FreedomFest

As Managing Director of Research and Policy, Alison Acosta Fraser oversees the Charles Koch Institute’s research on a variety of critical issues including economic freedom, fiscal policy, criminal justice and policing reform, cronyism and technology and innovation.   Prior to joining CKI in early 2014, Fraser served as Director of the Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at the Heritage Foundation where she managed research on... Read More →

Marc A. Levin, Esq., is the director of the Center for Effective Justice at the Texas Public Policy Foundation (www.texaspolicy.com) and Policy Director of its Right on Crime initiative (www.rightoncrime.com). In 2010, Levin developed the concept for the Right on Crime initiative, which has become the national clearinghouse for conservative criminal justice reforms. Marc has testified on sentencing reform and solitary confinement at separate... Read More →

Manuel Rodriguez, Jr. was born in Houston, Texas in 1980. He spent most his childhood among his family of five sisters, three brothers, mother and father. At age 14, he was certified to stand trial as an adult, convicted of a serious crime and sentenced to 20 years in the Texas prison system.  During his incarceration, Manny spent much of his time in academic study, spiritual devotion and self-awareness development.  Above all... Read More →

As the founding director of the Anthem Libertarian Film Festival and a co-founder of FreedomFest, Jo Ann Skousen believes that storytelling has the power to change minds. She created Anthem to provide a venue for films that promote liberty, individuality, choice and accountability.  She also serves as the entertainment editor and chief reviewer for Liberty Magazine (libertyunbound.com). Jo Ann teaches classical literature and writing at... Read More →

Since 2010, Bert Smith has served as the CEO of the Prison Entrepreneurship Program, an innovative non-profit the mission of which is to stimulate positive transformation in the lives of convicted felons and volunteer executives.  PEP works intensively with convicted felons prior to and following their release, helping them to learn how to start and successfully run honest businesses.  At least 185 businesses have been started by... Read More →

The Charles Koch Institute is an educational organization focused on the importance of free societies and how they increase well-being for the overwhelming majority of people. Through the Institute’s professional education, research, and training programs, we work to prepare professionals for careers that improve well-being by advancing free societies. For more than two decades, Charles G. Koch has given professionals and students the... Read More →