A nimble think tank, the American Main Street Initiative focuses on issues of great importance to Main Street Americans and provides unflinching, persuasive, and intellectually rigorous content in high-visibility outlets. We offer a unique blend of statistical, rhetorical, and philosophical insights.  In doing so, we shape the debate—in favor of everyday Americans, the Constitution, and the American way of life.

Leadership

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

JEFFREY H. ANDERSON, Ph.D., President and Founder

Jeff served as the Director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) at the U.S. Department of Justice (2017-2021). Outside of government, he has had more than 1,000 pieces published in national outlets.  

Anderson earned a Ph.D. studying America’s founding principles at Claremont Graduate University.  A former U.S. Air Force Academy professor, he served as the Senior Speechwriter to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, co-founded and ran a successful start-up (The 2017 Project), and was a Hudson Institute Senior Fellow before becoming the Director of BJS. A leader in the Obamacare debate, Jeff authored “The Winning Alternative to Obamacare.” He later developed “The Main Street Tax Plan” to promote economic growth, reduce the national debt, and benefit the median American.

Jeff also co-created the Anderson & Hester College Football Computer Rankings, which were part of the Bowl Championship Series throughout its 16-year run. 

ED CORRIGAN, Treasurer

President & CEO of the Conservative Partnership Institute (CPI)

PETER ROUGH, Secretary

Senior Fellow and Director of the Center of Europe and Eurasia, Hudson Institute

Board of Advisors

  • Fred Barnes

  • Michael Barone

  • Charles R. Kesler

  • Heather Mac Donald

  • John Fonte

  • Jeffrey H. Anderson is one “of America’s most formidable conservative thinkers and writers.”

    Claremont Review of Books

  • “So, you often hear people say, yes, I’m required to wear a mask, but what's the harm?...Jeffrey Anderson, maybe more than anyone in recent months, has thought deeply about that question. He just wrote...‘The Masking of America,’ which we strongly recommend.”

    Tucker Carlson

  • On Anderson’s City Journal essay, “Do Masks Work?”: “Best compilation and analysis of scientific evidence concerning: do masks work? Read before big tech censors flush it down the memory hole.”

    Senator Rand Paul

  • U.S. Senate candidate Ed Gillespie said Anderson’s “Winning Alternative to Obamacare” was key to his nearly pulling off a huge upset win, stating in the New York Times, “I couldn’t have gotten so close” without it.

    Ed Gillespie

  • “The article [‘The Masking of America’] got attention outside conservative circles. Main Street got a boost. And masks took a hit…To put it mildly, Anderson’s research outdid the doctors’…”

    Fred Barnes