and Reality of Student Debt and Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America’s Public Universities. He has testified before Congress, and his work has been featured in media outlets such as the New York Times, the Washington Post, and NPR.
Before joining Urban, Chingos was a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He received a BA in government and economics and a PhD in government from Harvard University.
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity
Preston Cooper is a senior fellow in higher education policy at the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity (FREOPP), where his research focuses on the federal student loan program and the cost and value of college. He is the author of the report Is College Worth It? A Comprehensive Return on Investment Analysis, which calculated net financial returns for nearly 30,000 bachelor's degrees. His writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and several other national outlets. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.
Prior to joining FREOPP, Preston studied higher education policy at the American Enterprise Institute and the Manhattan Institute. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
Former principal deputy under secretary, U.S. Department of Education
Diane Auer Jones recently retired from a thirty-year career as an educator, scientist, administrator, and public policy official. Although she began her career as a nursing assistant, upon completion of undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology and applied molecular biology, she worked as a molecular biology research and later as the founding director of an EPA-certified analytical chemistry laboratory. Through an adjunct faculty position at the Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), she realized that working with students was her true passion and she joined the full-time faculty at CCBC. Over the course of her career, her work in higher education also included leadership positions at Princeton University, The Washington Campus and Career Education Corporation. Despite her passion for teaching, after serving as a program director at the National Science Foundation, Diane’s career focus shifted to science and education policy. She subsequently served as a professional staffer and acting staff director for the Research Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology and as the deputy to the associate director for science at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. She was nominated by President George W. Bush, and confirmed by the Senate, to serve as the assistant secretary for post-secondary education at the U.S. Department of Education. She returned to the U.S. Department of Education to conclude her career, serving as the principal deputy undersecretary delegated the duties of undersecretary during the Donald J. Trump administration.
George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
TODD J. ZYWICKI is George Mason University Foundation Professor of Law at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University and Research Fellow of the George Mason Law and Economics Center. During the Fall 2023 semester he served as the Visiting Scholar in Conservative Thought and Policy for the Bruce Benson Center for the Study of Western Civilization at the University of Colorado-Boulder. From 2020-2021 he was Chair of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law. In 2021 he was inducted to the American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers. He is also a Senior Fellow of the F.A. Hayek Program for the Advanced Study of Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at George Mason University and a former Senior Fellow of the Cato Institute. From 2015-2017 he was Executive Director of the George Mason Law and Economics Center. He served as Co-Editor of the Supreme Court Economic Review from 2006-2017. From 2003-2004, Professor Zywicki served as the Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission. He has also taught at Vanderbilt University Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, Boston College Law School, Mississippi College School of Law, and China University of Political Science and Law.
Professor Zywicki clerked for Judge Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and worked as an associate at Alston & Bird in Atlanta, Georgia, where he practiced bankruptcy and commercial law. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia, where he was executive editor of the Virginia Tax Review and John M. Olin Scholar in Law and Economics. Professor Zywicki also received an M.A. in Economics from Clemson University and an A.B. cum Laude with high honors in his major from Dartmouth College.
Professor Zywicki is also a Lone Mountain Fellow of the Property and Environment Research Center, a Fellow of the International Centre for Economic Research in Turin, Italy, and a former Senior Fellow of the Goldwater Institute. During the Fall 2008 Semester Professor Zywicki was the Searle Fellow of the George Mason University School of Law and was a 2008-09 W. Glenn Campbell and Rita Ricardo-Campbell National Fellow and the Arch W. Shaw National Fellow at the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace. He has lectured and consulted with government officials around the world, including Iceland, Italy, Japan, and Guatemala. In 2006 Professor Zywicki served as a Member of the United States Department of Justice Study Group on “Identifying Fraud, Abuse and Errors in the United States Bankruptcy System.”
Professor Zywicki is the author of more than 130 articles in leading law reviews and peer-reviewed economics journals. He is one of the Top 10 most-cited law professors in the field of Commercial Law and one of the Top 25 law professors on Twitter as measured by engagement levels. He is one of the Top 50 Most Downloaded Law Authors at the Social Science Research Network. He has testified multiple times before Congress on issues of consumer bankruptcy law and consumer credit and is a frequent commentator on legal issues in the print and broadcast media, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Nightline, The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, Neil Cavuto Show, Fox & Friends, Smerconish, Fox News @ Night with Shannon Bream, Fox Business, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg News, BBC, The Diane Rehm Show, Lou Dobbs Show, Jerry Doyle Show, and The Laura Ingraham Show.
