Michael Alcorn is a veteran retail employee who has become an advocate for pro-worker policy after experiencing a divisive, deceptive and one-sided unionization of his Trader Joe’s store. He worked hard to expose the hardships that he and his co-workers were forced to endure as a result of forced representation. He has been published in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Examiner. In May of 2024 he was invited by Chairwoman Virginia Foxx to testify before the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions. He holds a Masters degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati and currently resides in Clarkston, Michigan.

Akash Chougule is the President of The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity. Previously he was the Vice President of Americans for Prosperity, the largest free-market grassroots advocacy organization in the country. Prior to AFP, Akash was Vice President of the Economic Opportunity Initiative at the Stand Together Chamber of Commerce. Prior to Stand Together, Akash was a policy staffer on the US House of Representatives Education and Labor Committee handling labor relations, wage-and-hour, and trade issues during the first introduction of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act and the United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, among other consequential policies. Prior to the House, Akash was Director of Policy at AFP. He is a regular contributor on the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, C-SPAN, NPR, and others and his writing has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the New York Post, and several other major publications.

Akash was born and raised in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Boston College, where he was also a four-year member of the varsity cross country/track and field team, and received his Master’s from George Washington University. Akash was previously named to Forbes “30 Under 30” list for Law & Policy.

Molly Conway is a public affairs expert, strategic communicator, and attorney with two decades of leadership experience in Washington, DC, on Capitol Hill, in the executive branch, and working with C-suite executives. Molly has advised leading Members of Congress on matters related to labor, employment, the workforce, and employee benefits. She served as Labor and Pensions Counsel to Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and for Chairman John Kline (R-MN) on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. A national expert on issues related to the American workforce, Molly was appointed to serve in high-ranking positions at the U.S. Department of Labor, including as Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs (acting), Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training Administration (acting), and Chief of Staff to the Secretary of Labor. Molly’s extensive background in Washington also includes serving as Deputy General Counsel at the Export-Import Bank. Molly most recently led public affairs and communications in the U.S. for a Fortune Global 500 company.

Jonathan Wolfson is a distinguished policy advisor, attorney, and author with extensive experience in law and government.   His two decades experience across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors give him a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities across the public policy landscape.  He is a leading expert in the law and policy of independent contracting and self-employment.

His recent policy experience includes: Leading policy and legal strategy at the Cicero Institute where he focused his research on regulatory reform, healthcare, labor and employment, education and workforce, and AI policy; Leading the Policy office at the U.S. Department of Labor during the first administration of President Donald J. Trump where he oversaw the Department’s deregulatory efforts and helped improve the Department’s compliance assistance program to assist businesses in following the law; and Serving as a policy analyst at the Council of Economic Advisers in the George W. Bush White House.

Jonathan spent years in private law practice representing clients in state and federal courts across the country and advising clients before federal and state regulatory agencies.  Following law school he served as a law clerk to The Honorable Edith Brown Clement of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Jonathan received an A.B. in Economics (Magna Cum Laude) from Washington University in St. Louis and a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was an Olin Law and Economic Fellow and won the John M. Olin Prize for best original law and economics research.

Jonathan has testified on legislation and legal and policy topics before state and federal legislatures across the country and regularly speaks to groups about policy, law, and regulations.  He is a frequent guest on podcasts and his work has been featured in multiple print publications including  The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Hill, National Review, and STAT News.

The Institute for the American Worker recently named eight extraordinary labor policy experts to serve as the Institute’s senior fellows (a voluntary position). These distinguished experts have impressive backgrounds ranging from executive agency and regulatory experience to legal and policy leads at the foremost labor policy organizations in the country. I4AW will collaborate and elevate the existing work of these senior fellows to support the shared mission and educational initiatives of their respective organizations including Americans for Prosperity, Freedom Foundation, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, National Right-to-Work Legal Defense Foundation, and the Stand Together Chamber of Commerce. Besides providing for opportunities for collaboration and original research, I4AW will showcase the work these experts are already doing, connecting them to policymakers across the nation’s capital and ensure that decision makers in Washington have access to the most relevant and pertinent labor research available.

