Archivist of the United States Dr. Colleen Shogan appointed 20 individuals to the National Archives and Records Administration’s 2024–2026 Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Advisory Committee.
We welcome back David Cuillier of the University of Florida and Jason R. Baron of the University of Maryland along with Margaret Kwoka of The Ohio State University, all of whom have served on previous FOIA Advisory Committee terms. As in prior terms, Alina M. Semo, director of the Office of Government Information Services, and Bobak “Bobby” Talebian, director of the Office of Information Policy, serve on the Committee by virtue of their positions in accordance with the Committee charter. Ms. Semo will chair the 2024-2026 term of the Committee, which is scheduled to have its first meeting on September 9, 2024.
The Committee, established in 2014, studies the federal FOIA landscape and advises on improvements to FOIA administration governmentwide. The FOIA Advisory Committee consists of no more than 20 individuals who are all FOIA experts from both inside and outside of government. Members of the FOIA Advisory Committee foster dialogue between the administration and the requester community and develop recommendations for improving FOIA administration and proactive disclosures. The 2022-2024 term of the Committee made 16 recommendations for improving the FOIA process.
Dr. Shogan has appointed the following individuals to the 2024-2026 term:
Government Members
- Kevin Bell – Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Nieva Brock – U.S. Department of Defense
- Whitney Fraizer-Jenkins – Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
- Scott Hodes – U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- Marianne Manheim – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Joan Moumbleaux – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Deborah Moore – U.S. Department of Education
- Melissa Pickworth – U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Alina M. Semo – Chair, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Office of Government Information Services
- Bobak Talebian – U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Information Policy
Non-Government Members
- Jason R. Baron – University of Maryland
- David Cuillier – University of Florida, Brechner Center for the Advancement of the First Amendment
- Elizabeth Hempowicz – American Oversight
- Shelley Kimball – Johns Hopkins University
- Margaret Kwoka – The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law
- Frank LoMonte – Cable News Network (CNN)
- Ryan Mulvey – Americans for Prosperity Foundation
- Richard Peltz-Steele – University of Massachusetts School of Law
- Nicholas Wittenberg – Armedia
- Sarah Jones Weicksel – American Historical Association
Stay tuned to this blog and the FOIA Advisory Committee website in the coming months for more information on the Committee’s work and its members.