What: The World’s Largest Gathering of Pro-Liberty Students
Date: Friday, February 17 – Sunday, February 19, 2012
Where: Grand Hyatt Hotel, Washington DC
Map: Download the Hyatt DC Street Map here
Time: View the schedule here

Advanced Registration is now closed.

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We are pleased to invite all students and non-students interested in liberty to attend the 2012 International Students For Liberty Conference!  The International SFL Conference is the premiere event of the year for students dedicated to liberty and advancing freedom on campus.   The world’s largest crowd of pro-liberty students will gather for a weekend of learning about liberty from contemporary leaders in liberty, discussing best practices for promoting liberty on campus, and getting more involved in the larger movement for liberty.

In addition to being a weekend of celebration the ISFLC is an event where speakers are invited from all across the liberty spectrum.  The presenters may believe in differing (and sometimes competing) philosophies of social change and views on society, providing a great opportunity to learn and grow. The subjects covered will span everything from activism on campus to liberty 101, civil liberties, anarchy, austrian economics, the drug war, gun rights working within the system and opting out, and much more.

As John Stuart Mill discusses in “On Liberty”, free discussion is necessary for intellectual progress and we all benefit from a constant reevaluation of our beliefs. The ISFLC provides a unique opportunity to discuss and debate in a friendly environment with peers and professors about all matters of liberty and have a great time doing it. After each day of intellectual stimulation there will be socials sponsored by SFL’s partners all around Washington DC. At these socials you can continue the discussion in a more casual environment with your new friends and philosophical sparring partners.

The ISFLC has grown every year in both size and quality of the experience:

2008 – The inaugural Students For Liberty Conference in 2008 drew 100 students from 42 schools in 3 countries.

2009 – The 2009 International SFL Conference brought 153 students from 86 schools in 13 countries together.

2010 – The 2010 ISFLC drew 304 young liberty advocates through “Snowpocalypse”  to Washington DC.

2011 – The 2011 conference broke all the previous records with over 500 attendees (click here for a recap)

2012 – The biggest student libertarian conference yet, featuring:

• Top speakers in the liberty movement.
• Saturday & Sunday Breakout Tracks on topics ranging from “Intro to Libertarianism” to “Effective Student Organizing” to “Advanced Austrian Economics”.  More details forthcoming!
• Sponsors and Exhibitors representing some of the most active organizations fighting for liberty today who are interested in networking with the future leaders of the liberty movement.  Click here to become a sponsor or exhibitor.
• Special Housing Options.
• Networking with your fellow students and leaders of the liberty movement at nightly Social events with free drinks, both hard and soft.
• Alumni-specific opportunities for non-students to remain involved in the liberty movement.

Opening Performance by GoRemy

The 2012 International Students For Liberty Conference will open with a bang with a special guest performance by GoRemy, the creator and star of such videos as the Raise the Debt Ceiling Rap, The Arlington Rap, TurboTax: The Rap, and many more!

Alumnus of the Year & Friday Keynote Peter Thiel

We are thrilled to announce that the first recipient of the SFL Alumnus of the Year Award and our Friday Night Keynote will be libertarian entrepreneur, PayPal founder, Facebook investor, and venture capitalist Peter Thiel!

Peter Thiel first gained attention for innovations in banking and startup finance. Today he is known as the mentor of the PayPal group of entrepreneurs, as well as for his warnings of a coming technology deficit with severe economic consequences. He works to accelerate innovation to prevent such a crisis by identifying and funding promising technology ideas and by guiding successful companies to scale and dominate their industries.

In 1998, Mr. Thiel co-founded and lead PayPal. In 2002, he sold PayPal to eBay and founded a global macro fund, Clarium. In 2004, he co-founded Palantir Technologies, which offers platforms for finance companies and intelligence, defense, and law enforcement communities to integrate, visualize, and analyze the world’s information. In the same year, he made the first outside investment in Facebook. In 2010, Mr. Thiel created the 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship, which nurtures the tech visionaries of tomorrow.  You can read his full bio here.

Saturday Taping of the STOSSEL Show

John Stossel is the most recognized libertarian spokesman alive today. His long run as a reporter for ABC’s 20/20 exposed millions of people to the follies of government intervention. His new show Stossel on Fox Business News provides a wonderful platform to discuss the ideas of liberty and get them out to a wide audience.

We made history in 2011 by recording an episode of the STOSSEL Show at the ISFLC which was later broadcast worldwide on the Fox Business Network.  Featuring John Stossel, Cato Vice President David Boaz, and the hundreds of student attendees, that show was such a success that Stossel is coming back for a repeat performance in 2012!
This year John will be bringing with him not just one guest but a libertarian all-star lineup with different special guests for each segment.  Our special guests will be announced as we get closer to the conference.

Last year we announced our presence and showed the world that the student movement for liberty is a force to be reckoned with.  That not only do John Stossel and David Boaz believe in liberty, but hundreds of passionate college students as well.  Now we have the chance to show them how quickly our movement is growing.

As with last year the STOSSEL taping is open to the public.

The SFL Awards Presentations

One of the highlights of the International Students For Liberty Conference is the Annual Awards Presentation.  The student movement for liberty is full of passionate, hard working individuals, and we seek to honor their efforts.  Award recipients are chosen based on their hard work, organizational skills, value creation, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
This year, SFL will present awards for Student of the Year, Event of the Year, and Student Group of the Year along with a new category for Alumnus of the Year.  Click here to read about the finalists and vote for the winner!

Registration

This year we have dramatically reduced registration fees so that as many students and alumni* can attend the conference as possible!

Early Registration (Ends October 31)
Student: $10
Alumni $20

Standard Registration (Ends December 31)
Student $20
Alumni $35

Late Registration (Ends February 3)
Student $30
Alumni $50

International Students: Registration is free for students coming from outside the United States of  America.  Letters of Invitation will only be available to students who register before December 9, 2011.  Click here for more information.

* We use “alumni” to encompass all individuals who are not students, but are supportive of liberty.  The conference is not restricted solely to students or individuals who participated in SFL as students.

** Registration for the ISFLC provides individuals with access to all conference sessions including Keynotes, breakouts, exhibitor fair, and tracks.  Note that in past years registration has included meals during the conference. However, due the growing size of the conference we are no longer able to offer food as a part of registration. There are many restaurants and delis near the conference site and breaks will be scheduled throughout the event so attendees can get food as they please.

Media

For media inquiries please contact SFL Communications Manager Megan Roberts at MRoberts@studentsforliberty.org.

Conference Features

• Schedule
• Housing & Parking
• Breakout Sessions, Something for Everyone
• Sponsorship
• Sponsors & Exhibitors List
• Social Events
• Full Speakers List and Bios
• For International Students
• Liberty Fund Session @ the ISFLC

Cato Institute

Young Americans for Liberty

Gold

Atlas Network

Institute for Humane Studies

Silver

Alumni For Liberty

Charles Koch Institute

Foundation for Economic Education

GOProud

National Taxpayers Union

Bronze

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

Free Minds Institute

Future of Freedom Foundation

Independent Institute

Institute for Justice

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Libertarian Party

Liberty Fund

National Rifle Association

Seasteading Institute

Stop Abusive and Violent Environments

The Atlas Society

Vohra Method

Exhibitors

Advocates for Self Government

American Enterprise Institute

America’s Future Foundation

Antiwar.com/LOLA

Ayn Rand Institute

Competitive Enterprise Institute

Crony Capitalism is Phony Capitalism

DelValley Silver

Fan Freedom

Free To Choose Network

Intercollegiate Studies Institute

Institute for Energy Research

Just Capitalism

Language of Liberty Institute

Liberty on the Rocks

Libre Initiative

Marijuana Policy Project

Market Aces

Mercatus

Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute

Republican Liberty Caucus

State Policy Network

Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Tarrin Lupo

Tax Foundation

The Fund for American Studies

The Undercurrent

Weston A. Price Foundation

Letters of Invitation will only be available to students who register before December 9, 2011.  To request a letter of invitation please contact Peter Neiger at pneiger@studentsforliberty.org.

We are excited to announce that our partners at the Liberty Fund Inc. will once again be hosting an exclusive breakout session at the 2012 International Students For Liberty Conference.  Liberty Fund sessions are built around an in-depth Socratic discussion of the topic between fifteen student participants and an academic discussion leader. They are a fantastic way to deeply explore the finer points of liberty and debate them among your peers.