*Senior fellow is a voluntary position.

Patrice Onwuka is the director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Independent Women’s Forum. Patrice co-hosts WMAL-FM’s morning show O’Connor & Company, the leading talk radio station in the DC area every Friday. Patrice is also a senior adjunct fellow with The Philanthropy Roundtable and a Tony Blankley Fellow at The Steamboat Institute. Patrice has worked in policy, advocacy, and communications roles in Washington, D.C. for more than a decade on issues related to the economy, employment, technology, philanthropy, and the criminal justice system. Prior to moving to Washington, Patrice served as a speechwriter for a United Nations spokesman.

Patrice is a frequent guest on Fox News, Fox Business News, and PBS programs. Her opinions have appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, Barron’s, CNBC, Bloomberg, and other national outlets. She hosts a column called the New Agenda for Black Women on Newsmax.com and is a contributor to the Washington Examiner and The Hill.

Born in the Caribbean, Patrice immigrated with her family to Boston where she grew up and completed her education. Patrice holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Tufts University and a master’s degree in international relations from Boston College.

Patrice resides in Maryland with her husband and three children.

*A senior fellow is a voluntary position.

Karen Harned is President of Harned Strategies LLC, a legal, regulatory, and public affairs consulting firm.

Harned has over 35 years of legal, policy, and public relations experience. She began her career as Assistant Press Secretary to U.S. Senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma. She then worked as an attorney for seven years at a boutique food and drug law firm representing small and large businesses and their trade associations in Congress and before federal agencies.

For over 20 years she served as Executive Director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center, building it from the ground up. She was responsible for leading NFIB in two historic, precedent-setting cases before the United States Supreme Court – NFIB v. Sebelius (challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act) and NFIB v. DOL (challenging President Biden’s vaccine mandate).

Harned is a recognized expert in small business issues, federal regulation and the regulatory process, labor law, and constitutional law. She has testified numerous times before the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate on regulatory and legal policy and its impact on small business. In addition, she testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary in support of the nomination of then Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Harned frequently authors opinion editorials and has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, NBC Nightly News, CNN, CNBC, and MSNBC, as well as National Public Radio, CBS Radio, and radio outlets across the country.

Harned received her B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and her J.D. from The George Washington University National Law Center. Harned is a registered lobbyist and is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia.

Mailee Smith is the Staff Attorney and Senior Director of Labor Policy at Illinois Policy Institute. In this role, she focuses on labor relations and their impact on Illinois taxpayers. Her commentary has been featured in media outlets such as the Chicago Tribune, National Review, and Fox Business Network.

Before joining the Institute, Smith was the primary litigation counsel for a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, where she handled various First and Fourteenth Amendment constitutional law issues. She is admitted to practice in Illinois, before the U.S. Supreme Court, and in eight federal appellate courts. She is a former law clerk to Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp of the Southern District of Florida.

David R. Osborne is Senior Fellow for Labor Policy at the Commonwealth Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based think tank transforming free-market ideas into actionable public policies, and Counsel to Goldstein Law Partners. Prior to joining the Commonwealth Foundation, David was CEO of Americans for Fair Treatment. He has also served as President & General Counsel of the Fairness Center and as presidential appointee to the Federal Service Impasses Panel.

Ken Girardin is a fellow at the Empire Center, where his work focuses on organized labor’s effect and influence on state and local government policy. Ken earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in materials engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, New York. He previously worked in the New York State Legislature.

*A senior fellow is a volunteer position*

Michael Lucci is a Senior Fellow at the Cicero Institute and a Senior Policy Advisor at State Policy Network. Michael has served as a presidential appointee on the Federal Services Impasse Panel. Prior to that he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy to the Governor of Illinois. He was previously the Vice President of State Projects at Tax Foundation and the Vice President of Policy at Illinois Policy Institute. Michael was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, and resides with his family in Leander, Texas. He previously worked as an educator and as an options trader. Michael received a B.A. in Philosophy with a minor in Arts and Sciences from the University of Notre Dame.

