Governor, State of Arizona
Governor Doug Ducey was elected as Arizona's 23rd governor in 2014 and re-elected in 2018 with more votes than anyone in state history. Upon election, Arizona had a $1 billion deficit and a sluggish economy. Today, Arizona has a record surplus, a balanced budget and a booming economy.
That’s no coincidence. Governor Ducey has eliminated overburdensome regulations, fostered the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs, and reformed taxes every year he’s been in office—including signing the largest income tax cut in state history.
Throughout his administration, Governor Ducey has prioritized education. Since he took office, Arizona has invested over $8 billion into K-12 education and brought per-pupil funding to a record high. He has also positioned Arizona as a national leader in school choice and civics education.
Even with record investments and historic tax cuts, Governor Ducey has found a way to ensure Arizona’s insulated from future downturns, adding $1 billion to the state’s Rainy Day Fund.
He is a former businessman and CEO of Cold Stone Creamery who today also serves as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association. He has 3 sons, has been married to his wife Angela for 31 years and resides in Paradise Valley, Arizona.
Senior Advisor, Covington & Burling
Senator Jon Kyl advises companies on domestic and international policies that influence U.S. and multi-national businesses and assists corporate clients on tax, health care, national security, and intellectual property matters, among others.
Jon served in the U.S. Senate from 1995 to 2013, retiring as the second-highest ranking Republican senator. He returned to the Senate in September 2018 after being appointed to succeed the late John McCain, and retired again at the end of 2018.
During Jon’s 26 years in Congress, he built a reputation for mastering the complexities of legislative policy and coalition building, first in the House of Representatives and then in the Senate. In 2010, Time magazine called him one of the 100 most influential people in the world, noting his "encyclopedic knowledge of domestic and foreign policy, and his hard work and leadership" and his "power to persuade."
Jon sat on the powerful Senate Finance Committee and was the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism. A member of the Republican Leadership for well over a decade, Jon chaired the Senate Republican Policy Committee and the Senate Republican Conference, before becoming Senate Republican Whip. In filling Senator McCain’s seat, he served on the Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees.
Former President & CEO, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Eugene B. Meyer, former President and CEO of the Federalist Society, has served as Executive Director, CEO, and/or President of the organization for more than 40 years. He is responsible for shepherding the organization from a small group of law students to a community of 90,000 lawyers, law students, academics, judges, and others interested in the rule of law. The Society now includes a Student Chapter at nearly every ABA-accredited law school in the country and Lawyers Chapters in 220 major cities across the nation. Gene earned his B.A. in history at Yale in 1975 and his M.A. in political science from the London School of Economics in 1976. Gene currently serves on the boards of the U.S. Chess Center, the Holman Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and the advisory board of the Adam Smith Society. He holds the title of International Chess Master.
Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School
Professor Samuel L. Bray joined the Notre Dame Law School faculty in 2018. Before coming to Notre Dame, he was an assistant professor of law at UCLA from 2011 to 2016, and a professor of law from 2016 to 2018. In addition, he was a Harrington Faculty Fellow at the University of Texas-Austin for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Bray is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, and he clerked for then-Judge Michael W. McConnell on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. After clerking, he practiced law at Mayer Brown LLP, was an associate-in-law at Columbia Law School, and was executive director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School.
Former President & CEO, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Eugene B. Meyer, former President and CEO of the Federalist Society, has served as Executive Director, CEO, and/or President of the organization for more than 40 years. He is responsible for shepherding the organization from a small group of law students to a community of 90,000 lawyers, law students, academics, judges, and others interested in the rule of law. The Society now includes a Student Chapter at nearly every ABA-accredited law school in the country and Lawyers Chapters in 220 major cities across the nation. Gene earned his B.A. in history at Yale in 1975 and his M.A. in political science from the London School of Economics in 1976. Gene currently serves on the boards of the U.S. Chess Center, the Holman Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and the advisory board of the Adam Smith Society. He holds the title of International Chess Master.
Vice President and Chair of the Joseph Story Award, University of Chicago Law School Federalist Society
Wally Pelton is Vice President and Chair of the Joseph Story Award. Wally is from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He went to undergrad at Michigan State University.
