Mission Statement
As a non-partisan and non-sectarian consortium focused on the promotion of individual freedom, rights, and liberty in everyday life, the Institute for Liberal Values provides the skills and support required to build community where there has been division, encourage free expression where there has been censorship, and foster optimism where there is fear.
Many of us started our personal missions to support liberal values after facing illiberal threats to our individuality and individual freedoms and seeking guidance and help from Counterweight. The networks we created offered us refuge and a community that inspired us to carry on the work Counterweight started: to promote diversity without division, collaboration without chaos, and conversation without constraint. In essence, we are an assembly of dissidents who believe that authoritarian and illiberal trends, no matter their origin – right, left, top, bottom or anywhere in between – threaten the fundamental values of a pluralistic democracy.
It is our aim to share rich educational resources that reinforce liberal values as the bedrock of a flourishing and dignified society by creating our own materials, and by partnering with other organizations that defend similar values. We all approach liberalism from our own unique perspectives, but we believe that together our work and complementary objectives will provide a platform for fellow dissidents to find meaningful ways to center individual rights, freedom and liberty, and to elevate pluralism over polarization.
OUR LEADERSHIP
Board of Directors
Jennifer Richmond
Board Member
Jennifer Richmond, an International Relations Specialist, supports liberalism and universal values and believes that we are at our best when protecting individual rights and freedoms. She worked in international relations for over 20 years, focusing on global geopolitics, intelligence, and East Asian policy, before turning her attention and cross-cultural skills towards the most polarizing issues within the United States and beyond. She is dedicated to learning how to communicate on difficult and polarizing issues, in good faith, to develop citizens (and herself) in building a strong and diverse community for democracy to thrive. Jen and co-author W.F. Twyman, Jr. have recently released their book – Letters in Black & White: A New Correspondence on Race in America.
David Bernstein
Board Member
A passionate advocate of the free expression of ideas, Bernstein is the President and Founder of the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values and the past President and CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs and former executive director of the David Project. He is the author of “Woke Antisemitism: How a Progressive Ideology Harms Jews.”
Jason Littlefield
Board Member
Jason Littlefield is a lifelong learner and longtime educator. In 2021 he left public education after 21 years because his job (SEL Specialist) evolved to advance an ideology rather than enhance the human experience and condition. He now promotes Empowered Humanity Theory to schools, workplaces and communities that seek to build empowering and dignified communities. In addition to serving as a Board Director at ILV, Jason is also a co-founder and board member of Free Black Thought and a Director, the host of the Reformation Radio podcast and the Executive Director of Empowered Pathways.
Erec Smith
Board Member
Erec Smith is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric at York College of Pennsylvania. Although he has eclectic scholarly interests, Smith’s primary work focuses on the rhetorics of anti-racist activism, theory, and pedagogy. He is the president of the Foundation for Free Black Thought. Smith’s recent books include A Critique of Anti-Racism in Rhetoric and Composition: The Semblance of Empowerment(2020) and The Lure of Disempowerment: Reclaiming Agency in the Age of CRT(2022). He tweets here.
Zander Keig
Board Member
Zander Keig is an award-winning Licensed Clinical Social Worker, anthology editor, transgender social care advocate, and a sought-after emotional, mental, spiritual, and social fitness consultant, facilitator, coach, and speaker. More about Zander is available here.
Fellows
Mike Burke
Fellow
Mike Burke is an academic from England whose research and consulting interests include education, political philosophy, and ideology. His present research focus is on Critical Social Justice (CSJ) ideology and the advantages and challenges it poses to the national security of the United Kingdom and other liberal democracies, by extension. He has also written on and maintains an interest in Islamism and contemporary far-right thinking. Mike is one of the hosts for the Institute for Liberal Values podcast, The Dissidents.
Brian Russell Graham
Fellow
Brian Russell Graham is a Fellow at the Institute for Liberal Values. He is a two-time graduate of the University of Glasgow, where he completed an M.A. and PhD in English Literature. His first monograph, The Necessary Unity of Opposites, published by University of Toronto Press in 2011, is a study of Northrop Frye, particularly Frye’s dialectical thinking. His second and third monographs – On a Common Culture and Speech Acts in Blake’s Milton – were published in 2022. In addition to his scholarly work, he has also published slow journalism in publications such as Quillette, Areo and Merion West, amongst others. Brian teaches the Liberal Bookshelf Courses on behalf of the Institute for Liberal Values.
Elizabeth Spievak
Fellow
Elizabeth Spievak, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology at Bridgewater State University where she also served for over 10 years as chair of the Institutional Review Board. A degree in quantitative business analysis and an MBA in decision sciences led to an early career in business and consulting, which informs her psychological research on narrative, attention, and decision making. When she is not engaged in compliance work, teaching, or managing her undergraduate research lab, Elizabeth is typically exercising, or engaged in collaborative projects, including co-hosting The Dissidents podcast.
Advisors
Angel Eduardo
Advisor
Angel Eduardo is a writer, musician, photographer, and designer based in New York City, best known for creating the rhetorical concept of star-manning—where we engage not only with the best version of our opponent’s argument, but also with the best version of our opponent. His writing has been featured in Quillette, Newsweek, Areo Magazine, and The Caribbean Writer, among other print and online publications. Through his work, Angel hopes to foster more productive conversations on the topics of the day, all bolstered by his own six words of advice: Be kind; we’re all first drafts.
