R Street’s 2025 Real Solutions Summit

We’re excited to announce that the R Street Institute will host its second Real Solutions Summit in Washington, D.C. on May 6, 2025 at the Planet Word Museum.

The 2025 Real Solutions Summit aims to bring together leaders in politics, public policy, media, philanthropy, and the private sector who believe our best days are still ahead if we can unleash American innovation, bolster competition, and safeguard individual liberty.

Building on the success of the inaugural Real Solutions Summit in 2023, we are further embracing our pragmatic, solutions-driven culture to look forward to America’s 250th birthday and ask ourselves to imagine what the country would look like. The wide-ranging day will feature keynote speakers, panels, networking opportunities, and much, much more.

We’ll discuss how America will continue embracing free markets to solve climate change; what role artificial intelligence will play in our daily lives; and how we can restore trust in our institutions and with one another.

Eli Lehrer is the President of the R Street Institute. He co-founded R Street in 2012 and has played a key role in establishing it as an important voice in the Washington, D.C. policy scene. Prior to R Street he served as vice president for Washington, D.C. operations at the Heartland Institute, overseeing its D.C. office. Earlier in his career, he worked as a speechwriter to then-Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.); as a project manager for the Unisys Corp.; as senior editor of The American Enterprise magazine; and as a fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Eli started his career as a reporter for The Washington Times.

Orly Lobel is the Warren Distinguished Professor of Law, and the founding director of the Center for Employment and Labor Policy (CELP) at University of San Diego. She is the award-winning author of best-selling books and numerous high-impact articles. A graduate of Tel-Aviv University and Harvard Law School, Lobel clerked on the Israeli Supreme Court and is a member of the American Law Institute. She has recently been named as one of the most cited legal scholars in in law and technology and in employment law and overall one of the most cited younger legal scholars in the United States. She has received several grants for her scholarship including most recently a grant from the AI and Humanities Project. Lobel served on President Obama’s policy team on innovation and labor market competition, advised the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the American Conference of the United States (ACUS) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and other federal and state agencies on tech policy. Lobel consults private tech leaders on competition, human capital, equality, innovation, labor markets, and tech policy. Lobel is a prolific speaker, consultant, expert witness, commentator, and a thought leader who travels the world with an impact on policy and industry.

Sidney M. Milkis is the White Burkett Miller Professor in the Department of Politics. He was awarded the Cavaliers’ Distinguished Teaching Professorship for 2018-2020, the highest teaching award at the University of Virginia, which recognizes an eminent scholar for outstanding undergraduate teaching. In 2016-2017, he was named the John G. Winant Visiting Professor of American Government at Oxford University. He has a B.A. from Muhlenberg College and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. Milkis is co-director of a new all-university initiative, Project on Democracy and Capitalism, which is exploring the complex relationship between self-government and markets.

Devin Hartman is director of Energy and Environmental Policy at the R Street Institute. He leads a team that brings a pragmatic and analytically sound pro-market perspective to energy and environmental policy. He rejoined R Street in 2020 after serving as the president and CEO of the Electricity Consumers Resource Council (ELCON), the national association of large industrial users of electricity. He represented large consumers on the Members Representatives Committee of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation from 2019-2020. He has previously worked for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and various energy and environmental policy nonprofit organizations.

Nick Loris is the Vice President of Public Policy at C3 Solutions. Loris studies and writes about a wide range of energy and climate policies, including natural resource extraction, energy subsidies, nuclear energy, renewable power and energy efficiency. He also studies ways in which markets will improve the environment, reduce emissions and better adapt to a changing climate. Before joining C3 Solutions, Loris served as the Deputy Director of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies and Herbert and Joyce Morgan Fellow in Energy and Environmental Policy at The Heritage Foundation.

Marc Marie is a fellow for regulatory policy at Americans for Prosperity, where he focuses on energy, land use, and the administrative state. Before joining Americans for Prosperity, Marc advised early-stage energy companies on regulatory strategy. His government service includes senior counsel at the Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division; acting deputy solicitor at the Department of the Interior; and counsel to Sen. Mike Lee on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Antitrust Subcommittee.

