John F. Kowal, a former director of grantmaking initiatives at the Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations, is vice president for programs at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, where he is responsible for coordinating and guiding the organization’s programs on democracy, justice, and liberty and national security. Kowal writes on issues of constitutional law and democracy reform. He is the co-author (with Wilfred U. Codrington III) of The People’s Constitution (The New Press). He lives in New York City.