CHATSWORTH, CA – The Free Speech Coalition has announced its selection of Diane C. Duke as its new Executive Director.Duke replaces outgoing director Michelle Freridge, who officially resigned on October 31st. Freridge has agreed to stay on to assist in the transition to Duke as the new ED, an office that Duke will assume on November 27th.
Duke, who earned an MBA from the University of Oregon, comes to the FSC after holding the position of senior vice-president of Planned Parenthood Health Services of Southwestern Oregon (PPHSSO), and brings along 22 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, according to the FSC press release. She has also served on the Human Rights Commission, and was on the 2004 steering committee opposing Oregon’s ballot measure 36, which would have rewritten the state constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage.
“I am incensed by our government’s attack on, and blatant disregard for, the Bill of Rights,” Duke stated in the FSC release announcing her as the new ED. “What we view and read and what happens between consenting adults are fundamental freedoms.”
“I am thrilled and honored to have the opportunity to lead an organization that has been so effective at protecting free speech and the right to privacy; an organization that insists upon government accountability,” Duke added.
Duke’s experience at PPHSSO will come in handy in her new role at the FSC. She was involved in strategic planning for the PPHSSO for the past six years and was responsible for crafting the organization’s budget, as well as oversight of the budget’s implementation.
“I’m delighted to turn over the helm to Diane,” Freridge said in the FSC release, “because I have every confidence that she will be able to take Free Speech to the next level and serve the industry with vigor and integrity.”
Duke said her strategy for success revolves around “hiring good people and working with them to remove any barriers to success.”
“My experiences with an outstanding board of directors, president, and staff have taught me the importance of developing an atmosphere that encourages creativity and innovation, always tempered by a sound practice of fiscal responsibility,” Duke added.
As noted in the FSC press release, Duke comes aboard the FSC at crucial juncture in the organization’s history. Under Freridge, the FSC has experienced substantial growth, driven in part by the federal government’s revamping of 2257 recordkeeping and labeling regulations, concerns over which brought many in the online sector into the FSC for the first time.
The FSC is challenging the 2257 regulations in the case FSC v Gonzales, and late last year successfully obtained a preliminary injunction preventing the inspection of records for members with respect to content on which they are regarded as “secondary producers.”
FSC has also been closely tracking and battling other anti-industry legislation enacted by States around the country, and is currently engaged in a lawsuit challenging Utah’s “Child Protection Registry.”
Duke will oversee a number of programs that were initiated under Freridge’s leadership, “including lobbying at the federal level and the creation of more state Free Speech chapters,” according to the FSC press release.
“Diane Duke is the ideal person for this demanding position, particularly at this time,” said FSC Board Chair Jeffrey Douglas. “She has extensive management and financial experience in the mainstream nonprofit arena, and is an established champion for individual rights against inappropriate government intrusion. She will pilot the adult industry and its trade association to greater political and economic strength.”
“We are fortunate to have such a leader at our helm,” added Douglas.
