FIRE is thrilled to announce that professor Allison Hayward has joined our board of directors.
Allison is the former head of case selection for the Meta Oversight Board, where she played a critical role in shaping the platform’s approach to content moderation. She also previously served as a commissioner on the California Fair Political Practices Commission and co-chaired the Board of the Office of Congressional Ethics.
“Allison brings an extraordinary depth of experience at the intersection of law, media, policy, and free expression,” said FIRE President and CEO Greg Lukianoff. “At a time when the future of open discourse is being shaped by institutions both public and private, her insight will be invaluable in guiding FIRE’s mission.”
Additionally, Allison is the former vice president of policy at the Center for Competitive Politics (now the Institute for Free Speech).
With a robust background in academia, Allison taught constitutional law, election law, ethics, and civil procedure as an assistant law professor at George Mason University School of Law from 2006 to 2010. She also served as counsel to Commissioner Bradley A. Smith at the Federal Election Commission.
Allison was also an associate at the law firm Wiley, Rein & Fielding in Washington, D.C., and counsel at Bell, McAndrews, and Hiltachk in Sacramento, California.
Allison has written widely on election law and ethics topics and has been published in a variety of law journals. Before attending law school, she served as staff in the California legislature and managed a state assembly campaign.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from Stanford University, and her J.D. from the University of California, Davis. She has clerked for Judge Danny J. Boggs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and as chair of the Federalist Society’s Free Speech and Election Law Practice Group.
Allison is a member of the ABA Standing Committee on Election Law and the American Law Institute. She is also an active member of the California bar.
Apart from law and politics, Allison is passionate about music. She sings, plays fiddle and keyboards, and sits on the board of a fiddle camp and a bluegrass festival.
She lives in Cambria, California, with her husband Steve, who teaches at the Pepperdine School of Public Policy, and is the proud mother of two adult children.
“One of the things I most respect about FIRE is its non-partisan mission,” said Allison. “Threats to speech are ultimately nonsectarian and what comes around certainly goes around. FIRE understands that the liberty long-game is critical to freedom and sound governance.”
