The Center's People

The Center has a Board of Directors, which provides its governance. It also has an Advisory Committee composed of diverse individuals, each of whom has at least one relevant form of expertise, who will have the opportunity to provide input regularly on the Center’s plans, activities and policies. To accomplish its day-to-day work, the Center will rely on a mix of employees, independent contractors, and volunteers.

Initially, the Center will seek volunteers to help prepare grant proposals and other fundraising strategies, create a basic accounting system, and set up a basic website. Once sufficient funds are obtained, the Center will set up an office and hire key personnel, such as a paid fundraiser/grant writer, attorneys, and support personnel. The Center is developing personnel policies that are designed to make the Center an outstanding place to work.

Board of Directors

Advisory Committee

Staff

Board of Directors

Thomas A. Loftus, III, Esq., Chair: He has studied social welfare law throughout his legal career, and has published writings regarding fundamental rights and material well-being. See, e.g., Thomas A. Loftus, Reforming Welfare: Are Effective Property Rights A Key?, 7 Md. J. Contemp. Legal Issues 387-422 (1996).  He engaged in litigation, zoning and land use law while in private practice in Fairfax, VA (1976-78).  During law school, he represented low-income tenants in eviction cases in Washington, D.C., with the Law Students in Court program, and participated in numerous other clinical legal programs serving low-income people. 

He initiated the Center after retiring early from the federal government in late 2004, where he had served for 26 years as an advisor to members of the U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission on cases in litigation. He earned many “outstanding” performance ratings at the Commission and was credited with a career of “outstanding service.”  His litigation experience also includes service as a Special Assistant United States Attorney in Washington, D.C. (1986). He holds a J.D. degree with Honors from the George Washington University Law School (1975), and a B.A. degree from Amherst College (1968). He has assisted at a homeless shelter in Arlington, VA, for many years. He served as a U. S. Peace Corps Volunteer (1968-70).  In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Robert H. Jackson Center, which honors the late U. S. Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson (Mr. Loftus’ grandfather).

Col. John M. Rector, U. S. Army Ret., Vice-Chair: He has 19 years of experience with assisted housing programs in Northern Virginia, and land development issues generally, as a Realtor (for 13 years) and property owner, since retiring from the Army in 1988. He also has expertise in management, human resources, and the formation and operation of small business organizations. He served on the faculty of Georgetown and George Mason Universities, teaching resource management, professional ethics, leadership, and administrative law (1985-88). He owned and managed the daily operations of a 25-agent real estate office (1988-2004). He holds a Masters of Public Administration degree from George Mason University (1987), and a B.A. degree from Bowdoin College (1968).

Michael J. Clark, Esq., Treasurer: An attorney with the U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mike also has served as a staff attorney for the U. S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission (where he was Mr. Loftus’ co-worker), and as a Special Assistant U. S. Attorney in Washington, D.C. Previously, Mike was an attorney for the Social Security Administration. He served as legal advisor to a Native American charitable organization (Circle of the People, in Evansville, IN)). He is a 1991 graduate of the University of Rochester, and he holds a J.D. degree from the University of Michigan (1994).  

Advisory Committee

Prof. Philip M. Caughran: A marketing and strategy consultant, management trainer, and financial planner with Caughran Associates LLC in Arlington, VA. He also has thirty years of diverse corporate experience in telecommunications. He has contributed to state-of-the-art advances in electronic switching, space communications, data networking, and industry diversification. He has a B.A. in mathematics and physics from DePauw University, an M.A. in Mathematics from the University of Missouri, and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He also is a Certified Public Accountant (non-practicing) and a Certified Financial Planner™ practitioner, and he serves on the adjunct faculty of Virginia Commonwealth University.

Prof. William A. Fischel: Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College since 1973 (Hale Professor in Arts and Sciences, 2002-present). He is one of the Nation’s leading authorities on the economics of zoning and land use regulations, and has written many books and articles on the subject, including: THE HOMEVOTER HYPOTHESIS (Harvard Univ. Press, 2001); REGULATORY TAKINGS (Harvard Univ. Press, 1995); and THE ECONOMICS OF ZONING LAWS (John Hopkins Univ. Press, 1985).   He serves on the Board of Directors of the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. He served as a member (1987-97) and Chair (1993-97) of the Town of Hanover (NH) Zoning Board. He also has been an expert witness in affordable housing litigation. He is a 1967 graduate of Amherst College and holds a PhD from Princeton University (1973).

Scott Lindlaw:  Has 16 years of experience in journalism, most of it with the Associated Press. He served as a White House correspondent for A.P. throughout President G. W. Bush’s first term (2001-05). He is a 1990 graduate of University of Buffalo (NY), and he holds a Masters degree in Journalism from the University of California at Berkeley (1992). Since August 2008 he has been a law student at Boalt Hall, also at the University of California at Berkeley.

Thomas B. Reston Esq.: An attorney in private practice in Washington, D.C., and he has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Mexican-American Legal Defense Foundation (MALDEF), a nonprofit, legal services organization, for more than 30 years. He also served on the Advisory Committee for the recently-constructed George Mason Memorial, situated next to the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C. He is a 1968 graduate of Harvard College and holds a J.D. degree from the University of Virginia Law School (1974).  

Staff

President and General Counsel: Mr. Loftus is the Center's President/General Counsel, currently serving without compensation. That officer has overall responsibility for all activities of the Center, including project planning and management, fundraising, public relations, and administration.  He reports to the Board of Directors.

Vice President: Col. Rector is the Center's VIce President, serving without compensation. He performs such duties as assigned by the President or the Board of Directors, and he would perform the duties of the President in the absence of the President. He reports to the President and General Counsel, and in the absence of that officer, to the Board of Directors.

Financial Officer:  Mr. Clark is the Center's Financial Officer, currently serving without compensation. He manages the Center's finances and keeps its account records. He reports to the President and General Counsel.

Secretary: Phyllis J. Loftus is the Center's Secretary, serving without compensation.  She keeps the corporate books, issues notices of meetings, and prepares minutes of meetings. She reports to the President and General Counsel.