America's Future Foundation

The Team | Board of Directors | Advisory Board | Executive Council

The Team

Roger Custer, Executive Director - roger@americasfuture.org

Roger Custer has been AFF’s Executive Director since 2011, and is currently an Associate at the Charles Koch Institute.  Previously, he was Conference Director at Young America’s Foundation where he oversaw the nation’s leading conservative student conferences and assisted with activism programs.  He earned a BA at Ithaca College in New York and an MPA in nonprofit management at George Mason University.  His work has been recognized in TIME, the Washington Post, CNN, C-SPAN, and other major media.  Human Events named him a “Top Ten Young Conservative Activist” in the country. In his free time, he trains for triathlons and is active in his church and community.

Marianne Rodriguez, Director of Programs - marianne@americasfuture.org

Marianne serves as the Director of Programs at AFF. In this role she coordinates and manages many of the events sponsored by the America’s Future Foundation in support of its members, but she can also be found behind the scenes of the Finance department at the Institute for Humane Studies and the Mercatus Center. She earned a BA in Economics from Hillsdale College and has lived in the DC area ever since.

JP Freire, Editor, Doublethink – doublethink@americasfuture.org

JP Freire has been a journalist for nearly a decade. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Washington Examiner, National Review, Reason, the American Spectator, Human Events, as well as other outlets. He is a regular commentator on cable news, including MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN. In 2009, he was named the CPAC Journalist of the Year. While he was associate editorial page editor of the Washington Examiner, his investigative work on how the government handled the financial crisis was cited by Congress. He was previously a managing editor for the American Spectator (where he is now a contributing editor) and a researcher at the New York Times.

Zachary Graves, Director of Communications – zach@americasfuture.org

Zachary Graves is the Manager of New Media for a libertarian think tank in Washington, DC.  He holds an MA in political theory and a BA in philosophy. Follow him on Twitter: @ZacharyGraves

Richard Lorenc, National Chapter Coordinator - richard@americasfuture.org

Richard Lorenc is executive director of the Liberty Markets Fund for Freedom, a community foundation providing small donors meaningful ways to support pro-liberty think tanks. Lorenc also serves as chairman of the Chicago chapter of America’s Future Foundation (AFF).  His writing has appeared in the Daily Caller, Gaper’s Block, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and others, and he is a contributor to the American Vision and Values Trust at Bellevue University.  He blogs at Chicago Libertarian.

Kate Merrill, Director of Membership – kate@americasfuture.org

Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kate Merrill first came to AFF as an intern in 2009, and has stayed involved with the growing organization ever since. Kate is an Executive Assistant at the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, a conservative non-profit devoted to solving the issue of poverty. Kate is a graduate of Marquette University, where she received a BS in Political Science and French. In her spare time, Kate enjoys being with her family, reading all things classic literature, and expanding her collection of jazz music.

Katherine Ruddy, Photographer

Katherine Ruddy is a Washington, D.C.-based freelance photographer, staff photographer for America’s Future Foundation and contributing photographer of Doublethink. She is also the advertising manager of The American Spectator magazine. She holds a B.S. degree in Studio Art from Florida State University. To see her photos, click here.

Chicago Chapter Leadership

Pittsburgh Chapter Leadership

Board of Directors

Kmele Foster, Chairman

Kmele Foster is the Vice President and Co-Founder of TelcoIQ, a telecommunications consultancy in Lanham, Maryland. TelcoIQ generated nearly $40 million in sales revenue in 2008 and has been repeatedly recognized as an industry leader by firms including AT&T and XO Communications. Kmele was recognized by the Prince George’s County Tech Council as their 2005 Small Business Executive of the Year.

In addition to his entrepreneurial successes, Kmele possesses a broad range of public policy experience. He completed his undergraduate degrees in Government & Politics and Economics at the University of Maryland, College Park.  As an undergraduate Fellow at the Center for Democracy and Technology, Kmele researched Telecom Regulation, Internet Privacy, and Broadband Penetration.  Kmele gained a unique firsthand perspective on Washington politics and journalism as a producer and White House Correspondent for Talk Radio News Service. Kmele has also lent his talents to the One Economy Corporation, a global non-profit that uses technology to empower low-income communities.