Professor Zywicki is former Chairman and a current member of the Board of Directors of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Humane Studies, Bill of Rights Institute, the Executive Committee for the Federalist Society's Financial Institutions and E-Commerce Practice Group, the Board of Trustees of the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment. He formerly served on the Governing Board and the Advisory Council for the Financial Services Research Program at George Washington University School of Business. He is currently the Chair of the Academic Advisory Council for the following organizations: The Bill of Rights Institute, the film “We the People in IMAX,” and the McCormick-Tribune Foundation “Freedom Museum” in Chicago, Illinois. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of Ralston College and was a member of the Board of Trustees of Yorktown University. From 2005-2009 he served as an elected Alumni Trustee of the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees.
Senior Policy Advisor, EducationCounsel
Nathan Arnold previously served as Chief of Staff to the Acting Under Secretary and Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Postsecondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. In those capacities he directed high-stakes policy initiatives, providing insight and guidance to the Under Secretary and Secretary of Education in the Obama and Trump Administrations. He helped lead the most recent administration transition in the Department, ensuring the continued delivery of Department services to the higher education community and briefing incoming officials on time-sensitive decisions. He oversaw cross-agency teams in developing legislative proposals and new regulations governing over $1 trillion in federal student aid, leading to the creation and implementation of several federal regulations including new income-driven repayment plans, credit standards for parent PLUS and grad PLUS loans, campus debit and prepaid card rules, and provisions governing borrower defense to repayment. He led the Department's interagency task force on proprietary education and oversaw the Department's efforts supporting borrowers attending closed schools following the closure of Corinthian Colleges, Inc. and ITT Technical Institute, among others.
He began his career at the Department in the Office of Legislation and Congressional Affairs, preparing senior Department officials for Congressional hearings and building relationships with legislative staff to advance Department policy. He holds a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia.
Chief Economist, American Compass
Oren Cass is the chief economist at American Compass and author of The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America (2018). He is a contributing editor for the Financial Times and a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times.
From 2005 to 2015, Oren worked as a management consultant in Bain & Company’s Boston and Delhi offices. During this period, he also earned his J.D. magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was elected vice president and treasurer of the Harvard Law Review and oversaw the journal’s budget and operations. While still in law school, Oren also became Domestic Policy Director for Governor Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign, editing and producing the campaign’s “jobs book” and developing its domestic policy strategy, proposals, and research. He joined the Manhattan Institute as a senior fellow in 2015 and became a prolific scholar, publishing more than 15 reports for MI and editing its popular “Issues 2016” and “Issues 2020” series, testifying before seven congressional committees and speaking on dozens of college campuses. He founded American Compass at the start of 2020.
Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Chester E. Finn, Jr., scholar, educator and public servant, has devoted his career to improving education in the United States. At Fordham, he is now Distinguished Senior Fellow and President Emeritus. He’s also a Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution.
Finn served as Fordham’s President from 1997 to 2014, after many earlier roles in education, academe and government. From 1999 until 2002, he was John M. Olin Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and previously at Hudson Institute. In 1992-94, he served as founding partner and senior scholar with the Edison Project. He was Professor of Education and Public Policy at Vanderbilt University from 1981 until 2002. From 1985 to 1988, he served as Assistant Secretary for Research and Improvement and Counselor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. Earlier positions include Staff Assistant to the President of the United States; Special Assistant to the Governor of Massachusetts; Counsel to the U.S. Ambassador to India; Research Associate at the Brookings Institution; and Legislative Director for Senator Daniel P. Moynihan.
For more than four decades, Finn has been in the forefront of the national debate about school reform. His participation in seminars, conferences, and hearings has taken him to colleges, education and civic groups, and government organizations throughout the world.
Finn has served on numerous boards, including the National Assessment Governing Board (which he chaired) and the Maryland State Board of Education (where he was vice-chair) and currently serves on the National Council on Teacher Quality, the Core Knowledge Foundation, CVPath Institute and the Civics & Civic Engagement Advisory Commission for America 250.
