Kirby Joins Cato as Vice President of Development

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Washington, D.C. (March 18, 2014) — The Cato Institute announced today that David Kirby will be joining the libertarian think tank as Vice President of Development and Senior Fellow.

Kirby was most recently Vice President at FreedomWorks. He has served as campaign executive director for the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) at George Mason University and was executive director of America’s Future Foundation.

He has also been a long-time member of the Cato family, joining the institute in 2001 as a government affairs associate after graduating from Bates College. In 2006 Kirby became an associate policy analyst and, together with Emily Ekins, coauthored a book on the libertarian vote with Cato’s Executive Vice President David Boaz.

“I am thrilled to welcome David back to the Cato family,” said John A. Allison, Cato’s President and CEO. “His institutional knowledge of our work and research, together with his experience make him the best choice for Cato.”

“Libertarianism is on the rise, and there’s no more important institution in the world to winning hearts and minds than the Cato Institute,” said Kirby. “I’m honored to be a part of the Cato team.”

Kirby’s writing has appeared in Politico, National Review Online, Tech Central Station, Human Events, and among publications, and his research has been cited in The Economist, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Times, National Review, and National Journal.

Kirby holds a bachelor’s degree in rhetoric from Bates College and a master’s in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.