*A Senior Fellow is a voluntary position.*

Rachel Greszler is a research fellow for the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at the Heritage Foundation, where she focuses on labor and retirement policies including: employment opportunities; independent work; women’s issues; the minimum wage; federal employee compensation; paid family leave and other family-friendly workplace policies; Social Security; disability insurance, and pensions. Her work focuses on policies that promote economic growth, individual freedom, and well-being.

Before joining Heritage in 2013, Greszler was a senior economist on the staff of the Joint Economic Committee of the Congress for seven years.  She completed her graduate studies at Georgetown University, where she earned master’s degrees in both economics and public policy. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Mary Washington.

Greszler, who grew up in a small town in Western New York, currently resides in Bethesda, Md. with her husband and six children.

*A Senior Fellow is a voluntary position.*

Professor Raudabaugh (J.D., 1977, University of Virginia School of Law/ M.S., Labor Economics, 1974, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University/ B.S., Labor Economics, 1968, Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania) teaches labor law and a labor law practicum. He practiced law for nearly 40 years in the areas of labor law, employee relations, comparative labor and employment law, international labor standards, social responsibility initiatives and compliance, strategic counseling, appropriate unit design, collective bargaining and arbitration, union organizing and corporate campaigns, representation and unfair labor practice litigation, and strikes and injunction proceedings and related litigation. He represents employees before the U.S. National Labor Relations Board and federal appellate courts as staff attorney with the National Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation.

Professor Raudabaugh served as Aide and Flag Lieutenant to the Senior Admiral in the U.S. Navy Supply Corps. He was nominated by President George H.W. Bush, confirmed by the U.S. Senate, and served as a Member of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board deciding over 4,000 cases. He practiced labor law in nationally and internationally recognized law firms, represented U.S. employers at the International Labor Organization, assisted the U.S. State Department in international discussions regarding trade agreements and labor law compliance, and in advising foreign governments regarding domestic labor law. Professor Raudabaugh assisted U.S. congressional representatives and senators in drafting legislation and testified before House and Senate Committees regarding labor law matters.

List of Published Works

• Labored Law: Bilateralism or Pluralism, Ossification or Reformation?
  Indiana Law Journal (2012), Vol. 87: Iss. 1, Article 7
  John Raudabaugh, Nixon Peabody, LLP
• “NLRB Representation Elections and Initial Collective Bargaining Agreements: Safeguarding Workers’ Rights?”
  April 2, 2008, Statement of John N. Raudabaugh
  U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations
• “National Labor Relations Board 2007 Year in Review: Fueling Union’s Demand for Euro-Centric Labor Law Reform” CCH Labor Law Journal, Spring 2008, pp. 16–25.
• “Employee Free Choice Act…or…Global Outsourcing Act?” 2007.
• “Contract Modification and Unilateral Change—Bath Iron Works,” ABA Section of Labor and Employment Law.
• Secret Ballot Protection Act of 2004,
  Statement of John N. Raudabaugh
  U.S. House Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations of the Committee on Education and the Workforce.
• “National Labor Relations Board 2007 Year in Review: Fueling Union’s Demand for Euro-Centric Labor Law Reform,” CCH Labor Law Journal, Spring 2008, pp. 16–25.
• “Electromation: An Opportunity Lost or Just Postponed?” Chapter 29, Non-Union Employee Representation.

• “Employee Relations Law Reform,” Industrial Relations Research Associations 50th Anniversary Volume, Government Regulation of the Employment Relationship.

• “One Former Board Member’s Recommended Changes to the National Labor Relations Act,” IRRA.

*A Senior Fellow is a voluntary position.*

Maxford Nelsen is the director of labor policy for the Freedom Foundation, a nonprofit policy advocacy and public interest litigation organization based in Olympia, Wash. with offices around the country. In addition to researching and writing about labor policy issues, with an emphasis on public-sector unions, Max regularly testifies before local governments and state legislatures and submits formal comments to federal agencies considering regulatory actions affecting labor policy. His research has formed the basis of several briefs submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court and dozens of formal complaints submitted to government agencies regarding illegal union activity.