A native of Ohio, he holds an undergraduate degree in U.S. history, a master's degree in social studies teaching, and a doctorate in education policy, all from Harvard University. He and his wife, Renu Virmani, a physician, have two grown children and three wonderful granddaughters. They live in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
Principal, EducationCounsel, LLC
Bethany Little is a Principal at EducationCounsel, LLC where she supports foundations, education associations and other nonprofits with support in advancing improvements in education outcomes from early childhood through higher education. Little has spent twenty years working in government and non-profit organizations, including the White House, where she was education advisor to President Clinton and Vice President Gore on the Domestic Policy Council, and the U.S. Department of Education. In the U.S. Senate, she served as Chief Education Counsel to the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee under two chairmen, Senators Edward Kennedy and Tom Harkin, and as a legislative aide to Senator Patty Murray. In the non-profit arena, Little was Managing Partner at America Achieves, where she led many of the organization's most critical priorities, including their support for state and local superintendents, the Global Learning Network and their parent engagement initiative. She has also served as an advocate for disadvantaged children as the vice president for policy and advocacy at the Alliance for Excellent Education and the director of government relations for the Children’s Defense Fund. She serves on the boards of the National Center for Teacher Residencies, Veterans Education Success, and Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy.
Director, Center for Educational Freedom, The Cato Institute
Neal McCluskey is the director of Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom. He is the author of the book Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education and is coeditor of several volumes, including School Choice Myths: Setting the Record Straight on Education Freedom and Unprofitable Schooling: Examining Causes of, and Fixes for, America’s Broken Ivory Tower. McCluskey also maintains Cato’s Public Schooling Battle Map, an interactive database of values and identity‐based conflicts in public schools, and oversees Cato’s Private Schooling Status Tracker.
McCluskey is on the editorial board of the Journal of School Choice and the editorial advisory board of The Line, a journal promoting civil discourse in K–12 policy debates. His writings have appeared in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and Forbes, and he has appeared on numerous television and radio programs.
Prior to arriving at Cato, McCluskey was a policy analyst at the Center for Education Reform, taught high‐school English, covered municipal government and education as a freelance reporter, and served in the U.S. Army.
McCluskey holds an undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, where he double majored in government and English, has a master’s degree in political science from Rutgers University, Newark, and holds a PhD in public policy from George Mason University.
Of Counsel, Covington & Burling LLP
The Honorable Paul J. Ray is currently Of Counsel at Covington & Burling LLP where he advises clients on regulatory opportunities and challenges and helps them formulate and execute advocacy strategies for their regulatory policy priorities before the executive branch and Congress.
During the first Trump Administration, Paul held various senior positions at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, including as acting, and then Senate-confirmed, head of the office. As OIRA Administrator (the "regulations czar"), Paul supervised the review of hundreds of regulations from across the government, drafted numerous executive orders governing the regulatory process, and led the Administration’s regulatory reform effort. As a result of this experience, Paul is well-positioned to help clients understand and achieve regulatory policy priorities in the context of the government’s regulatory agenda and ongoing reform efforts.
Most recently, Paul was also the Director of the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. In that role, he supervised the formulation of the Foundation’s economic and regulatory policy recommendations and provided technical assistance to congressional committees and staff regarding legislative changes to the regulatory process. In addition to his role at The Heritage Foundation, Paul also served as a Senior Advisor at a strategic advisory firm. Before his time in government, Paul practiced law at a law firm in Washington, specializing in administrative law matters.
Prior to his role at the White House, Paul was Counselor to the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor. There he led departmental efforts in high-profile rulemakings and helped formulate the Department’s legal positions and strategy.
Paul served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and as a law clerk to the Honorable Debra Livingston of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Paul is a thought leader in the conservative legal movement and is a frequent commentator and speaker on regulatory policy and reform matters, including at law schools, professional gatherings, and other venues. He is the Chairman of Innovations in Peacebuilding International and the Regulatory Process Working Group of the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project and a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States. Paul is also an adjunct lecturer at the Hillsdale College School of Government.
