Edward Zelikman

Edward joined Becket as a paralegal in 2024 after graduating from the University of Connecticut where he studied finance and minored in philosophy and analytics. He supports Becket’s attorneys with cite-checking, editing, and research.

Prior to Becket, Edward had multiple internships in the private sector as well as the U.S. Senate. He was also a member of the Constitutional Studies programs at the Hertog Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute.

Outside of work, Edward enjoys reading, exercising, and spending time with his friends and family.

Peter O’Donnell

Peter joined the Becket development team in 2024 as a Development Fellow. He brings extensive experience in fundraising and investor relations to support Becket’s mission.

Prior to Becket, Peter served as the Vice President at The O’Donnell Group, Inc. in Newport Beach, CA, where he played a key role in the acquisition, asset management, construction, and leasing of a two million industrial square foot warehouse portfolio.

Peter graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Studies. In his free time, Peter enjoys traveling, playing volleyball, and hiking.

Jon Pritchett

Jon has over 30 years of experience in business and public policy organizations, where he has held a variety of executive leadership and senior management positions. Before joining Becket, Jon served as CEO of AstroTurf USA, Scheer Sports Inc., Team Sports Entertainment, Inc., the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, and as SVP of the John Locke Foundation. Jon has served on many public, private, and nonprofit boards throughout his career and has raised money for a variety of non-profits.

His opinions have been published widely in places like the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, National Review, Sports Business Journal, The American Spectator, The Federalist, Washington Examiner and in dozens of newspapers and magazines. He has written on the subjects of limited government, free market economics, conservatism, capitalism, sports business, leadership, culture, religious freedom, individual liberty, public policy, southern life, and federalism.

Jon also spent four years at IMG College as VP of National Sales and seven years as an Operating Partner at Prometheus Capital, where he ran the company’s sports and entertainment consulting and advisory business. He began his career as the Assistant Recruiting Coordinator in the Department of Athletics at the University of South Carolina, where he did his graduate work after completing his undergraduate from Appalachian State University. He and his wife Joan have four children, one grandchild (and counting), and a Black Mouth Cur. Jon enjoys tennis, hiking, hunting, gardening, and riding motorcycles.

Benjamin Sanford

Ben joined Becket as a paralegal in 2023 shortly after graduating from the University of Dallas with a B.A. in philosophy. He supports Becket’s attorneys and clients by cite checking legal briefs, tracking cases, and assisting with miscellaneous tasks.

In his free time, Ben enjoys playing guitar, reading, and trying his best not to get injured practicing Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Josiah Duran

Josiah joined Becket in 2023 as a member of the operations team. Since then, he has been helping to keep things running smoothly at Becket’s DC headquarters. He graduated from Patrick Henry College with a BA in Government in 2015 and from University of Dallas with an MA in Philosophy in 2018. 

Josiah likes to spend his free time reading Virginia Woolf and trying to write books like hers. 

Lily Mullen

Lily Mullen joined Becket in 2023 as a Donor Relations Assistant. Lily supports the team with donor outreach, event logistics, and data organization.

Before coming to Becket, Lily worked at the Institute for Humane Studies where she managed projects for their development operations team. She graduated with a BA in Economics from Belmont Abbey College. She was highly involved in her school’s Great Books Honors program and interned with several economic development organizations.

In her free time, Lily enjoys training Judo and Brazilian Ju-Jitsu and sharing her passion for raising backyard chickens. She originally hails from New Jersey.

Matthew Krauter

Matthew joined the paralegal team at Becket in 2022. He supports the attorney team with editing, legal research, and administrative duties.

Before Becket, Matthew’s legal experience included internships with the Federalist Society and the Champaign County Public Defender’s Office.

Matthew graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science with minors in Legal Studies and Philosophy. His senior honors thesis empirically evaluated the effects of state legislation on religious liberty litigation.

Outside of work, Matthew has continued studying American philosophy, law, and policy. He is currently a Richard John Neuhaus Fellow with the Public Interest Fellowship. Previously, he participated in the Hertog Foundation’s The Supreme Court & American Politics cohort as a Fellow.

