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Richard Dawkins
Founder
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Andy Thompson
Trustee, CFO
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R. Elisabeth Cornwell
Executive Director
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Sean Faircloth
Strategy & Policy
Our Mission
Our mission is to support scientific education, critical thinking and evidence-based understanding of the natural world in the quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and human suffering.
Richard Dawkins, DSc, FRS
One of the most respected scientists in the world and the biggest draw in secularism, Richard Dawkins always generates impressive crowds when visiting North America. On his Fall 2011 tour he drew an enthusiastic crowd of 2300 at Eastern Kentucky University. This is a movement, and Richard Dawkins is the catalyst that galvanizes it.
Director of Strategy and Policy, Sean Faircloth
Sean brings experienced, strategic political leadership. Richard Dawkins asked Sean Faircloth, who served ten years in the Maine legislature, to serve as opening speaker for numerous Dawkins US speaking engagements, including in 2012. Watch “Atheism: A New Strategy” [live link] which offers a Ten Point Vision of a Secular America. Sean Faircloth authored Attack of the Theocrats, How the Religious Right Harms Us All and What We Can Do AboutIt. The book’s 2012 publication places secularism squarely into the 2012 election debates. Click here to watch a video summary of the book, as well as individual chapters.
Executive Director Elisabeth Cornwell, PhD
An evolutionary psychologist, Elisabeth has been involved with the Richard Dawkins Foundation since its inception. Her innovative ideas include the OUT Campaign, Non-Believers Giving Aid, the science vignettes, the Four Horsemen and other DVDs, and bringing childcare to national conferences. She has worked to create an atmosphere of cooperation within the secular movement, bringing Richard and other speakers to conferences and university campuses across the US and Canada. Elisabeth has published in the popular press on matters ranging from science to women’s issues. USA Today listed her as one of the prominent women in the Freethought community. Through her leadership, RDF-US will continue to influence and expand the ideas and values of secularism on a global level.
Dr. Andy Thomson, trustee
A psychiatrist, with an interest in evolutionary psychology, Dr. Thomson wrote the 2011 book, WhyWeBelieveinGod(s):AConciseGuidetotheScienceofFaith. Thanks to the revolution in cognitive neurosciences, and the labors of many scientists, we are tantalizingly close to a comprehensive scientific answer to that question. Dr. Thomson speaks eloquently on this and other topics.
Details available at http://www.jandersonthomson.com/