The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) recently announced that Žilvinas Šilėnas will serve as the organization’s 11th president. With years of think tank experience under his belt, as well as a commitment to the promotion of the free market, the decision highlights an exciting transition for FEE. Previously, Šilėnas has served as the President of the Lithuanian Free Market Association (LFMI), and has been an active participant of several Atlas Network events. Not only did Šilėnas attend Atlas Network’s Think Tank MBA program, he also was a participant of the network’s Transatlantic CEO Summit. For his work in public policy and education, Silenas received two Templeton Freedom Awards in 2014 and 2016 respectively.
“Žilvinas brings sterling qualities to the job of president of FEE,” commented FEE’s outgoing President Lawrence W. Reed. “He knows first-hand of the challenges of explaining liberty in difficult places. I couldn’t be prouder of what FEE accomplished in the past decade and of the privilege of turning the reins over to a man of Žilvinas’s accomplishments. FEE’s future is brighter than ever.”
With his valuable experience working to promote the free market in Europe, Šilėnas is excited to begin working at FEE. “I’ve learned that, first, you have to show that your ideas are not only beneficial but also morally correct,” Šilėnas said. “You can push a policy reform legislatively or use litigation to block a bad policy proposal in the courts, but if you fail to demonstrate that what you are proposing is the right thing to do, then your changes are going to be temporary at best.”
Moving forward, Šilėnas believes that FEE gives him a unique opportunity to focus on the education and promotion of classical liberalism, rather than constantly diverting attention to policy concerns.
“Many liberty-leaning think tanks concentrate on long-term issues, but FEE’s ability to concentrate on education alone, rather than switching between policy issues and education allows it to focus” added Šilėnas. “I look forward to working with FEE’s extremely talented staff to continue expanding the audience for freedom with young people throughout the U.S. and around the world.”
You can read the rest of FEE’s full interview with Šilėnas here.