Vice President, Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law, Advancing American Freedom
John G. Malcolm oversees Advancing American Freedom’s work to increase understanding of the Constitution and the rule of law as Vice President of the organization’s Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law. Malcolm brings to the challenge a wealth of legal expertise and experience in both the public and private sectors.
Prior to joining Advancing American Freedom in 2025, Malcolm was the Vice President of the Institute for Constitutional Government and the Director of the Meese Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at the Heritage Foundation. Prior to joining Heritage in 2012, Malcolm was general counsel at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, as well as a distinguished practitioner in residence at Pepperdine Law School. From 2004 to 2009, Malcolm was executive vice president and director of worldwide anti-piracy operations for the Motion Picture Association.
Malcolm served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division from 2001 to 2004, where he oversaw sections on computer crime and intellectual property, domestic security, child exploitation and obscenity, and special investigations. Immediately prior to that, he was a founding partner in the Atlanta law firm of Malcolm & Schroeder, LLP.
From 1990 to 1997, Malcolm was an assistant U.S. attorney in Atlanta, assigned to the fraud and public corruption section, and also an associate independent counsel, investigating fraud and abuse in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was honored with the Director’s Award for Superior Performance for his work in connection with the successful prosecution of Walter Leroy Moody Jr., who assassinated an 11th Circuit judge and the head of the Savannah chapter of the NAACP.
A graduate of Harvard Law School and Columbia College, Malcolm began his career as a law clerk to a federal district court judge and a federal appellate court judge, and as an associate at the Atlanta-based law firm of Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan (new Eversheds Sutherland).
Malcolm, who resides in Washington, D.C., serves on the Board of Trustees of the Washington National Opera and is a Senate-confirmed member of the Board of Directors of the Legal Services Corporation, the largest funder of civil legal aid in the United States.
United States House of Representatives, Maryland
The son of immigrants who fled communist Eastern Europe immediately after World War II, Andrew P. Harris, M.D., has spent a lifetime serving his neighbors, country and community. Whether it was as a physician at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital, as a medical officer in the Naval Reserve, as a hard-working state senator, or now as congressman, Andy has made a life by serving others. He is dedicated to making sure every constituent in the 1st Congressional District receives the highest-quality assistance and is well-represented in the halls of Congress.
Serving his neighbors. Andy is a proud father of five children (Joe, Becky, Irene, Jessica and Danny), grandfather of two (Charles, Abigail), and husband to Cookie for over 33 years. Born in working-class Brooklyn in 1957, Andy grew up one of four boys.. He found his calling studying medicine at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where he continued to practice as an anesthesiologist for over three decades. Obstetric anesthesiology was his subspecialty, and over those years has helped thousands of women through their labor and delivery. For many years, his peers chose him to be named as one of the nation’s “Best Doctors” in his specialty. Recently, Andy still practices at Memorial Hospital in Easton, Maryland.
Serving his country. Answering a recruitment call to fill a critical need for anesthesiologists in the Naval Reserve during the Reagan Administration, Andy volunteered to serve in the military as a medical specialist. He went on to establish and command the Johns Hopkins Medical Naval ReserveUnit. In 1990, his unit was called up to active duty in order to assist with Operation Desert Shield (and later Operation Desert Storm). They took care of active duty military, veterans, and POWs at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Harris reached the rank of Commander (O-5).
Serving his community. Unhappy with the status quo in Annapolis, Harris, a political neophyte, decided to take on the establishment and make a run for the Maryland State Senate in 1998. After winning by an impressive margin, Andy continued to serve as a physician – epitomizing our Founding Fathers' belief in a part-time, citizen legislature. His innovative thinking, devotion to efficient government and dedication to his constituents earned him the “Hero of the Taxpayer” award from the Maryland Taxpayers Association in 2008.
Andy began serving as the Congressman from the beautiful 1st Congressional District of Maryland in 2011. He serves on the Committee on Appropriations and on the following subcommittees: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; and Legislative Branch. In his free time, he enjoys spending time on the Chesapeake Bay with his family, and repairing old cars with his sons.
Prof. Jill Levenson is a licensed clinical social worker with more than 20 years experience in the human service field. She began her career as a child protection social worker in Baltimore and has worked in a variety of social service agencies over the years. In addition to teaching at Lynn, she maintains a small psychotherapy practice.
