National Advisory Committee

Biography

A national leader in bringing transparency to government spending, Adam Andrzejewski, (Angie-f-ski) the eldest of seven children was born in rural Herscher, IL-- a hardworking small town, and family farm community.

After working his way through Northern Illinois University, Adam and his brother successfully built a $20 million dollar business that employed 160. Today, HomePages® is the nation’s largest publisher of community telephone directories. Selling his share of the business to his brother in 2007, Adam began to focus on a life of public service.

In 2010, Adam ran for Governor of Illinois in the Republican primary. Adam was proud to be endorsed by Nobel Peace Prize winner and Solidarity founder Lech Walesa, among others. Adam promised he would post “every dime online in real-time.” Despite a close loss on Election Day, Adam founded OpenTheBooks.com to fulfill his campaign pledge.

Today, OpenTheBooks.com contains 1 billion lines of government spending with the goal of acquiring 2 billion lines within the year. Currently posted is nearly all disclosed federal checkbook vendor spending since 2000; 2.5 million federal employee salaries with five-year salary histories; 41/50 states checkbook vendor spending; 36/50 states with public salaries and/or pensions; and all federal campaign donations since 1979.

On May 29, 2013, Andrzejewski’s editorial was published in The Wall Street Journal, “Track Government Spending on Your Phone.” The editorial showcased our first-to-market technology enabling taxpayers to search federal spending by ZIP code. Click here to read

In September 2013, John Stossel’s FOX News special- Innovation Nation featured a segment on OpenTheBooks.com. Adam is happily married to his wife Kerry and the proud father of three beautiful little girls. He is an avid runner, having run the Chicago Marathon on four occasions. Adam is a lector at St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church in Hinsdale, IL.

Former U.S. Attorney General, Governor and U.S. Senator John Ashcroft serves as founder and Chairman of The Ashcroft Group and The Ashcroft Law Firm (together, the “Firm”). Together with the select group of seasoned, respected and experienced senior executives he recruited to join him – many of whom helped to lead the U.S. Department of Justice during a significant time in our nation’s history – the Firm has earned a reputation for integrity and a track record for accelerating successful resolutions of even the most complex matters. With a focus on issues of integrity and corporate governance, the Firm provides compliance advice, legal counsel and consulting services to world-leading clients, including Fortune 500 companies, multi-national corporations and corporate executives.

As Attorney General, and the U.S. Justice Department’s CEO, Mr. Ashcroft led the world’s largest and foremost international law firm and law enforcement agency-an organization larger than most Fortune 500 companies, with over 122,000 employees. Mr. Ashcroft integrated strategic planning, budgeting and performance measures, which resulted in the DOJ earning a clean audit for the first time in its history.

Mr. Ashcroft boldly led the Department of Justice through the transformational period after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He subsequently reorganized the Department to focus on its number one priority: preventing terrorism. The tough antiterrorism campaign he directed helped keep America safe throughout his tenure and resulted in the dismantling of terrorist cells across America and the disruption of over 150 terrorist plots worldwide.

Within two months of the attacks, and with financial markets still reeling, the unprecedented corporate scandals at ENRON, WorldCom and dozens more unfolded, further destabilizing the weakened economy. John Ashcroft was called upon to restore America’s faith in the integrity of our marketplace. He marshaled the resources of the federal government to bring to justice those guilty of massive corporate fraud. At all times, he demanded that cases be brought swiftly, with appropriate serious penalties-always taking into account the best interests of the employees and shareholders whose lives were most directly affected.

From 1985 to 1993, as Governor of Missouri, Ashcroft balanced eight consecutive budgets, built a $120 million budget surplus and established a $190 million operating reserve. His management and fiscal integrity helped generate 338,000 new jobs state-wide, a triple-A bond rating from the three major Wall Street rating agencies, a per capita state and local tax burden ranked 49th in the United States and a 12 percent increase in personal income. His new education performance standards led Fortune magazine to name him as one of the nation’s top ten Education Governors. In 1991, the non-partisan National Governors Association voted him Chairman.

Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1994, he brought his management skills to Washington where he authored budget rules protecting Social Security and Medicare and helped balance the federal budget for the first time in decades. As a member of the Senate Judiciary, Foreign Relations and Commerce Committees, he worked to reform laws regulating the banking, telecommunications, aviation, transportation and information technology industries.

In 1973, Mr. Ashcroft served as Missouri Auditor, followed by two terms as Missouri Attorney General. He was raised in Springfield, Missouri, received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago.

Ron Estes is a 5th generation Kansan and serves Kansas’ 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to becoming an elected official, Estes worked in consulting and management roles in several different industries including aerospace, energy and manufacturing. An engineer by trade, he successfully implemented a variety of systems that streamlined operations, increased efficiency and improved customer relations – all while cutting cost. Estes served as Sedgwick County (Kansas) Treasurer and then Kansas State Treasurer before being elected to Congress on April 11, 2017.

Ron and his wife, Susan, have three children and reside in Wichita.

Biography

Andrew Puzder is the former chief executive of CKE Restaurants, where he helped turn Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. into the fast food powerhouses that they are today. Starting as Founder Carl Karcher’s personal attorney in 1986, Puzder became CEO in 2000 and led the company out of serious financial difficulties. Under his leadership, CKE expanded to over 3,800 restaurants globally.

Puzder is a frequent lecturer on economics and politics for various groups and associations as well as at colleges and universities. He is also a director at The Job Creators Network and on the Advisory Board at Prager University.

In 2010, he co-authored the book titled Job Creation: How It Really Works and Why Government Doesn’t Understand It. His second book, The Capitalist Comeback: The Trump Boom and the Left's Plot to Stop It, came out in April 2018.

Biography