The Wilberforce Institute is a public policy think tank dedicated to advancing: the recognition of the inherent value and dignity of life; a market freed from corrupt, collusory, and coercive government intrusion; and intellectually diverse policies that benefit human and animal interests
Liam Gray is the founder and executive director of the Wilberforce Institute. In addition to his work with the Wilberforce Institute, Liam co-founded Good Lion Veterans with his wife, Silvia. He previously served as an editor for Daily Caller, as Director of Media Services for JLK Political Strategies, and as Director of Operations of New Mission PAC.
Liam served in the U.S. Army, both as an Infantry Paratrooper in the 82d Airborne and as a Human Intelligence Collector. He has also worked in the civilian intelligence community and as a commercial real estate broker.
He lives with Silvia and their daughter, Maya in Richmond, Virginia. In his spare time, Liam plays bass in a local band, writes plays, and coaches his daughter’s flag football team.
John is a policy and communications professional with 15 years of experience in state and federal government, the non-profit sector, and private industry. John began his career in Washington, DC, as a staffer for U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and went on to work for South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster as Director of Policy and External Communications from 2017-2021.
In subsequent years, he served as Associate Director of Government Relations for a publicly traded, West Coast-based tech company and was instrumental in the passage of critical legislation supporting the cannabis industry in California. A licensed attorney, John is a longtime advocate for animal welfare and an avid skier.
Kelvey Vander Hart is a writer and environmentalist who has spent the past decade working to change public policy. A native Iowan, Vander Hart started her career in the Iowa State House and has since worked for candidates, coalitions, trade groups, Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, and think tanks. A libertarian, Vander Hart believes that markets and innovation are two of our best tools for building a world that is kinder to animals.
Vander Hart writes about the ocean and marine life for The Saltwater Chronicles and about energy, the environment, and animal welfare everywhere else. She and her rescue dogs live in Alabama where they enjoy the sunshine, biodiversity, and spending time in the great outdoors.
Meghan has over 6 years of professional experience working in the fields of law and politics. Her background includes work on multiple conservative political campaigns.
She graduated from Middle Tennessee State University, where she combined tracks in business, psychology, and agriculture to earn her Bachelor's degree in Integrated Studies.
Meghan has always held great affection for all animals, but horses have a special place in her heart. She is an avid equestrian, having been trained in natural horsemanship and classical dressage. She strongly believes that humans have a responsibility to treat all animals, whether wild or domestic, with dignity, empathy, and respect. She is dedicated to advocating for their well-being and against their exploitation.
Currently, Meghan resides in the Atlanta, Georgia area with her special needs Dalmatian and two retired horses, one of whom was rescued from slaughter.
Isaac DeBlasio is an undergraduate studying Wildlife Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the current President of an animal rights student organization called Animal Advocacy UW which advocates for the abolition of factory farms and veganism. His profound love for animals influenced him to go vegan in high school.
He spends his down time volunteering at a farm animal rescue providing the animal residents with the best life.
Christine McPherson is the Development Advisor for Wilberforce Institute. Christine possesses a proven track record of building and nurturing impactful donor relationships and developing successful fundraising strategies. Christine is dedicated to helping end animal and human suffering at the hands of big government and is excited to bring animal and freedom supporters together to advance a freer society for both animals and humans.
Christine brings a wealth of experience to the role, having previously served as Business Development Manager at the R Street Institute where she managed a portfolio of corporate and foundation supporters of their Technology and Innovation and Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats policy programs. Christine has also served as Development Director at the White Coat Waste Project (WCW), where she managed a team of junior and mid-level staff to support a portfolio of individual and foundation supporters. While at WCW, Christine successfully worked with leadership to bring in new support that transformed the ability of the organization to achieve its mission. Christine previously held development roles at Project Veritas, Students For Liberty, and FreedomWorks.
Christine holds a Political Science Bachelor of Arts with a minor in Philosophy from the State University of New York at Albany. In Christine’s free time, she enjoys spending quality time with her husband, Bill, and daughters, Brianna, Fiona, and Evangeline. Christine lives in West Virginia and enjoys exploring the natural wonders nearby, baking, reading, and weight lifting.
