Lawson Bader joined DonorsTrust as president and CEO in November 2015. Previously, he served three years as president of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a research and outreach organization dedicated to reducing government barriers to entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic liberty. While there, Mr. Bader expanded CEI’s litigation and communication efforts aimed at reducing executive branch overreach. Before joining CEI in 2012, Mr. Bader served as vice president of the Mercatus Center at George Mason University for 16 years. There, he was instrumental in creating Capitol Hill Campus, the largest bi-partisan economic education professional development program for Congressional staff. He was also formerly the manager of government relations at SRI International, a legislative analyst with the D.C. law firm Pierson, Semmes and Finley, and a special assistant at the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. Mr. Bader earned a BA in political science from Wheaton College and an MA in public policy from The Johns Hopkins University.