James Madison Fellow Brenda Hafera is currently the Assistant Director and Senior Policy Analyst in the Simon Center for American Studies at The Heritage Foundation, and was previously the Director of International and Continuing Education Programs at The Fund for American Studies.  

Of participating in the James Madison Fellowship, Brenda reflected that the program “brings together individuals who take seriously both the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.”  

She also shared her belief that as inheritors of this nation citizens have a responsibility to preserve and nurture the National Character and to “ensure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity.” She said that the JMF program seeks to do this by enriching the fellows’ understanding of our Founding principles and by examining the points of crisis our nation is facing today. 

The James Madison Fellowship “is a group of serious and spirited patriots striving to show gratitude to our Founders by combating the modern challenges to their legacy,” she said.  

Brenda has a Bachelor of Arts in political science, a Bachelor of Science in finance, and a master’s in political science from Villanova University. Brenda is also a prolific writer, having been published in various publications including The Claremont Review of Books.