Listed below are the staff members of the Bill of Rights Institute.
Development Department
President: Victoria Hughes
(email)
Victoria has served as President of the Institute since its founding in 1999, with the mission to educate students about the power and importance of the Bill of Rights. As president, Victoria has overall responsibility for the Institute's programs, development, day-to-day operation, and external relationships.
Prior to joining the Institute, Victoria served in senior executive roles in several national non-profit and public policy organizations. Victoria also served as Director of the Office of Program Development in the United States Information Agency, as a community representative for the March of Dimes. Prior to to this, Ms. Hughes taught for seven years in Cincinnati, Boston, and Washington, DC. Victoria earned her degree in Education from the University of Dayton.
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Vice President of Development: Christa L. Floresca
(email)
Christa L. Floresca is the Vice President of Development for the Bill of Rights Institute. Christa joined BRI in April 2005, and is responsible for the management and oversight of the Development department. Her responsibilities include the identification, cultivation and maintenance of major donors on behalf of the organization.
Christa has spent over nine years in fundraising serving as the Director of Development for several policy groups including the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the International Policy Network and Frontiers of Freedom. She grew up in Maryland and is a graduate of Frostburg State University with Bachelor degrees in both Political Science and Criminal Justice.
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Manager of Donor Relations: Corey Lewis
(email)
Corey is the primary writer of grant proposals, grant reports, organizational correspondence and major grants informational documents. He also conducts research and works cooperatively with other departments to oversee the management and fulfillment of grants.
Prior to joining The Bill of Rights Institute Corey worked for several non-profit organizations in the Lansing, Michigan area focused on adolescent development. Most recently he served as a Peace Corps Vounteer in Haiti, where he was a community health educator. He grew up in Michigan and is a graduate of Michigan State University with Bachelor Degrees in Both Human Resources and Psychology.
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Major Grants Writer : Position Available
(email Christa Floresca, Vice President of Development for more information)
Educational Programs Department
Vice President of Education Programs: Claire McCaffery Griffin
(email)
Claire McCaffery Griffin oversees the professional development programs for teachers, manages the creation of the Institute’s instructional materials, coordinates evaluation projects, and supervises the student components of our outreach. She has presented to teachers in 30 states, serves as the Project Director for the NEH Landmarks Workshop, Shaping the Constitution: The View from Mount Vernon 1783-1789, and has worked as an editor or instructional designer on all of the curriculum of the Bill of Rights Institute . Prior to joining the Institute, Claire was a classroom teacher for 28 years and a James Madison Memorial Fellow from Hawaii. She received her M.A. in American Studies (with an emphasis on Constitutional Studies) from the University of Hawaii, and her B.A. in History from the University of San Francisco.
Director of Curriculum Development: Veronica Burchard
(email)
Veronica Burchard writes and edits instructional materials, creates Internet content, and works with teacher and scholar teams to develop lessons. She also writes all of the Institute's eLessons. Since joining the Institute in 2004, Veronica served as editor and chief instructional designer of Supreme Court DBQ: Exploring the Cases that Changed History; The Bill of Rights and You: Rights and Responsibilities; Conflict and Continuity: The Story of American Freedom; Faces of Freedom in American History; Media and American Democracy; Founders and the Constitution, Volume 2, and The Bill of Rights for Real Life. She has presented nationally and is a frequent contributor to professional social studies publications. Prior to joining the Institute, Veronica spent seven years in the classroom in Fairfax County, Virginia and Alachua County, Florida, and served as a contributor to BRI instructional materials. Veronica received her Master’s (1996) and Bachelor’s (1994) Degrees in English from the University of Florida.
Director of Professional Development: Brett Helm
(email)
Brett Helm is responsible for presenting seminars around the country to assist teachers in developing strategies to teach the founding period of our nation’s history. He has presented over 50 seminars to teachers around the country. Prior to joining the Institute, Brett spent sixteen years in the classroom in Indiana and North Carolina, teaching history, government, and economics in classrooms ranging from the inner city to a private boarding school. . A 1980 graduate of Brown University in International Relations, Brett came to teaching after stints as a Marine Corps officer and businessman. He received his Masters in History (constitutional studies) from Winthrop University in 1999. He is a National Board Certified Teacher in Social Studies and History and the 1997 James Madison Memorial Senior Fellow from North Carolina.
Associate Director of Professional Development: Gennie Westbrook
(email)
Gennie Westbrook is the Associate Director of Professional Development at the Bill of Rights Institute and conducts constitutional seminars for teachers around the nation. Prior to joining the Bill of Rights Institute, Gennie spent 32 years as a teacher of AP U.S. History, We the People advanced U.S. Government, sociology, and other social studies courses at Calhoun High School in Port Lavaca, Texas. Her classes typically achieved 2 nd or 3 rd place in Texas state We the People competitions. Gennie is a 2000 Madison Fellow, and received her MA in Political Science from Virginia Tech’s online program in 2003. Gennie received her MA in Education with certification in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Houston-Victoria in 1983, and her B.S. in Education with composite Social Studies certification from Texas State University in San Marcos in 1975.