In his free time, Matthew enjoys volunteering at his parish, trips to the Library of Congress manuscript room, café hopping with a book in hand around the DMV, and training for the Chicago Marathon.

Leigh Brown

Leigh joined Becket’s paralegal team in 2021, shifting her editor’s eagle eye toward legal material. With an undergraduate degree in English from BYU, she has accumulated a wide array of editing experience. Her extra-fine-tooth comb has scoured material ranging from a book about a POW’s escape from Japanese imprisonment during WWII to course material for becoming a technical project manager.

The fan that flamed her passion for religious liberty came in the form of hundreds of adult refugees she taught over a period of several years—students who humbly and sincerely desired to practice their religion and who often came up against roadblocks in their religious expression. She is now happy to be a part of a team that is making life easier for friends like hers.

Playing with her nieces and nephews (18 in total) is her all-time favorite activity. She loves trees and walks in the woods. And crossword puzzles and books are her go-tos when she gets downtime.

JeRevienne Mitchell

JeRevienne joined Becket in 2021 as administrative officer. She graduated from American University in 2017 with a B.A. in international relations, with a focus on foreign policy.

While at AU, JeRevienne worked as administrative assistant at the Center for Israel Studies, helping with programs and events aimed at studying Israeli politics, culture, history, and contributions.

Prior to joining Becket, JeRevienne was the associate manager of a local music store, where she also worked as a piano teacher.

Some of JeRevienne’s favorite places to be are by the ocean or exploring a new city. She loves baking bread and desserts and enjoys running (to sustain the baking habit).

Monica Kelly

Monica graduated from Christendom College in December 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and economics. She joined Becket in the summer of 2020 as an administrative intern and transitioned to a full-time office assistant in December of the same year.

Monica has worked as a data analyst at a New York-based emergency billing company and as an administrative assistant to an estate foundation. During a semester abroad, Monica had the opportunity to study language, art, and architecture at the Patristic Institute in Rome, Italy.

Mary Laedtke

Mary joined the Becket development team in 2020 as a donor relations associate. Prior to Becket, she interned at the National Taxpayers Union in Washington, D.C., and spent two years working for the Institute for Justice in Arlington, VA, as a development associate.

Before migrating out East, Mary graduated from Thomas Aquinas College in Southern California with a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts. While in school, she was involved in the Intercollegiate Studies Institute Honors Program, attending various conferences nationwide, and ultimately co-founding a campus chapter geared toward promoting rhetoric appreciation by analyzing rhetorical devices in classic speeches.

Originally from Butte, Montana, Mary enjoys hiking, running along the Potomac River, and teaching Pilates. When she’s not moving, Mary likes sipping tea, reading, and eating anything Funfetti flavored.

Megan Donley

Megan Donley joined Becket in 2018. Prior to Becket, Megan worked as a staff attorney in the United States Court of Federal Claims where she provided general counsel to the Clerk of Court on operations and case intake, coordinated the court’s pro bono program, and served as liaison to both the court’s Advisory Council and the Court of Federal Claims Bar Association. She got her start at the United States Court of Federal Claims as a law clerk to the Honorable Eric G. Bruggink, whom she served from 2012 to 2015.

Megan graduated summa cum laude from Regent University School of Law, where she was Articles Editor of the Law Review.  She was also a Blackstone Fellow.  Megan studied political science at Palm Beach Atlantic University, where she first developed her love of political philosophy, American history, and the Founders’ “Great” or “Grand Experiment.”

Megan enjoys making music with her husband, playing with her son, and hiking with the family dog.

Meg Schilling

Meg joined Becket’s paralegal team in 2018 bringing several years of paralegal experience. At previous firms she specialized in real estate, wills & trusts, estate planning, and trademark law. Prior to entering the legal field, Meg was a middle school and high school teacher.

As the Director of Litigation Support, Meg now supervises Becket’s paralegal team and ensures that the attorneys at Becket have everything they need to be world class. She gets significant satisfaction over beautifully formatted and edited legal briefs, error-free court filings, and happy attorneys.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Meg attended Penn State University and Messiah University and majored in education. She fosters a budding portrait photography business in her spare time and is a highly devoted aunt to her eight nieces and nephews.