Jeff Berkowitz, Vice Chair

Jeff Berkowitz is the principal of Berkowitz Public Affairs, which provides a range of services to corporations, trade associations, political campaigns, and educational and advocacy organizations, including strategic and crisis communications, policy analysis and investigative research. Previously, Berkowitz served as Research Director for the Republican National Committee, where he oversaw all policy and legislative analysis and candidate and opposition research and provided strategic guidance on messaging and communications to national and state party officials. Berkowitz has worked on campaigns at the federal, state and local level throughout the country, including Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign, where he served as Deputy Communications Director and Research Director, and President Bush’s re-election campaign, where he served as Senior Defense and Foreign Policy Analyst for the RNC and Bush-Cheney 2004. In government, Berkowitz was the Associate Director for Research in The White House Office of Scheduling and spearheaded community outreach on critical policy initiatives as the President’s Liaison to the Jewish Community. He also served at the State Department as an advisor on international information programs and public-private partnerships for the Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Berkowitz also has worked with a range of organizations outside of government, including the Center for U.S. Global Engagement, the National Energy Marketers Association, and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. In addition to serving as Vice Chairman of America’s Future Foundation, Berkowitz is on the board of the Hamilton Foundation and a member of the Young Leadership Board of the Republican Jewish Coalition. A resident of Washington, DC, Berkowitz is a graduate of American University’s School of International Service and a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity.

Gary D. Leff

Gary is Chief Financial Officer for the Mercatus Center and Institute for Humane Studies where he is responsible for their combined $18 million budget. Previously he was Director of Development for both IHS and Mercatus, and prior to that, Program Director for IHS Liberty & Society summer seminars. Before joining the Institute for Humane Studies he was a Charles G. Koch Summer Fellow at the Tax Foundation where he authored A Half Century of Small Business Federal Income Tax Rates and Collections. Gary has been cited in numerous publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and Washington Post and has lectured on such diverse topics as privacy regulation, education reform, and U.S.-Russian relations.

A renowned expert on airline, hotel, and credit card loyalty programs, Gary serves as Senior Moderator and member-elected board President of Flyertalk.com, the world’s most popular online travel community. He was named one of five voices to listen to about business travel by Inside Flyer magazine. And his blog on the subject, “View from the Wing,” can be found at http://view.boardingarea.com. When not in the office, Gary is likely to be found in an airline first class lounge, hotel suite, overwater bungalow, or enjoying a glass of Krug at 30,000 feet.

A nationally competitive collegiate debater and high school coach, he has continued to assist local teams and tournaments as a volunteer and has been published in Rostrum, the journal of the National Forensic League. Gary holds a BA (summa cum laude) in economics from California State University, Fresno.

Stacie Rumenap, Treasurer

Stacie Rumenap is Executive Director of Stop Child Predators, a non-profit organization designed to prevent the sexual exploitation of children and protect the rights of crime victims. The organization is an active proponent for the passage of Jessica’s Law in all 50 states, and assisted in passing the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006. Prior to joining Stop Child Predators, Stacie served as the Deputy Director for the American Conservative Union (ACU), the nation’s oldest and largest conservative grassroots issue-advocacy organization, where she directed the ACU’s annual Conservative Political Action Conference and served as one of the group’s principle lobbyists. Stacie also served as the Executive Director for both the National Center for Growth and U.S. Term Limits, and worked on Capitol Hill. In addition to serving on AFF’s board, Stacie also serves on the Advisory Board of OmniLink Systems, a cutting-edge technology company that manufactures GPS monitoring devices. Stacie received her M.A. in Legislative Affairs from George Washington University and her B.A. in Journalism from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

David White

David White is the chief operating officer of Keybridge Communications, a public relations firm that specializes in writing, media placement, and design. In addition to his work at Keybridge, David is a well-known wine writer. He is the founder and editor of Terroirist.com, a critically acclaimed wine blog, and he writes a twice monthly column for Wines.com which appears in nearly 100 newspapers across the country.

David began his career in the administration of George W. Bush, where he worked as a speechwriter at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has also worked at the American Enterprise Institute, where he was assistant editor of The American Enterprise, a national magazine of politics, business, and culture. In addition to serving on AFF’s board, David is a founding board member of the American Wine Consumer Coalition.

