Constitutional Rights Foundation (CRF) seeks to instill in our nation's youth a deeper understanding of citizenship through values expressed in our Constitution and its Bill of Rights and to educate young people to become active and responsible participants in our society. CRF is dedicated to assuring our country's future by investing in our youth today.
CRF is a non-profit, non-partisan, community-based organization dedicated to educating America's young people about the importance of civic participation in a democratic society. Under the guidance of a Board of Directors chosen from the worlds of law, business, government, education, the media, and the community, CRF develops, produces, and distributes programs and materials to teachers, students, and public-minded citizens all across the nation.
Federal Tax Id: 95-2219680 | Tax exempt status: 501(c)(3)
CRF staff includes teachers and educators, lawyers, community organizers and fundraisers, designers, writers, and editors. They provide technical assistance and training to teachers, coordinate civic participation projects in schools and communities, organize student conferences and competitions, and develop publications in the following areas:
Law and Government programs and materials focus on how groups and individuals interact with the issues, institutions, people and processes that shape our laws and government.
Civic Participation programs and materials bring to life the rights and responsibilities of active citizenship by challenging young people to explore their community and plan and implement projects that address community needs.
Get to know more about Constitutional Rights Foundation by looking over our Annual Report. Contact our staff. Explore our Programs section to learn how CRF translates its visions into reality. Turn to the Publications page to survey our catalog offering materials in Government, U.S. and World History, Business, and Civic Participation. Tour our Support section to learn how we keep our vital work moving ahead, or check out the CRF Calendar. Click here to read about our history and how we got started.
Membership on CRF’s Emeritus Board recognizes those individuals who made meritorious contributions to the mission of the Foundation and the young people we serve during their tenures on our Board of Directors.
Bette Bardeen Nestor Barrero Ronald Beard Honorable William Bogaard Alan N. Braverman Robert Carlson Jerome Coben Knox Cologne John Cooke James De Meules Louis P. Eatman Dr. Philip Fagan Joel Feuer Honorable Raymond C. Fisher Alan C. Friedman Honorable Haley Fromholz Gregory Gelfan Honorable Ronald George Stephen N. Goldberg Honorable Terry Hatter Roderick Hills Laurence Hutt Jane Jelenko Joseph Keller Richard Kolodny
David Laufer Leslie Lobaugh Lloyd Loomis Christian Markey II Sharon Matsumoto Richard Maxwell Honorable Dorothy Nelson Honorable William Norris Dian Ogilvie Peter Ostroff Michael Owen Thomas Pfister Honorable Burt Pines Donald Randle Lisa Rockwell Alan I. Rothenberg Marvin Sears W. Davis Smith Honorable Marjorie Steinberg (Ret.) Gail Migdal Title Susan J. Troy John Vandevelde Daniel Willick Honorable Arleigh Woods Peg Yorkin
Securing the future of Constitutional Rights Foundation
We acknowledge with enormous gratitude those who have pledged to include CRF in ther estate planning.
Robert C. Aronoff Vikas Arora Ronald Beard Joseph A. Calabrese Knox Cologne Marshall L. Croddy Vincent J. Davitt Kimberly A. Dunne Louis P. Eatman Hon. Raymond C. Fisher
Alan C. Friedman Hon. Haley J. Fromholz Jonathan M. Gordon Nancy Knupfer Christopher H. Paskach Thomas Pfister Thomas A. Ryan K. Eugene Shutler Hon. Marjorie Steinberg Robert S. Stern
Endowment Builders
Since 1990, CRF has been fortunate to receive a number of endowments given by people who share our passion for civic education and support our mission, teaching young people how to be engaged citizens in our democracy.
CRF acknowledges with enormous gratitude past presidents who established endowments at CRF: Jerome C. Byrne, James A. Cobey, and Alan I. Rothenberg; to past board members, Jack Stutman and Robert Rosenstiel; and to our long-time supporters Phyllis and Robert Henigson for their continuing Life Income Gifts. We would also like to recognize Dr. Jama Laurent and the board of directors of the Creative Kids Foundation for establishing an endowment allowing CRF to place students as interns in arts organizations in Los Angeles. To all of you, a very special thank you. Most of all, we would like to send out a loud cheer and celebrate our champion of champions, Lloyd M. Smith, who throughout his life embodied the highest ideals of American democracy and believed in the importance that all young people be educated about their constitutional heritage. It was Lloyd who established the CRF Endowment Builders Program, ensuring that CRF’s mission continues long into the future.
