Berin Szoka

President

Before founding TechFreedom, Berin was a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Center for Internet Freedom at The Progress & Freedom Foundation, and previously practiced Internet & communications law.

Berin Szoka

Berin Szoka is the President of TechFreedom. Previously, he was a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Center for Internet Freedom at The Progress & Freedom Foundation. Before joining PFF, he was an Associate in the Communications Practice Group at Latham & Watkins LLP, where he advised clients on regulations affecting the Internet and telecommunications industries. Before joining Latham's Communications Practice Group, Szoka practiced at Lawler Metzger Milkman & Keeney, LLC, a boutique telecommunications law firm in Washington, and clerked for the Hon. H. Dale Cook, Senior U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma.

Szoka received his Bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University and his juris doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as Submissions Editor of the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology. He is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia and California (inactive).

He has served on the Steering Committee for the D.C. Bar's Computer & Telecommunications Law Section, and currently serves on the FAA's Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC). Szoka has chaired, and currently serves on, the Board of Directors of the Space Frontier Foundation, a non-profit citizens' advocacy group founded in 1988 and dedicated to advancing commercial opportunity and expansion of human civilization in space.

He blogs for the Technology Liberation Front.

Jon Henke

Strategic Director

Jon Henke is the Strategic Director at TechFreedom. Previously, he has worked as a communications staffer in the US Senate and in various public affairs roles.

Jon Henke

Jon Henke is the Strategic Director at TechFreedom. Previously, he has worked as a communications staffer in the US Senate and in various public affairs roles.

Tom Struble

Policy Counsel

As Policy Counsel at TechFreedom, Tom manages legal affairs and works with experts in industry and government to develop targeted tech policy recommendations. He previously worked for a Member of Congress, at the FCC, and for a telecom trade association.

Tom Struble

A native of Salina, Kansas, Tom is Policy Counsel at TechFreedom. Previously, he worked for his local Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau at the FCC, and as a law clerk at the Competitive Carriers Association, where he engaged with various proceedings involving spectrum licensing and other public policy issues related to modern information and communications technologies. He is also a member of the Inaugural Class of Foundry Fellows at the Internet Law and Policy Foundry.

Tom obtained his Juris Doctorate from the George Washington University Law School, where he was a Presidential Merit Scholar and an Articles Editor on the Federal Communications Law Journal. Tom obtained his Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Psychology from the University of Kansas with highest distinction and Phi Beta Kappa honors. He is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia.

Tom enjoys cycling, tennis, scratch cooking, online gaming, listening to music and attending live concerts (mainly indie/alt rock and electronica), and supporting his favorite sports teams: Liverpool FC, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Kansas City Royals, and University of Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball.

Evan Swarztrauber

Communications Director

Evan is the Communications Director at TechFreedom, managing media relations and TF's public presence. He previously worked at a political consulting firm in NYC and as a communications staffer for a NY State Assemblyman.

Evan Swarztrauber

A native of Manhattan, New York, Evan is the Communications Director at TechFreedom. He has been passionate about politics and public policy ever since he began writing incendiary op-eds for his high school's newspaper. He attended George Washington University (class of '13) where he earned his B.A. in Political Communication and minored in Journalism. At GWU, he was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and became involved with Students for Liberty.

Prior to joining TechFreedom, Evan interned at a consulting firm in NYC, where he worked on communications for a variety of political campaigns, including non-profit organizations and elected offices throughout New York. Soon after, he worked as a communications staffer for a New York State Assemblyman, where he corresponded with constituents, researched legislation, and wrote and managed mass communications for the office. He has also contributed op-eds for The Blaze.

Apart from his work for TechFreedom, Evan is a die-hard New York Rangers fan and voluntarily plays classical piano.

Dan Benavente

Chief Operating Officer

Dan Benavente is a Chief Operating Officer at TechFreedom. He was previously employed by Cornerstones’ Emergency and Supported Housing Division, and has a professional background in economics and human services.

Dan Benavente

Born and raised in the South American highlands of Peru, Dan eventually moved to the Northern Virginia area in 1999 and has resided there ever since. He graduated from George Mason University in 2011 with a B.A. in Economics and is an avid supporter of personal freedom. Dan currently serves as Chief Operating Officer with TechFreedom. He was most recently employed by Cornerstones’ Emergency and Supported Housing Division, and has a professional background in property management and human services. In addition to his passion for serving the community’s homeless population, Dan also enjoys hiking, mountain biking and kayaking.

Jacqueline Silseth

Web Projects Manager

Jackie is the Web Projects Manager at TechFreedom. Before teaching herself to code, she gained ten years experience in start up ventures, specializing in operations and project management.