Max’s work has been published in local newspapers around the country and in national outlets like the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Hill, National Review and the American Spectator. He has also discussed his work in interviews featured on Fox News, PBS News Hour, One America News, and Newsmax. He is regularly interviewed on local radio and TV stations in the Pacific Northwest. From 2019-21, Max served as a presidential appointee to the Federal Service Impasses Panel within the Federal Labor Relations Authority. Members serve part-time and resolve contract negotiation disputes between federal agencies and labor unions. Prior to joining the Freedom Foundation in 2013, Max worked for the Washington Policy Center and interned with the Heritage Foundation. Max graduated magna cum laude from Whitworth University with a B.A. in political science. He lives in Washington state with his wife and son.

List of Published Works

• Labor unions would be winners of Seattle’s proposed campaign-finance rules
  January 10, 2020, The Seattle Times
  Maxford Nelsen, Freedom Foundation
• Collective bargaining for state employees was win for big labor, loss for taxpayers, workers
  June 30, 2020, The Denver Post
  Maxford Nelsen, Freedom Foundation
• Labor department must regulate worker centers
  August 21, 2020, Washington Examiner
  Maxford Nelsen, Freedom Foundation
• Labor unions would be winners of Seattle’s proposed campaign-finance rules
  January 10, 2020, The Seattle Times
  Maxford Nelsen, Freedom Foundation
• Collective bargaining for state employees was win for big labor, loss for taxpayers, workers
  June 30, 2020, The Denver Post
  Maxford Nelsen, Freedom Foundation
• Labor department must regulate worker centers
  August 21, 2020, Washington Examiner
  Maxford Nelsen, Freedom Foundation
• Biden’s gift-wrapped union agenda would make Bernie blush
  October 1, 2020, National Review
  Maxford Nelsen, Freedom Foundation
• As HHS Secretary, Becerra would back labor unions over home-care workers
  March 3, 2021, National Review
  Maxford Nelsen, Freedom Foundation
• Unions and Democrats attack the right to work
  March 11, 2021, Wall Street Journal
  Maxford Nelsen, Freedom Foundation
• Big Labor wants to salt the earth
  April 27, 2021, Real Clear Policy
  Maxford Nelsen, Freedom Foundation

*A Senior Fellow is a voluntary position.*

Michael J. Reitz is executive vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, an independent, nonprofit research and educational institute based in Midland, Michigan. Reitz oversees policy development, communications, fundraising and the Center’s strategic plan. Since joining the Mackinac Center in 2012, Reitz has overseen efforts to advance free-market recommendations in Michigan. The team’s victories include right-to-work legislation, pension reform for school employees, criminal justice reform and ground-breaking legislation to expand ridesharing in the state.

Before joining the Mackinac Center, Reitz was with the Freedom Foundation in Olympia, Washington, as its general counsel and director of labor policy. While there, he litigated for accurate elections, defended the First Amendment rights of individuals, fought against governmental abuses of power and wrote extensively on constitutional law. Reitz has overseen the Center’s effort to inform public employees of their rights through outreach, legal support and legislative affairs. In the past five years, the Center has educated more than 100,000 government workers about their First Amendment rights.

Reitz is president of the Michigan Coalition for Open Government, an organization that educates citizens about the importance of government transparency. He serves on the board of Americans for Fair Treatment, which offers resources and support to public sector union members. Reitz frequently comments on public policy issues and has been cited by the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, the Seattle Times and other publications. He is a co-author of “To Protect and Maintain Individual Rights,” a reference guide to the Declaration of Rights in the Washington Constitution. Reitz received his law degree from Oak Brook College of Law and Government Policy. He is a member of the Washington bar and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

*A Senior Fellow is a voluntary position.*

Austen Bannan is Senior Policy Analyst of Employment at Americans for Prosperity. His previous experience includes as Senior Policy Analyst and Research Fellow at the Charles Koch Institute, a legislative staffer in the U.S. Congress, and Director of Outreach at the Ripon Society. He graduated from the University of Georgia with B.A.s in Political Science and Anthropology and lives with his wife and two children in Northern Virginia.