Founded in 1960 by Indianapolis businessman and lawyer Pierre F. Goodrich, The Liberty Fund, Inc. is a private, educational foundation established to encourage the study of the ideal of a society of free and responsible individuals.  Their logo, the Amagi, is the earliest known written appearance of the word “freedom”.

The topic of this year’s ISFLC session is “Liberty, War, and the Challenge of Foreign Policy”. International relations and foreign policy have long been matters of contention among classical liberals, libertarians, and conservatives. Using a combination of primary and secondary sources, this seminar will explore what a coherent theory of foreign relations grounded in pro-liberty ideas might look like. The discussion will be led by Liberty Fund Senior Fellow Peter Mentzel. The readings will include two brief articles by Bob Higgs and Ronald Bailey, and a selection from Mises’ Liberalism.

Selection to the session is very competitive with only 15 slots available. The session will take place on Sunday, February 19th in the Grand Hyatt, starting at 10:00am. Students who are chosen to participate will be responsible for completing a set of readings in advance of the session. Readings will be sent to the participants via email as PDF documents.

The application deadline is Wednesday, January 18. Applications for this session are now closed.

Social events are a staple of Students For Liberty Conferences, providing fun opportunities for students to network with each other and the leader of the liberty movement.   The 2012 ISFLC will be no exception with multiple social events with free drinks (both hard and soft) on Friday and Saturday Night.

Friday:

Institute for Humane Studies & Foundation for Economic Education
Grand Slam Sports Bar (Grand Hyatt)
8:30pm – 10:30pm

Come network with folks at IHS & FEE at the Grand Slam Sports Bar, conveniently located inside the Grand Hyatt Hotel where the conference is taking place.

Students for a Sensible Drug Policy
Riot Act Comedy House (801 E St NW)
8:00pm – 1:00am

After wrapping up the first day of the conference come network with like-minded students and supporters of liberty and drug policy reform at the Riot Act Comedy Theatre, located near the Chinatown area of Washington DC, just two blocks from the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro station. Drink specials!! DC Brau, Fat Tire and Hoegaarden at $4.50 a pour, and our rail drinks at $5.00. (18+ to enter)
Check out the facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/events/142135699234115/

Young Americans for Liberty
Microsoft Innovation & Policy Center (901 K Street NW, 11th Floor)
8:00pm – 10:00pm

Join YAL at the expansive silicon valley-esque Microsoft office where you will find multiple 100″ interactive touchscreens and floor to ceiling windows. There will be an open bar and the event will be catered. Staff will be present in the lobby to guide you in the right direction.

Saturday:

Alumni For Liberty
Irish Channel (500 H St. NW)
9:00pm – 12:00pm

Join AFL after Day 2 for drinks, discussion, and networking. Get plugged in to Alumni For Liberty, a network open to all liberty advocates that have already graduated and those that are oh-so-close to donning a cap and gown. First 100 in the door will receive 2 drink tickets – good for some domestic beers, house wines, and well drinks. After the first 100, each person will get 1 drink ticket until they are gone! Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/events/357447924284877/?ref=ts

Foundation for Individual Rights in Education & Student Press Law Center
Fado Irish Pub & Restaurant (808 7th Street NW)
9:00pm-11:00pm

Register for FIRE’s ISFLC session in advance by emailing jaclyn@thefire.org and receive a free drink ticket at their social! All DC-area supporters of free speech for students are welcome. Facebook event here: http://www.facebook.com/events/181320225306946/

Cato Institute
Location: TBD
9:00pm – 12:00am

Breakout Session 1

The Global Atlas Network and Students for Liberty: Partners for Change
Brad Lips
Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Learn more about the world of libertarian think tanks and how you can become involved.  The Atlas Network spans the globe, from national and state and provincial level think tanks in North America to Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America, Australia, and all the places in between.  This session will explain what think tanks do, how you can become involved, what value they add to your work as a student advocate of liberty, how to apply for and benefit from internships, and much more.  Learn how to acquire skills, build your resume, and advance your career, all while promoting liberty.

What is Austrian Economics?
Chris Coyne
Foundation for Economic Education
This lecture will provide an overview of Austrian economics, beginning with a history of its origins. The main concepts of Austrian economics will be discussed, as will the current relevance of these ideas for a variety of policy issues.

Homocons: The Rise of the New Gay Right
Christopher R. Barron & Jimmy LaSalvia
GOProud
Not all gays are radical statists. In fact, there is a growing movement of libertarian and conservative gay Americans.  GOProud’s co-founders will tell their personal stories of “coming out” as conservative, and discuss reasons why more and more gay people are rejecting the politics of the Left.

How the Government Plans to Regulate Your Sex Life
Teri Stoddard, Phil Cook, and Ron Henry and Tom Lemons
Stop Abusive and Violent Relationships
On April 4th 2011 the Department of Education issued a new directive to colleges and universities called “Dear Colleague”. This directive removes fundamental due process protections from persons accused of sexual harassment, sexual assault, or rape. As such, it represents an unprecedented roll-back of the Constitutional rights of students and faculty members alike. A panel of SAVE representative will present the full scope of this agenda and the effect it will have on campus. They will also provide students with helpful tools to help protect them from the possibility of being falsely accused.

Communication for Liberty
Wolf von Laer
Students For Liberty
Wolf von Laer, executive board member of the European Students For Liberty, will give a presentation on Communication for Liberty. He will provide insight about how to efficiently structure internal ways of communication for campus groups and other organizations. After outlining the do’s and do not’s regarding external discussion, Wolf will speak about the importance of personal discussions and how to make them more productive and enjoyable.

The Tea Party and Occupy — Can Both be Right?
Todd Zywicki
Institute for Humane Studies
Both the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street decry the growing dominance of government by well-organized and powerful special interests, from bank bailouts to green energy subsidies.  Yet special interest dominance is implicit in the logic of big government.  This lecture introduces the basic concepts that underlay public choice theory, and why well-organized special interests tend to dominate the political process at the expense of the majority and why such market failures in the political marketplace are predictable and what can be done about it.

Restoring Constitutional Liberty
Roger Pilon
Cato Institute
The United States Constitution was written to ensure liberty through limited government, but today it’s read to allow governments at all levels vast powers to control nearly every area of life. We’ll discuss how than transition took place, and what you can do to start reversing our course, because it will take more than the courts to do so.

So, I Hear You Are a Libertarian? Who Gives a Sh*t?
Jeff Frazee
Young Americans for Liberty
Just because you are a libertarian doesn’t mean you live in a libertarian society. Your government takes your money and rights every day. What are you doing about it? YAL Executive Director, Jeff Frazee, explains how you can apply your libertarian philosophy, restrain government, and achieve a libertarian society.

Breakout Session 2

SFL in Africa: The African Liberty Students Organization and African Libertarianism
Adedayo Thomas, Japheth Omojuwa, Fiyinfoluwa Elegbede & Olumayowa Okediran
Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Learn about the exciting expansion of libertarian student activism in Africa and see how libertarian values are being realized by our African colleagues, who apply the universal values of liberty, peace, property, voluntary exchange, and limited government to African contexts.  The African Liberty Students Organization chapters (affiliated with SFL) are helping Africans to escape the negative heritage of colonialism, war, theft, socialism, and arbitrary power and to embrace the often ignored positive African heritage of freedom, peaceful trade, and accountable government.  The speakers will discuss the techniques they use in African contexts, how they work on campuses, and how they connect libertarian principles to African values and cultures.  This session should be useful for anyone working to promote liberty.

The Dynamics of Interventionism
Chris Coyne
Foundation for Economic Education
This lecture will discuss the economics of government intervention in the market. Among the topics covered will be price controls, antitrust, and business cycles.

Why does the Left hate gay people?
Christopher R. Barron & Jimmy LaSalvia
GOProud
GOProud’s co-founders discuss why limited government policy proposals, that benefit all Americans, benefit gay Americans. From Social Security reform, to healthcare reform, to 2nd Amendment rights, the big government agenda is bad for America and discriminates against gay people.

How to Advance Liberty:  Winning Hearts & Minds the IJ Way
Bob Ewing
Institute for Justice
Bob Ewing works on the Institute for Justice’s award-winning media team.  In this talk, Bob will share the secrets of IJ’s success and teach you how to effectively advance liberty in your own sphere.

How to be a Leader for Liberty
Nick Roskams
Students For Liberty
This session will explore liberty “on a personal note”. What is leadership and how do I use it to spread the message? What obstacles can a leader for liberty encounter? And what role will I take within a larger theory of social change?

