Policy Analyst, Cicero Institute
Tanner contributes to Cicero’s research efforts, focusing on regulation, workforce, public safety, and healthcare. He excels in writing op-eds, drafting white papers, model legislation, and conducting in-depth research reports. Prior to Cicero, Tanner founded Downballot Solutions, successfully managing local political campaigns across seven states. Inspired by Cicero’s core values of accountability, transparency, and liberty, Tanner finds purpose in his work aligned with these principles. He is motivated by his colleagues and holds a strong track record in politics and policy, winning 94% of elections with Downballot Solutions. A native of Edina, MN, Tanner went on to study political philosophy, economics, and classics at Dartmouth. He now resides in Austin, TX, where he pursues his passion for competitive powerlifting, holding numerous records and achievements at both state and national levels.
Chief Legal Officer and Policy Director, Cicero Institute
Jonathan Wolfson is the Chief Legal Officer and Policy Director at the Cicero Institute. Before joining Cicero, he led the Policy Office at the U.S. Department of Labor where he managed DOL's deregulatory efforts and oversaw DOL's internal policy development think tank. He previously was a litigator and regulatory attorney at an international law firm representing clients before state and federal courts across the country. Following law school he served as a law clerk to The Honorable Edith Brown Clement of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Before law school, Jonathan was a policy analyst at the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Jonathan received an A.B. in Economics from Washington University in St. Louis and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an Olin Law and Economic Fellow and won the John M. Olin Prize for best original law and economics research.
Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky
Prior to joining the bench, Judge Beaton was a Partner at Squire Patton Boggs LLP, where he co-chaired the firm’s Appellate & Supreme Court practice group. Judge Beaton’s represented clients engaged in complex commercial litigation in Federal and State courts, and before administrative agencies. Judge Beaton also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, where he taught constitutional interpretation. Before joining Squire Patton Boggs, Judge Beaton practiced in the Washington, D.C. office of Sidley Austin, LLP, and also served as a legal fellow with the International Justice Mission in Kampala, Uganda. Upon graduation from law school, Judge Beaton served as a law clerk to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg of the United States Supreme Court, and to Judge A. Raymond Randolph of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Judge Beaton earned his B.A., summa cum laude, from Centre College, and his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he served as an Articles Editor on the Columbia Law Review.
Justice, Supreme Court of Tennessee
Justice Sarah Campbell was confirmed to the Tennessee Supreme Court in 2022. She previously served as an Associate Solicitor General in the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and as an associate at the law firm of Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington, DC. Justice Campbell earned her law degree from Duke University School of Law, a Master of Public Policy degree from Duke University, and her undergraduate degree from the University of Tennessee, where she received the Torchbearer Award. She served as a law clerk for Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. on the United States Supreme Court and Judge William H. Pryor Jr. on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Judge, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One
The Honorable Jennifer M. Perkins began service on the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, on October 30, 2017. At the time of her appointment by Governor Douglas Ducey, Judge Perkins was Assistant Solicitor General for the State of Arizona.
Judge Perkins was born in Portales, New Mexico, and primarily raised in Albuquerque. She attended the prestigious Albuquerque Academy from 1988-1995, before moving to Washington D.C. to attend the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University as a National Merit Scholar. Therafter, she relocated again to Dallas, Texas, and earned her juris doctor from the SMU Dedman School of Law, graduating cum laude in 2002.
Judge Perkins started her career at the law firm of Browning & Peifer (now Peifer, Hanson, Mullins, and Baker) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While there, she litigated complex commercial matters including class action plaintiff and defense work, and assisted with employment and contract litigation. In 2003, the judge accompanied the Honorable James O. Browning in transitioning to the federal district court bench, serving as his first law clerk.
After her clerkship, Judge Perkins moved to Arizona to work for the Institute for Justice, Arizona Chapter, a public interest law firm. She spent five years with IJ-AZ litigating civil rights cases in Arizona and across the country. In 2009, the judge became Disciplinary Counsel for the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct, where she reviewed and prosecuted ethics complaints against state court judges throughout Arizona. After five years serving the state in this capacity, Judge Perkins entered private practice by joining an appellate law firm in Phoenix. While there, she worked on state and federal appeals involving a wide range of legal subjects, including complex business disputes, property rights, judicial ethics, and personal injury matters.