Academic Dean and Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Martin West is the academic dean and professor of education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a faculty research fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is also deputy director of the Harvard Kennedy School's Program on Education Policy and Governance and executive editor of Education Next, a journal of opinion and research on education policy. West studies the politics of K-12 education in the United States and how education policies affect student learning and non-cognitive development. His current projects include studies of public opinion on education policy, the effects of charter school attendance and on cognitive and non-cognitive skills, data use in schools, and the influence of relative pay on teacher quality. In 2013-14, West worked as senior education policy advisor to the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. He previously taught at Brown University and was a research fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he is now a nonresident senior fellow.
Co-Founder and President, Defense of Freedom Institute
Bob is a co-founder and President of DFI. He previously served as Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Education from 2017 through 2020 and Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Education from 2005 until 2009.
During his most recent tenure at the Department, Bob served on the Secretary’s Leadership Team as a strategic and legal adviser on higher education, civil rights, and congressional oversight matters. As the Department’s Regulatory Reform Officer, he also supervised the implementation of the Secretary’s regulatory agenda and was an architect of the Secretary’s reforms concerning Title IX and the Higher Education Act. As Deputy General Counsel, Bob advised on a wide variety of regulatory, legislative, and oversight matters.
Prior to joining the Department in 2017, Bob was vice president for regulatory compliance matters for several postsecondary institutions and practiced education and employment law in Washington, D.C. Before coming to the Department in 2005, he practiced law in New Orleans, litigating commercial, employment, and bankruptcy cases in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi.
Bob earned his A.B. in History from Georgetown University, studied British government and international politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and received his law degree from Tulane University Law School. His articles have been published by National Review, Real Clear Education, Washington Examiner, and other media outlets. Fox News has featured his work.
Bob is a member of the District of Columbia and Louisiana Bars and the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.
Co-Founder and President, Defense of Freedom Institute
Bob is a co-founder and President of DFI. He previously served as Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Education from 2017 through 2020 and Deputy General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Education from 2005 until 2009.
During his most recent tenure at the Department, Bob served on the Secretary’s Leadership Team as a strategic and legal adviser on higher education, civil rights, and congressional oversight matters. As the Department’s Regulatory Reform Officer, he also supervised the implementation of the Secretary’s regulatory agenda and was an architect of the Secretary’s reforms concerning Title IX and the Higher Education Act. As Deputy General Counsel, Bob advised on a wide variety of regulatory, legislative, and oversight matters.
Prior to joining the Department in 2017, Bob was vice president for regulatory compliance matters for several postsecondary institutions and practiced education and employment law in Washington, D.C. Before coming to the Department in 2005, he practiced law in New Orleans, litigating commercial, employment, and bankruptcy cases in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi.
Bob earned his A.B. in History from Georgetown University, studied British government and international politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and received his law degree from Tulane University Law School. His articles have been published by National Review, Real Clear Education, Washington Examiner, and other media outlets. Fox News has featured his work.
Bob is a member of the District of Columbia and Louisiana Bars and the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies.
Executive Vice President and Senior Policy Advisor, Stephens, Inc.
Mary Kissel is Executive Vice President and Senior Policy Advisor at Stephens Inc., where she provides advice on geopolitical risk and macroeconomic trends to Stephens clients and the Stephens management team. Previously, she served as Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo from October 2018 to January 2021. Prior to joining the State Department, she had a long and distinguished career on The Wall Street Journal editorial board, including stints as chief foreign policy commentator in New York City and Asia-Pacific editorial page editor, based in Hong Kong. Ms. Kissel hosts the Nixon Seminar on Conservative Realism and National Security, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on the boards of the American Australian Council, The Marathon Initiative, and RXO, Inc. She is a graduate of Harvard University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law and Faculty Director of International Programs, Hofstra University School of Law
Professor Ku’s primary research interest is the relationship of international law to constitutional law. He has also conducted academic research on a wide range of topics including international dispute resolution, international criminal law, and China’s relationship with international law. He teaches courses such as U.S. constitutional law, U.S. foreign affairs law, transnational law, and international trade and business law. Since 2014, he has served as the faculty director of international programs, overseeing Hofstra Law’s study abroad, exchange and LL.M. programs. Professor Ku also teaches Constitutional Law in our online degree programs: Master of Laws in American Law and Master of Arts in American Legal Studies. He has also been selected as the John DeWitt Gregory Research Scholar and as a Hofstra Law Research Fellow. He is a member of the American Law Institute.
