Joshua Decker, '06, Named Executive Director of ACLU Alaska

The American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska is pleased to announce that Joshua Decker is its new executive director. He began his new leadership role on March 6, 2014; he was the interim executive director since May 2013, and was the ACLU of Alaska's staff attorney since November 2011.

"We were very fortunate that such an impressive and wide array of dedicated and skilled professionals wanted to work with us," said Donna Goldsmith, President of the ACLU of Alaska Board of Directors. "Joshua's career trajectory demonstrates his deep commitment to, and passion for, civil liberties. His professional and personal dedication to our mission, coupled with his exceptional communication skills, strategic vision, and professional integrity, made him the obvious choice for us. We are privileged to work with someone whose leadership skills and vision are so clear."

Before joining the ACLU of Alaska two-and-a-half years ago, Joshua represented rural, low-income, and elderly clients for four years at the Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee, and he spent one year as an associate in the New York office of Clifford Chance, the international law firm. He earned his law degree from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was the executive editor of the Chicago Journal of International Law and an avid participant in the civil rights and police accountability clinic, and his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago, from which he graduated with honors in political science. "I am honored and excited to be the ACLU of Alaska's new executive director," Joshua said. "The Constitution is the active contract by which we, as Americans, have agreed to live our civic lives. Our mission is to safeguard those constitutional rights and I look forward to connecting with our members, reaching out to communities and leaders throughout the state, and building the ACLU team so that we can continue to expand our reach and protect the core of who we are."

Joshua follows Jeffrey Mittman, who was the executive director from 2008 to 2013; he is now the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri.