Our Team

Thomas Sheedy is the President and Founder of Atheists for Liberty. His influence extends beyond the confines of the organization, as he has been featured in notable media outlets such as Vanity Fair and mentioned on The Joe Rogan Experience. Thomas has made appearances on various shows, blogs, and podcasts, establishing himself as a key advocate for atheist activism. With a background in public policy, he specializes in the largest growing demographic, atheism, and is a dedicated proponent of the separation of religion and government, as well as religious freedom. Thomas Sheedy holds a B.S. in Public Policy & Management from the University at Albany's Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy. His focus lies in addressing the escalating civilizational conflict between advocates of liberty and those who prioritize faith-based feelings over fact.

Matthew Hebb is the Vice President of Atheists for Liberty. Matthew holds a Master's in Public Policy (Campaigning and Elections) from Liberty University, a Bachelor's of Political Science/Pre-Law from the University of Central Florida, and is the State Director for a nonpartisan issue based group in Idaho. He works on an effort to ensure Equal Constitutional Rights for Victims of Crime - a passion Matthew has spent the past 5 years in both Mississippi and North Carolina advocating for. Professionally, Matthew has previously served in the administration of former North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, and spent time as the Business Services Coordinator for the Natural Heritage Program in the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. In his extensive political campaign experience he was a campaign manager for the Hunter Murphy for Court of Appeals campaign and was a field director for the ConnectNC bond campaign. He even owned North Carolina's first 24 hour coffee shop! Additionally, Matthew has held several positions within the Young Republican National Federation including Finance Director and Education Committee Chair. He also served as the National Committeeman for the Mississippi Federation and the Chairman of the North Carolina Federation of Young Republicans. He served on the NC Zoological Park Council from 2016-2021 as well as the NC Museum of Natural Sciences Advisory Board from 2016-2020. Matthew is a new resident of Boise, Idaho where he lives with two awesome boxers.

Max Carlisle is the Media Production Director at Atheists for Liberty. As a full-time YouTuber, musician, and former radio host, Max brings many years of public relations experience to AFL as well as his expertise in the video, photo, and graphics fields. Originally from Seattle, Washington, now living in Los Angeles, California, Max is an atheist and passionate supporter of enlightenment values such as separation of church and state, self-determination, individualism, constitutional government, and the pursuit of knowledge. Additionally, Max is a private pilot, paragliding pilot, science and military history enthusiast, and supporter of veterans organizations.

Peter Clarke is the Editor-in-chief at Atheists for Liberty. He's a writer, editor, and legal-tech professional based in Sacramento, California. He holds a JD with an emphasis in intellectual proper law from the University of the Pacific and a BA in psychology from Western Washington University. He previously served as the content manager for a number of startups in the San Francisco Bay Area and currently works for California’s judicial branch. As a writer, his articles have appeared in publications including Quillette, Aporia Magazine, The American Spectator, The Humanist, Free Inquiry Magazine, and Merion West. He regularly writes about technology, culture, and futurism for the Substack newsletter The Decadence Project. He’s also founder and editor-in-chief of Jokes Literary Review and host of the podcast Team Futurism.

Autumn Berend is the Managing Editor. at Atheists for Liberty. She has worked for a variety of publications and is trained in classical journalism. She has largely worked from Portland, Oregon and covered the summer of unrest and protests from an impartial point of view, clearly labeling when her opinion is present. In addition to freelance journalism and photography, she is Editor-in-Chief for The Inquirer Magazine. In addition to maintaining journalistic integrity, she strives to maintain impartiality while presenting only the facts. She advocates for change such as always labeling opinion pieces as opinion and avoiding click-bait titles. She enjoys debating people, challenging preconceived notions, and playing devil's advocate, as needed, in order to promote healthy debate. Voice-acting is one of Autumn's hidden talents, and she can do a wide variety of celebrity and cartoon voices.

Justin Vacula is the Outreach Manager at Atheists for Liberty. Justin engaged in separation of church and state activism as spokesperson of the Northeastern Pennsylvania Freethought Society most notably opposing a religious display at Pennsylvania’s Luzerne County Courthouse and winning a lawsuit against a transportation agency that refused a bus advertisement with the word ‘Atheists.’ He has organized formal debates and discussions with religious leaders; was a guest speaker for college-level courses; was featured in local, national, and international news; and has been invited to speak at various national, local, and statewide events. He graduated from Marywood University’s Master’s-level Clinical Mental Health Counseling program and received bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy and Psychology from King’s College.

Francis Trezza serves as the CISO and interim IT department lead for Atheists for Liberty. His main role is keeping all AFL internet related systems safe and secure. His two greatest loves in life are Information Security his fiancé Autumn. He holds a Certified Ethical Hacker designation from the EC Council among other high-level certifications, and works daily to secure the nation's critical infrastructure through defensive and offensive cyber operations in the public and private sectors. Seeing parallels in the failure of the New Atheism movement — driven by Atheism+ and the like — to what is currently happening in the information security community, he chose to join forces with Atheists for Liberty, as a group that protects constitutional rights and that considers Freedom of Speech to be directly related to the pursuit of knowledge. It is his dream to bring forth a future where freedom of expression and open sharing of ideas will be valued over conformity, censorship, gatekeeping, and the exclusion of those who think differently.

James Cowell is the National Campus Organizer for Atheists for Liberty. He's a political science and history student at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Before joining the AFL team James served in a multitude of roles, including President, Student advisor, Campus Coordinator for Turning Point USA at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, and more. During his time in Knoxville, he brought famous culture war commentators to campus as part of his commitment to free expression and open debate. He was also a Campus Ambassador for the Leadership Institute. He has filled various roles for many different campus groups such as Young Americans for Freedom and the College Libertarians. Among many other extracurricular activities, James is also a columnist for the school paper. He plans to pursue a degree in International law after he completes his BA. In his free time, James greatly enjoys reading, writing, and debating. He is a strident Anti-theist and ardent defender of freedom of speech. His passion for these subjects led him to work for us.