Jacqueline Silseth

Jacqueline Silseth currently serves as Web Projects Manager at TechFreedom.

Before joining TechFreedom, she worked at Leadership Institute, running their intern program and assisting in the management and development of ConserativeJobs.com, and was Vice President of Operations at Market Aces, a now-defunct web design, internet marketing and software development firm. Jacqueline has over ten years experience working with start-up ventures. She spent eight years working at Viper Motorcycle Company, heading up dealer licensing, aiding in investor relations, acting as office manager, as well as creating marketing materials and running social media campaigns.

She obtained a degree in English from St. Cloud State University where she was active in over ten student organizations. During her undergraduate career she served as Volunteer Director for Year of Youth, empowering youth to run for state and local offices, and was nominated as Student of the Year by an international non-profit organization for her work with the project.

Sam Tracy

Social Media and Activism Director

Sam is the Social Media & Activism Director at TechFreedom, managing all of TF's social media accounts & working with coalition partners on activism campaigns.

Sam Tracy

Sam is the Social Media & Activism Director at TechFreedom, and formerly worked as Communications Coordinator. He was born and raised in South Windsor, Connecticut, where he developed a passion for technological innovation as part of his highschool's FIRST Robotics team. He was also a member of the Boy Scouts of America since kindergarten, and earned the rank of Eagle Scout when he was 17.

In 2009, he began pursuing an undergraduate degree in political science at the University of Connecticut. At UConn he became heavily involved in a number of advocacy organizations, including Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), often skipping class to go lobby at the state capitol. This passion for reform led to his election as President of the Student Body for the 2011-2012 academic year, as well as serving on SSDP's international board of directors from March 2012 to September 2014. Sam interned for the Drug Policy Alliance during the summer of 2012 as part of the Institute for Humane Studies' Summer Fellowship Program, where he focused on passing a 911 Good Samaritan law in Washington, DC. He graduated from UConn with honors in May 2013.

Outside his work with TechFreedom, Sam works at 4Front Advisors, a medical marijuana consulting firm. He lives in Boston.

Mark Potkewitz

Policy Fellow

Mark Potkewitz works on privacy, civil liberties, surveillance, cybersecurity, and encryption issues. He's a student at Brooklyn Law School in Booklyn, New York.

Mark Potkewitz

Mark Potkewitz has worked on privacy and civil liberties issues for several years in Washington, D.C. He studied English Literature at Washington University in St. Louis and worked in several sundry fields before settling in Washington to focus on policy before enrolling in law school. He's terrible at drawing and wants to be a better chess player.

Josh Evans

Communications Intern

Josh Evans is a communications intern at TechFreedom, where he writes blog posts for the website and helps to develop infographic content. He is a recent graduate of Grove City College.

Josh Evans

Josh Evans is currently a communications intern at TechFreedom. He recently graduated from Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania, with a degree in political science and a minor in communications. He developed a passion for telecommunications and technology policy after an internship with Broadband Breakfast.

Ashley Holmes

Communications and Policy Intern

Ashley is currently a graduate student at The George Washington University pursuing a master’s degree in Global Communication with a concentration in Information and Communication Technology in International Affairs.

Ashley Holmes

Ashley is currently a graduate student at The George Washington University pursuing a master’s degree in Global Communication with a concentration in Information and Communication Technology in International Affairs. Prior to beginning her graduate study, she served as a signal officer in the United States Army for more than eight years and now serves as a public affairs major in the U.S. Army Reserve. A native of Richmond, Virginia, Ashley earned a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Florida in 2005, and interned with the Federal Communications Commission’s International Bureau in 2015. She also contributes to operations at the D.C. chapter of Women in International Security.

Outside of her work in TechFreedom, Ashley enjoys podcasts, craft beers and college football.

Adjunct Faculty

Geoffrey Manne

Senior Fellow

Geoff is Executive Director of the International Center for Law & Economics (ICLE). He is an expert in antitrust, telecommunications, intellectual property and consumer protection law and economics.

