FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org
The New England First Amendment Coalition will be participating in a panel discussion about the future of the First Amendment freedoms from 12:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. on October 26.
The discussion will be hosted remotely by the First Amendment Museum as part of its Osher Lifelong Learning classes. Justin Silverman, NEFAC’s executive director, will be speaking on behalf of the coalition.
Those interested in attending should contact Maxwell Nosbisch at the First Amendment Museum. He can be reached at 207.213.0614. The discussion is the latest of many public events NEFAC hosts and participates in throughout the year. Please email justin@nefac.org to learn more about how the coalition can help you with your event needs or how expert speakers can be booked for your programs.
The Future of the First Amendment
October 26 | 12:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Speakers Include
Dmitry Bam is the Vice Dean and Provost at the University of Maine School of Law. Bam writes and teaches in the fields of constitutional law, professional responsibility, employment law, and the judiciary. He is recognized as a scholar and commentator on judicial ethics, judicial selection, and constitutional interpretation. Bam served as interim dean of Maine Law from July 2019 to April 2020. Before that he served as the associate dean for academic affairs.
Stefanie Manning is on the leadership team at Masthead Maine, serving as Group Vice President, Consumer Revenue. Masthead Maine is the state’s largest media network, including five dailies and 25 weekly publications. In her role, Manning is charged with overseeing the circulation operation and its evolution to digital. She is focused on driving subscriptions, creating new sources of revenue, building communities of readers, and giving (local) journalism heightened visibility in the communities they serve.
Gene Policinski is chief operating officer of the Freedom Forum Institute and of the Institute’s First Amendment Center. A veteran multimedia journalist, he also writes, lectures and is interviewed regularly on First Amendment issues. Policinski, a founding editor of USA Today, oversees all programs of the Freedom Forum Institute and also is a longtime proponent of diversity in journalism as an essential characteristic of a free press. He speaks and writes regularly on news gathering and reporting, newsroom diversity and on journalism ethics.
Justin Silverman is executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition. A Massachusetts-based attorney, Silverman helps lead NEFAC’s First Amendment and open government advocacy throughout the six-state region. His commentary has appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. Silverman is a former journalist and publisher. He is an adjunct professor at the University of Maine School of Law and New England Law | Boston.
NEFAC was formed in 2006 to advance and protect the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment, including the principle of the public’s right to know. We’re a broad-based organization of people who believe in the power of an informed democratic society. Our members include lawyers, journalists, historians, academics and private citizens.
Our coalition is funded through contributions made by those who value the First Amendment and who strive to keep government accountable. Please make a donation here.
Leadership Circle donors include the Rhode Island Foundation, Hearst Connecticut Media Group, The Boston Globe, Paul and Ann Sagan, and the Robertson Foundation. Major Supporters include Boston University, WBUR-Boston, the Academy of New England Journalists, the Society of Professional Journalists Foundation, Genie Gannett, Linda Pizzuti Henry, Connecticut Public and GBH-Boston.