What Kind of Libertarian are You?
Nigel Ashford
Institute for Humane Studies
While libertarians agree on liberty as the primary value, there is diversity of views on what the role of government should be. We examine six different schools of libertarians from the Chicago school to anarcho-capitalism. If you want to know what sort of libertarian you are, or convince others what they should be, come to this talk.

Privacy Under Attack
Jim Harper
Cato Institute
Are the feds all up in your Facebook? Uncle Sam wants to follow you home—via satellite. And why is the TSA puttin’ hands on your mom? Come see this exciting discussion of modern privacy issues and how they affect regular people.

Mass Communication and Social Networks
Bonnie Kristian
Young Americans for Liberty
Unless you got your Facebook account with a .edu email address, you are a newb. YAL Director of Communications, Bonnie Kristian, teaches you how to spread your message, educate others, and master the art of social networks, such as — the twitter, the facebook, the tublr — and such.

Breakout Session 3

The Rhetoric of Liberty: How You Can Become a Persuader and a Motivator
Tom G. Palmer
Atlas Economic Research Foundation
Take a crash course in the rhetoric of liberty, strategic argumentation, and the techniques of effective public speaking.  Public speaking is an art that can be learned.  Topics covered include organization of arguments, voice, stance, use of props (including videos and other presentations), gestures, dealing with questions (including hostile questions), projecting positive attitude, preparation, and much more.  You can become a better advocate for liberty by attending this session.

The Bureaucrats are Coming! How Government Threatens Innovation and Your Liberties
Ryan Radia, Berin Szoka & Pete Sepp
National Taxpayers Union
The future of Internet innovation and your personal privacy could be threatened by government overreach through draconian anti-trust regulation or unreasonable searches of your personal information. How can we ensure that government will remain a force for good, fostering growth and liberty in the tech sphere?

NRA University
Krista Cupp & Miranda Bond
National Rifle Association
NRA University (NRA U) is a two-hour training seminar for those interested in learning more about NRA, the Second Amendment, and the gun control debate. NRA-ILA staff will provide you with the tools you’ll need to become a more effective activist in the fight to protect our freedom, both on- and off-campus. Students will receive a FREE one-year membership to NRA, hat or t-shirt, and other important materials!

Behind Canada: America’s Decline in Economic Freedom
Andy Gillette
Charles Koch Institute
We’ve always been south of our Canadian friends, but for the first time in history we are below Canada in a new, important way—their economic freedom score is higher than ours.  How do you measure “economic freedom”?  Why has America fallen from the 3rd most economically free country in the world to 10th?  How does this decline impact you and your future?  Come on by to find out!  In this talk, we’ll discuss how economic freedom impacts things as diverse as civil rights, life expectancy, your job prospects, and environmental quality (to name a few).  If you’re interested in making a difference in the world, stop by to learn more about this key driver of prosperity, and how you can get involved in reversing the trend.

The Trojan Horse of Liberty: How to Infiltrate Your University’s Student Media
Casey Given, Preston Bates & Judith Ayers
Students For Liberty
Whether it’s working with campus newspapers, local television, radio, print media, or bloggers, libertarian students often interact with the media as part of stories that a journalists produce. But what if it were possible for students to be journalists themselves or lead the media to pursue liberty related stories? By thinking strategically and with some advanced planning, individuals and student groups can learn how to tackle the web of media that surrounds them on campus. Engaging two primary audiences—the student journalist and club leaders—this session will address how to get your articles and letters to the editor published in your university’s newspaper and how to use earned media to promote your club’s events.

Austro-Virginian Political Economy
Dan D’Amico
Institute for Humane Studies
This lecture will lay out the theoretical content of knowledge and incentive problems as a toolkit of applied political economy. It will be a mini-intro to Austrian economics and Public Choice economics.

Liberty and Foreign Policy
Christopher Preble
Cato Institute
Americans have grown weary of war and of hyped fears of terrorism. Libertarian policies offer a different approach to the complex world in which we live. Whether the discussion is about U.S. relations with countries in Asia and Europe, revolution and reform in the Arab world, nuclear weapons proliferation, or the threat posed by violent extremists such as al Qaeda, libertarianism proposes strategies that promote liberty and peace, contrasting the two dominant ideologies that guide U.S. foreign policy, neoliberalism and neoconservatism.

Work for the Revolution: How to Get a Job
Jeff Frazee
Young Americans for Liberty
Get out of your mom’s basement and get a job! YAL Executive Director, Jeff Frazee, teaches you how to improve your skills, get a job, and make something of yourself. Do you want to fight for freedom every day? Then be here.

Breakout Session 4

The War on Terrorism, the Constitution, and Civil Liberties
Jacob Hornberger & Bruce Fein
Future of Freedom Foundation
FFF President Jacob G. Hornberger and positional scholar Bruce Fein will be discussing the decade-old War on Terrorism and the effect it has had on our civil liberties. The two lawyers will use their legal backgrounds to present a comprehensive view of this ongoing assault on our liberty.

You’re Doing it Wrong! How (Not) to Tax Internet Sales
Andrew Moylan, Joe Henchman & Kelly William Cobb
National Taxpayers Union
As e-commerce explodes, bureaucrats across the country are devising ways to get their hands on more of your money. But the way that we tax Internet sales today is confusing and encourages evasion. How can we establish a system that’s easy to understand without enriching spendthrift governments?

NRA University
Krista Cupp & Miranda Bond
National Rifle Association
NRA University (NRA U) is a two-hour training seminar (started at 1:30) for those interested in learning more about NRA, the Second Amendment, and the gun control debate. NRA-ILA staff will provide you with the tools you’ll need to become a more effective activist in the fight to protect our freedom, both on- and off-campus. Students will receive a FREE one-year membership to NRA, hat or t-shirt, and other important materials!

Building a Libertarian Organization on Campus
James W. Lark III
Libertarian Party
This workshop will provide the “nuts and bolts” of building a libertarian organization on campus.  The presentation will be oriented toward those who are college students; however, the material covered should be helpful to all who want to build and support libertarian organizations on campus.

European Students For Liberty Workshop
Fred Roeder
Students For Liberty
European Students For Liberty was rolled out in summer 2011 and has proven that SFL’s success story can be continued internationally. This session is especially for European students and other students from abroad who would like to meet more students from their regions and for American students who are interested in learning more about the ESFL story.

Can We Kill the Children from Salem?
James Stacey Taylor
Institute for Humane Studies
If we could be assured of universal peace and prosperity at the cost of torturing one small child for the duration of its life, should we do this? A utilitarian might say yes, while someone who believes in natural rights might say no. While this example is far-fetched, the answer has important implications for contemporary public policy. And the answer that a classical liberal might give to the question of whether we should endorse utilitarianism or natural rights might be surprising!

Global Warming: How State-sponsored Science Threatens Liberty
Patrick J. Michaels
Cato Institute
Science only recently became recognized as a public good, enmeshed in the political process and the distorting incentives of monopoly public funding.  Global warming science and policy is archetypical of this process.  A critical analysis of current science and policy reveals that it will be very difficult to prevent a loss of personal liberty and choice because of the distortions inherent in the public support of environmental science.

Messaging for Liberty
Chris Doss
Young Americans for Liberty
Lure and ensnare your audiences with their own thoughts and words.  Sometimes it’s easiest to grab your listeners with their own verbiage.  Whether you’re talking to an individual, making a speech, or engaging in a formal debate, the best turn of a phrase may be one that originates from your opponent – turned inside out.  The perfect is the enemy of the good; you don’t have to make each listener a perfect libertarian at once — just make them start to think. Chris Doss, Communications Lecturer for the Leadership Institute, discusses these ideas and related communications skills for the libertarian debater and evangelist.

Breakout Session 5

Why a Former Narcotics Agent and Police Commander Says “Legalize Drugs”
Neill Franklin
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition
Neill Franklin — executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition — explains how and why he came to oppose the drug war, the reasons to support legalization, and why cops, DEA agents, prosecutors, and other drug warriors are speaking out about this failed policy. Best of all, Neill will tell you some of the most effective arguments and statistics for making the case, enabling you to continue the fight against prohibition.

