During the 2020-2022 and 2022-2024 terms of the FOIA Advisory Committee, we profiled most of the members on this blog by asking them a few questions about their FOIA experience and what they hoped to accomplish on the Committee. Several returning members were previously profiled including David Cuillier, who has served since 2020; Jason R. Baron, who served two terms between 2018 and 2024; and Bobak “Bobby” Talebian, who serves in his capacity as the Director of the Office of Information Policy at the Department of Justice.
To kick off our series highlighting members of the 2024-2026 term, we asked two of the members we previously profiled why they sought to return to the FOIA Advisory Committee. Here are their responses.
Jason R. Baron, University of Maryland College of Information: Count me in as a true believer that progress can be made in improving agency FOIA policies and practices, even given all the challenges with backlogs and lack of resources. The FOIA Advisory Committee provides an excellent platform to brainstorm with colleagues, both in and out of government, as to how to move the needle on agency implementation of best practices. I feel privileged to have been invited back to continue to be a part of these discussions.
David Cuillier, University of Florida Brechner Center for the Advancement of the First Amendment: I was excited to have the opportunity to continue on the Committee because there is so much work to do and so little time. We have significant issues to address, building on the previous Committee work, such as developing more efficient enforcement mechanisms and figuring out ways to mitigate unduly burdensome requests, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish in the next 18 months. Also, the people are amazingly smart and engaging. It’s the only time I actually look forward to attending meetings.
Stay tuned as we highlight Advisory Committee members over the next several months.
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