Staff

Tarren Bragdon

Chief Executive Officer

Tarren Bragdon is president and chief executive officer of the Foundation for Government Accountability, a research and advocacy organization committed to making Florida the most economically vibrant state in America.

In 2008, Tarren was named chief executive officer of The Maine Heritage Policy Center, a free market think tank based in Portland, Maine.  Under his leadership, the organization grew to become the largest state-based free market think tank on a per capita basis.  In September 2010, he received the Thomas Roe Award, given annually by the State Policy Network to the individual with the greatest impact on the nation’s free market movement.

From 1996 through 2000, Tarren served in the Maine House of Representatives.  Elected at the age of 21, Tarren remains the youngest person ever elected to the Maine House.

A nationally recognized expert on health reform issues with a specialty in Medicaid reform, Tarren has served as a health-policy analyst with the Manhattan Institute’s Empire Center for New Your State Policy.  He has testified before the U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee; state legislative committees in FL, NY, IL, CT, GA & ME; numerous national conferences; and the American Swiss Foundation in Switzerland.  His work has been featured on Fox News’ Sean Hannity show, National Public Television’s NOW, in a Wall Street Journal editorial and multiple Wall Street Journal op-eds, and in the New York Post, Boston Globe, New York Times and on National Public Radio.

He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Maine and his Masters of Science of Business degree from Husson University in Bangor, Maine.

Tarren and his wife Anna have four children; Wyatt, Waverly and the twins, Jude and Asher.

To contact Tarren, please email tbragdon@floridafga.org

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Chris Cinquemani

Vice President

Chris Cinquemani is Vice President of the Foundation for Government Accountability, a Southwest Florida-based research and advocacy think tank founded on the principles of the free market and limited government.

Most recently, Chris served as director of communications at the Maine Heritage Policy Center in Portland, Maine.  In that role, he oversaw the organization’s media and public outreach efforts, and testified before the Legislature on issues related to open government, elections reform, fiscal policy and education spending.  In 2010 he led a coalition of open government advocates in the drafting of model legislation to strengthen Maine’s public records law, and has drafted model legislation to require voter approval of state level tax increases and increases in public debt.

From 2007 through 2009 Chris was public affairs director and legislative liaison for Maine Leads, a free market citizen action group.  In that capacity he served as state chairman of a 2009 citizen initiative to reduce Maine’s vehicle excise tax.  In 2007 Chris was communications director for the Maine Senate Republican Office before becoming state director of a referendum to preserve Maine’s term limits laws.  In 2006 he was grassroots coordinator and communications director for a Maine Taxpayer Bill of Rights/Smart Cap citizen initiative.

Chris graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Binghamton University in upstate New York.

To contact Chris, please e-mail chris@floridafga.org.

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Joyce Errecart

Senior Fellow for Tax Policy

Joyce Errecart is Senior Fellow for Tax Policy at the Foundation for Government Accountability, overseeing the think tank’s research and advocacy of tax policy to stimulate competitiveness, financial security and economic growth in Florida.

From 2003-2009 Joyce served in the Vermont House of Representatives.  She served on the Ways and Means, Commerce, Natural Resources and Energy, No Child Left Behind Oversight and Health Access Oversight Committees.

Joyce previously served as Commissioner of Taxes for the State of Vermont from 1991-1994.  She was responsible for overseeing the collection of all General Fund taxes, administering property tax relief programs, providing assistance to municipalities with collecting property taxes, and coordinating the Administration’s tax legislative policy.

She has represented IRS in the U.S. Tax Court, advised the U.S. Treasury Department in Bucharest, Romania, served on the Board of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, and clerked at the U.S. Tax Court.  Joyce has consulted on tax administration and has also practiced law in Burlington, Vermont.

Joyce now resides in Cocoa Beach, Florida.  She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and political science from Wellesley College, a Juris Doctor from the Washington College of Law of the American University, and a Masters of Law in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center.

To contact Joyce please e-mail jerrecart@floridafga.org.