From Vision to Reality: Hosting Effective Events on Campus
Matt Needham
Students For Liberty
Are you looking to make your student group a household name by holding the next big event on your campus? Learn how to get the most out of your organizing time as Students For Liberty Campus Coordinator Matt Needham speaks on effective event organizing. Matt’s experiences in event organizing includes a War Protest with his campus group at Michigan State University, which is a finalist for SFL’s Event of the Year award this year. Matt will focus on how effective events are an important way for student groups to accomplish group goals and to make a huge impact on campus.

Knowledge Problems and Market Solutions
Dan D’Amico
Institute for Humane Studies
A survey of various applied cases of the Austro-Virginian political economy: Perestroika, Post War reconstruction, common pool resource problems, and criminal justice services.

Government Schooling for a Free Society? It Sounds Wrong Because It Is Wrong
Neal McCluskey
Cato Institute
We’re told that government-run schooling is essential to a free and prosperous society, that it’s how people are made upwardly mobile and taught unifying values.  In reality, however, government schooling forces diverse people to fight, subjugates them to the politically powerful, and limits students’ potential.  It’s the very opposite of a how education for free people should work.

Starting a Liberty Group
Ed King
Young Americans for Liberty
The single best thing you can do to advance liberty in college is start and lead a Young Americans for Liberty chapter. YAL Operations Director, Edward King, explains how you can become a leader on campus, acquire activism resources, and raise money for your cause.

Breakout Session 6

Conquer Your Campus For Free Speech: Real Students, Real Solutions
Adam Kissel, Samantha Harris & Peter Bonilla
Foundation for Individual Rights in Education
This FIRE workshop will teach students about their rights on campus and how to defend them. Attendees will learn proven arguments and strategies they can use to defeat would-be censors at their own schools.

Liberaltarians: Examining Liberty Through the Gender/Race/Class Lens
Zach Wahls
Students For Liberty
In an examination of the liberal/libertarian overlap, Zach will discuss both the specific issues where he sees potential for collaboration and coalition building as well as general philosophical agreements (and differences!) between the two schools of thought. Further, he hopes to facilitate discussion about both the role government plays in correcting market failures and what exactly this ubiquitous phrase, “market failures,” actually means to real people. Finally, he’ll talk with his fellow students about the best ways of leveraging what power we have to advance the cause of liberty.

Changing the World for Liberty
Nigel Ashford
Institute for Humane Studies
How do we create a free world?  We look at three different views on how to promote liberty. Which do you find most convincing, or none? How would you promote liberty?

Free Markets: The Best Health Care You’ve Never Had
Michael Cannon
Cato Institute
The greatest trick advocates of socialized medicine ever played was to convince the American people that we don’t already have it. But government hegemony is not the answer. The lack of free markets is responsible for excessive health care spending, shortages, and the dearth of cost-cutting innovations—both here at home and abroad. Only freedom can cure what ails all nations.

Special Guest Speaker
Young Americans for Liberty

Breakout Session 7

International Trade: How Free Are We?
Carl Oberg
Foundation for Economic Education
Carl Oberg, Executive Director of FEE and former global trade bureaucrat, will discuss the global trade regime, how it works, and how we got so far from actual free trade.

Liberty, War, and the Challenge of Foreign Policy
Liberty Fund
**Invite Only** International relations and foreign policy have long been matters of contention among classical liberals, libertarians, and conservatives. Using a combination of primary and secondary sources, this seminar will explore what a coherent theory of foreign relations grounded in pro-liberty ideas might look like.

Entrepreneurship Panel
Blayne Bennett, Chad Swarthout, Travis Leicht & Jared Fuller
Alumni For Liberty
You don’t need to work at a think tank to continue to promote the ideas of liberty. This panel brings together young libertarians who have started their own businesses. The panelists will discuss, based on their own experiences, how entrepreneurialism can be used both to advance liberty and to build a career.

Law Enforcement Socialism
Anthony Gregory
Independent Institute
Libertarians often argue that law enforcement, along with national defense, is the one legitimate function of government. It is just as prone as others, however, to abuse, bureaucratic inefficiency, and other problems associated with central planning. What’s more, since the legal system is the primary mechanism by which the state maintains its monopoly powers in the first place, it is worth far more scrutiny than it usually receives.

Explosive Growth of Pro-Freedom Career Opportunities
Fred Stitt
Free Minds Institute
A revolution is underway in freedom-focused career opportunities. Young writers, attorneys, economists, entrepreneurs, educators and activists are building highly successful professional lives while helping to change the world. This talk presents results of extensive surveys of new education, internship, and work opportunities. Includes case studies of how today’s young libertarian thinkers and doers are becoming world-class innovative experts and leaders in their fields.

Messaging for Liberty
Chris Doss
Young Americans for Liberty
Lure and ensnare your audiences with their own thoughts and words.  Sometimes it’s easiest to grab your listeners with their own verbiage.  Whether you’re talking to an individual, making a speech, or engaging in a formal debate, the best turn of a phrase may be one that originates from your opponent – turned inside out.  The perfect is the enemy of the good; you don’t have to make each listener a perfect libertarian at once — just make them start to think. Chris Doss, Communications Lecturer for the Leadership Institute, discusses these ideas and related communications skills for the libertarian debater and evangelist.

Breakout Session 8

Seasteading – Building and Propagating the Machinery of Freedom
Michael Keenan
Seasteading Institute
There is cause for optimism among liberty lovers, in spite of increasingly burdensome regulations and the ongoing erosion of civil liberties. With funding from the Thiel Foundation, major progress is being made outside of politics on a project called “seasteading,” and it will soon be possible to create entirely new countries on the ocean. Michael Keenan will speak about the latest developments in the seasteading movement, as well as opportunities for students to help accelerate the budding of a for-profit seasteading sector. Students of all backgrounds may be interested in for-credit projects and internships that will enable early seasteading ventures.

The Militarization of Main Street
Radley Balko
The Department of Education has a SWAT team. So does NASA. Your town probably has one, too. Once reserved for emergency situations in which lives were in immediate danger, SWAT teams today are used to bust pot smokers, poker games, even to perform regulatory inspections. Radley Balko looks at the rise of SWAT teams and America’s increasingly reactionary, militaristic approach to policing.

Behind Canada: America’s Decline in Economic Freedom
Andy Gillette
Charles Koch Institute
We’ve always been south of our Canadian friends, but for the first time in history we are below Canada in a new, important way—their economic freedom score is higher than ours.  How do you measure “economic freedom”?  Why has America fallen from the 3rd most economically free country in the world to 10th?  How does this decline impact you and your future?  Come on by to find out!  In this talk, we’ll discuss how economic freedom impacts things as diverse as civil rights, life expectancy, your job prospects, and environmental quality (to name a few).  If you’re interested in making a difference in the world, stop by to learn more about this key driver of prosperity, and how you can get involved in reversing the trend.

Liberty, War, and the Challenge of Foreign Policy
Liberty Fund
**Invite Only** International relations and foreign policy have long been matters of contention among classical liberals, libertarians, and conservatives. Using a combination of primary and secondary sources, this seminar will explore what a coherent theory of foreign relations grounded in pro-liberty ideas might look like.

Working for Liberty Panel
Evan Banks, Harris Kenny, Trevor Burrus, Cayce Moffett & Kyle Hartz
Alumni For Liberty
Promoting the ideas of liberty doesn’t have to stop at graduation. This panel brings together young professionals who work for a variety of pro-liberty institutions. The discussion will focus on the day-to-day work of the panelists, as well as the numerous career opportunities that exist within the pro-liberty movement.

Breaking with the Founders’ Traditions:  Warfare to Welfare State
Ivan Eland
Independent Institute
The talk will show that many current day oppressive federal taxes and social welfare programs originated during U.S. wars.  That is, government intrusion overseas leads to enlarged government at home.  Although many people would argue nonetheless that war is sometimes necessary, the talk will also demonstrate that most wars in American history were either unneeded or counterproductive.

Fighting for Freedom with the Atlas Shrugged Philosophy
Edward Hudgins
The Atlas Society
Objectivism, the philosophy originated by Ayn Rand, offers an integrated understanding of metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and politics. In his talk, Hudgins explain the fight for freedom in today’s world from an Objectivist perspective, using insights from Atlas Shrugged. He will offer philosophical tools that will help friends of freedom to seize the moral high ground in order to fight more effectively.

So, I Hear You Are a Libertarian? Who Gives a Sh*t?
Jeff Frazee
Young Americans for Liberty
Just because you are a libertarian doesn’t mean you live in a libertarian society. Your government takes your money and rights every day. What are you doing about it? YAL Executive Director, Jeff Frazee, explains how you can apply your libertarian philosophy, restrain government, and achieve a libertarian society.

