President:
Stephen J. Haessler, PhD is the founder and president of The Freedom and Prosperity Academy. From 2007 to 2010, Haessler was a Senior Fellow at The Robert and Marie Hansen Foundation in Tucson, Arizona, specializing in teacher education and curriculum production. He is the author of the Apostles and Markets curriculum, a set of 12 lessons which combine Catholic social doctrine with sound economic principles. He has taught at the secondary level in both public and private schools, and from 1987 to 2007 held an endowed chair in Economics at Marquette University High School, a Jesuit preparatory high school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Currently, Haessler serves as an adjunct professor for the Freedom Center at the University of Arizona, as well as developing and teaching an online AP Economics course through The Jesuit Virtual Learning Academy.
Editorial and Advisory Board:
John Morton is an award-winning teacher and the senior program officer for the Arizona Council on Economic Education. He was founder and director of the Governors State University Center for Economic Education (Illinois), as well as founder and president of the Arizona Council on Economic Education and vice president for program development for the National Council on Economic Education. Additionally, he chaired the advisory board of The Wall Street Journal Classroom Edition from 1991 to 2000.
Mark C. Schug is Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. A widely recognized scholar, he has written and edited over 200 articles, books, and national curriculum materials. Schug has received national awards for leadership in economic education and for research. He serves on the boards of the (national) Association of Private Enterprise, Business and Economics Academy of Milwaukee (BEAM), Economics Wisconsin, University School of Milwaukee, the Governor’s Council on Financial Literacy, and School Choice Wisconsin.
Richard D. Western has held faculty positions in the Department of English at Concordia University Wisconsin (2003-06) and in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1972-2003). At Concordia he taught literature and composition courses. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee he taught undergraduate and graduate-level courses and directed the teacher-education program for secondary school English. Western has also worked as a freelance editor and writer for several years. He served as associate editor of the Senior Economist and Econ-Exchange; editor of EconEd Link; assistant editor of WI: Wisconsin Interest; and editor or co-editor of several book-length manuscripts published by the National Council on Economic Education.
Creative Development:
Jeremy Carr is a Silicon Valley technology entrepreneur, currently working at Palantir Technologies to help solve some of the most challenging problems facing the US government, including terrorism and stimulus fraud. Carr previously helped co-found Stylemob.com (acquired by Glam Media) and has led numerous social media teams. Carr is excited about the potential technology has to transform the world, particularly education.
Midori Snyder is The Freedom and Prosperity Academy's current web designer and webmistress. She also serves as webmisstress for the redesigned Apostles and Markets website. Snyder, winner of the World Fantasy and Mythopoeic Awards, has published eight fantasy novels for adults, young adults, and children. She also writes short stories, poetry, essays, and In the Labyrinth, a popular blog on art and the writing life. She is the co-director of the Endicott Studio, an organization for myth-inspired arts, with Terri Windling. Snyder also worked with Terri Windling to design and publish the online quarterly, Journal of Mythic Arts.
Events Coordinator:
Gayle Siegel serves as the Business Manager for the Freedom Center at the University of Arizona. She is also a consummate event planner and was instrumental in the organization of the 2010 Conference at the Freedom and Prosperity Academy. She coordinated the travel plans and lodging of the Academy's distinguished guests, the meals for the participants, and a host of smaller but essential details of any large undertaking such as the conference.