Geoffrey Manne

Geoffrey A. Manne is Senior Fellow at TechFreedom. He is also the founder and Executive Director of the International Center for Law and Economics (ICLE). He is an expert in antitrust, telecommunications, intellectual property and consumer protection law and economics, among other subjects. Prior to founding ICLE, Professor Manne was a law professor specializing in these subjects, as well as corporate governance and international economic regulation. His publications have appeared in journals including the Journal of Competition Law and Economics, the Harvard Journal of Law and Technology and the Columbia Business Law Review. From 2006-2009 he took a leave from teaching to direct Microsoft’s law and economics academic outreach program. He is a noted antitrust scholar and technology policy expert (described by Herbert Hovenkamp (the “dean of American Antitrust Law”) as a “top scholar of competition policy and intellectual property”), and is an expert in the economic analysis of law, drawing on AB and JD degrees from the University of Chicago. Professor Manne practiced antitrust law and appellate litigation at Latham & Watkins LLP and served as a teaching fellow at the University of Chicago Law School and the University of Virginia School of Law. He clerked for Judge Morris S. Arnold on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals and worked as a research assistant for Judge Richard Posner. He was also once (very briefly) employed by the FTC. With FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright, Professor Manne is the editor of a volume from Cambridge University Press entitled Competition Policy and Intellectual Property Law Under Uncertainty: Regulating Innovation. He blogs at Truth on the Market (of which he is also the co-founder) and tweets at @GeoffManne and @LawEconCenter. Professor Manne is a member of the Bars of the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. He is also a member of the American Law and Economics Association, the Canadian Law and Economics Association and the International Society for New Institutional Economics.

Ben Sperry

Adjunct Legal Fellow

Ben Sperry is the Associate Director of the International Center for Law & Economics. Previously, he was a Legal Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, where he worked on tech policy and litigation.

Ben Sperry

Ben Sperry is a Legal Fellow at TechFreedom. He is also Associate Director of the International Center for Law & Economics. Previously, he was a Legal Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, where he worked on tech policy and litigation. Before joining CEI, he was a Summer Fellow at the Washington Legal Foundation in the Legal Studies Division and held a spring externship at the Institute for Justice where he did legal research on the First Amendment and economic liberty.

Sperry received his Bachelor's degree in political science from Allegheny College and his Juris Doctor from George Mason University Law School, where he was a member of the George Mason Law Review. He is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Michael Bombace

Adjunct Fellow

Michael Bombace is an adjunct fellow with TechFreedom focusing on payment systems, virtual currencies, financial and online privacy, facial recognition technologies, online gambling, and digital games and social networks.

Michael Bombace

Michael Bombace is an adjunct fellow with TechFreedom focusing on payment systems, virtual currencies, financial and online privacy, facial recognition technologies, online gambling, and digital games and social networks. Michael works for Booz Allen Hamilton, starting in June of 2012. He worked through his last year of law school on a variety of projects, such as the Global Payments Handbook for Civil and Intelligence Agencies. He focuses on Internet and payment systems at Booz Allen Hamilton with a special focus on Identity Management and Alternative Payments.

Michael graduated law school in May of 2013 from Washington and Lee University School of Law, and obtained a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Colorado. While at Washington and Lee, he focused on virtual currencies, online privacy, virtual worlds, and e-commerce. He created and presented on virtual currencies and social networks for academic conferences on his own and as a close research assistant to Professor Joshua Fairfield. He helped Professor Fairfield on numerous projects, articles, and on the e-commerce practicum each year he was at Washington and Lee.

Michael volunteers for the Bitcoin Foundation, and assisted with the development of the Bitcoin.org website. In addition to his work with Bitcoin, Michael writes on virtual currencies, notably with his recent publication in the Journal of Virtual Worlds Research, which deals with the emerging legal landscape for virtual currencies, specifically those in online games, “Blazing Trails: A New Way Forward for Virtual Currencies and Money Laundering”. Michael also presents frequently on virtual currencies, self-regulation by virtual currency operators and game developers, and virtual financial crimes. Examples include the LOGIN conference September 27th in San Francisco and the First Virtual World Conference on Banking and Finance hosted by the University of the West of England on September 4th.

Michael is an avid runner and cyclist, and is also passionate about technology, tinkering with rooted phones, and traveling.

Ryan Hagemann

Adjunct Fellow

Ryan Hagemann is an adjunct fellow with/ TechFreedom. He also serves as the civil liberties policy analyst for the Niskanen Center. His primary issue areas include robotics and automation, decentralized networks, transhumanism, and issues at the intersection of technology, economics, and sociology.

Ryan Hagemann

Ryan Hagemann is currently an adjunct fellow focusing on robotics and automation at TechFreedom. He is also the civil liberties policy analyst for the Niskanen Center, focusing specifically on privacy and surveillance reform. Prior to joining TechFreedom, Ryan served as the technology and innovation policy analyst and research fellow at the Charles Koch Institute and has been published in numerous outlets discussing a wide array of technology and innovation issues. His primary research interests include robotics and automation, Internet policy, decentralized networks, transhumanism, stateless social organization, and issues at the intersection of technology, economics, and sociology.

He received his B.A. from Boston University in International Relations, Foreign Policy and Security Studies and a Master of Public Policy in Science and Technology Policy from George Mason University.