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.

Cherry Teresa is the Vice President at Atheists For Liberty. She holds a Master of Science in Data Analytics from Western Governors University and a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus. She has over a decade in non-profit experience, working for both large and small organizations. Cherry previously wrote articles for the James Randi Educational Foundation's Swift Blog and Skeptic Ink Network, as well as blogging on her own site, cherryteresa.com. Her written work on atheism and skepticism has been featured on the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science's website and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry's Skeptical Briefs newsletter. Cherry is also a classically trained musician. She's a keyboardist, vocalist, and bedroom producer. Her solo work includes atheistic, humanistic, skeptical, and political themes in styles ranging from baroque pop to synth pop. She has recorded and gigged in alternative, metal, and rock bands as well. Cherry Teresa currently lives in Los Angeles, CA and her hometown is Baltimore, MD.

James Cowell is the Assistant to the President at Atheists for Liberty. He's earned his degree in Political Science 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.

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.

Nick Nelson is the National Campus Organizer at Atheists for Liberty. Prior to his work here, Nick served as the Sierra Territory Field Representative for Turning Point USA from 2020-2022. As field representative, Nick worked on the field every day while overseeing all organizational activity in Northeast California and Northern Nevada, helping high school and college students understand and defend their rights while promoting limited government and fiscal responsibility. After leaving Turning Point, Nick became the Vice President of his local chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, the nation’s oldest and largest LGBT Conservative organization. His combined efforts helped solidify Log Cabin Republicans as a permanently chartered branch of the California GOP, a monumental achievement in LGBT history. In addition to atheism and politics, linguistics is one of Nick’s greatest passions in his quest for knowledge. Nick holds a bachelor’s degree with a major in Deaf Studies/American Sign Language and minors in Spanish and French. Beyond his political work, Nick’s goal is to serve as a multilingual interpreter.

Spiney Norman is the Lead Designer at Atheists for Liberty. Being a graphic designer, musician, and Second Amendment advocate. He has studied art and music and has a B.A. in Graphic Design and Photography and a B.S. in Digital Motion graphics. In addition, he is a certified NRA rifle and pistol instructor. Most importantly, he's a father, husband, and proud patriot. As an artist and musician, freedom of speech is paramount and as an advocate for individual liberty and the Bill of Rights, he tries to use these skills to communicate the importance of maintaining the freedoms guaranteed under the Constitution. Always a skeptic and questioning authority, Spiney lives by the opening lyrics of one of his favorite bands Rush: “His mind is not for rent, to any god or government…” When he is not helping us with our graphics needs, he can be found playing lead guitar for his band Radio Badland, or bloviating politics on his Rumble channel Liberty Dragon. Spiney currently lives in the 13th state of Rhode Island.

Francis Trezza serves as the CISO and interim IT department lead at 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 and 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.

Autumn Berend is our Policy Analyst 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.

Mars Cheung is the Community Engagement Coordinator at Atheists for Liberty. He entered the discussions about the current cultural crisis through his interests and involvement within the greater overall intellectual community, reaching back as far as 2014. Upon encountering inconsistency in the application of humanistic values and intellectual inquiry towards peoples of varying ethnic, religious and sociological backgrounds by supposedly progressive organizations, he applied his efforts and skill sets as an engineer and a speaker towards whoever and whatever individuals and organizations which are inline with the values of intellectual honesty and Enlightenment Humanism towards the resolutions of those inconsistencies. In addition to volunteer work with a number of humanitarian organizations, Mars regularly hosts online talks and interviews with knowledgeable speakers to inform and educate about matters related to said values.

John Veldhuyzen is a volunteer and staff member at Atheists for Liberty. He is a Mechanical Engineer, a veteran, a patriot, and a lover of Liberty. He has been politically active for many years, serving as a delegate to the Libertarian Party National Convention multiple times, as well as having been an active voice in the Second Amendment Sanctuary movement of 2019-2020 in his home state of Virginia. He runs a YouTube channel called Ruin of the Gods, where he seeks to defend the simple notion that people are sovereign over their own lives, that they ought to be free to live their own lives unmolested by those who seek to subordinate their minds to tyranny.

Emma Muniz is the Editorial Assistant at Atheists for Liberty and a high school student based in New York City. Embracing the principles of free thinking and honest inquiry, Emma has discovered a profound sense of freedom and advocates passionately for others to experience the same. Emma's dedication to truth and commitment to open and honest dialogue are the cornerstones of her advocacy. She firmly believes that a society grounded in rational discourse and critical thinking is essential for human progress and flourishing. As an independent writer and atheist activist, Emma champions the ideals of freedom from religion and religious freedom, recognizing the importance of allowing individuals to explore their beliefs without fear or coercion. Through her work, Emma seeks to foster a more rational and compassionate world. She is committed to promoting a culture where ideas can be freely exchanged and where individuals are encouraged to question, learn, and grow. Emma's passion for these ideals drives her efforts at Atheists for Liberty and beyond, as she strives to make a meaningful impact on society.

Justin Vacula is the Travel Liaison 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.