BORDC Staff

Shahid Buttar, executive director, leads the Bill of Rights Defense Committee and the People’s Campaign for the Constitution (PCC) in our efforts to defend civil liberties and rule of law principles threatened by the war on terror. Previously director of a program to combat racial and religious profiling by federal authorities, an associate director of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy, and a litigator in private practice with a prolific public interest docket, Buttar has long advocated in defense of the Constitution. He graduated from Stanford Law School in 2003, where he served as executive editor of the Stanford Environmental Law Journal and as Professor Lawrence Lessig’s teaching assistant for Constitutional Law.

In addition to his work leading BORDC, Shahid supports populist constitutionalism as a civil rights lawyer, independent columnist, community organizer, and hip-hop and electronica MC. He was among the organizers of several grassroots groups around the country, including the Resistance Media Collective, the DC Guerrilla Poetry Insurgency, and the Stanford Spoken Word Collective. As a musician, he frequently facilitates workshops for young people and emerging artists, has performed around the world for audiences as large as 50,000, and released his debut CD, Get Outta Your Chair, in 2008. Shahid’s music and articles, including his commentary for Huffington Post, are available at his website.

Amy Ferrer, associate director, manages the national office staff and interns, develops online and print communication and outreach materials, manages the agency's websites and social networking efforts, and handles media outreach and inquiries. She also assists with grantwriting and fundraising, oversees the agency's intern and volunteer program, and serves as editor of the newsletter. Amy has a master’s degree from the Center for Public Policy and Administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and has previously worked in reproductive rights advocacy, social justice, and community health education.

Barbara Haugen, administrator, manages financial records as well as BORDC’s donor and subscriber data bases. She also provides general office and technical support and serves as managing editor of the newsletter. Before joining BORDC, Barbara worked as a VISTA lawyer with the Legal Aid Society of Albuquerque, NM; as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Pittsfield, MA; and as assistant to the director of MassAudubon's Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Easthampton, MA.

Emma Roderick, grassroots campaign coordinator, manages our organizing efforts for the People's Campaign for the Constitution across the country. A 2007 graduate of Smith College, Emma has previously worked on national organizing efforts for United Students Against Sweatshops and Wake Up Wal-Mart and was a leader in the successful student effort to end Coca-Cola's exclusive contract with Smith College because of the company's involvement in human rights abuses.