Joshua Kleinfeld is a Professor of Law and (by courtesy) Philosophy at Northwestern University. He writes and teaches at the intersection of law and political philosophy, particularly focusing on constitutional law, statutory interpretation, and criminal law. His work as a scholar and public intellectual has appeared in the Harvard, Stanford, Northwestern, and University of Chicago Law Reviews, as well as the National Review, and his public appearances include a TEDx talk on Democracy and the Pandemic. As a former practicing lawyer, he has represented both major corporations accused of billion-dollar wrongdoing and, on a pro bono basis, children accused of homicide. His work today focuses on the nature of democracy as a matter of political philosophy and the practice of democratic government as a matter of constitutional, statutory, and criminal law. He holds a JD in law from the Yale Law School, a PhD in philosophy from the Goethe University of Frankfurt, and a BA in philosophy from Yale College.
Adam J. White Executive Director
Adam J. White is the Executive Director of the Gray Center and a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He also is a public member of the Administrative Conference of the United States, and he has served on the leadership councils for the administrative law sections of both the American Bar Association and the Federalist Society. After clerking for Judge David Sentelle of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, Adam practiced constitutional and regulatory law in Washington, with special focus on energy infrastructure regulation, financial regulation, administrative law, and constitutional separation of powers. He became the Center’s Executive Director in 2017, and its Co-Executive Director in 2021.
David Wu Director of Operations
David Wu is the Director of Operations at the Gray Center. Prior to this, he was appointed to senior roles by three governors in three states, a mayor, and the President, including acting as Chief Operating Officer for the state of Illinois and as Acting Assistant Secretary for Administration for the United States Department of Agriculture. He also has worked in the private sector in finance, journalism, and start-ups in the United States and overseas. He has degrees from Wesleyan University, the University of Wisconsin, and Harvard University.
Jace Lington Research Director
Jace Lington is Research Director at the Gray Center. Previously, he was a Staff Writer for Ballotpedia, where he wrote about administrative law, tracked new administrative law scholarship, and cataloged arguments offered by scholars and activists about how to reform the administrative state. Jace is a previous Assistant Editor of RealClearInvestigations and also worked on the document volumes that accompany the official biography of Winston Churchill. He earned a B.A. in psychology from Dallas Baptist University and an M.A. in politics from Hillsdale College’s Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship.
Raven Perry Program Assistant
Raven Perry is the Program Assistant at The Gray Center. She is a 2021 graduate of Delaware State University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications with a concentration in Digital Media. While in school, Raven obtained membership in the National Society of Leadership and Success (Sigma Alpha Pi). She is also a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.
Judge Neomi Rao Founder and Former Director
Judge Neomi Rao, Former Director of the C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State, founded the Center in 2015 when she was a Professor of Law at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School.
Judge Rao was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in March 2019. She graduated from Yale College in 1995 and the University of Chicago Law School in 1999. Following graduation, she served as a law clerk to Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and, in the 2001 October Term, as law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court. Between her clerkships, Judge Rao served as counsel for nominations and constitutional law to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. In 2002, she joined the international arbitration group of Clifford Chance LLP in London, England. From 2005-2006, she served as Special Assistant and Associate White House Counsel to President George W. Bush. From 2006 to 2017, Judge Rao was a professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University, where she taught constitutional law, legislation and statutory interpretation, and the history and foundations of the administrative state. In July 2017, she was appointed to serve as the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management Budget. She served in this position until her appointment to the D.C. Circuit.