Julie Germany is the President of the Army Heritage Center Foundation, a private, nonprofit organization which seeks to preserve soldier stories and promote the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center. She previously served on the Board of Advisors of the Foundation for a number of years before joining the team in 2023. Concurrently, Julie is a Director of White Coat Waste Project (and was a cofounder of White Coat Waste Project PAC), which aims to end government funding of animal testing, and is the founder of Renegade Strategies, LLC. She is also involved in the Carlisle, Pennsylvania community, serving on the Downtown Carlisle Association’s promotions committee and as a trustee of the Cumberland County Historical Society. Julie previously served as Chief Strategy Officer of the Programming Corporation of America, COO of Generation Opportunity, Vice President of Digital Strategy at DCI Group and the Director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy & the Internet at The George Washington University. Until 2013 Julie volunteered as the founder and chairperson of the annual CampaignTech conference, hosted by Campaigns & Elections magazine. In 2011, she created the mCitizen Summit with a group of mobilists in government and advocacy. She has also volunteered her time to help with programming at the annual SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas for over fifteen years on topics ranging from technology and politics to artificial intelligence and religion to space colonization.
Julie was the principal author and editor of several publications, including Constituent Relationship Management for State Legislators; Best Practices for Political Advertising Online; Constituent Relationship Management: The New Little Black Book of Politics; and Person-to-Person-to-Person: Harnessing the Political Power of Online Social Networks and User-Generated Content; The Politics-to-Go-Handbook: A Guide to Using Mobile Technology in Politics; and The Political Consultants’ Online Fundraising Primer. She co-authored Putting Online Influentials to Work for Your Campaign, and she has authored chapters in Campaigning for President 2012, The Routledge Handbook of Political Management; Campaigning for President 2008: Strategy and Tactics, New Voices and New Techniques; Voting in America; and Rebooting America. She has appeared in national and international newspapers, magazines, and media, including MSNBC, C-SPAN, Fox News, CBS, and NBC.
In 2008 Julie was honored as a Rising Star by Campaigns and Elections Magazine, and in 2015 she was awarded the 40 Under 40 award by the American Association of Political Consultants. A decade later, in 2025, Central Pennsylvania Business Journal named her a Woman of Influence.
Julie lives part-time in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and part-time in Alexandria, Virginia, where she and her husband herd their family cats--Trucker Cat, Sonic, Mario, Macho, Asics, and Jake. Their dog Violet, whom they rescued from an animal research lab, recently crossed the rainbow bridge. They have fostered over 100 cats through their volunteer work with King Street Cats and particularly welcome senior hospice cats and cats with disabilities into their family.
Allan Kornberg, MD, a pediatrician, is founder and executive director for Nutrition for Families, which provides support, community, tools, and educational materials on healthy plant-based nutrition for pediatricians and other pediatric clinicians, and families.
Additionally, Allan had served as executive director, and now is a board member with Physicians Association for Nutrition, a global NGO determined to reduce, and aspirationally eliminate, diet related morbidity and mortality. He is board chair of the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries and board treasurer of Dharma Voices for Animals. Along with Wilberforce Institute, Allan is also an Advisory Council member with Animal Defense Partnership (pro bono legal services for animal protection NGOs), and Veterinary Global Aid.
Allan practiced both primary care and emergency pediatrics. He co-edited ‘Child Abuse and Neglect-A Medical Reference,‘ and served as Vice-Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Buffalo (UB), and Chief of both Emergency Medicine and General Pediatrics there. He was Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine at UB, and Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at Brown University . Allan’s additional healthcare roles included co-founder of Orchard Park Pediatrics, and first medical director, then CEO of Network Health - a healthplan in Massachusetts serving impoverished individuals.
Dr. Kornberg has held addition leadership positions with medical, humanitarian and animal protection organizations, including chief medical officer of the National Initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality, president of the Erie County (NY) Commission on Rape and Sexual Assault, and executive director for both World Animal Protection-USA and Farm Sanctuary.