In January 2015, Judge Perkins joined the Office of the Arizona Attorney General to serve as the first Assistant Solicitor General; in that capacity, she was responsible for oversight of Attorney General Opinions and served as ethics counsel to the entire office. In addition to these two primary roles, the judge assisted on a variety of matters including trial and appellate litigation of election-related matters; federal appellate litigation with the Federalism Unit; state criminal appeals; and drafting amicus briefs on behalf of Arizona in state and federal courts.
Associate Justice, New Jersey Supreme Court
Justice Rachel Wainer Apter was nominated by Gov. Phil Murphy and was sworn in as an associate justice on Oct. 21, 2022.
Born on July 22, 1980, Justice Wainer Apter grew up in Rockaway. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received her law degree from Harvard Law School. After law school, she served as a law clerk for U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, U.S. Circuit Judge Robert Katzmann, and U.S Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
At the time of her appointment, Justice Wainer Apter was serving as director of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights. She previously served as counsel to the New Jersey Attorney General and assistant attorney general.
Before joining the Attorney General’s Office, Justice Wainer Apter worked as a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and in the Supreme Court and Appellate practice at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.
Justice Wainer Apter and her husband have three children.
Associate Clinical Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
Kelly J. Deere is a graduate of Northwestern University School of law and Cornell University. Prof. Deere currently is a full-time faculty member at Rutgers teaching Legal Analysis, Writing, Research and Skills (LAWRS). Prof. Deere taught as a part-time instructor in both the day and evening program teaching both LAWRS and Advanced Legal Writing.
Prof. Deere was an adjunct instructor at Seton Hall University School of Law from 2011-2014. From 2010-2018, Ms. Deere was Of Counsel to the firm Kates, Nussman, Rapone, Ellis & Farhi in Hackensack, N.J. Ms. Deere was brought in as an experienced attorney to assist the firm in its litigation and zoning cases.
Prof. Deere began her legal career at the firm of Donovan Leisure Newton & Irvine in New York where she practiced commercial litigation and bankruptcy. Prof. Deere also worked as a trial attorney for the Administration for Children’s services handling hundreds of abuse and neglect cases from inception through trial. Prof. Deere transitioned to GMHC, Inc. – the largest private AIDS organization in the world where she was initially responsible for managing its family law practice and eventually supervised the majority of the legal department including family law, housing rights, social security law, trusts and estates and bankruptcy.
Partner, Donahue & Goldberg LLP
Megan M. Herzog is a Massachusetts-based attorney whose practice is focused on environmental, natural resources, and energy litigation and administrative advocacy. She is a member of the bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and practices in state and federal appellate courts.
Megan is a 2011 graduate of Stanford Law School, where she was Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Law, Science & Policy. She also holds an M.S. in Environment and Resources from Stanford University. Megan began her legal career with fellowships at the Environmental Law Institute in Washington, D.C. and at UCLA Law School's Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, where she advised state and local governments on climate change mitigation and adaptation policy. From 2016 to 2018, she served as staff attorney at Conservation Law Foundation's Boston office, where she worked on clean energy, ocean, and fisheries matters, including litigation in federal courts and before state public utilities commissions. Megan then spent nearly five years in the Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General, Energy and Environment Bureau, advocating before federal agencies and litigating cases concerning state and federal air, climate, energy, and natural resources laws. She led state government coalitions in several actions in the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Megan has published on a variety of environmental law topics, including climate change adaptation and federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. She has taught courses in environmental law, climate law, and ocean and coastal law at UCLA Law School and Tufts University. She has testified before legislative committees and given dozens of presentations on critical issues in environmental law, including for the American Law Institute, Energy Bar Association, California State Bar Association Environmental Law Section, and multiple law review symposia.