James Petts
Advisor
James Petts is a barrister (the equivalent of a trial attorney) in London, England. He was called to the Bar in 2002 and has been practicing since 2005. In his professional life, he focuses on commercial and Chancery (property) cases, especially those involving an element of fraud or dishonesty. In his personal life, he enjoys baking, photography, computer programming and model railways. James has a passion for reason and reason-based ethics, and a strong dislike of abuses of power in any context.
Leslie Elliott
Advisor
Leslie is a facilitator with Solid Ground, and coach and consultant in Washington State with an educational background in clinical mental health counseling and health coaching. She works with clients using an existential, person-centered approach and is passionate about natural health, individualism, and personal autonomy. She is also a homeschooling advocate and mother of four. Leslie has been outspoken about CSJ as a graduate student and in the workplace, and has been active in battling authoritarian covid policies. In October 2022 she began a series of YouTube videos blowing the whistle on ideological influence in counselor training under the name “the radical center.” You can find her videos on YouTube and her writing and documentation on Substack at the radical center | Substack Leslie is available for peer support sessions & strategic consultations.
Brandy Shufutinsky
Advisor
Brandy Shufutinsky is a social worker, writer, researcher, and advocate. She holds a Doctorate in Education from the University of San Francisco in International and Multicultural Education and her MSW from the University of Southern California. Dr. Shufutinsky has worked towards advancing the rights of victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault within the military community through practice, education, and research. She is the Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Jewish Institute for Liberal Values. Brandy was a 2021 Scholar-in-Residence at the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism & Policy Oxford Summer Institute, where she worked to develop curriculum in Critical Antisemitism Studies. Currently she is working towards developing intercultural and academic opportunities to enhance liberal democratic ideals.
Ken Pope
Advisor
Ken Pope is the Chief Executive Officer at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. Previously he had a 34-year career in the U.S. Army, consulting industry and academia. While in uniform, he served in a variety of Armored Reconnaissance, Special Operations and Russian Foreign Area Officer (FAO) assignments in Europe, the Middle East, and Central America. He commanded an Armored Cavalry Troop during the Persian Gulf War and later a Special Operations unit focused on Central America. As an Army FAO he had a variety of assignments in Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kosovo. In the consulting industry, he led teams that provided strategy, analysis and wargaming support to the Office of the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Mississippi where he taught courses on intelligence, advanced analytics, and led the program’s national security simulations with the U.S. Intelligence Community. He has a B.A. in Sociology, a M.A. in International Relations, is a graduate of the U.S. Army Command and Staff College and the George C. Marshall Center’s Executive Program for Advanced Security Studies. His military awards include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star and from the President of Estonia the Eagles Cross.
Facilitators (Solid Ground)
The Institute for Liberal Values, in partnership with Solid Ground, provides a place for refuge for individuals seeking peer-to-peer support to combat illiberal trends in their workplaces and lives.
Jennifer Friend
Facilitator
Jennifer is a licensed clinical social worker with 30 years of experience in the field of mental health. She became a vocal opponent of Critical Social Justice (CSJ) after a personal experience with a toxic DEI initiative in her former workplace. Jennifer offers individual peer support sessions and strategic consultations.
Jennifer lives in the Washington DC area with her husband and her wirehaired dachshund, T.S. Eliot. She enjoys reading, long walks in the woods and international travel. Watch Jen talk about her whistleblowing experience.
Jodi Shaw
Facilitator
Jodi is an artist and reluctant activist who blew the whistle on the hostile and discriminatory work environment she encountered as an employee at Smith College in a series of YouTube videos. A “disenfranchised liberal,” Jodi is a single mom raising two sons in western Massachusetts. In addition to leading a peer support group for Solid Ground, Jodi offers individual peer support sessions and consultations to anyone struggling with “woke,” COVID-19 mandates, or any other interpersonal issues in their workplace, school or community. Jodi’s Music / Jodi’s Twitter / Jodi’s Substack / Jodi’s YouTube.
David Simpson
Facilitator
David is a Trainee Clinical Psychologist with a broad background working in mental health services in the UK. He has spoken out against authoritarian attempts to force adherence to CSJ ideologies at University. He has been running an online peer support group for UK/US individuals who feel ostracized or silenced in their workplace or community. David is available for peer support sessions and consultations.
Deborah Knox
Facilitator
Deborah offers graduate-school-admissions, leadership, and personal coaching; and she has been closely tracking the influence of CSJ in business and education. Passionate about promoting viewpoint diversity and dedicated to helping people better understand and appreciate each other, she volunteers with Braver Angels, a grassroots nonprofit that aims to depolarize America, and engaging in and facilitating a relational contemplative practice called Circling. In addition to having significant training in leading groups and communicating effectively, Deborah is an avid student of psychology, spirituality, meditation, wellness, and principles for fostering healthy organizations and societies. Deborah is also available for individual peer-support sessions and strategic consultations.
Our partnERS
Coalition for Empowered Education
Queer Majority
Mutual Persuasion
Solid Ground
EmpowerED Pathways
Free Black Thought
Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies
Jewish Institute for Liberal Values