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Joseph Burke, PhD

Fellow for Entrepreneurship

Dr. Joseph Burke is Fellow for Entrepreneurship at the Foundation for Government Accountability, a research and advocacy think tank founded on the principles of free enterprise and limited government.  He received his Ph.D. in 2005 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied agricultural policy.

Since 2006, Joseph Burke has served as an Assistant Professor of Economics at Ave Maria University. He teaches courses on microeconomics, econometrics, game theory, and industrial organization. He is also a Research Fellow at the Stein Center for Social Research. His current research interests include economics and ethics, the economics of the family, and Florida economic policy. His recent publications include a study for the Internet Innovation Alliance on the economic impact of expanded broadband access for Florida.

To contact Joseph, please e-mail jburke@floridafga.org.

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Chris Hudson

Government Relations

Chris Hudson directs government relations at the Foundation for Government Accountability, a Naples-based free market think tank.

In 2008-2009 Chris was legislative assistant for State Senator Lee Constantine in Tallahassee.  He prepared policy analysis and draft legislation for the senator’s office on public safety, education, energy and transportation issues.  He later served as the Central Florida Field Director for the House majority’s campaign effort, directing more than 20 legislative campaigns along the I-4 Corridor.

Chris attended Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and a Master of Arts degree in international relations.  He competed in the model United Nations and was elected student body president in 2006.  He interned for the Rhode Island House of Representatives and the Washington offices of Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chaffee and Florida Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart.

In 2011 Chris was appointed by the Collier County Commission to the county Code Enforcement Board.

A Naples native, Chris graduated from Gulf Coast High School.  Today, he remains a resident of Naples, Florida.

To contact Chris, please e-mail chudson@floridafga.org

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Darcie Johnston

Development

As founder and president of Johnston Consulting Inc.—a Vermont-based political, public relations and fundraising consulting company—Darcie has a wide-range of experience in the political and non-profit sectors.

Darcie has more than 18 years of experience in fundraising, political strategy, Get-Out-The-Vote programs, event planning and public relations.  She has extensive experience working for clients in Washington, D.C. and throughout the United States.

Darcie’s current and past clients include: the Foundation for Government Accountability, Vermonters for Health Care Freedom, Common Sense PAC, Voice for Conservative Women, Sean Bielat for Congress, MA 4; Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, The Yankee Institute for Public Policy, Associated Industries of Vermont, Transform Rhode Island, All Children Matter, The Maine Heritage Policy Center, The Ethan Allen Institute, New Hampshire House Republican Victory Committee, New Hampshire Republican Party,  George W. Bush for President, Governor Pete Wilson, The Republican National Committee.

In 2011, Darcie founded Vermonters for Health Care Freedom, an organization of individuals, business owners and health providers united to oppose single-payer health care and ObamaCare-like reforms in Vermont.

Darcie grew up in Montpelier, Vermont.  She is a graduate of Randolph-Macon Women’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia.

To contact Darcie, please e-mail djohnston@floridafga.org.

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Megan Teague

Research Intern

Megan Teague is a research intern for the Foundation for Government Accountability, where she provides support for free market economics through analysis and investigation of market interactions between the government and the private sector.

In January 2011, Megan was awarded an internship at the Goldwater Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, where she took on the role of a Fiscal Policy Intern under the director of the Center for Economic Prosperity. In that capacity, Megan presented and researched topics regarding government transparency, costs of roadway inputs, and occupational licensing. She also launched and is currently executing a project to document and measure the ease or difficultly of starting a business in every state.

Megan attended the University of Tampa on a soccer scholarship in 2007.  During her sophomore year she studied abroad at Westminster University in London, where she took courses in European politics, political philosophy, and British history. She was also inducted into the Adam Smith Society, an honors economic organization within her university requiring two faculty nominations, and was elected into a leadership position. In December 2010, Megan earned her Bachelor of the Arts in economics and philosophy.

To contact Megan, please e-mail mteague@floridafga.org.