Eric Hines

Eric Hines joined Becket in 2017. Prior to Becket, Eric served as the director of U.S. Equities for Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA) in New York. During his seven years on Wall Street, Eric cultivated relationships with corporate executives and institutional investors across a variety of sectors and global regions, establishing the U.S. Equity business as an important unit of the Bank of Tokyo. He has a B.S. in Finance from the University of Nebraska.

Eric and his wife Megan have been happily married for 15 years and are blessed to have a son, Henry.

Marie Peralta

Marie joined Becket in 2009 to assist our founder, Seamus Hasson. Since then she has worn various hats at Becket, supporting efforts in litigation, operations, development, and communications.

Before joining Becket, Marie interned as a reporter for newspapers in Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and Washington, D.C. She also received a grant to research information laws in India, and worked summers at the U.S. Embassies in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. She graduated summa cum laude in journalism from Brigham Young University, with a minor in Japanese.

Marie enjoys traveling, cooking with her husband, and making her son and daughter smile.

Lucy Nolan

Lucy Nolan joined Becket as a development associate in October 2012. Prior to Becket, Lucy worked in various DC-area nonprofit organizations, in positions ranging from administrative to policy research. She earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Thomas Aquinas College in Southern California.

Outside of work, Lucy enjoys learning languages and traveling. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and now lives with her husband and children.

Julie Riggs

Julie re-joined Becket in the fall of 2011 as Director of External Relations. Julie was with Becket from 1996-98 during which time she launched the very first Canterbury Medal Dinner among various other development feats.

After college, Julie’s passion for politics and American history prompted a move to Washington, D.C. There, she landed an internship with The Heritage Foundation, thus beginning a successful 35-year career in the non-profit sector, where she has gained extensive expertise in fundraising and event planning. Julie has since been affiliated with many prominent free-market organizations, including the Cato Institute, the Institute for Justice, and the Cascade Policy Institute. In addition, she has participated in grassroots politics, and is no stranger to gathering signatures, phone banks, and political campaigns. She even admits to marching in front of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Julie earned a B.A. in Political Science and Secondary Education from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Julie’s passion for limited government and liberty are a driving force in her life.

Hyewon Kraemer

Hyewon (pronounced Heywon) was drawn to the world of philanthropy both by accident and Providence. From a young age, her parents instilled in her the importance of stewarding one’s time/talent/treasure and taught her that even the most important and worthy causes and organizations need financial resources to carry forth their missions. Hyewon has adopted the “no money, no mission” outlook professionally since accidentally stumbling into the fundraising profession during the 2008 financial crisis.

Hyewon was invited to join the Becket team in 2016 and together with the team has grown Becket from raising $7 million to $14 million during her tenure. Hyewon oversees all aspects of Becket’s fundraising efforts including its signature Canterbury Medal Gala. Prior to Becket, Hyewon led various fundraising efforts at national charities in annual giving, foundations, major gifts, signature events, and cause marketing campaigns.

Hyewon graduated from Emory University with a Bachelors in History where she was a Watson Brown Scholar and HOPE Scholarship recipient. She received her Masters in Public Administration with a Nonprofit Management concentration from George Mason University where she graduated magna cum laude and was also a member of Pi Alpha Alpha. She participated as an Academic Fellow to the John Jay Institute, a program in theology and political philosophy.

When she’s not working with her team and leadership to grow and support Becket’s donor base, Hyewon can be seen volunteering at her church with her husband, driving her kids across town(s) for various activities, and supporting them as they experience the joy, awe, and wonder of their childhood. Born in South Korea and having lived in seven states, Hyewon is looking forward to planting deeper roots in her current state with her family. They are contemplating planting persimmon and apple trees in their backyard.

Dermaine Isaacs

Dermaine Isaacs joined Becket as Controller in 2023. He focuses on the accounting operations and financial reporting for the organization. Before his time at Becket, Dermaine worked as an accountant for several companies and organizations throughout the Washington, D.C., and Atlanta metro area.

Dermaine graduated with his Masters in Accounting & Financial Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus. He earned his B.S. in Accounting from the Washington Adventist University (formerly Columbia Union College).

Dermaine is happily married with two children.