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Advisory Board
Our Advisory Board members are leaders and experts in areas of importance to FAC, including First Amendment law, journalism, the internet’s impact on free speech, Freedom of Information, philanthropy and the media industry. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
Floyd Abrams
partner at the New York law firm Cahill Gordon & Reindel
Floyd Abrams has been called “the most significant First Amendment lawyer of our age.” He has argued frequently before the Supreme Court, and has been at the center of landmark free press cases, including representing The New York Times in the 1971 Pentagon Papers case and in 2005 representing reporter Judith Miller in her effort to protect confidential sources in the Valerie Plame leak case.
Anne Avis
Board Member of Global Press, KQED and Internews
Anne Avis serves on the boards of Global Press, KQED and Internews. Formerly Chair of the Board of KQED Public Media, she now co-chairs KQED’s Campaign to transform KQED’s infrastructure and expand original programming. She is a former trustee of MASS MoCA, Fund for Global Human Rights and the NPR Foundation. Anne lives in Palo Alto CA with her husband Greg. They have three grown children. She was raised in Massachusetts and is a graduate of Williams College.
Lowell Bergman
Professor, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
Lowell Bergman, a Pulizer-prize winning journalist, is Professor of Investigative Reporting at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Bergman is also a producer and correspondent for the PBS documentary series “Frontline,” and an adviser to nonprofit investigative news organizations like the Center for Investigative Reporting and ProPublica.
Tom Blanton
Director of the National Security Archive, Washington, DC
Tom Blanton is Director of the National Security Archive at George Washington University in Washington, D.C, which the Los Angeles Times described as “the world’s largest nongovernmental library of declassified documents,” including the CIA’s “Family Jewels,” over 700 pages of previously classified documents released to the NSA in 2007. The NSA specializes in the use of FOIA, declassification review, and other legal means to obtain national security records.
Simone Coxe
philanthropist and investor, she is co-founder and chairman of CALmatters
Simone Coxe is a philanthropist and investor committed to quality journalism. She is the co-founder and chairman of CALmatters, a nonprofit nonpartisan journalism venture covering California state politics and policy. She is also a director at KQED and Internews, a Washington, DC, based nonprofit building sustainable local media in over 80 countries. She also serves on the advisory board of the UC Berkeley Journalism school. Previously, Simone co-founded Blanc & Otus, a public relations firm firm serving the technology industry, and served as its CEO from 1985-2000.
Rebecca MacKinnon
Director, New America Foundation’s Ranking Digital Rights Project
Rebecca MacKinnon is Director, New America Foundation’s Ranking Digital Rights Project working on global Internet policy, free expression, and the impact of digital technologies on human rights. Fluent in Mandarin Chinese, she served as CNN’s Bureau Chief first in Beijing and later in Tokyo from 1998 to 2003. Her book, Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom, was published in January 2012.
Craig Newmark
Founder, Craigslist and the Craig Newmark Philanthropic Foundation
Craig Newmark is the founder of craigslist, the pioneering classified advertising site. Having retired from active management, in 2011 Craig launched craigconnects as a platform to support organizations involved in work for veterans and military families, open government, public diplomacy, trustworthy journalism, consumer protection, election protection, and voter registration. Craig also serves on the board of directors of the Poynter Foundation, Center for Public Integrity, Sunlight Foundation, Consumers Union/Consumer Reports, Blue Star Families, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Dana Priest
investigative reporter for the Washington Post
Dana Priest is a two-time Pulitzer-Prize winning investigative reporter for the Washington Post. She won the Pulitzer in 2008 for reporting on unsafe conditions at Walter Reed Hospital and the 2006 Pulitzer for her reporting on on CIA secret prisons and counterterrorism operations overseas. In 2010, the Post published a special report by Priest and fellow reporter William Arkin called “Top Secret America,” detailing the national security buildup in the US following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Gary Pruitt
CEO of the Associated Press
Gary Pruitt is the CEO of the Associated Press, a position he took after a 28-year tenure with McClatchy Company, where he held the titles of Chairman, President and CEO. In 1984, Pruitt started as general counsel at McClatchy, the third largest U.S. newspaper publishing company, which includes the Sacramento Bee, Modesto Bee and Fresno Bee. He was named president in 1995. During that time, he also served on the AP Board of Directors for nine years, and he is the former chair of the Newspaper Association of America.
Karen Stevenson
Chief Legal Officer of Knight Ridder, Inc., Retired
Karen Stevenson is the former Chief Legal Officer of Knight Ridder, Inc., and previously served as President & CEO of Link Media, a nonprofit public television company. Her other nonprofit board and development experience includes the Alzheimer’s Association Governing Board of Directors and Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Karen has a BA from UCLA and a JD from the UC Berkeley School of Law. Prior to becoming a lawyer, she was a newspaper reporter in the San Francisco Bay Area