![[Photo of Joseph G. Lehman]](/media/images/people/lehman-j.jpg)
Joseph G. Lehman
President
Joseph G. Lehman is president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, an independent, nonprofit research and educational institute based in Michigan. The Mackinac Center is the largest of more than 50 affiliated think tanks that focus primarily on state economic policy.
Mr. Lehman first joined the Mackinac Center in 1995. He later became vice president for communications at the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C. In 2000 he returned to the Mackinac Center as its executive vice president. He became its president in 2008.
Mr. Lehman is an author and commentator on public policy. He has been interviewed on broadcast outlets ranging from National Public Radio to the Glenn Beck Program. His comments have been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, National Journal, National Review, Investor's Business Daily, Detroit Free Press, The Detroit News, and nearly every daily Michigan newspaper.
He has addressed audiences at the National Conference of State Legislatures annual meeting, the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual Mackinac Conference, the Asian Resource Bank meeting in Hong Kong, and the African Leadership Conference in Nairobi.
Through the Mackinac Center's biannual Leadership Conference, he has trained more than 590 think tank executives from 47 states and 47 countries in strategic planning, communications, and fundraising.
He is a director of the Chicago-based Sam Adams Alliance, the Legislative Education Action Drive Foundation which studies school choice, and USA Votes, a firm that provides public access to legislative data. He is also an advisory board member of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity.
Prior to his public policy career, Mr. Lehman was an engineer and project manager for nine years at the Dow Chemical Company. He is an engineering graduate from the University of Illinois and a registered professional engineer.
Mr. Lehman and his wife, Karen, are the founders of Midland County Habitat for Humanity. He twice received the Dow Chemical Vice President's Award for Community Service. He is an ordained deacon in the Presbyterian Church in America.
Tools
By Joseph G. Lehman
An Introduction to the Overton Window of Political Possibility
In addition, Michigan is not immune to the gradual erosion of equity and basic human freedom that accompanies a steady growth in the power and scope of government.
Related to this, our government's ability to properly perform many critical functions, including education, has been jeopardized by policymakers' attempts to do too many things. This lack of focus has even led to confusion among policymakers over whether government exists to serve the people or vice versa.
There's a lot of work to do to reverse this, but there's good news. Once growth- and freedom-friendly policies are in place, recovery is likely to occur much more quickly than most people imagine.
For policymakers and voters serious about restoring freedom and economic vitality in the Great Lakes State, the Mackinac Center presents the following 101 recommendations.
This report is a compendium of work authored by Mackinac Center policy analysts and compiled by Senior Legislative Analyst Jack McHugh.
"101 Recommendations" Facebook Group … more