Professor of Law, Notre Dame Law School
Professor Samuel L. Bray joined the Notre Dame Law School faculty in 2018. Before coming to Notre Dame, he was an assistant professor of law at UCLA from 2011 to 2016, and a professor of law from 2016 to 2018. In addition, he was a Harrington Faculty Fellow at the University of Texas-Austin for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Bray is a graduate of the University of Chicago Law School, and he clerked for then-Judge Michael W. McConnell on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. After clerking, he practiced law at Mayer Brown LLP, was an associate-in-law at Columbia Law School, and was executive director of the Constitutional Law Center at Stanford Law School.
Former President & CEO, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Eugene B. Meyer, former President and CEO of the Federalist Society, has served as Executive Director, CEO, and/or President of the organization for more than 40 years. He is responsible for shepherding the organization from a small group of law students to a community of 90,000 lawyers, law students, academics, judges, and others interested in the rule of law. The Society now includes a Student Chapter at nearly every ABA-accredited law school in the country and Lawyers Chapters in 220 major cities across the nation. Gene earned his B.A. in history at Yale in 1975 and his M.A. in political science from the London School of Economics in 1976. Gene currently serves on the boards of the U.S. Chess Center, the Holman Foundation, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, and the advisory board of the Adam Smith Society. He holds the title of International Chess Master.
Vice President and Chair of the Joseph Story Award, University of Chicago Law School Federalist Society
Wally Pelton is Vice President and Chair of the Joseph Story Award. Wally is from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He went to undergrad at Michigan State University.
Vice President, Networks, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Nathan Kaczmarek is Vice President for Networks at the Federalist Society. He began his legal career in Detroit representing nationwide clients in all phases of healthcare litigation and complex medical malpractice claims. He has since served as a Senior Legal and Policy Advisor in the U.S. House of Representatives and as Counsel for the Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management in the U.S. Senate. Prior to overseeing the Networks, he was Director of the Practice Groups, the Regulatory Transparency Project, and the Article I Initiative for the Federalist Society.
Nathan holds degrees from Hillsdale College and Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He is a Liaison Representative for The Administrative Conference of the United States. He also serves as Vice President of the Associates of St. John Bosco, a Virginia based non-profit dedicated to Catholic high school and college students.
Vice President, Networks, The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies
Nathan Kaczmarek is Vice President for Networks at the Federalist Society. He began his legal career in Detroit representing nationwide clients in all phases of healthcare litigation and complex medical malpractice claims. He has since served as a Senior Legal and Policy Advisor in the U.S. House of Representatives and as Counsel for the Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs and Federal Management in the U.S. Senate. Prior to overseeing the Networks, he was Director of the Practice Groups, the Regulatory Transparency Project, and the Article I Initiative for the Federalist Society.
Nathan holds degrees from Hillsdale College and Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He is a Liaison Representative for The Administrative Conference of the United States. He also serves as Vice President of the Associates of St. John Bosco, a Virginia based non-profit dedicated to Catholic high school and college students.
Partner, Lehotsky Keller LLP
The New York Times recognized Scott A. Keller as a “legal heavyweight,” who “is praised by opponents as a formidable advocate.”
Mr. Keller has argued 12 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and 12 cases before the Texas Supreme Court. He is the only practicing lawyer to have argued at least 10 cases in both courts. Mr. Keller frequently represents parties in high stakes appeals, and he has argued many cases in federal courts of appeals throughout the nation. He has earned individual accolades from Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, Chambers, Legal 500, The American Lawyer, The National Law Journal, Law360, Super Lawyers, The Best Lawyers in America, and other publications.
Before founding Lehotsky Keller Cohn LLP, Mr. Keller headed Baker Botts LLP’s Supreme Court Practice. He also has significant experience at the highest levels in all three branches of government. Mr. Keller served as the Solicitor General of Texas, the State’s chief appellate litigator. He was U.S. Senator Ted Cruz’s chief counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Mr. Keller was a law clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court of the United States and Chief Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He was also a Bristow Fellow in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Solicitor General.