To all of our friends, supporters, and donors, and to those people who have indicated that they will remember CRF in their will or by bequest: We thank you for your generosity and for the trust you have given us. Most important, we thank you on behalf of the students of tomorrow who will have opportunities to learn about and celebrate our Constitution and its Bill of Rights for generations to come.
Contact us to discuss possible bequests or endowment to CRF.
Marshall Croddy assumed the position of President of CRF in February 2013. Croddy previously served as Vice President. He is an attorney and has been a member of the State Bar of California since 1976. Croddy is a nationally recognized leader in the field of law-related and civics education. He has designed, edited, and co-written most of CRF's educational texts and publications including the Law in the Social Studies series, Criminal Justice in America, Letters of Liberty, Foundations of Freedom, Reviewing the Verdict, Active Citizenship Today, The W.M. Keck Foundation Challenge Series, CityWorks, and Bill of Rights in Action, a nationally distributed curricular newsletter. In the area of program design and implementation, he has helped create numerous educational programs for Constitutional Rights Foundation and other organizations, most notably, the 1991 Southern California Celebration of the Bicentennial of the Bill of Rights. He has served on the boards of a number of educational and civic organizations. In 2000, he received the American Bar Association's Isidore Starr Award for Excellence in Law-Related Education, and in 2007, he was awarded the Roy Erickson Civic Education Leadership Award by the California Council for the Social Studies.
Keri Doggett, Director of Programs
With CRF for over 20 years, Keri oversees CRF’s programs and participates in their design and dissemination for elementary, middle, and high school students and teachers. She develops curriculum materials, provides leadership in the design and delivery of CRF teacher professional development, works directly with researchers to evaluate CRF programs, and works with Marshall Croddy and the Board of Directors on fundraising, making new partnerships, and outreach. In her tenure at CRF she has directed national, state, and local programs including History Day, over a dozen Teaching American History projects, and Civic Action Project. Prior to joining CRF, Keri taught for ten years in Jefferson County Public Schools in Colorado.
Staff (Click on names for staff bio and contact information.)
I am CRF's senior publications manager and have been with CRF since 1991, when I was hired as a program assistant. As publications manager, I oversee the publishing process, from initial conception through completion of print and online publications. I work closely with CRF's president, director of programs, and other key staff to capture program requirements and translate them into practical design solutions as CRF transitions the delivery of content from print to an online format. I have designed, developed, and maintain over 13 of CRF's websites. I have a degree in political science from California State University Northridge and a marketing certificate from Los Angeles City College. I am a reality courtroom television show junkie and enjoy reading political biographies when time permits.
My work at CRF has afforded me 13 years of experience providing local, regional, and national trainings to youth, educators, and other professionals seeking ways to integrate civic- and law-related activities into their educational programs. I’m currently on the team for CRF’s Civic Action Project. I also am responsible for filming and editing projects to help promote and showcase CRF programs. I have degrees in political science and history. I haven’t settled on a hobby, but have thus far enjoyed searching for one.
As the development manager for CRF, I manage the individual, corporate, and foundation donor portfolios and work with executive staff and Board of Directors to ensure CRF is exceeding its fundraising goals for the year. For over 15 years, I have been dedicated to working with communities in need and believe that if we want to create change, it is vital to provide quality services and education to empower individuals to make informed, positive decisions. My experience includes administrative and program management, grant writing, and fund development. I grew up in the Bay Area and attended San Francisco State University. I enjoy baking and exploring Southern California with my family. When I was younger my mother would recount her experience of working in the fields in the Central Valley. I would really enjoy sharing a meal with my mom and Cesar Chavez, listening to them swap stories.
I develop, write, and edit curricular materials for many CRF projects and publications, including Bill of Rights in Action, and I lead professional development sessions for teachers. I also co-direct (with Dr. Peg Hill) the California Three Rs Project for teaching about religion and the First Amendment in public schools. I love learning and have degrees in history, education, and law. I’ve been a middle-school teacher, criminal-defense attorney, and professional mediator. My favorite hobbies are tai chi chuan; playing guitar; and hiking/exploring with my family. The person in history I’d most like to have dinner with would probably be the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. I bet he’d be a great raconteur, and I might learn what’s in the fragments of his writings that have been missing to this day.
I have over 20 years of experience providing workshops and professional-development sessions for youth, educators, and program staff seeking ways to incorporate civic- and law-related activities into their school or community-based programs. I currently co-direct CRF’s Civic Action Project, which is a web- and standards-based practicum for U.S. government classes. I am a native Angeleno and graduate of East L.A. and Occidental Colleges. In addition to my enduring love for the Los Angeles Dodgers, I enjoy exploring L.A.'s hiking and biking trails from the Pacific Coast Highway to Angeles Crest Highway.