Solicitor General of Kentucky
Matt Kuhn serves as the Solicitor General of Kentucky. As Solicitor General, he oversees the office's civil and criminal appellate litigation and supervises the office's filing of amicus briefs. Since joining the Attorney General's office, he has argued in the Supreme Court of the United States, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of Kentucky. Before joining the Attorney General's office, he served as Chief Deputy General Counsel to the Governor of Kentucky. He also worked in private practice at Jones Day in Washington, D.C. and Stoll Keenon Ogden in Louisville, and served as a law clerk for Judge Raymond Gruender of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He is a graduate of Furman University and Columbia Law School.
Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Mr. Leopold is a Partner with the law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth in Washington, DC. He is the former Senate-confirmed general counsel of the U.S. EPA from 2018-2020, and he previously was a litigator at the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division form 2007-2013. As EPA General Counsel, he counseled on the development and defense of EPA’s most significant rulemakings, including the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, and the Safe Affordable Fuel‐Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule, as well as several pesticide actions. He was personally involved in defending EPA in litigation, including the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund in the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Leopold’s prior government service also includes working in Florida as general counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He now represents clients in regulatory advocacy before federal agencies, litigates federal environmental actions, and defends clients with EPA enforcement issues.
Regulatory Affairs Director, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Viktoria Seale is a regulatory affairs director for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) which represents nearly 900 not-for-profit electric cooperatives and other rural electric utilities. She advocates before the federal government for NRECA members on environmental, permitting, and other regulatory issues.
Viktoria has extensive federal government experience and has worked on a wide range of complex legal, regulatory, legislative and policy matters. Prior to joining NRECA, she served as general counsel and chief of staff for the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and helped lead significant initiatives including the comprehensive update and modernization of CEQ’s National Environmental Policy Act regulations in 2020. Viktoria also has worked for two chairmen of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business. In addition, she has served as director of regional affairs and special assistant to the chief counsel for the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy.
Viktoria received a B.A. in international studies from Rhodes College and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. She is admitted to practice law in Texas. Viktoria resides in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband and daughter.
Member, Swansburg & Smith, PLLC
J. Brooken Smith is a founding member of Swansburg & Smith, PLLC. Licensed to practice in Kentucky, his practice focuses on representing businesses and employers in litigation and employment matters. Mr. Smith previously practiced with a large regional law firm for more than five years, representing businesses in a variety of legal disputes and defending employers in discrimination and other claims. Mr. Smith practices in state and federal courts throughout Kentucky.
Throughout his career, Mr. Smith has gained extensive experience in public service at the state and federal level. Before entering the private practice of law, Mr. Smith served as a law clerk for the Honorable Gregory F. Van Tatenhove, United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He served as the chief of staff for the Kentucky Labor Cabinet and, later, the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. Mr. Smith also served as the ex officio chair of the Unemployment Insurance Commission, a three-member executive branch agency that hears administrative appeals of unemployment insurance claims.
Mr. Smith graduated from the University of Kentucky College of Law and earned a bachelor of arts in government from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
Partner, DBL Law
Mitchel joined DBL Law as a partner in its Louisville office in 2018. Mitchel’s wide range of experience makes him a sought-after attorney and advisor. He uses this experience to advise his client on a wide variety of legal issues. Mitchel primarily focusses in the firm’s Health Care, Administrative Law, Civil Litigation, and Government practice groups. His health care practice focusses on items ranging from Stark and Anti-kickback analysis and defense to mergers and asset purchase arrangements. In the administrative law and civil litigation realm, Mitchel represents numerous entities before various administrative agencies and handles administrative appeals in Kentucky Courts. He also represents entities in employment litigation and other civil litigation in both federal and state courts. Mitchel also regularly advises clients on matters ranging from open records/FOIA disputes, election law, and white collar crime.
Prior to joining the firm, Mitchel was the Assistant Deputy Attorney General in the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General. In that role, he supervised nearly every division in the office, handling the most sensitive and high profile matters. These matters included successful challenges to the Kentucky Governor’s executive authority, litigation involving Environmental Protection Agency regulations, and the prosecution of numerous state and local officials. On the administrative and civil side, Mitchel also oversaw the divisions which enforce non-profit organizations, election laws, environmental law, Medicaid fraud, open records laws, utility rate making, On the criminal side, Mitchel supervised investigations, prosecutions, and appeals of Kentucky’s criminal laws.