Additional Sessions

Alumni For Liberty Info Session
Are you no longer a student, but want to support today’s student movement for liberty?  Are you a senior about to graduate looking for ways to stay involved while advancing your work for liberty beyond the university?  If so, come to this special informational session run by Alumni For Liberty’s Board members who will discuss how you can best promote liberty as an alum.

SFL Campus Coordinator Program Info Session
Applications will soon be open for the 2012-2013 SFL Campus Coordinator Program.  This program is designed to provide the training and support for students who have shown an aptitude for organizing on their own campus to become more effective leaders of liberty.  In this informational session, SFL President Alexander McCobin, Internal Operations Manager Peter Neiger, and several current Campus Coordinators will discuss what the program is like, what it takes to be a Campus Coordinator, and why you should apply. For more information contact Peter Neiger at pneiger@studentsforliberty.org.

Grand Hyatt Washington (Conference Hotel)

When making your reservation through the main Hyatt system (the only way to make a reservation), your credit card will not be charged until you check out of the hotel on Sunday, February 19th.

You can make your reservation online here.

Or you can make a reservation by phone by calling 800-233-1234, and say you would like to make a reservation with the Students For Liberty room block.  Remember, though, this deal is first come, first serve, so make sure to reserve your space fast.

Note: The original $100 per night housing rate for the International SFL Conference is entirely booked.  The price of $169 will continue until all rooms in the hotel are booked for the conference. If you have not yet booked your hotel rooms for the ISFLC, you should do so ASAP before there are no available rooms left.

Hosteling International
If you are traveling on your own, you can reserve space at Hosteling International-DC from $29-$45 per night. HI-DC is located at 1009 11th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, just a few blocks away from the conference. Visit http://www.hiwashingtondc.org/ to learn more and make a registration.

Parking
If you’re driving into the conference you have several options for parking. Information on valet & self parking at the Hyatt itself can be found here: http://grandwashington.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/services/parking/index.jsp

If you’d like to explore other parking options in the area check out this website, keeping in mind the Hyatt is at 11th & H: http://washingtondc.bestparking.com

Below is the general schedule for the 2012 International Students For Liberty Conference. Subject to change. Start and end times will remain the same.

Friday, February 17

2:00pm – Registration opens
5:00pm – Opening Ceremony & Welcome Remarks
6:00pm – General Session Begins: SFL Awards & Friday Night Keynote Peter Thiel
8:00pm – Conclude Friday Night, socials begin at various locations

Saturday, February 18

9:00am – Coffee Service Opens
10:00am – Breakout Sessions Begin
12:00noon – Lunch Break (meals not provided)
1:30pm – Breakout Sessions Resume
6:00pm – Dinner Break (meals not provided)
8:00pm – STOSSEL Show
9:30pm – Conclude Saturday, socials begin at various locations

Sunday, February 19

9:00am – Coffee Service Opens
10:00am – Breakout Sessions Begin
11:15am – Lunch Break (meals not provided)
12:15pm – Closing Keynote
1:30pm – Closing Ceremonies
2:00pm – Conference Concludes

Download the full schedule in the ISFLC Program Booklet here.

Peter Thiel first gained attention for innovations in banking and startup finance. Today he is known as the mentor of the PayPal group of entrepreneurs, as well as for his warnings of a coming technology deficit with severe economic consequences. He works to accelerate innovation to prevent such a crisis by identifying and funding promising technology ideas and by guiding successful companies to scale and dominate their industries.

In 1998, Mr. Thiel co-founded and lead PayPal. In 2002, he sold PayPal to eBay and founded a global macro fund, Clarium. In 2004, he co-founded Palantir Technologies, which offers platforms for finance companies and intelligence, defense, and law enforcement communities to integrate, visualize, and analyze the world’s information. In the same year, he made the first outside investment in Facebook. He serves on its board. Mr. Thiel co-founded and manages the Founders Fund, a leading Silicon Valley venture capital fund that has pioneered new methods of venture financing that benefit founders. Through Founders Fund, as well as through his private investing, he has helped the next generation of tech companies, such as SpaceX, LinkedIn,Causes, Quantcast, RoboteX, and Spotify. In 2010, Mr. Thiel created the 20 Under 20 Thiel Fellowship, which nurtures the tech visionaries of tomorrow. Mr. Thiel earned a B.A. in philosophy from Stanford University and a J.D. from Stanford Law School. Mr. Thiel established and funds the Thiel Foundation.

Saturday Taping of the STOSSEL Show

John Stossel is host of “Stossel” on the Fox Business Network. He’s the author of “Give Me a Break” and of “Myth, Lies, and Downright Stupidity.” To find out more about John Stossel, visit his site at johnstossel.com.

John Stossel’s prime-time specials on myths, parenting issues, sex and trends in pop culture rate among the top news programs and have earned him uncommon praise: “The most consistently thought-provoking TV reporter of our time,” said The Dallas Morning News. The Orlando Sentinel said John Stossel “has the gift for entertaining while saying something profound.”

John Stossel takes this reporting expertise and applies it to his weekly newspaper column for Creators Syndicate. Ready to cover topics newspaper readers care about, John Stossel pokes fun at the ridiculous and lauds the excellent.

Newspaper editors may wonder whether Stossel’s incredible TV ratings will translate from TV to print. The answer to that question is a resounding yes: HarperCollins published Stossel’s book “Give Me a Break,” and readers (the same ones who read newspapers) made it a New York Times bestseller for 11 weeks.

John Stossel’s most recent special, “Lies, Myths, and Downright Stupidity,” exposed myths about gun control, leisure time and the garbage “crisis.” “John Stossel Goes to Washington” looked at how, under Democrats and Republicans, government keeps growing, while “Tampering with Nature” suggested that some environmentalists go overboard and most tampering is a good thing.

John Stossel’s first special — “Are We Scaring Ourselves to Death?” — examined exaggerated fears of things like chemicals and crime. It was followed by “The Blame Game,” which looked at Americans’ tendency to blame their misfortunes on others. In “You Can’t Say That!” John Stossel looked at the battle between free speech and censorship. John Stossel focused on bogus lawsuits in “The Trouble With Lawyers” and bogus scientific claims in “Junk Science: What You Know That May Not Be So.”

John Stossel has received 19 Emmy Awards and has been honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by the National Press Club. Among John Stossel’s other awards are the George Polk Award for Outstanding Local Reporting and the George Foster Peabody Award.

John Stossel is a graduate of Princeton University, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology.

As with last year the STOSSEL taping is open to the public.

Zach Wahls

Zach Wahls, a 20-year-old engineering student at the University of Iowa, is the son of a lesbian couple. An Eagle Scout and Iowa Champion debater, he is the recipient of the Paul Mann Youth Activist Award and the “Ally for Equality Award” from the Human Rights Campaign. His January 2011 testimony before the Iowa House of Representatives—in which he proclaimed, “The sexual orientation of my parents has had zero effect on my character”—has become an internet sensation, with his videos being watched millions of times. He has appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show,The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell, and other media outlets. Zach is the author of My Two Moms, to be published in spring 2012 by Gotham Books, an imprint of Penguin Group, USA. He lives in Iowa City, Iowa.

Nigel Ashford – Institute for Humane Studies

Nigel Ashford is senior program officer at the Institute for Humane Studies. He joined IHS from the United Kingdom where he was professor of politics and Jean Monnet Scholar in European Integration at Staffordshire University, England. Dr. Ashford works on many of the Institute’s educational programs, teaches at summer seminars, liaises with the IHS faculty network, produces regular academic newsletters for faculty and graduate students, and provides academic career advice to graduate students.

Radley Balko – Huffington Post

Radley Balko is a senior writer for Huffington Post, where he does investigative reporting on civil liberties and the criminal justice system. Previously he was senior editor for Reason magazine, where he wrote award-winning investigative journalism features and weekly columns on civil liberties. Prior to that, he was a policy analyst for the Cato Institute, where he covered civil liberties and the drug war. From 2002 until 2009, he was also a biweekly columnist with FoxNews.com. He is originally from Greenfield, IN and graduated from Indiana University in 1997 with a BA in journalism and political science.