I have been at CRF over 25 years, and I currently direct the Mock Trial Program, which includes the Los Angeles County and California State Finals programs. I work with county coordinators, administrators, teachers, and hundreds of judges and lawyers throughout the state. I also direct the Expanding Horizons Internships program, where I partner with participating job sites and provide guidance for the intensive seminars provided to 80–100 high school students from underserved communities throughout the greater Los Angeles area. In addition, I am a key contributing member of the History Experience, Civic Action Project, and the redesign of Project LEAD. I also provide workshop sessions at local and state conferences on CRF programs and materials.
Peter B. Morrison
Leon Bass, Jr.
Vincent J. Davitt,
Darin T. Beffa
Shannon Alexander
T. Warren Jackson
K. Eugene Shutler
Kimberly A. Dunne
Jonathan M. Gordon
Robert C. Aronoff
E Jane Arnault-Factor, Ph.D.
Kelli Brooks
Suzie Doran, CPA
Alan J. Epstein
Gregory L. Evans
Liam A. Ferguson
Justice Jeffrey W. Johnson
Louis E. Kempinsky
C. James Levin
Robert A. Sacks
Peggy Saferstein
Danielle Sherrod
Robert S. Stern
Michael Tu
Aaron M. Wais
Todd Clark
I am CRF's senior publications manager and have been with CRF since 1991, when I was hired as a program assistant. As publications manager, I oversee the publishing process, from initial conception through completion of print and online publications. I work closely with CRF's president, director of programs, and other key staff to capture program requirements and translate them into practical design solutions as CRF transitions the delivery of content from print to an online format. I have designed, developed, and maintain over 13 of CRF's websites. I have a degree in political science from California State University Northridge and a marketing certificate from Los Angeles City College. I am a reality courtroom television show junkie and enjoy reading political biographies when time permits.
My work at CRF has afforded me 13 years of experience providing local, regional, and national trainings to youth, educators, and other professionals seeking ways to integrate civic- and law-related activities into their educational programs. I’m currently on the team for CRF’s Civic Action Project. I also am responsible for filming and editing projects to help promote and showcase CRF programs. I have degrees in political science and history. I haven’t settled on a hobby, but have thus far enjoyed searching for one.
As the development manager for CRF, I manage the individual, corporate, and foundation donor portfolios and work with executive staff and Board of Directors to ensure CRF is exceeding its fundraising goals for the year. For over 15 years, I have been dedicated to working with communities in need and believe that if we want to create change, it is vital to provide quality services and education to empower individuals to make informed, positive decisions. My experience includes administrative and program management, grant writing, and fund development. I grew up in the Bay Area and attended San Francisco State University. I enjoy baking and exploring Southern California with my family. When I was younger my mother would recount her experience of working in the fields in the Central Valley. I would really enjoy sharing a meal with my mom and Cesar Chavez, listening to them swap stories.
I develop, write, and edit curricular materials for many CRF projects and publications, including Bill of Rights in Action, and I lead professional development sessions for teachers. I also co-direct (with Dr. Peg Hill) the California Three Rs Project for teaching about religion and the First Amendment in public schools. I love learning and have degrees in history, education, and law. I’ve been a middle-school teacher, criminal-defense attorney, and professional mediator. My favorite hobbies are tai chi chuan; playing guitar; and hiking/exploring with my family. The person in history I’d most like to have dinner with would probably be the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. I bet he’d be a great raconteur, and I might learn what’s in the fragments of his writings that have been missing to this day.
I have over 20 years of experience providing workshops and professional-development sessions for youth, educators, and program staff seeking ways to incorporate civic- and law-related activities into their school or community-based programs. I currently co-direct CRF’s Civic Action Project, which is a web- and standards-based practicum for U.S. government classes. I am a native Angeleno and graduate of East L.A. and Occidental Colleges. In addition to my enduring love for the Los Angeles Dodgers, I enjoy exploring L.A.'s hiking and biking trails from the Pacific Coast Highway to Angeles Crest Highway.
I have been at CRF over 25 years, and I currently direct the Mock Trial Program, which includes the Los Angeles County and California State Finals programs. I work with county coordinators, administrators, teachers, and hundreds of judges and lawyers throughout the state. I also direct the Expanding Horizons Internships program, where I partner with participating job sites and provide guidance for the intensive seminars provided to 80–100 high school students from underserved communities throughout the greater Los Angeles area. In addition, I am a key contributing member of the History Experience, Civic Action Project, and the redesign of Project LEAD. I also provide workshop sessions at local and state conferences on CRF programs and materials.