Levenson is also a nationally recognized expert in sexual violence and is frequently quoted in the media. She has testified in front of the Florida, Kansas, Vermont and New Mexico Legislatures and has contributed to an Amicus Brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2002 case of CT v. Doe, which addressed the constitutionality of Megan's Law. Levenson is actively engaged in several research projects funded by the National Institute of Justice, and serves on the editorial board of “Sexual Abuse: Journal of Research and Treatment.”
Board Member, Center for Equal Opportunity
Roger Clegg is a Board Member at and former President and General Counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity. He focuses on legal issues arising from civil rights laws--including the regulatory impact on business and the problems in higher education created by affirmative action. A former Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Reagan and Bush administrations, Clegg held the second highest positions in both the Civil Rights Division (1987-91) and in the Environment and Natural Resources Division (1991-93). He has held several other positions at the U.S. Justice Department, including Assistant to the Solicitor General (1985-87), Associate Deputy Attorney General (1984-85), and Acting Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Policy (1984). Clegg is a graduate of Yale University Law School (1981).
Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh
Chris W. Bonneau is Professor of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh, where he has been since 2002. His research is primarily in the areas of judicial selection (specifically, judicial elections) and judicial decisionmaking. Professor Bonneau’s work has been supported by the National Science Foundation and he has published numerous articles, including in the American Journal of Political Science and Journal of Politics. He is also the coauthor of three books: Strategic Behavior and Policy Choice on the U.S. Supreme Court (2005), In Defense of Judicial Elections (2009), and the award-winning Voters’ Verdicts: Citizens, Campaigns, and Institutions in State Supreme Court Elections (2015).
Professor Bonneau teaches undergraduate classes in constitutional law, judicial politics, and research methods, as well as graduate classes in judicial politics and research design.
Judge, Iowa Court of Appeals
Judge Samuel P. Langholz was appointed to the Iowa Court of Appeals by Governor Kim Reynolds in 2023. Before his appointment, he practiced law in the Iowa Executive Branch for nearly thirteen years, serving as Chief Deputy Attorney General, Assistant Solicitor General, Senior Legal Counsel to the Governor, Chief Administrative Law Judge, and State Public Defender. He also previously worked in private practice at a law firm in Des Moines. He began his legal career as a judicial law clerk to Judge Steven M. Colloton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Judge Langholz earned his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law with highest distinction and Order of the Coif in 2008 and his undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University magna cum laude in 2002. He was raised and graduated from high school in Clear Lake. Judge Langholz is married and has two sons.
Justice, Iowa Supreme Court
Justice Mansfield, Des Moines, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2011.
Justice Mansfield was born and raised in Massachusetts. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard in 1978, and his law degree from Yale in 1982. After law school he clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Justice Mansfield worked as an attorney in private practice until his appointment to the Iowa Court of Appeals in 2009. Justice Mansfield also has been an adjunct professor of law at Drake University since 1997.
Justice Mansfield is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association, having served as Chair of the Trade Regulation Section from 2004-2006. He is a member of the Polk County Bar Association and the Iowa Judges Association. Justice Mansfield also serves on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa, and is a past Chairperson of this organization.
Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa
Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law, Advancing American Freedom
Judge, Iowa Court of Appeals
Judge Samuel P. Langholz was appointed to the Iowa Court of Appeals by Governor Kim Reynolds in 2023. Before his appointment, he practiced law in the Iowa Executive Branch for nearly thirteen years, serving as Chief Deputy Attorney General, Assistant Solicitor General, Senior Legal Counsel to the Governor, Chief Administrative Law Judge, and State Public Defender. He also previously worked in private practice at a law firm in Des Moines. He began his legal career as a judicial law clerk to Judge Steven M. Colloton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Judge Langholz earned his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law with highest distinction and Order of the Coif in 2008 and his undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University magna cum laude in 2002. He was raised and graduated from high school in Clear Lake. Judge Langholz is married and has two sons.
Justice, Iowa Supreme Court
Justice Mansfield, Des Moines, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2011.
Justice Mansfield was born and raised in Massachusetts. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard in 1978, and his law degree from Yale in 1982. After law school he clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Justice Mansfield worked as an attorney in private practice until his appointment to the Iowa Court of Appeals in 2009. Justice Mansfield also has been an adjunct professor of law at Drake University since 1997.