He received his S.B. from MIT in Biology, M.D. from the Ichan School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, and M.B.A. from the University of Rochester. He was resident and chief resident in Pediatrics at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine.
John Clagett is an Organic Apple farmer and owner of Fin Irene Farm in the Virginia Allegheny mountains with a passion for integrating regenerative agricultural practices that improve both the land, the wildlife, and the food we eat.
John is inspired by his wife and children. In his personal time he enjoys exploring nature and traditional ways of living with his family.
Chris Platt is Co-Founder of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF), an independent non-for-profit organisation that advocates for higher welfare standards for farm animals in the United Kingdom. He has a background in international finance and drives CAWF’s strategic direction to develop productive collaborations with policymakers. Chris is a well-known figure in local Conservative politics, having served as Chairman and currently Vice President of a Surrey Conservative Party Association.
His experience in leadership, corporate governance, and public affairs underpins CAWF’s work to advocate for humane farming practices and evidence-based policies. Under his stewardship, the organisation has launched campaigns to advocate for stronger legislation, educate consumers on responsible choices, and encourage greater transparency in animal welfare labelling.
Chris has spoken at international conferences, including in both LA and Denver in the US, on animal welfare advocacy and the importance of engaging across the political spectrum—especially with right-of-centre legislators.
By bridging the gap between political leadership and grassroots initiatives, Chris ensures CAWF’s message resonates across the political spectrum. He has positioned CAWF at the forefront of national discussions on farm animal welfare, dedicated to delivering lasting change.
Lorraine Platt is the co-founder of the Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation and stands as one of the UK's most well-known animal welfare campaigners. The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF) was established in 2016 to raise awareness on the lives of billions of animals reared on intensive factory farms around the world and how this impacts upon animal welfare, the environment and people’s health. CAWF seeks to highlight the action people can take to help advance farm animal welfare.
She is former Vice Chairman of a leading animal welfare charity and has received a variety of awards and recognition from leading animal welfare organisations, including the RSPCA and IFAW. Lorraine is the public face of the organisation’s campaigning, providing strategic direction, and is responsible for directing the daily campaigns operations and has organised several parliamentary events in the House of Commons to advance animal welfare.
Lorraine has worked for several years to help advance farm animal welfare, including banning live animal exports, a key Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation campaign. Great Britain banned live exports for slaughter and fattening in 2024 under then Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the first ban of its kind in Europe. International speaking engagements include speaking at an event at the United Nations Environment Assembly in Nairobi in 2024.
Marty Irby is the President and CEO of Capitol South, LLC, a Washington, D.C. based national lobbying and public relations firm Irby founded in 2023. Irby was named one of The Hill’s Top Lobbyists for 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023. He was also recognized on national television in the Oval Office by President Donald J. Trump at the signing of the PACT Act that Irby helped usher to passage in 2019.
Irby has successfully worked to pass 42 federal and state laws and ballot initiatives including the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act, PAWS for Veterans Therapy Act, Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act, Dog and Cat Meat Trade Prohibition Act, Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, Rescuing Animals With Rewards (RAWR) Act, Parity in Animal Cruelty Enforcement (PACE) Act, Big Cat Public Safety Act, Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act, Reducing Animal Testing Act, and a ban on Greyhound racing in Florida.
Today, Irby also serves as a Director and board Secretary at the Organization for Competitive Markets in Lincoln, Nebraska, as President of Competitive Markets Action in Washington, D.C., Senior Advisor at the Animal Wellness Foundation in Los Angeles, California, a board Director at A City Without Orphans, and on the campaign Steering Committee for both Congresswoman Nancy Mace, R-SC-01, and Congressman Buddy Carter, R-GA-01.
Most recently, Irby served as the Chief Operating Officer at FreedomWorks, Executive Director at Animal Wellness Action, and Senior Vice-President at the Center for a Humane Economy. Irby also served as the chief Republican lobbyist on Capitol Hill for the Humane Society Legislative Fund from 2017-2018.
