I4AW Adds Three Labor Voices to Prestigious Senior Fellows Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  January 30, 2023
CONTACT: Mary Ellen Beatty, MaryEllen@i4aw.org

HAMILTON- The Institute for the American Worker is pleased to welcome three additional distinguished policy experts to join a growing team of 12 total senior fellows who are providing intellectual leadership focused on worker freedom.

These new fellows- Ken Girardin, David Osborne, and Mailee Smith- have impressive backgrounds as policy leads at the foremost labor policy organizations in the country. Their work is bridging the information gap with data and analysis that show how outdated labor policies and special interest politics are harming a large swath of the American workforce and producing hostile economic conditions for workers and small business owners.

“We are proud to highlight the important research and analysis that Ken, Mailee and David are contributing to the labor policy debate,” said president of Institute for the American Worker, F. Vincent Vernuccio. “These new fellows and their respective organizations are on the cutting edge of labor policy, and we are honored to include them on the I4AW team.”

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. He 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.

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.

Mailee Smith is the Staff Attorney and Director of Labor Policy at Illinois Policy Institute, where she focuses on labor relations and their impact on Illinois taxpayers. 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.

I4AW will collaborate and elevate the existing work of these senior fellows to support the shared mission and educational initiatives of their organizations. Besides providing 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.

Click here to see a full list of I4AW’s senior fellows.  

To speak with F. Vincent Vernuccio or any of our senior fellows, please email MaryEllen@i4aw.org to set up an interview.

Institute for the American Worker is a non-profit 501c3 organization that educates policymakers on complex labor legislation and offers policy solutions that benefit the American worker.