Linda Chavez
Linda Chavez is president of the Becoming American Institute, a non-profit public policy organization in Boulder, CO. She also writes a weekly syndicated column that appears in newspapers across the country and is a political analyst for FOX News Channel. Chavez authored Out of the Barrio: Toward a New Politics of Hispanic Assimilation (Basic Books 1991), which the Denver Post described as a book that “should explode the stereotypes about Hispanics that have clouded the minds of patronizing liberals and xenophobic conservatives alike.” National Review described Chavez’s memoir, An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of an Ex-Liberal (Basic Books 2002), as a “brilliant, provocative, and moving book.” In 2000, Chavez was honored by the Library of Congress as a “Living Legend” for her contributions to America’s cultural and historical legacy. In January 2001, Chavez was President George W. Bush’s nominee for Secretary of Labor until she withdrew her name from consideration.
Chavez has held a number of appointed positions, among them Chairman, National Commission on Migrant Education (1988-1992); White House Director of Public Liaison (1985); Staff Director of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (1983-1985); and she was a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States (1984-1986). Chavez was the Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Maryland in 1986. In 1992, she was elected by the United Nations’ Human Rights Commission to serve a four-year term as U.S. Expert to the U.N. Sub-commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.
Chavez was also editor of the prize-winning quarterly journal American Educator (1977-1983), published by the American Federation of Teachers, where she also served as assistant to AFT president Al Shanker (1982-1983) and assistant director of legislation (1975-1977).
Chavez serves on the Board of Directors of ABM Industries, Inc. and REO, Inc., a high technology company in Boulder, Colorado, as well as on boards of several non-profit organizations.
Chavez was born in Albuquerque, NM, on June 17, 1947, received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Colorado in 1970 and a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from George Mason University in 2012. She currently resides in Boulder, Colorado.
Dr. Chien Lin
Dr. Chien Lin is chair of the Becoming American Institute. She earned her Ph.D. From the University of Illinois, Chicago. Dr. Lin taught sociology at National Cheng Chi University and was the economic and commercial specialist for the U.S. Consulate in Taiwan. She currently works as a consultant to various Taiwanese companies and is co-owner of Chromax, a golf ball manufacturer. She was born in Taiwan and is now a U. S. citizen living in Boulder, CO.
John J. Miller
John J. Miller is director of the Dow Journalism Program at Hillsdale College in Michigan. He writes for National Review, the Wall Street Journal, and many other publications. He is the author of several books, including The Unmaking of Americans, The First Assassin, a historical thriller set during the Civil War, and The Big Scrum: How Teddy Roosevelt Saved Football. The Chronicle of Higher Education has called him “one of the best literary journalists in the country.”
Danny Vargas
Danny Vargas is the founder and president of award-winning VARcom Solutions, a DC-based marketing, public relations and management consulting firm. Vargas served seven years in the U.S. Air Force and has a background in the defense industry and intelligence analysis. He also was vice president for Latin America for AOL. He lives in Northern Virginia and serves on a number of important civic and business groups.