Mary Eberstadt is an American writer and author of several influential books including Adam and Eve after the Pill, Revisited, Foreword by Cardinal George Pell (2023); Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics (2019); and How the West Really Lost God: A New Theory of Secularization (2013). She has written for many journals and magazines, and her books and essays have been widely translated.
Mrs. Eberstadt is a senior research fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute in Washington, D.C., and she occupies the Panula Chair in Christian Culture at the Catholic Information Center. She is a Distinguished Fellow at Australian Catholic University and an international course advisor at Campion College, Australia. Mrs. Eberstadt holds honorary doctorates in humane letters from Seton Hall University in New Jersey and Magdalen College, New Hampshire. Her early work includes two years as a speechwriter to American Secretary of State George Shultz, and speechwriting for Ambassador to the United Nations Jeane Kirkpatrick.
Mrs. Eberstadt graduated from Cornell University magna cum laude with a double major in philosophy and government. Updates about her work and appearances can be found on her website, maryeberstadt.com
Gary Chartier is Distinguished Professor of Law and Business Ethics and Associate Dean of the Zapara School of Business at La Sierra University. A theologian, philosopher, legal scholar, and political theorist, he is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of over twenty books, including Christianity and the Nation-State (CUP 2023), Understanding Friendship (Fortress 2022), and An Ecological Theory of Free Expression (Palgrave 2018).
He holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge and a law degree from UCLA. In 2015, the University of Cambridge presented him with an earned higher doctorate, an LLD, for his work in legal philosophy
Christian Josi is a veteran political strategist, author and frequent columnist for a variety of publications. He is the Founder and Managing Director of C. Josi & Company, a global communications resource business. With a client list ranging from Fortune 50 companies to non-profits, Josi launched CJ&C in 2014 having spent over a decade as a senior executive of the nation’s premier high-stakes communications firms, Dezenhall Resources. He previously served as Executive Director of the American Conservative Union (ACU). At the ACU, he also served as Director of the ACU Foundation, Director of three Conservative Political Action Conferences and Treasurer of the ACU Political Action Committee.
Prior to joining ACU, Josi ran another small consulting business specializing in primarily in political communications and development, serving a multitude of political clients including Vice President Dan Quayle, Governor James Gilmore (VA), Reps. J.C. Watts (R-OK) and Sue Kelly (R-NY); as well as occasional not-for- profit clients such as AmeriCares Foundation and The Institute for East-West Studies. Josi formed that business after having held the positions of Campaign Manager, Press Secretary and Finance Director for a number of local, statewide, and federal campaigns as well as a stint as a House of Representatives staffer and spokesman for New York State Attorney General Dennis C. Vacco.
Josi is a founding board member of #HELP22, a not-for-profit organization that provides pro-bono coaching, counseling, therapy services and encouragement to veterans in need. He has served as an advisor to the Institut Van Gogh based in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, and as a member of the board of the Jesse Helms Center Foundation based in Wingate, North Carolina.
In addition to writing on politics and high-stakes communications, he has written extensively about his passions including arts & culture and animal welfare issues for various publications including HuffPost, Catster and Washington City Paper.
Ann is an attorney specializing in tax-exempt organizations and strategic philanthropy. She previously served as General Counsel of The Humane League, an international nonprofit focused on farm animal welfare, where she was a member of the executive leadership team and played a key role in advising on mission-critical initiatives.
Over the last decade, Ann has practiced with major global law firms and served as a Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice. She also is a former Shapiro Fellow at The George Washington University Law School, where she litigated First Amendment and other constitutional law cases under Jonathan Turley.
Throughout her career, she has served a wide-ranging client base including politicians and elected officials, tech innovators, Fortune 500 executives, and other public figures, as well as tax-exempt organizations of all sizes. Ann's background provides her with a unique perspective on the complex intersection of charitable giving strategy, regulatory compliance, and organizational governance that defines modern philanthropy.