As part of his work at the Attorney General’s Office Mitchel advised various Kentucky agencies related to the promulgation of administrative regulations, including co-authoring the controlled substance prescribing standards and the pain clinic regulations. Mitchel served at the Attorney General’s designee on various boards and advised other boards and commissions on matters ranging from constitutional and statutory compliance to personnel matters.
Mitchel has also served as the Executive Director of Medicaid Fraud Control Unit where he led litigation involving pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers, obtaining multi-million dollar settlements for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. During his time supervising this division, it collected approximately $300 Million for the Commonwealth. He also previously served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Jefferson County, the state’s largest jurisdiction, prosecuting felony crimes on behalf of the Commonwealth. Working with federal and state law enforcement, he focused on large-scale criminal syndications, including handling what is still the largest criminal syndication case in Kentucky history.
Mitchel is admitted to practice law in Kentucky, the Kentucky Eastern and Western Districts, the Sixth Circuit, the DC Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. Mitchel has argued cases before numerous federal and state courts and the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Mitchel is a proud 2019 graduate of Leadership Kentucky. He an active member of the Louisville community, serving on the Board of Directors for the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, Treasurer of the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation, and volunteer with the Bluegrass Center for Autism. He resides in Louisville with his wife and three children.
Senior Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Oliver Dunford joined the Pacific Legal Foundation in March 2017. He litigates across the country to defend and advance individual liberty and the rule of law. Oliver’s cases involve the separation of powers, economic liberty, property rights, and the First Amendment.
Oliver remains inspired by the Classical Liberal ideals upon which our Founders declared independence and secured the blessings of liberty. The Constitution’s promises, however, are not self-executing. As James Madison explained, “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” Oliver feels lucky that his work helps oblige the government to control itself—to the end that all individuals may pursue their rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Before joining PLF, Oliver clerked at the Ohio Supreme Court and the Ohio Court of Appeals, and spent more than a decade in private practice working on complex commercial litigation. Originally from Cleveland, Oliver is a graduate of the University of Dayton and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where he was a managing editor for the Cleveland State Law Review. Oliver is admitted to the state bars of Florida, California, and Ohio, as well as several federal courts including the United States Supreme Court.
Oliver spends all of his free time following the Cleveland Indians.
Former Justice, Supreme Court of Kentucky
Laurance B. VanMeter, of Lexington, Kentucky, served on the Kentucky Supreme Court from 2017 to 2025 where he was just the third Justice to have served at all four levels of the Kentucky unified court system. His fellow justices elected him as Chief Justice of Kentucky beginning in January 2023. His term ended in January 2025 following his decision not to seek a second term on the Court.
Before his election to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice VanMeter served thirteen years as a Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, having been first elected in November 2003. He also served as a Fayette Circuit Court judge and as a Fayette District Court judge.
Prior to his judicial service, he was a partner in the Kentucky firm of Stoll, Keenon & Park where his practice included business organization and planning, estate planning, real estate, and taxation, largely with the equine industry. Chief Justice VanMeter served on or chaired various committees within the Kentucky judicial branch: Evidence Rules Review Commission, Civil Rules Committee, Kentucky Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Commission, Kentucky Office of Bar Admissions, Board of Trustees of the Kentucky Judicial Form Retirement Systems, Ethics Committee of the Kentucky Judiciary, and Judicial Conduct Commission. In addition, he served as the Court of Appeals’ acting Chief Judge, and as its Chief Judge Pro Tempore.
He earned an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University with a major in history in 1980, and his J.D. from the University of Kentucky College of Law in 1983. More recently, he earned an LL.M. degree, May 2020, from Duke University School of Law and, in July 2020, was elected to The American Law Institute. In 2024, Chief Justice VanMeter received the Kentucky Bar Association’s Distinguished Judge Award and his college fraternity’s Award for Distinguished Public Service. He was appointed to the Uniform Law Commission in May 2025.
