Center for Law & Justice

Pam Bondi is from Tampa, Florida, and serves as the Chair for the Constitutional Litigation Partnership, and Co-Chair of the Center for Law and Justice at AFPI. A fourth-generation Floridian, Bondi spent more than 18 years as a prosecutor, trying cases ranging from domestic violence to capital murder. She served as Florida’s 37th and first female Attorney General. When Bondi took office, Florida was referred to as the pill mill capital of the United States, and in her first legislative session she successfully advanced reforms to eliminate unscrupulous doctors and clinics operating in Florida. Bondi served on the President’s Opioid and Drug Abuse Commission under President Donald Trump, where she worked alongside other national leaders in areas of drug prevention, interdiction, and treatment. Bondi was also a strong champion for the First Step Act, which helps formerly incarcerated inmates re-enter society safely and prevents recidivism. Bondi is a partner at Ballard Partners’ Washington, D.C. office, where she chairs the firm’s corporate regulatory practice. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice from the University of Florida and her Juris Doctor from Stetson Law School. Bondi splits her time between Tampa and Washington, D.C, where she is on the Board of Trustees for the Kennedy Center. In Tampa, Bondi enjoys watching all the great Tampa Bay sports teams and spending time with her family and rescue dogs.

“Keep your heels, head and standards high”

Coco Chanel

Scott G. Erickson is originally from the San Francisco Bay area and serves as the Director of AFPI’s Center for Law & Justice. Prior to joining AFPI, Erickson served at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), concluding his service as the Chief of Staff, where he oversaw all aspects of the Secretary’s Front Office operations. Previously, he also served as DHS Deputy Chief of Staff and as a Counselor to three Secretaries, where his portfolio included law enforcement, transnational criminal organizations, and human trafficking, among other issues. Earlier in his career, Erickson spent nearly twenty years as a uniformed police officer in San Jose, California. He was also the founder and president of a nonprofit organization, Americans in Support of Law Enforcement, that sought to add context and perspective to the public conversation on policing in America. In their free time, Scott and his wife, Lauren, enjoy visiting with friends and family, touring the many historical sites in the D.C. area, and rooting for the Giants, Warriors, and 49ers.

““The brave man inattentive to his duty is worth little more to his country than the coward who deserts her in the hour of danger.””

Andrew Jackson

Nicole Parker is a former Special Agent with the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who served from 2010-October 2022. She now serves as a Senior Advisor for the Center for Law & Justice at AFPI. In her role as a special agent, Parker was responsible for investigating violations of Title 18 of the United States Code of Laws and other federal criminal statutes. During her time in the FBI, she was also involved in investigations of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, multimillion-dollar Ponzi schemes, sexual assaults, and extortion. She left, however, due to a shift in the FBI’s priorities and governing principles while she worked there. Parker has spoken out against the agency’s politicization, citing an example of when agents wearing FBI vests knelt with Black Lives Matter protesters in Washington, D.C. Earlier this year, she also spoke out against a constant pattern of the FBI giving different treatment to certain investigations based on political persuasion.

Matthew G. Whitaker is from Des Moines, Iowa, and serves as a Co-Chair for the Center of Law & Justice at AFPI. Whitaker was the Acting Attorney General of the United States from 2018 to 2019. Prior to becoming Acting Attorney General, Mr. Whitaker served as Chief of Staff to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. He was previously appointed as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Iowa by President George W. Bush, serving from 2004 to 2009. Whitaker was also previously the managing partner of Des Moines-based law firm Whitaker Hagenow & Gustoff, LLP from 2009 until rejoining the U.S. Department of Justice in 2017. He was also the Executive Director for FACT, The Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust, an ethics and accountability watchdog, from 2014 to 2017. Mr. Whitaker earned a Master of Business Administration, Juris Doctor, and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Iowa. While at Iowa, Whitaker was a three-year letterman on the football team, where he received the prestigious Big Ten Medal of Honor. Mr. Whitaker is also of counsel with the Graves Garrett law firm.

“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”

HARRY S. TRUMAN