He is the co-author, with John Yoo, of Taming Globalization: International Law, the U.S. Constitution, and the New World Order (Oxford University Press 2012). He also has published more than 40 law review articles, book chapters and symposia essays. He has given dozens of academic lectures and workshops at major universities and conferences in the United States, Europe and Asia.
He co-founded the leading international law weblog Opinio Juris, which is read daily by thousands worldwide. His essays and op-eds have been published in major news publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the NYTimes.com. He has been frequently interviewed for television news programs and quoted in print and electronic media. He has also signed or submitted amicus briefs to national and international courts and served as an expert witness in both domestic and international proceedings.
Before joining the Hofstra Law faculty, Professor Ku served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and as an Olin Fellow and Lecturer in Law at the University of Virginia Law School. Professor Ku also practiced as an associate at the New York City law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, specializing in litigation and arbitration arising out of international disputes. He has been a visiting professor at the College of William & Mary Marshall- Wythe School of Law in Williamsburg, Virginia; a Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer in Law at East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, China; and a Taiwan Fellow at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. He is a member of the New York Bar and a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School.
Senior Director for Research, Institute for Indo-Pacific Security
Michael Mazza is the senior director for research at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security. Mike analyzes U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific region, cross-Strait relations, and Asian security issues. He is concurrently a senior non-resident fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute and previously spent 15 years at the American Enterprise Institute, where he contributed to studies on American grand strategy in Asia, US defense strategy in the Asia-Pacific, and Taiwanese defense strategy. His published work includes pieces in The Wall Street Journal Asia, the Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy.
Mike has a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. He previously lived and studied in China.
Professor Emeritus of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Jeremy A. Rabkin is a Professor Emeritus of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. Before joining the faculty in June 2007, he was for over two decades a professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. Professor Rabkin serves on the board of directors of the Center for Individual Rights, a public interest law firm based in Washington, D.C. Previously he was a board member of the U.S. Institute of Peace and the board of academic advisors of the American Enterprise Institute.
Professor Rabkin’s books include Law Without Nations? (Princeton University Press, 2005). He authored “If You Need a Friend, Don’t Call a Cosmopolitan,” a chapter in Varieties of Sovereignty and Citizenship (Sigal R. Ben-Porath & Rogers M. Smith eds., University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012). His articles have appeared in major law reviews and political science journals and his journalistic contributions in a range of magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
Executive Vice President and Senior Policy Advisor, Stephens, Inc.
Mary Kissel is Executive Vice President and Senior Policy Advisor at Stephens Inc., where she provides advice on geopolitical risk and macroeconomic trends to Stephens clients and the Stephens management team. Previously, she served as Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo from October 2018 to January 2021. Prior to joining the State Department, she had a long and distinguished career on The Wall Street Journal editorial board, including stints as chief foreign policy commentator in New York City and Asia-Pacific editorial page editor, based in Hong Kong. Ms. Kissel hosts the Nixon Seminar on Conservative Realism and National Security, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and serves on the boards of the American Australian Council, The Marathon Initiative, and RXO, Inc. She is a graduate of Harvard University and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law and Faculty Director of International Programs, Hofstra University School of Law
Professor Ku’s primary research interest is the relationship of international law to constitutional law. He has also conducted academic research on a wide range of topics including international dispute resolution, international criminal law, and China’s relationship with international law. He teaches courses such as U.S. constitutional law, U.S. foreign affairs law, transnational law, and international trade and business law. Since 2014, he has served as the faculty director of international programs, overseeing Hofstra Law’s study abroad, exchange and LL.M. programs. Professor Ku also teaches Constitutional Law in our online degree programs: Master of Laws in American Law and Master of Arts in American Legal Studies. He has also been selected as the John DeWitt Gregory Research Scholar and as a Hofstra Law Research Fellow. He is a member of the American Law Institute.
He is the co-author, with John Yoo, of Taming Globalization: International Law, the U.S. Constitution, and the New World Order (Oxford University Press 2012). He also has published more than 40 law review articles, book chapters and symposia essays. He has given dozens of academic lectures and workshops at major universities and conferences in the United States, Europe and Asia.