Evan Banks – Alumni For Liberty

Evan Banks works at the Cato Institute as the Multimedia Editor for Libertarianism.org.  As Libertarianism.org’s multimedia editor he handles everything from scripting, lighting, and shooting to editing, motion graphics, and the post-production of videos and keeps the site stocked with fresh audio-visual content, including archival lectures from some of liberty’s greatest thinkers.

Christopher R. Barron – GOProud

Christopher R. Barron is a co-founder of GOProud and its Chief Strategist. Chris is also the President of CapSouth Consulting, LLC, a full service political consulting firm. Chris has penned opinion pieces that have appeared in The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Roll Call, The Hill, Politico, and other media outlets.

Blayne Bennett – Alumni For Liberty

After graduating from Arizona State University in 2010 with a degree in Finance, Blayne Bennett moved to Washington, DC to work as the Communications Manager for Students For Liberty.  This past July, Blayne teamed up with her father to launch a company providing software solutions for community banks and credit unions.  A member of the Alumni For Liberty board, Blayne remains personally and professionally involved in the fight for a freer society.

Miranda Bond–National Rifle Association

Miranda Bond is a Grassroots Coordinator for The National Rifle Association – Institute for Legislative Action. Miranda coordinates the grassroots electoral efforts and legislative outreach activities for NRA-ILA in thirteen states. In addition, she conducts the Association’s legislative and election workshops, and represents the Association in public speaking engagements nationwide.

Peter Bonilla – Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

Peter Bonilla, Assistant Director, Individual Rights Defense Program Peter is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studied theater arts and economics. At FIRE, Peter works directly with hundreds of students and faculty facing violations of their free speech and other fundamental rights on campus per year. Peter also writes on higher education for the political commentary website PolicyMic.

Trevor Burrus – Alumni For Liberty

Trevor Burrus is a Legal Associate at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C where he specializes in current Supreme Court litigation, legal history, philosophy of law, and political philosophy.  He is also a contributor to Libertarianism.org and a faculty member at the Institute for Humane Studies.

Michael F. Cannon – Cato Institute

Michael F. Cannon is the Cato Institute’s director of health policy studies. Previously, he served as a domestic policy analyst for the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee under Chairman Larry E. Craig, where he advised the Senate leadership on health, education, labor, welfare, and the Second Amendment. Cannon is coauthor of Healthy Competition: What’s Holding Back Health Care and How to Free It. He holds a bachelor’s degree in American government (B.A.) from the University of Virginia, and master’s degrees in economics (M.A.) and law & economics (J.M.) from George Mason University.

Kelly William Cobb – Americans for Tax Reform

Kelly William Cobb is Government Affairs Manager for Americans for Tax Reform (ATR), an organization founded in 1985 by Grover Norquist to oppose all tax increases as a matter of principle. He is also Executive Director of ATR’s Digital Liberty Project, an organization dedicated to promoting free-market tech and telecommunications policy. Kelly also manages www.StopETaxes.com, a campaign to fight Internet taxation. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan.

Philip W. Cook – Stop Abusive and Violent Environments

Mr. Cook is an author and investigative reporter with several years of experience reporting on domestic violence and family related issues. His latest book Abused Men – The Hidden Side of Domestic Violence examines abuse from male perspective. Mr. Cook as appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and FOX news. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors for SAVE.

Chris Coyne – Foundation for Economic Education

Christopher Coyne is the F.A. Harper Professor of Economics at George Mason University. He is also the North American Editor of The Review of Austrian Economics and the Book Review Editor of Public Choice. In 2008, he was named the Hayek Fellow at the London School of Economics, and in 2010 he was a Visiting Scholar at the Social Philosophy & Policy Center at Bowling Green State University. Professor Coyne’s personal web page is www.ccoyne.com.

Krista Cupp – National Rifle Association

Krista Cupp was born and raised in southern Missouri. Krista is the Senior Grassroots Coordinator for NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action and manages 14 states including: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, New Mexico, Maine, Missouri, Minnesota, North Dakota, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Vermont. As a Grassroots Coordinator, she is responsible for recruiting and training members on political and legislative activism. Krista coordinates NRA’s campus outreach as the NRA University Coordinator.

Dan D’Amico – Loyola University & The Institute for Humane Studies

Daniel J. D’Amico completed his economics Ph.D. from George Mason University in 2008 with field examinations in Constitutional Political Economy and Austrian Economics. His doctoral dissertation, “The Imprisoner’s Dilemma: The Political Economy of Proportionate Punishment,” was awarded the Israel M. Kirzner Award for best dissertation in Austrian Economics by the Society for the Development of Austrian Economics. Daniel is an Assistant Professor of Economics at Loyola University New Orleans and has received University awards for teaching, research and service. His current research is focused upon applying various political economy perspectives including Austrian Economics, Public Choice and New Institutional Economics.

Christopher Doss  – Young Americans for Liberty

Christopher Doss is a Grassroots Coordinator at the Leadership Institute. Christopher has trained thousands of activists in communication and campaign tactics. He is a graduate of Wake Forest University and Norway’s University of Oslo.

Ivan Eland – Independent Institute

Ivan Eland is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty at The Independent Institute. Dr. Eland is the author of Partitioning for Peace, Recarving Rushmore, The Empire Has No Clothes, and No War For Oil. He is currently working on a paper that details how the American warfare-state caused the current welfare-state.

Fiyinfoluwa Elegbede – Atlas Economic Research Foundation

Fiyinfoluwa Elegbede is a young pro-liberty Nigerian with a possibility mentality. He has addressed youths fora on sound leadership and the ideas of liberty in both academic and social functions. He also co-authored the book, “Why Peace” (an exploration of aggression, and of the evolutionary (and revolutionary) process to peace through the insights of men and women, from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives. He is currently Outreach Assistant, AfricanLiberty.org where he assists the Director of Outreach in outreach activities.

Bob Ewing – The Institute for Justice

As the Institute for Justice’s Director of Communications, Bob Ewing works on IJ’s award-winning media team to make the case for economic liberty, free speech, private property rights and school choice in the court of public opinion. Bob joined the Institute for Justice in August 2005 from the Foundation for Economic Education, where he worked as the Leonard E. Read Research Fellow.

Bruce Fein — Future of Freedom Foundation

Bruce Fein graduated from Harvard Law School with honors in 1972. After a coveted federal judicial clerkship, he joined the U.S. Department of Justice where he served as assistant director of the Office of Legal Policy, legal adviser to the assistant attorney general for antitrust, and the associate deputy attorney general. Mr. Fein then was appointed general counsel of the Federal Communications Commission, followed by an appointment as research director for the Joint Congressional Committee on Covert Arms Sales to Iran. He recently served on the American Bar Association’s Task Force on Presidential signing statements.

Neill Franklin – Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

Neill Franklin is a 34-year law enforcement veteran of the Maryland State Police and Baltimore Police Department. Early in his career, Neill served as a narcotics agent with the Maryland State Police, focusing on everything from high-level drug dealers in the Washington suburbs to men growing one marijuana plant on their balconies. Neill has since come to oppose the war on drugs for numerous reasons, including personal loss, its effect on racial tensions, and the violence it promotes. He now advocates legalization as executive director of LEAP.

Jeff Frazee – Young Americans for Liberty

Jeff Frazee is the founder and Executive Director of Young Americans for Liberty. Jeff served as National Youth Coordinator for Ron Paul’s 2008 Presidential Campaign Committee and worked exclusively with Congressman Paul to start the Campaign for Liberty and host the Rally for the Republic. Prior to the campaign, Jeff worked as a Deputy Campus Services Coordinator for the Leadership Institute and interned for Ron Paul’s congressional office in the summer of 2005.

Jared Fuller – Alumni For Liberty

Jared Fuller has consulted for dozens of political candidates, campaigns, and non-profits dedicated to liberty. He is the founder of Young Americans for Liberty’s Year of Youth project, and has sat as Southern Director for both YAL & SFL. Jared is currently the President of Market Aces, LLC – a comprehensive marketing firm that specializes in graphic & website design, development, and social media. In less than two years, Market Aces has attracted clientele ranging from NY Times Bestselling Authors, Presidential Campaigns, and International News Media Corporations.

Andy Gillette – Charles Koch Institute

Andy Gillette works with the Economic Freedom Project of the Charles Koch Institute (CKI).  For over four years, he was a Program Manager and Instructor at CKI where he taught numerous classes ranging from classical-liberal philosophy to Austrian economics to Market-Based Management® (MBM®), a management philosophy that applies the principles of free societies within the organization.  After starting and managing Effective Tutoring, Inc., Andy joined the Charles G. Koch Foundation in 2007 before transitioning to CKI in 2011.

