Board Of Directors

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Chris Bliss

Before founding The Bill of Rights Monument Project, Executive Director Chris Bliss had a successful career in the entertainment industry. Highlights include appearances on The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman, headlining multiple international comedy festivals and hundreds of corporate events, and a featured talk on TED.com Mr. Bliss also served for many years on the board of Cartoonists Rights Network International, which advocates for the rights and safety of political cartoonists under threat around the globe.

Susan Kendall Newman

Susan Kendall Newman brings her lifelong commitment to social justice and philanthropy to her work in film, documentaries and educational materials. She is the recipient of a Golden Globe and Humanitas Prize, as well as Emmy, Grammy, and Peabody nominations. For over 4 decades she has helped global nonprofits, state and federal agencies, and numerous mental health organizations develop their public service messaging and media campaigns. Clients include: Child Welfare League of America, National Families in Action, the Scott Newman Foundation and Oregon Health and Science University, among many others.
Ms. Newman also continues to work pro bono on a wide range of causes, with an emphasis on Election Protection, VoteRiders, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and environmental concerns with Big Sur Land Trust.

Joel Pett

Joel Pett is a highly respected editorial cartoonist whose work has appeared in every major newspaper in America, as well as countless other national and international publications. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Cartooning in 2000, and has also been honored with the Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for cartoons highlighting the plight of the disadvantaged, and the Global Media Award for cartoons on population issues.

J.Joshua Wheeler

J. Joshua Wheeler is an attorney and former director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression in Charlottesville, Virginia. He spearheaded the Center’s acclaimed First Amendment Monument and Chalkboard project, among other initiatives, while directing the Center. He’s also directed several prominent First Amendment clinics, both as an adjunct to the University of Virginia School of Law and as the Free Speech Fellow at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.
Wheeler currently teaches Political Science at Sweet Briar College and manages the Wheeler Law Group, LLC.

Tony Mauro

Journalist Tony Mauro has covered the U.S. Supreme Court for more than 40 years, first for Gannett News Service and USA Today, and subsequently for Legal Times and The National Law Journal. He also served for more than three decades on the steering committee of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which provides pro bono legal representation and other legal resources to protect the First Amendment freedoms and rights of journalists.
Now in semi-retirement, he continues to contribute articles to the NLJ, USA Today and other outlets, such as Freedom Forum. Mauro has also authored four books about the Court, including Illustrated Great Decisions of the Supreme Court, published by CQ Press and currently in its second edition.

Bily Foster

Bily Foster, our web designer and social media director, designed and executed the social media outreach for the sold-out Phoenix Comedy Festival fundraiser at Symphony Hall, as well as for The Bill of Rights Comedy Concert at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. He’s previously held positions as a Digital Content Producer for both CBS Radio and Entercom, and is currently Support Specialist for WebPT, a leading physical therapy software platform.