Partner, DBL Law
Mitchel joined DBL Law as a partner in its Louisville office in 2018. Mitchel’s wide range of experience makes him a sought-after attorney and advisor. He uses this experience to advise his client on a wide variety of legal issues. Mitchel primarily focusses in the firm’s Health Care, Administrative Law, Civil Litigation, and Government practice groups. His health care practice focusses on items ranging from Stark and Anti-kickback analysis and defense to mergers and asset purchase arrangements. In the administrative law and civil litigation realm, Mitchel represents numerous entities before various administrative agencies and handles administrative appeals in Kentucky Courts. He also represents entities in employment litigation and other civil litigation in both federal and state courts. Mitchel also regularly advises clients on matters ranging from open records/FOIA disputes, election law, and white collar crime.
Prior to joining the firm, Mitchel was the Assistant Deputy Attorney General in the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General. In that role, he supervised nearly every division in the office, handling the most sensitive and high profile matters. These matters included successful challenges to the Kentucky Governor’s executive authority, litigation involving Environmental Protection Agency regulations, and the prosecution of numerous state and local officials. On the administrative and civil side, Mitchel also oversaw the divisions which enforce non-profit organizations, election laws, environmental law, Medicaid fraud, open records laws, utility rate making, On the criminal side, Mitchel supervised investigations, prosecutions, and appeals of Kentucky’s criminal laws.
As part of his work at the Attorney General’s Office Mitchel advised various Kentucky agencies related to the promulgation of administrative regulations, including co-authoring the controlled substance prescribing standards and the pain clinic regulations. Mitchel served at the Attorney General’s designee on various boards and advised other boards and commissions on matters ranging from constitutional and statutory compliance to personnel matters.
Mitchel has also served as the Executive Director of Medicaid Fraud Control Unit where he led litigation involving pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers, obtaining multi-million dollar settlements for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. During his time supervising this division, it collected approximately $300 Million for the Commonwealth. He also previously served as an Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney in Jefferson County, the state’s largest jurisdiction, prosecuting felony crimes on behalf of the Commonwealth. Working with federal and state law enforcement, he focused on large-scale criminal syndications, including handling what is still the largest criminal syndication case in Kentucky history.
Mitchel is admitted to practice law in Kentucky, the Kentucky Eastern and Western Districts, the Sixth Circuit, the DC Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. Mitchel has argued cases before numerous federal and state courts and the Kentucky Supreme Court.
Mitchel is a proud 2019 graduate of Leadership Kentucky. He an active member of the Louisville community, serving on the Board of Directors for the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, Treasurer of the Norton Children’s Hospital Foundation, and volunteer with the Bluegrass Center for Autism. He resides in Louisville with his wife and three children.
Senior Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation
Oliver Dunford joined the Pacific Legal Foundation in March 2017. He litigates across the country to defend and advance individual liberty and the rule of law. Oliver’s cases involve the separation of powers, economic liberty, property rights, and the First Amendment.
Oliver remains inspired by the Classical Liberal ideals upon which our Founders declared independence and secured the blessings of liberty. The Constitution’s promises, however, are not self-executing. As James Madison explained, “In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself.” Oliver feels lucky that his work helps oblige the government to control itself—to the end that all individuals may pursue their rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Before joining PLF, Oliver clerked at the Ohio Supreme Court and the Ohio Court of Appeals, and spent more than a decade in private practice working on complex commercial litigation. Originally from Cleveland, Oliver is a graduate of the University of Dayton and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where he was a managing editor for the Cleveland State Law Review. Oliver is admitted to the state bars of Florida, California, and Ohio, as well as several federal courts including the United States Supreme Court.
Oliver spends all of his free time following the Cleveland Indians.
Explainer Episode 77 - State Regulatory Reform and Overcoming Regulatory Inertia
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Tanner Jones and Jonathan Wolfson from the Cicero Institute discuss their co-authored paper titled "Restoring...
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On February 21, 2024, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Ohio v. Environmental...
Keynote Address
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On June 10, the Kentucky Supreme Court heard a pair of cases to consider whether...
Deep Dive Episode 181 – State of Emergency? Kentucky’s Legislature vs. Governor
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