Emergency powers: Presidents unleashed?

Soren Dayton is the director of the American Governance Policy team at the Foundation for American Innovation (FAI), where he leads work on strengthening American governing institutions. His work has been featured in outlets such as the Washington Post, New York Times, and National Review, and he has testified before Congress on ways to improve the effectiveness of government. Prior to FAI, he directed governance initiatives at the Niskanen Center and Protect Democracy, and he served as a legislative assistant to Representative Nick Smith (R-MI). He has worked on a number of high-profile campaigns, including Senator John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and served as executive director of the Young Republican National Federation. He holds an AB in anthropology and mathematics from the University of Chicago.

William A. Galston holds the Ezra K. Zilkha Chair in the Brookings Institution’s governance studies program, where he serves as a senior fellow. He was previously the Saul Stern Professor and acting dean at the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, director of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy, founding director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE), and executive director of the National Commission on Civic Renewal. He served from 1993 to 1995 as deputy assistant to President Clinton for domestic policy and was later interviewed for the Miller Center's Bill Clinton Oral History Project. Galston has published widely and makes regular media appearances. He holds a BA from Cornell and an MA and PhD from the University of Chicago.

Elizabeth (Liza) Goitein is senior director of the Brennan Center’s Liberty and National Security Program. She is a nationally recognized expert on presidential emergency powers, government surveillance, and government secrecy. Her writing has been featured in major newspapers and magazines, she makes frequent media appearances, and she has testified on several occasions before the Senate and House Judiciary Committees. Goitein previously served as counsel to Senator Russ Feingold, chair of the Constitution subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and as a trial attorney in the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division of the Department of Justice. After graduating from Yale Law School, Goitein clerked for Judge Michael Daly Hawkins of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Sidney M. Milkis is the Miller Center’s White Burkett Miller Professor of Governance and Foreign Affairs and a UVA professor of politics. His research focuses on the American presidency, political parties and elections, social movements, and American political development. In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate students, he regularly gives public lectures on American politics and participates in programs for international scholars and high school teachers that probe the deep historical roots of contemporary developments in the United States. His many books include the recently published What Happened to the Vital Center?: Presidentialism, Populist Revolt, and the Fracturing of America. He holds a BA from Muhlenberg College and a PhD in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.

William J. Antholis has served as director and CEO of UVA’s Miller Center of Public Affairs since January 2015. In that time, the Miller Center has strengthened its position as the leading nonpartisan research institution on the American presidency and worked with scholars across the University of Virginia to deliver vital research to policymakers and the public. Before coming to the Miller Center, Antholis served as managing director at the Brookings Institution from 2004 to 2014, working directly with Brookings’s president and vice presidents. He also served at the U.S. Department of State and National Security Council. Antholis is the author of two books and dozens of articles on U.S. politics, U.S. foreign policy, international organizations, the G8, climate change, and trade. He holds a BA from UVA and a PhD from Yale University.