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Free Speech Leadership Summit

On October 27th, the Writers Guild of America, East Foundation, PEN, and The Creative Coalition joined with The Writers Guild of America, East, The Dramatists Guild, and The Authors Guild to engaged in a conversation about Free Speech in an age of rapidly changing technologies.
The leadership of these organizations gathered to forge a working relationship in order to respond jointly to challenges and threats to freedom of expression as they arise around the world.

Speakers included Dr. Rachel Ehrenfeld, Director, American Center for Democracy, who spearheaded the passage of “Rachel’s Law” in
New York, Florida, and Illinois, and the Free Speech Protection Act of 2009, pending in Congress, and Daniel Kornstein, of Kornstein Veisz Wexler & Pollard, LLP, a leading First Amendment lawyer, who has agreed to give an overview of the state of free speech today.

Among those in attendance were Tom Fontana (President, WGAE Foundation), Marsha Manns (Executive Director WGAE Foundation, Steve Isenberg (Executive Director, PEN), Larry Siems (Director, Freedom to Write, PEN), Steve Murphy (PEN Trustee), Robin Bronk (Executive Director, Creative Coalition), Gerry Byrne (Board Member, Creative Coaltiion), Paul Aiken (Executive Director, The Authors Guild), Rob Mahoney (Deputy Directory, Committee to Protect Journalists), Ralph Sevush (Executive Director, Dramatists Guild), David Auburn (Guild Council, Dramatists Guild), Susan Kim (Council Member, WGAE), Peggy Sarlin (WGAE Member).