About Us

Jonathan Fortier is the director of Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org. Over the past 25 years he has worked to promote the principles of a free society with many organizations, including Liberty Fund, the Institute for Humane Studies, and the Fraser Institute. He earned his MPhil and his doctorate at the University of Oxford, where he also held several lectureships and worked as the junior dean of Corpus Christi College. His dissertation explored the idea of liberty and personal responsibility as they find expression in English literature. The relationship between the arts and individual freedom continues to be a central concern. Fortier’s additional research interests include the moral foundations of free markets, and related themes such as individual rights, private property, the rule of law, spontaneous order, and decentralization. He has managed funding to support many dozens of research projects and designed and directed over 100 colloquia and other academic events aimed at advancing the possibilities for responsible freedom and human flourishing.

As the associate director of Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org, Pericles helps manage the team’s projects, processes, and measurement systems and helps to establish and maintain relationships with partners. Prior to joining Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org, he led Cato’s Student Programs team including Cato’s internship program and outreach efforts. Over the last decade, Pericles has worked in several roles for national non-​profit organizations dedicated to protecting and promoting free and prosperous societies. As the activism manager at the Institute for Justice, Pericles helped organize and defend communities facing eminent domain and occupational licensing abuse. At the Charles Koch Foundation, he developed methods to systematically connect grant participants to next-​step opportunities, and at the Institute for Humane Studies he led efforts to overhaul human resources and operational functions. Pericles earned his BA in history with a minor in political science from Drexel University.

Grant Babcock is philosophy and policy editor of Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org and a scholar of political philosophy. His interests include nonviolent action, epistemology of the social sciences, Austrian economics, libertarian anarchism, and finding libertarian-​compatible responses to cultural problems. Grant holds an MA in public policy with a concentration in philosophy and social policy from George Washington University.

Paul Meany started working as the intellectual history editor at Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org in 2019. His work focuses on liberty before liberalism, uncovering how ancient and medieval ideas influenced our modern conceptions of rights, liberty, and autonomy. Paul also covers underrepresented historical figures and ideas that may not be in the libertarian canon but deserve scholarly attention due to their contributions to a freer world. Paul obtained his degree in ancient and medieval history at Trinity College Dublin in his home country of Ireland.

Allison Yaffee is a research associate for Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org. She graduated from Rutgers University in 2020 where she majored in political science and minored in linguistics. In the summer of 2020, Yaffee was an intern with Lib​er​tar​i​an​ism​.org. From May 2021 to January 2023, she was a research associate with Sphere Education Initiatives. Yaffee has a wide variety of skills and interests. Building bridges between seemingly disparate disciplines is something she thoroughly enjoys. Yaffee has experience in producing video content and seeks to bring her production experience to her team. Her current role is centered around marketing and social media.