Austen focuses on employment barriers that undermine freedom of association and freedom of contract for workers and businesses alike, including in labor union policy, flexible work, employment regulations, and occupational licensing reform. In addition to providing regular testimony, public comments, and policy recommendations to government and policy leaders, his work is featured in local and national newspapers, talk radio, podcasts and policy research outlets. You can find more here at his AFP bio page.

Published Works by Austen Bannan:

BLOG: Biden Administration Rolls Back Union Transparency
June 7, 2021
Austen Bannan, Americans for Prosperity

VIDEO: Flex Your Independence: A Cautionary Tale from California
April 14, 2021, Hosted by Americans for Prosperity

VIDEO: PRO Act: How Big Labor Policies Threaten Employment For All
March 8, 2021, Hosted by FreedomWorks

VIDEO: Discussing the PRO Act with Americans for Prosperity-South Carolina
February 19, 2021, Hosted by Americans for Prosperity

PODCAST: Understanding the Dangerous Possibilities of the PRO Act
February 11, 2021, Insight to Action Podcast
Hosted by Americans for Prosperity

RADIO: How the PRO Act Will Hurt Independent Workers
February 12, 2021, The Andy Caldwell Show

OP-ED: California voters rejected restrictions on independent work, and your states should too
January 23, 2021, Business Insider
Austen Bannan, Americans for Prosperity

BLOG: It’s time to update union financial reporting requirements
December 22, 2020
Austen Bannan, Americans for Prosperity

BLOG: Proposed rule shines a light on growing importance of independent contracting
October 29, 2020
Austen Bannan, Americans for Prosperity

BLOG: DOL’s independent contractor rule reduces workplace uncertainty
September 28, 2020
Austen Bannan, Americans for Prosperity

OP-ED: Protecting independent opportunity for everyone in America
September 3, 2020, Washington Examiner
Austen Bannan, Americans for Prosperity

Terry Bowman has been an employee of Ford Motor Company for nearly 30 years and has served as the board chairman of Institute for the American Worker since 2021.

After years of frustration with the United Auto Workers union, in 2010 Terry started organizing union members who disagreed with the political activities of their union officials. His efforts led to the formation of Union Conservatives, Inc., an organization that Terry founded in Michigan and then grew into a multi-state effort represented in 34 states around the country.

His message resonated with thousands of like-minded workers and Terry soon became an advocate for worker freedom in the mainstream media.  For over a decade, he has appeared numerous times on Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, CNBC, and on numerous radio and local TV stations around the country. He continues to write Op-eds in Michigan and around the country, usually to protect worker rights, freedoms, and protections.

Terry has testified in both the US House Oversight Committee, and in the Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions subcommittee on protecting worker rights, and in multiple state legislatures in defense of labor reform and worker freedom.

He was one of the central figures in Michigan’s successful 2012 Right to Work campaign.  He traveled around the state giving presentations and speeches on why all union represented workers deserve the rights, freedoms, and protections that come from a Right to Work law.  He shared this message with the general public, with legislators, and even with union workers around the state.  In 2013, along with then Rep. Mike Shirkey and Sen. Pat Colbeck from Michigan, Terry received the Senator Everett M. Dirksen Award from the National Right to Work Committee “For his Outstanding Contribution to Public Awareness and Understanding of the Right to Work Principle.”

In 2016, he was asked to join the Michigan Donald Trump campaign as a volunteer co-chair with a focus on blue-collar/union voters.  In 2019, Terry was elected by state delegates as the Co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party and was also chosen as the National Chair of the Workers for Trump coalition, promoting the President’s message to working families and union workers around the country.

Terry grew up and lived in Monroe, MI for 39 years, until moving to Ypsilanti in 2005.  He still works full-time for Ford Motor Company, spending the last 28 years at the Rawsonville Components plant in Ypsilanti Township. He and his wife Debra have four children and nine grandchildren.