Director of Student Programs : Jason Ross
(email)
Jason Ross is Director of Student Programs for the Bill of Rights Institute. Jason is currently completing his Ph.D. in the Department of Government at Georgetown University, and he earned a Masters Degree in Public Policy from Pepperdine University in 2001. He is the recipient of numerous academic awards and fellowships, including the Richard M. Weaver Fellowship sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, the Humane Studies Fellowship sponsored by the Institute for Humane Studies, and the Civitas Fellowship sponsored by the Center for Public Justice. He has published reviews and essays in The Review of Politics, The Journal of Religion and Society, and The University Bookman.
Manager of Technology and Student Services : Jason Wilson
(email)
Jason Wilson joined the Bill of Rights Institute in May of 2004. He is responsible for managing the Institute's technology-based projects and infrastructure. In addition to Website maintenance for www.BillofRightsInstitute.org, he manages all of the Institute's websites including the Being an American essay contest, the student section of the Website at www.doyouhavetheright.org, and the Landmark Supreme Court Cases Website. He also coordinated the creation of an online Student Study Guide. Some of his other responsibilities include designing and mailing the weekly eLessons for teachers, and server administration. Jason graduated magna cum laude with Honors from the University of Southern Mississippi, where he majored in Speech Communication.
Education Programs Coordinator: Marianne Scott
(email)
Marianne Scott joined the Bill of Rights Institute in January, 2007. She is responsible for all logistical details for the Institute’s teacher and student seminars, including event planning, website updates, and functioning as the point of contact for all teachers, regarding seminar information. Marianne was formerly the office manager for Governor Jeb Bush’s Washington DC office. She received her Bachelor’s in Political Studies from Gordon College, where she graduated summa cum laude in 2006.
Education Programs Coordinator: Susan Hodges
(email)
Susan Hodges provides support for student and teacher programs. This includes event planning and updating the website. She also assists with communication and administration of the Being an American essay contest. Prior to joining the Institute, she worked in consumer education at Lumenos, a subsidiary of WellPoint, Inc. and a leader in consumer directed health care. Her responsibilities included conducting health fairs, coordinating open enrollment meetings, and training resources. She also has experience with website development and web casting. She graduated from University of Richmond in 2005 with a degree in history.
Marketing Department
Vice President of Marketing: Kimberly H. Ash
(email)
As Vice President of Marketing, Kimberly develops and implements The Bill of Rights Institute's marketing program. She leads efforts to research new products, explore partnering opportunities, and create strategies to promote the Institute's mission.Prior to joining the Institute, Kimberly worked as Marketing Manager at the Close Up Foundation for four and a half years, promoting their publications and educational travel programs. She also worked at Congressional Quarterly for almost seven years promoting their seminars, textbooks, newsletters and weekly magazines.Kimberly graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and earned her B.A. in English and History.
Education Marketing Specialist : Pamela Mickle
(email)
As Education Marketing Specialist, Pamela represents the Bill of Rights Institute at national, state and regional conferences for which she coordinates the exhibit booth and develops and conducts presentations. She also assists in writing professional development program proposals. For 28 years Pamela taught high school social studies through courses including Government, History and Economics including both AP and IB courses. She served as the department chair and the Gifted and Talented Resource teacher. Pamela received her M.A. in Education from the University of Colorado and her B.A. in Education from the University of Arizona.
Education Marketing Specialist: Bruce Damasio
(email)
As an Educational Marketing Specialist, Bruce joined the Bill of Rights Institute in July of 2007. He represents the Bill of Rights Institute at national, regional, state and local conferences in which he works at the exhibit booth as well as develops and presents sessions that highlight materials for teachers to use in classes. Bruce taught for 33 years in Maryland as well as continues to teach at the graduate level at Towson University. He currently serves on the board for NCSS until 2010, a current reader of AP economics for the Collegeboard and is the president of GATE until 2009. Bruce holds a A.B in History from Grove City College and masters degrees from Western Maryland College and The Johns Hopkins University
Customer Service Coordinator : Todd Drenth
(email)
Todd joined the BRI team on April 16, 2007. His responsibilities include helping to implement marketing strategies as well as manage order fulfillment of BRI curriculum materials. Prior to working at BRI, Todd has worked with the Media Research Center, Mercatus Center at George Mason University, and the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation. Originally from Michigan, Todd stayed in state and attended Hillsdale College where he played football and graduated with a B.A. in Political Economy and History.
Academic Advisor
Academic Advisor: Todd Zywicki
Todd Zywicki, Associate Professor of Law at George Mason University Law School advises the Institute on the legal content and teaching of its educational materials. Professor Zywicki has also published academic articles on the functions of bills of rights, including an article in the North Carolina Law Review.Professor Zywicki went to George Mason University after serving on the faculty of the Mississippi College of Law.Prior to his career in legal academia, Professor Zywicki clerked for the Honorable Jerry E. Smith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and worked as an associate at Alston & Bird in Atlanta, Georgia. Professor Zywicki received his J.D. from the University of Virginia as a John M. Olin Scholar in Law and Economics. Professor Zywicki received a M.A. in Economics from Clemson University and his A.B. with high honors from Dartmouth College.