He co-founded the leading international law weblog Opinio Juris, which is read daily by thousands worldwide. His essays and op-eds have been published in major news publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the NYTimes.com. He has been frequently interviewed for television news programs and quoted in print and electronic media. He has also signed or submitted amicus briefs to national and international courts and served as an expert witness in both domestic and international proceedings.
Before joining the Hofstra Law faculty, Professor Ku served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and as an Olin Fellow and Lecturer in Law at the University of Virginia Law School. Professor Ku also practiced as an associate at the New York City law firm of Debevoise & Plimpton, specializing in litigation and arbitration arising out of international disputes. He has been a visiting professor at the College of William & Mary Marshall- Wythe School of Law in Williamsburg, Virginia; a Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer in Law at East China University of Political Science and Law in Shanghai, China; and a Taiwan Fellow at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan. He is a member of the New York Bar and a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School.
Senior Director for Research, Institute for Indo-Pacific Security
Michael Mazza is the senior director for research at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security. Mike analyzes U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific region, cross-Strait relations, and Asian security issues. He is concurrently a senior non-resident fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute and previously spent 15 years at the American Enterprise Institute, where he contributed to studies on American grand strategy in Asia, US defense strategy in the Asia-Pacific, and Taiwanese defense strategy. His published work includes pieces in The Wall Street Journal Asia, the Los Angeles Times, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy.
Mike has a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. He previously lived and studied in China.
Professor Emeritus of Law, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Jeremy A. Rabkin is a Professor Emeritus of Law at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. Before joining the faculty in June 2007, he was for over two decades a professor in the Department of Government at Cornell University. Professor Rabkin serves on the board of directors of the Center for Individual Rights, a public interest law firm based in Washington, D.C. Previously he was a board member of the U.S. Institute of Peace and the board of academic advisors of the American Enterprise Institute.
Professor Rabkin’s books include Law Without Nations? (Princeton University Press, 2005). He authored “If You Need a Friend, Don’t Call a Cosmopolitan,” a chapter in Varieties of Sovereignty and Citizenship (Sigal R. Ben-Porath & Rogers M. Smith eds., University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012). His articles have appeared in major law reviews and political science journals and his journalistic contributions in a range of magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
Explainer Episode 40 - FTC's New Strategic Plan and the Future of Agency Action
Ashley Baker, Asheesh Agarwal
Regulatory Transparency Project's Fourth Branch Podcast
Ashley Baker and Asheesh Agarwal discuss the FTC's Strategic Plan for 2022 - 2026, which...
The Title IV Program: Time for a New Approach to Federal Student Loans?
Elizabeth Akers, Matthew Chingos, Preston Cooper, Diane A. Jones, Todd J. Zywicki, Nathan Arnold
Education Law & Policy Conference
Featuring: Elizabeth Akers, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute Matt Chingos, Vice President, Urban Institute Preston Cooper,...
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Ken Starr: The Quiet Warrior
It was the summer of 2003. I was interning at the U.S. Solicitor General’s office...
Education: What Role for the Federal Government?
Oren Cass, Chester E. Finn, Bethany Little, Neal McCluskey, Paul J. Ray, Martin West
What role, if any, should the federal government play in education? What constitutional and policy...
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Robert S. Eitel
Featuring: Robert S. Eitel, President and Co-founder, Defense of Freedom Institute
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Robert S. Eitel
Education Law & Policy Conference
Featuring: Robert S. Eitel, President and Co-founder, Defense of Freedom Institute
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The Rise of the Undead Blaine Amendment
The Lemon test, a perennial ghoul of Establishment Clause jurisprudence, seems to have finally received...
Answering Threats to Taiwan Part I: Where Does Law Matter?
Mary Kissel, Julian Ku, Michael Mazza, Jeremy A. Rabkin
The government of Communist China has insisted – and the U.S. government has officially acknowledged...
Answering Threats to Taiwan Part I: Where Does Law Matter?
Mary Kissel, Julian Ku, Michael Mazza, Jeremy A. Rabkin
The government of Communist China has insisted – and the U.S. government has officially acknowledged...
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Constitution Day: A Cause for Celebration, and Recommitment
This Saturday marks the 235th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia....