Staff bios

J. Bradley Jansen is the Washington, D.C.-based Executive Director. Previously at the Free Congress Foundation, Brad testified before Congress on the USA PATRIOT Act proposal, National ID and other issues, and worked safeguarding privacy and other Constitutional liberties. While working for U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, he initiated and lead the opposition to the “Know Your Customer” proposal. Brad’s experience in Peru under then-President Alan Garcia sparked his interest in the human effects of monetary and financial policies before he went on to edit a newsletter forecasting foreign exchange rates.

Bjansen@financialprivacy.org

Bretigne Shaffer is the Director of Media Relations. She is a New York-based documentary filmmaker. As an editorial page writer for the Asian Wall Street Journal, Bretigne covered the Asian financial crisis and the first years of Hong Kong under Chinese rule. Through her films, Bretigne aims to demonstrate the fundamental links between property rights, human rights and a peaceful society.

Bretigne@financialprivacy.org

Michael Ostrolenk acts as Director of Development. He is the Washington, D.C.-based president of the Liberty Coalition, heads the Medical Privacy Coalition and is involved in several other projects in defense of liberty and privacy.

Development@financialprivacy.org

Benjamin Polen, an adjunct Financial Policy Analyst, currently works at the nexus of finance and law in New York City. Ben's writing has appeared in Wired News, Forbes.com, and Satellite Business News, and he has contributed to The Next American City.

Ben@financialprivacy.org

Andrew Young is a Research Associate. Andrew is a senior history major at Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro, Kentucky. His writings have appeared on LewRockwell.com, Antiwar.com, and Strike the Root. He became interested in human rights issues after the 2003 Iraq war.

Andrew@financialprivacy.org