Anthony Gregory – Independent Institute

Anthony Gregory is Research Editor at the Independent Institute and is currently writing a book on individual liberty and the writ of habeas corpus. He has written hundreds of articles that have appeared in the Christian Science Monitor, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Washington Times, and the Huffington Post, as well as in The Atlantic, Human Events, Counterpunch, The American Conservative, Alternet, Antiwar.com, The Independent Review and the Journal of Libertarian Studies. He also regularly writes for numerous news and commentary web sites, including LewRockwell.com and the Future of Freedom Foundation.

Jim Harper – Cato Institute

Jim Harper is the director of Information Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, where he works to adapt law and policy to the unique problems of the information age in areas such as privacy, telecommunications, intellectual property, and security. Harper was a founding member of the Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee and he recently co-edited the book Terrorizing Ourselves: How U.S. Counterterrorism Policy Is Failing and How to Fix It. He wrote the book Identity Crisis: How Identification Is Overused and Misunderstood and is the editor of Privacilla.org, a Web-based think tank devoted exclusively to privacy.

Samantha Harris – Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

Samantha Harris, Director of Speech Code Research Samantha, a Philadelphia native, is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School and Princeton University. As FIRE’s Director of Speech Code Research, Samantha analyzes school policies for Spotlight: the Campus Freedom Resource and helps students and administrators reform speech codes on their campuses.

Kyle Hartz – Alumni For Liberty

Kyle Hartz is Educational Programs Assistant at the Institute for Humane Studies.  Currently, he works on IHS’s Advanced Topics in Liberty, a weekend conference series for students and professionals co-sponsored with Liberty Fund, Inc. In addition to his role in the AT program, Kyle also works on measurement, curriculum planning, and faculty selection for IHS’s Summer Seminars.  Prior to joining IHS, Kyle worked with the Libertarian National Committee.

Joe Henchman – Tax Foundation

Joe Henchman is an attorney and policy analyst who supervises the Tax Foundation’s state policy program (since 2009) and legal program (since 2007). He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, specializing in political transitions. His law degree is from George Washington University, and in 2007 he earned a certificate in International Legal Studies from Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s summer program at the University of Pacific-McGeorge School of Law.

Ronald K. Henry – Stop Abusive and Violent Environments

Mr. Henry is the president of the boys initiative which is a non-profit organization designed to promote the healthy development of children and adolescents. Mr. Henry is a member, in good standing, with the Washington DC Bar Association, a graduate of the University of Michigan, and member of SAVE.

Jacob Hornberger – Future of Freedom Foundation

Jacob G. Hornberger is founder and president of The Future of Freedom Foundation. He was born and raised in Laredo, Texas, and received his B.A. in economics from Virginia Military Institute and his law degree from the University of Texas. He was a trial attorney for twelve years in Texas. He also was an adjunct professor at the University of Dallas, where he taught law and economics.

Ed Hudgins – The Atlas Society

Hudgins is director of advocacy and a senior scholar at The Atlas Society. He has worked at the Heritage Foundation, the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, and the Cato Institute. He has a Ph.D. in political philosophy and has taught at universities in the United States and Germany.

Michael Keenan – Seasteading

Before becoming the president of The Seasteading Institute, Michael Keenan was a software developer and entrepreneur from New Zealand. At First NZ Capital, he helped develop the software that launched the company from New Zealand’s market leader to a world-class financial services platform. In Taiwan, Michael founded The BECC Consulting Group, developing software that has been used by almost all Taiwan’s top multinational companies, and has helped consolidate BECC’s position as the premier solution for companies seeking communications consulting in Taiwan.

Harris Kenny – Alumni For Liberty

Harris Kenny is a policy analyst at Reason Foundation. He specializes in researching and implementing privatization, public-private partnerships, government reform, and transportation policy in states and municipalities across the United States. He also serves as an editor for Reason Foundation’s Annual Privatization Report.  He graduated from Pepperdine University with a B.A. in Economics, where he co-founded the student group Pepperdine College Libertarians.

Edward King  – Young Americans for Liberty

Edward King is the Director of Operations at Young Americans for Liberty. Edward attended the University of Florida where he graduated with a degree in Business in 2003.  He has since dedicated himself to advancing liberty through political activism and campaign work. For the past five years, he has trained and organized activists throughout the southeast. Edward is a lifelong Florida Gators fan and has attended three championship games since 2006.

Adam Kissel – Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

Adam Kissel is a graduate of Harvard University and the University of Chicago, where he earned a master’s degree from the Committee on Social Thought. As VP of Programs, Adam coordinates FIRE’s defense of individual students and professors as well as programs to educate students and faculty about their rights on campus. Adam also enjoys speaking to student groups across the country about individual rights and the philosophy of liberty.

Bonnie Kristian  – Young Americans for Liberty

Bonnie Kristian is the Director of Communications at Young Americans for Liberty. Bonnie graduated from Bridgewater College of Virginia with a degree in political science after serving as an intern at the national headquarters of Ron Paul’s 2008 Presidential Campaign.  Before joining YAL full time, she worked at the Leadership Institute as Communications Manager for LI’s campus programs while managing the YAL blog.  Bonnie spends too much time on the internets and with her guinea pig.

James W. Lark III – Libertarian Party

Dr. Lark is a professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia. He founded Students for Individual Liberty at UVA, to which he now serves as advisor. He is a member of the Libertarian Party’s National Committee, and served as chairman of the Libertarian Party during the 2000-2002 term. He has received several honors and awards, including the Samuel Adams Award for outstanding activism and the Thomas Jefferson Award (the Party’s highest honor) for lifetime achievement. He is the chairman of the Board of Directors of the Advocates for Self-Government, the secretary of the International Society for Individual Liberty, and a member of the Students for Liberty Board of Advisors.

Jimmy LaSalvia – GOProud

Jimmy LaSalvia is a co-founder of GOProud, serves as its Executive Director.  A long- time Republican activist, Jimmy has held volunteer and professional staff positions in Republican campaigns and party organizations in South Dakota and Kentucky, including serving on the campaign staff of former South Dakota Governor Walter D. Miller. In 2006 he joined the national staff of Log Cabin Republicans, first as Grassroots Outreach Director then as Director of Programs & Policy. Jimmy was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and grew up in a well-traveled military family.  He is a graduate of Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota.

Travis Leicht – Alumni For Liberty

At 16 Travis Leicht founded his first company, a property maintenance and landscape design firm.  A week after graduating high school he sold it for $50,000 to attend Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers, FL.  There he studied Finance and Economics, launched Environmental Associates LLC, and provided seed funding for a Bio-Diesel start-up. After graduating, he headed up Environmental Associates LLC and launch Muse Business Solutions LLC.  Today he is actively building both organizations with a concentrated focus in alternative fuels, and IT solutions for start-up entrepreneurs.

Tom Lemons – Stop Abusive and Violent Environments

Mr. Lemons is a freelance journalist, film maker, and advocate for equal rights in family courts. He recently released a documentary called DVI The Inside Story which exposes the procedures of civil courts related to issuing orders of protection. Mr. Lemons is the founder of www.falsedvireports.com and is the Director of Special Events for SAVE.

Brad Lips – Atlas Economic Research Foundation

Brad joined Atlas in 1998 and became its Chief Executive Officer in 2009. He received his MBA from the Goizueta Business School of Emory University and his BA from Princeton University. In 1997-1998, Brad was researching regulatory issues for The Progress & Freedom Foundation before being persuaded by Alex Chafuen in 1998 to come to Atlas. Previously, Brad was a research associate for Smith Barney Inc. He is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society and the John Templeton Foundation. He has written on classical liberal ideas, including The Reagan Vision, published by the Goldwater Institute, and two chapters in Freedom Champions, published by Atlas in 2011.

Neal McCluskey – Cato Institute

Neal McCluskey is the associate director of Cato’s Center for Educational Freedom. Prior to arriving at Cato, he served in the U.S. Army, taught high school English, and was a freelance reporter covering municipal government and education in suburban New Jersey. More recently, he was a policy analyst at the Center for Education Reform. McCluskey is the author of the book Feds in the Classroom: How Big Government Corrupts, Cripples, and Compromises American Education.