Kristina Rasmussen is a non-profit and government affairs leader, and she focuses on turning big ideas into reality.

She understands that union reform is necessary to unlock the other policy changes that will lead to a more positive and flourishing America. She is proud of her role in advancing the Supreme Court case that became Janus v. Afscme, and she’s excited to help the Institute for the American Worker write the next chapter in labor policy.

She has a master’s degree in political management from George Washington University. When she isn’t traveling to state capitols and Washington, D.C., she lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her husband and four children.

Grover Norquist (Twitter: @GroverNorquist) is president of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), a taxpayer advocacy group he founded in 1985 at President Reagan’s request. ATR works to limit the size and cost of government and opposes higher taxes at the federal, state, and local levels and supports tax reform that moves towards taxing consumed income one time at one rate.

ATR organizes the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, which asks all candidates for federal and state office to commit themselves in writing to the American people to oppose all net tax increases. In the 117th Congress, 175 House members and 44 Senators have taken the pledge.

Norquist chairs the Washington, DC-based Wednesday Meeting, a weekly gathering of more than 150 elected officials, political activists, and movement leaders. The meeting started in 1993 and takes place in ATR’s conference room. There are now 51 similar center-right meetings in 45 states.

Mr. Norquist also:

• Serves on the board of the Parental Rights Organization and Center for the National Interest (formerly The Nixon Center.)
• Served on the board of directors of the National Rifle Association of America, from 2000 – 2018.
• Serves as a Contributing Editor to the American Spectator Magazine.
• Serves as president of the American Society of Competitiveness.
• Authored four books: Rock the House; Leave Us Alone – Getting the Government’s Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives; Debacle: Obama’s War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future (with co-author John Lott) and End the IRS Before it Ends Us — How to Restore a Low Tax, High Growth, Wealthy America — published April 7, 2015.

Previously, Mr. Norquist served as:

• A commissioner on the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce.
• A commissioner on the National Commission on Restructuring the Internal Revenue Service.
• Economist and chief speech-writer, U.S. Chamber of Commerce (1983-1984.)
• Campaign staff on the 1988, 1992, 1996 Republican Platform Committees.
• Executive director of the National Taxpayers’ Union.
• Executive director of the College Republicans.

Mr. Norquist holds an MBA and a BA in Economics, both from Harvard University. He resides in Washington, DC with his family.

Jennifer Butler has over 25 years of experience in the public policy arena, with a focus on turning ideas into action. Over the past decade and a half, she has worked extensively with the network of free market state-based think tanks, advocating for federalism and championing policies that change communities and lives for the better.

Prior to her current role, Jennifer led several government affairs departments for trade associations in South Florida. In these positions, she was an advocate for private property rights and advanced homeownership opportunities.

Jennifer holds a degree in political science from Florida State University and a masters degree in public administration with a concentration in administrative law from Portland State University. Originating from Florida, she now resides in the Washington D.C. area with her family, where she remains dedicated to reducing the control the federal government has over states and local communities.

Erica Jedynak is the COO for yes. every kid., a leading national advocacy organization w⁠i⁠⁠t⁠h a fam⁠i⁠l⁠i⁠es-f⁠i⁠rs⁠t⁠ approach ⁠t⁠o ⁠t⁠ransform education. At Yes, she has led and developed different teams, including business operations, public affairs, and state government affairs. Prior to yes. every kid., Jedynak was the Director of Economic Opportunity for Stand Together, one of the country’s largest philanthropic communities, where she led national investment strategy and shepherded multi-state initiatives to successfully protect workers’ rights. She earned a reputation as a thought leader and effective coalition builder in NJ politics as State Director for Americans for Prosperity, in numerous roles for state legislators in district offices and on the campaign trail, and on the New Jersey State Advisory Committee for the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. As a passionate public speaker on education and building a stronger workforce for the future, Jedynak has appeared on Fox Business, been quoted in the NY Times, and published in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the NY Post. In addition to the Institute of the American Worker, Jedynak serves on the boards of the New Jersey Policy Institute and Drew University’s College Alumni Association.