Our Mission
The Institute for Liberal Values’ (ILV) mission is to promote the classical liberal values of reason and freedom for the common benefit of all humanity.
This entails advancing individuality, equality of opportunity, freedom of expression, viewpoint diversity, deliberative democracy, and the equally rigorous scrutiny of all political and ethical claims (whether from the right, left or anywhere else).
We advance this mission by equipping individuals, communities, and organizations with the skills and thinking tools necessary to build a dignified and empowered society.
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’s forthcoming book with co-author W.F. Twyman, Jr. – Letters in Black & White: A New Correspondence on Race in America – will be released May 23, 2023 from Pitchstone Publishing.
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.
Team
Kef Williams
Motion Designer
Kef Williams is a Motion Designer, with 4 years of experience, and a background in Computer Science. He aims at telling beautiful visual stories and has worked with various organizations to bring their video visions to life. To find out more, click here.
David King
Website Administrator
David King is ILV’s Website Administrator. Advocating for liberal values in every aspect of life, he has been an integral part of building the volunteer chapter network of the Foundation Against Intolerance & Racism, and is currently advocating for free speech at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. His passion for liberal values and civil liberties comes partially from a ten-year stint in the People’s Republic of China, and partially from the firm belief that when humans are free and can trust each other, society will naturally find itself at its best.
Our partnERS
Solid Ground
Free Black Thought
EmpowerED Pathways
Alliance for Constructive Ethnic Studies
Jewish Institute for Liberal Values
Facilitators (Solid Ground)
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.
Leslie Elliott
Facilitator
Leslie is a 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.