Justice Mansfield is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association, having served as Chair of the Trade Regulation Section from 2004-2006. He is a member of the Polk County Bar Association and the Iowa Judges Association. Justice Mansfield also serves on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa, and is a past Chairperson of this organization.
Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa
Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law, Advancing American Freedom
Investigative Counsel, U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce
Kent Talbert is a Washington, DC-based attorney with over 25 years’ experience in providing advice on education law and policy in Congress, the U.S. Department of Education, and the private sector. His practice includes legal and policy advice to colleges and universities, for-profit schools, accrediting agencies, the pre-K-12 sector, charter school organizations, trade associations, and education-focused companies, as well as service as an expert witness. He currently serves as Investigative Counsel, U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
Prior to establishing his firm, Mr. Talbert practiced at Talbert & Eitel, PLLC from 2010-2012. From 2006-2009 he served as General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Education, advising the Secretary of Education on a broad range of legal and policy matters, including the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965, the drafting and implementation of regulations under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and major education law cases pending before the Supreme Court of the United States and other appellate and trial courts. During his tenure as General Counsel, Mr. Talbert served as the Chief Regulatory Officer for the Department, overseeing all documents for publication in the Federal Register.
He has provided legal and strategic advice on the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans With Disabilities Act, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act ("Clery Act"), Federal Student Aid program reviews, negotiated rulemaking, and accreditation.
Prior to his service as General Counsel, Mr. Talbert served as the Department's Deputy General Counsel for Departmental and Legislative Service from 2001-2006. Earlier in his career, Mr. Talbert served for over 12 years on House and Senate staff, both as Education Policy Counsel for the Committee on Education and the Workforce in the U.S. House of Representatives, and as a professional staff member of the Committee on Labor and Human Resources (now Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) in the U.S. Senate.
Mr. Talbert is a member of the Bars of the District of Columbia and South Carolina, the Alliance of Public Charter School Attorneys, and the National Association of College and University Attorneys where he serves on the Committee on Legal Education. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court, the United States Court of Federal Claims, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and all federal courts in South Carolina and Washington, DC.
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.
President and General Counsel, Public Interest Legal Foundation
J. Christian Adams is the President and General Counsel of the Public Interest Legal Foundation. He served from 2005 to 2010 in the Voting Section at the United States Department of Justice Voting Section. President Trump appointed Adams to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. President Trump also appointed Adams as a Commissioner to the United States Commission on Civil Rights where he also now serves with a term through 2025. He has been involved in election law lawsuits in 33 states and the territory of Guam. He has represented multiple presidential campaigns in election litigation. He has a law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He is a member of the South Carolina and Virginia Bars.
Judge, Iowa Court of Appeals
Judge Samuel P. Langholz was appointed to the Iowa Court of Appeals by Governor Kim Reynolds in 2023. Before his appointment, he practiced law in the Iowa Executive Branch for nearly thirteen years, serving as Chief Deputy Attorney General, Assistant Solicitor General, Senior Legal Counsel to the Governor, Chief Administrative Law Judge, and State Public Defender. He also previously worked in private practice at a law firm in Des Moines. He began his legal career as a judicial law clerk to Judge Steven M. Colloton on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Judge Langholz earned his law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law with highest distinction and Order of the Coif in 2008 and his undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University magna cum laude in 2002. He was raised and graduated from high school in Clear Lake. Judge Langholz is married and has two sons.
Justice, Iowa Supreme Court
Justice Mansfield, Des Moines, was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2011.
Justice Mansfield was born and raised in Massachusetts. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard in 1978, and his law degree from Yale in 1982. After law school he clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Justice Mansfield worked as an attorney in private practice until his appointment to the Iowa Court of Appeals in 2009. Justice Mansfield also has been an adjunct professor of law at Drake University since 1997.
Justice Mansfield is a member of the Iowa State Bar Association, having served as Chair of the Trade Regulation Section from 2004-2006. He is a member of the Polk County Bar Association and the Iowa Judges Association. Justice Mansfield also serves on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of Central Iowa, and is a past Chairperson of this organization.
Executive Director, American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa
Senior Legal Fellow, Edwin Meese III Institute for the Rule of Law, Advancing American Freedom
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