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 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

Andrew James Whitaker is from Nashville, Tennessee, and serves as a Policy Analyst in the Center for Law & Justice at AFPI. Whitaker spent the last year at Deloitte as a Senior Consultant in the Government and Public Services practice, developing strategic project management oversight for defense, security, and justice clientele. Whitaker previously served in numerous roles at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), starting as a Student Trainee at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services while finishing his master’s degree in terrorism and homeland security policy at American University and finishing his time at DHS as a Law Enforcement Policy Analyst in the Office of Strategy, Policy, and Plans. During the Trump Administration, Whitaker served as a Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention, a Special Advisor to the Executive Secretary for Secretary Wolf’s Briefing Book, and finally, as the Deputy White House. Whitaker previously interned in the Office of Administration at the White House, and as he finished his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, he interned at the local county sheriff’s office and office of homeland security and emergency management. In his free time, Whitaker enjoys traveling, being on the water, riding horses, and hiking, and he regularly returns to Tennessee to spend time with his family and friends.

“If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

Ronald Reagan

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

Alexander Wilgocki is from Schenectady, New York, and serves as a Policy Analyst for AFPI’s Center for 1776 and Center for Law and Justice. Wilgocki most recently served as a press assistant for Glenn Youngkin’s gubernatorial campaign in the Commonwealth of Virginia and as a Strategic Communications Writer for President Donald Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign. In 2019, he served as a White House Intern in the Office of Speechwriting. Wilgocki graduated from Syracuse University with a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Political Science. While an undergraduate, Wilgocki traveled to and studied contemporary issues abroad in Central Europe and the Middle East. Through many student organizations on campus, he helped cultivate productive political dialogue, where he spoke as a strong advocate of individual liberty and prioritizing national interests. Proud of both his Polish heritage and our shared history as Americans, Wilgocki tirelessly strives to defend our constitutional rights under threat today, with keen emphasis on the Second Amendment.

“Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily lives and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom.”

John F. Kennedy