David’s articles have appeared in dozens of top publications, including the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post. He has appeared on both radio and television on numerous occasions. David is a graduate of Yale University, where he rowed on the crew team and co-edited The Politic, Yale’s nonpartisan political magazine.

Kristen Soltis Anderson

Kristen Soltis Anderson is currently the Director of Policy Research at The Winston Group, a DC based polling and strategic consulting firm where she has worked since 2005. She was featured as a “Mover and Shaker” in Campaigns & Elections Magazine in June 2010.   She has appeared on many television, radio, and online programs and is a regular contributor to Pollster.com and POLITICO’s Arena.  She earned her Master’s in Government from Johns Hopkins University where she graduated summa cum laude.  She has been an invited speaker at George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University and Loyola University in Baltimore, and led a training session on polling for The Leadership Institute.

Joanna Robinson

Joanna started her first business in April 2009. Lunar Massage is a neighborhood massage studio for busy professionals and area residents in DC that has expanded to two locations in the city and is in the process of establishing a third. She switched to being an entrepreneur after four years of fundraising for various libertarian causes. She was AFF’s Membership Director from 2005-2007 before joining the Board. Prior to coming to Washington D.C., Joanna managed a congressional campaign in District 26 in Texas (Dallas), worked in the importing business for the craft industry, and then at a financial planning firm. She comes from an Army family, and her degree is in English Literature.

Kathleen O’Hearn

Kathleen O’Hearn is the director of coalitions for State Policy Network.  In this capacity, she is responsible for overseeing and developing relationships with D.C.-based organizations in order to promote state-focused strategies.  She previously served as a Program Associate for SPN from 2006-2007.  Prior to joining SPN for the second time, Ms. O’Hearn served as the Associate Director for State Outreach and External Relations at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. She also spent time as a staff assistant on Capitol Hill and working as a research intern for the Texas Public Policy Foundation.  Ms. O’Hearn earned her BS in Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University, as well as a minor in Business Administration. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree at George Mason University.  She currently lives in Arlington, VA, with her husband Jerry Brito.

Cheryl Miller, Secretary

Cheryl Miller manages the AEI Program on American Citizenship. Previously, she worked as head news clerk and editorial researcher at the New York Times and as deputy director of research in the White House Office of Presidential Speechwriting. Her work has appeared in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, the Weekly Standard, Commentary, and the Claremont Review of Books. She is the author of the AEI report, Underserved: A Case Study of ROTC in New York City, and co-author (with Robin Lake) of Strengthening the Civic Mission of Charter Schools.

Whitney Garrison Athayde

Whitney Garrison Athayde is the Director of Development at The American Spectator Foundation. Previously, she has been a part of the fundraising teams at the Atlas Economic Research Foundation and the Center for Excellence in Education. She got to know D.C. well early in her career as a Program Instructor for the Close Up Foundation. She is also a founding member of the Network of Enlightened Women (NeW) and currently serves on their Advisory Board. Whitney earned her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Virginia and her Masters in Public Policy from George Mason University where she studied as a Seymour Martin Lipset Scholar. She and her husband John Athayde are active members of Alexandria Presbyterian Church and both Athaydes enjoy shooting and/or growing their own food.

Kathryn Kelly

Advisory Board

Jonathan H. Adler
Case Western Reserve University School of Law

Samuel Casey Carter

Christina Culver
CH Global Strategies

Michael Gleba
The Sarah Scaife Foundation

Carl Helstrom
The JM Foundation

Scott Hodge
The Tax Foundation

Roger Ream
The Fund for American Studies

Christopher S. Siddall
Satori Consulting

Mary Siddall
Founder, America’s Future Foundation

Matthew Spalding
The Heritage Foundation

Executive Council

Clint Bolick
Goldwater Institute

Leonard Liggio
Atlas Economic Research Foundation

T. Kenneth Cribb
Intercollegiate Studies Institute

Edwin Meese III
Ronald Reagan Fellow, The Heritage Foundation

Edwin J. Feulner, Jr.
The Heritage Foundation

Gene Meyer
The Federalist Society

Barbara Ledeen
Founder, Independent Women’s Forum

Randal C. Teague
The Fund for American Studies

Grover Norquist
Americans for Tax Reform

Ron Robinson
Young America’s Foundation