Washington, DC Office

Sam Chaltain, National Director

As the Forum’s first National Director, Sam works with the Forum’s Conveners and its DC staff to outline the organization’s vision, structure, and strategic plans.

Prior to joining the Forum, Sam was the founding director of the Five Freedoms Project, a leadership development program that helps K-12 educators, parents and students create more democratic learning communities. He also spent five years at the First Amendment Center, where he co-directed the First Amendment Schools program, a national K-12 school reform initiative. Sam came to the Center from the public school system of New York City, where he taught high school English and History. Sam also spent four years teaching the same subjects at a private school in Brooklyn.

Sam’s first teaching experience was in Beijing, China, where he joined the faculty of the Foreign Languages department at Beijing Normal University as a visiting lecturer.  He taught two American History & Literature courses to third-year undergraduates.  

Sam’s writings about his work have appeared in both magazines and newspapers, including The Washington Post, Education Week and The USA Today. He is author or co-author of three books: The First Amendment in Schools (ASCD, 2003), First Freedoms: A Documentary History of First Amendment Rights in America (Oxford University Press, 2006), and Degrees of Freedom: The Art of Creating a Democratic Learning Community (Rowman & Littlefield, 2009). His next book, We Must Not Be Afraid to be Free (Oxford), will be released in 2010.

Sam has a Master’s degree in American Studies from the College of William & Mary, and an M.B.A. from George Washington University, where he specialized in non-profit management and organizational theory.  He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where he graduated with a double major in Afro-American Studies and History.

To follow Sam on Twitter, click here.

Athens, Ohio Office

Cheryl Hedges, Operations Manager

As the Forum’s Operations manager, Cheryl Hedges is responsible for maintaining the organizations financial records, and coordinating the distribution of its monthly newsletter.

Cheryl graduated from Ohio University with a Bachelor of Music Education degree.  After teaching music in public schools, she worked in music publishing for several years.  Cheryl has worked for The Forum for four years.