Mr. Keller represents clients in cases where public communications strategy is crucial, and he has made numerous media appearances in major outlets such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, Fox News, NPR, and Politico. As a sought after speaker and writer, Mr. Keller’s articles have appeared in the Stanford Law Review, Virginia Law Review, and Texas Law Review. He has also served as an adjunct professor of constitutional litigation, Supreme Court practice, and federal courts at the University of Texas School of Law.
Deputy Director - Center for Effective Public Management; Senior Fellow - Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution
John Hudak is deputy director of the Center for Effective Public Management and a senior fellow in Governance Studies. His research examines questions of presidential power in the contexts of administration, personnel, and public policy. Additionally, he focuses on campaigns and elections, legislative-executive interaction, and state and federal marijuana policy.
John’s 2016 book, Marijuana: A Short History, offers a unique, up-to-date profile of how cannabis emerged from the shadows of counterculture and illegality to become a serious, even mainstream, public policy issue and source of legal revenue for both businesses and governments. In it, he describes why attitudes and policy have changed, and what those changes mean for marijuana's future place in society.
His 2014 Presidential Pork: White House Influence over the Distribution of Federal Grants demonstrates that pork-barrel politics occurs beyond the halls of Congress. Presidents capitalize on their discretionary funding authority to target federal dollars to swing states in advance of presidential elections. His other work explores how agency staffing, expertise, and institutional structure facilitate or hinder presidential power and influence. This research explores the balance between political control and bureaucratic expertise in the delivery of public policy.
John’s work has been recognized for its quality and contribution by the Midwest Political Science Association and the American Political Science Association’s Presidency Research Group. His work has been supported by institutions including the National Science Foundation.
Prior to joining Brookings, John served as the program director and as a graduate fellow at the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions. He holds a B.A. in political science and economics from the University of Connecticut and an M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from Vanderbilt University.
Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute
David W. Murray is a Senior Fellow at Hudson Institute where he co-directs the Center for Substance Abuse Policy Research. While serving previous posts as Chief Scientist and Associate Deputy Director (Supply Reduction) in the federal government’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, Murray directed extensive scientific research on all aspects of the drug problem and helped coordinate high-level inter-agency efforts to limit the production of illicit drugs and counter the transnational criminal organizations that control their global shipment and marketing.
Before entering government, Murray was executive director of the Statistical Assessment Service and held academic appointments at Connecticut College and Brown, Brandeis, and Georgetown Universities. He is the author of numerous scholarly papers, essays, and commentaries; co-author (with Joel Schwartz and S. Robert Lichter) of the widely-noted book It Ain’t Necessarily So: How Media Make and Unmake the Scientific Picture of Reality; and a frequent guest on major network television and radio programs.
Murray holds an M.A. and Ph.D. in social anthropology from the University of Chicago.
A Fireside Chat with Governor Doug Ducey and Senator Jon Kyl
Doug Ducey, Jon Kyl, Eugene B. Meyer
2019 National Student Symposium
On March 15-16, 2019, the Federalist Society's student chapter at the ASU Sandra Day O'Connor...
Banquet Dinner & Presentation of the Annual Joseph Story Award
Samuel L. Bray, Eugene B. Meyer, Walter G. Pelton
2019 National Student Symposium
On March 15-16, 2019, the Federalist Society's student chapter at the ASU Sandra Day O'Connor...
Banquet Dinner & Presentation of the Annual Joseph Story Award
Samuel L. Bray, Eugene B. Meyer, Walter G. Pelton
2019 National Student Symposium
On March 15-16, 2019, the Federalist Society's student chapter at the ASU Sandra Day O'Connor...
The Second Annual Article I Writing Contest Winner Presentation
Nathan Kaczmarek
2019 National Student Symposium
On March 15-16, 2019, the Federalist Society's student chapter at the ASU Sandra Day O'Connor...
The Second Annual Article I Writing Contest Winner Presentation
Nathan Kaczmarek
2019 National Student Symposium
On March 15-16, 2019, the Federalist Society's student chapter at the ASU Sandra Day O'Connor...
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