Patrick J. Michaels – Cato Institute

Patrick J. Michaels is a Senior Fellow in Environmental Studies at the Cato Institute.  He is also Senior Research Fellow for Policy and Economic Development at George Mason University and is a contributing author and reviewer of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.  He was a research professor of Environmental Sciences at University of Virginia for thirty years. Michaels holds A.B. and S.M. degrees in biological sciences and plant ecology from the University of Chicago, and he received a Ph.D. in ecological climatology from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Cayce Moffett – Alumni For Liberty

Cayce Moffett grew up in Birmingham, AL then attended the University of Alabama and Ole Miss. The summer after her junior year of college, she had the opportunity to intern at the Cato Institute working in health care and welfare policy.  After graduating college, she joined the Rand Paul for Senate Campaign in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  She was part of the fundraising team that helped Senator Paul spread his message of limited government across Kentucky during the general election.  Following his victory in November, she was given the unique opportunity to serve on Senator Paul’s transition team.  Cayce currently works as one of his Senate staffers.

Andrew Moylan – National Taxpayers Union

Andrew Moylan is Vice President of Government Affairs for the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) where he lobbies on federal and state issues, conducts policy research and analysis, assists in taxpayer education efforts, and formulates reports and opinion pieces. Andrew is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a degree in Political Science. He previously served with the Center for Educational Freedom at the Cato Institute.

Carl Oberg – Foundation for Economic Education

After receiving his BA from American University in Washington, DC, Carl spent ten years working his way through the federal government bureaucracy with occasional stops as a “beltway bandit” in the defense industry. During this time he traveled extensively throughout the Middle East and learned “how the sausage is made” when it comes to international trade policy. In June 2010, he was lucky enough to meet Larry Reed and be offered the position of Executive Director at the Foundation for Economic Education.

Olumayowa Okediran – Atlas Economic Research Foundation

Olumayowa Okediran is a  is a fifth year Nigerian student at the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria who is passionate about a positive shift towards a freer economic system in Africa. He is convinced that the development of Africa hinges on the endorsement of capitalism, respect for the rule of law and individual liberty. He is co-initiator and Outreach Assistant for African Liberty Students Organization.

J. Japheth Omojuwa – Atlas Economic Research Foundation

J Japheth Omojuwa is a public analyst of economic issues on television, radio and new media. With many awards to his name, Omojuwa is currently the best Nigerian political blogger an award won in a poll involving Nigerian bloggers from across the world. He was nominated Nigeria’s twitter user of the year while being named the best political handle on twitter in Nigeria recently. Omojuwa is one of the strongest voices against the unsustainable cost of governance and Nigeria’s big government. This led the Nigerian President to reduce his salary and that of his cabinet members by 25 per cent recently. He is the Editor of fast rising africanliberty.org.

Tom G. Palmer – Atlas Economic Research Foundation

Tom G. Palmer is executive vice president for international programs at the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, where he is responsible for establishing operating programs in 14 languages and managing programs for a worldwide network of think tanks.  He is also a senior fellow at the Cato Institute.  He received his B.A. in liberal arts from St. Johns College in Annapolis, Maryland, his M.A. in philosophy from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., and his doctorate in politics from Oxford University. He is the author of Realizing Freedom: Libertarian Theory, History, and Practice, published in 2009, and the editor of The Morality of Capitalism, published in 2011.

Roger Pilon – Cato Institute

Roger Pilon is the founder and director of Cato’s Center for Constitutional Studies. He is the publisher of the Cato Supreme Court Review and is an adjunct professor of government at Georgetown University through The Fund for American Studies. Prior to joining Cato, he held five senior posts in the Reagan administration, including at State and Justice, and was a National Fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution. He lectures and debates at universities and law schools across the country and testifies often before Congress. He holds a B.A. from Columbia University, an M.A. and a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and a J.D. from the George Washington University School of Law.

Christopher A. Preble – Cato Institute

Christopher A. Preble is the vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. He is the author of three books, including The Power Problem: How American Military Dominance Makes Us Less Safe, Less Prosperous and Less Free. He is also the lead author of Exiting Iraq: How the U.S. Must End the Occupation and Renew the War against Al Qaeda. Before joining Cato in 2003, he taught history at St. Cloud State University and Temple University. Preble was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, and served onboard USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) from 1990 to 1993. Preble holds a Ph.D. in history from Temple University.

Ryan Radia – Competitive Enterprise Institute

Ryan Radia focuses on adapting law and public policy to the unique challenges of the information age. His research areas include information privacy, intellectual property, electronic speech, competition policy, telecommunications, media regulation, and Internet freedom. Radia earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Northwestern University and is a J.D. candidate at the George Washington University Law School.

Pete Sepp – National Taxpayers Union

Pete Sepp helps develop the 362,000-member National Taxpayers Union’s (NTU) government affairs, public relations, and promotional strategies.  Sepp also oversees strategic planning efforts for NTU and its staff.  Additionally, Sepp directs and supervises the research and educational operations of the National Taxpayers Union Foundation (NTUF).

Fred A. Stitt – Free Minds Institute of Higher Education

Fred is a life-long libertarian and educator. He taught for several years at UC, Berkeley before founding his own private school of architecture. He has published 18 books on reforming technical and managerial aspects of architectural and engineering practice. Most recently, he has conducted extensive studies of problems, solutions, and opportunities for more efficient and effective higher education. He is also compiling research on the rapidly growing realms of pro-freedom education and career opportunities.

Teri Stoddard – Stop Abusive and Violent Environments

After working in day care and foster care for 25 years, Teri began working as an advocate for children. Teri is a strong proponent of equality in shared parenting, and opposes gender bias in family courts. She promotes a new approach to domestic violence education and awareness programs in this country. Teri is currently the Program Director for SAVE.

Chad Swarthout – Alumni For Liberty

Chad Swarthout is an IT consultant and network engineer focusing on supporting Mac OS X integration for small to medium sized businesses.  Chad founded his company Alectrona LLC in early 2011 after his employer of over 5 years closed its doors due to bankruptcy.  Alectrona LLC both provides outsourced IT services to businesses and nonprofits, as well as business development and management consulting to other IT firms in the DC area.

Berin Szoka – TechFreedom

Berin Szoka is the founder 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. 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.

James Stacey Taylor – The College of New Jersey & The Institute for Humane Studies

A transplant from Scotland to the United States – first Bowling Green State University where he earned his PhD and now The College of New Jersey where he is professor of philosophy – Professor Taylor has amassed an enviable publishing record in the Journal of Value Inquiry, Philosophical Quarterly, and Eidos. He is the editor of Personal Autonomy: New essays (Cambridge University Press, 2005) and author of Stakes and Kidneys: Why markets in human body parts are morally imperative (Ashgate, 2005), monograph on the moral and ethical implications of kidney sales.

Todd Zywicki – George Mason Law & The Institute for Humane Studies

Todd Zywicki teaches in the areas of bankruptcy and contracts at George Mason Law. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia (1993), where he was executive editor of the Virginia Tax Review and John M. Olin Scholar in Law and Economics. Professor Zywicki received an M.A. in economics from Clemson University (1990) and an A.B. with high honors from Dartmouth College (1988). Professor Zywicki is the author of more than 30 articles in leading law reviews and economics journals. He has testified before Congress on bankruptcy reform issues and is a frequent commentator in the print and broadcast media.

Michigan Students Bus Trip to the ISFLC

The Michigan State College Libertarians are organizing a bus trip to bring students from the Great Lakes state to the conference.  The bus is open to any students in the area that are interested. The bus will be departing Lansing on the morning of February 17 with a stop in Ann Arbor along the way and returning on Sunday, February 19.

A seat on the bus costs only $15. To sign up visit http://mscl.msuliberty.com/?page_id=90. If you have any questions contact SFL Campus Coordinator Matt Needham at MNeedham@studentsforliberty.org.

Free Registration for Pacific Coast Students

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are able to waive the registration fee for students traveling from California, Oregon, Washington State, Hawaii, and Alaska. Do not register using this option if you are not a student traveling from one of these states.

You can take advantage of this opportunity by registering here: http://2012isflc.eventbrite.com/.

Discounted Housing at the Grand Hyatt

We have arranged a special discount for attendees to stay at the Grand Hyatt.

Space in the hotel is limited and filling up fast, so learn more and make your reservation today here: http://politicalconferences.org/2010/02/2012-international-conference-housing/.

Group Travel

You can find tips on organizing group travel here: http://studentsforliberty.org/news/isflc-travel-tips-airfare/