Erica Schoder is the Executive Director and co-founder of the R Street Institute (RSI). Erica has overseen the strategic growth of RSI from a start-up to a multi-million dollar institution with over 80 staff members across the country. A leadership coach trained at INSEAD Business School, Erica is passionate about building strong, collaborative organizational cultures. She also leads the Artificial Intelligence member group within the Forbes Business Council, focusing on the complex and evolving role of AI in society. Currently pursuing a Master of Science at the University of Edinburgh’s Futures Institute, Erica’s research explores the intersection of big data, artificial intelligence, and the future of democratic governance. She frequently hosts conversations with think tankers and thought leaders around the globe to ensure that diverse voices contribute to evidence-informed policy solutions.

Jerry Theodorou is the Director of the Finance, Insurance and Trade Policy Program. Jerry develops and advances effective free market public policy solutions to complex issues where federal and state governments have intervened. Prior to R Street Jerry was a Director of insurance research at Conning in Hartford, Connecticut. Before Conning, Jerry worked for the global insurance giant American International Group (AIG) in a variety of global underwriting, operations and strategy roles, including close to a decade of expatriate managerial assignments in Europe and the Middle East.

Adam Thierer is a senior fellow for the Technology & Innovation team. He works to make the world safe for innovators and entrepreneurs by pushing for a policy vision that is rooted in the idea of “permissionless innovation.” Prior to R Street, Adam spent 12 years as a senior fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. Before the Mercatus Center, he served as the president of the Progress and Freedom Foundation. Adam has also worked for the Adam Smith Institute, the Heritage Foundation and the Cato Institute. Adam has published 10 books on a wide range of topics, including online child safety, internet governance, intellectual property, telecommunications policy, media regulation and federalism.

Lynne Kiesling is an economist focusing on regulation, market design, and the economics of digitization and smart grid technologies in the electricity industry. She is Director of the Institute for Regulatory Law & Economics in the Center on Law, Business, and Economics, and is an Adjunct Professor in the Master of Science in Energy and Sustainability program, both at Northwestern University. She is also a Research Professor at University of Colorado Denver, a member of the External Faculty of the Santa Fe Institute, and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. In addition to her academic research, she is currently a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Electricity Advisory Committee, has served as a member of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Smart Grid Advisory Committee, and is an emerita member of the GridWise Architecture Council. Her academic background includes a B.S. in Economics from Miami University (Ohio) and a Ph.D. in Economics from Northwestern University. Outside of work, Lynne rides her bikes, skis downhill and Nordic, knits, and reads a lot of books.

Kelli Pierce is the host of RSI’s Red Tape Podcast and also manages content on R Street’s website and assists with digital communications. Prior to R Street, she was the producer of Inside Sources with Boyd Matheson on KSL NewsRadio in Salt Lake City. She was also an award-winning reporter with the same station and is the recipient of the Associated Press, Edward R. Murrow and Utah Society of Professional Journalists awards for her reporting.

Sarah Ladislaw returned to RMI in Sept. 2024 after serving as Senior Director for Climate and Energy, National Security Council at The White House from Jan. 2023 to Aug. 2024. Prior to RMI, Sarah was senior vice president and director of the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), where she led the think tank’s work in energy policy, geopolitics, and technology analysis. She spearheaded new work at CSIS on climate change and foreign policy, deep decarbonization, and just transitions. Before CSIS, Sarah worked in the Office of the Americas in the US Department of Energy’s Office of Policy and International Affairs, where she covered a range of economic, political, and energy issues in the Western Hemisphere. In addition, she spent a short time working at Statoil as its senior director for international affairs in the Washington office. She is a member of the Strategic Advisory Council for Georgia Tech’s Strategic Energy Initiative and the University of California, Davis, Institute of Transportation Studies Board of Advisors.

Alissa Cooper is the Executive Director of the Knight-Georgetown Institute (KGI). She is a recognized leader in the development of global Internet standards, policy, and governance. Alissa has served in a variety of roles in the tech industry, including Chair of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the world’s premier Internet standards organization. She led the IETF through significant transitions related to Internet security and encryption, network performance, privacy, and real-time voice and video. She previously served as the chair of the IANA Stewardship Coordination Group, which delivered the technical plan that allowed the U.S. Department of Commerce to transfer oversight of Internet governance to the global multistakeholder community. Prior to KGI, Alissa spent a decade at Cisco Systems in senior engineering and executive roles, and before that, she served as the Chief Computer Scientist at the Center for Democracy and Technology.

Shoshana Weissmann manages R Street’s social media, email marketing and other digital assets. She also works on occupational licensing reform, social media regulatory policy, Section 230 and other issues, and has written for various publications, including The Wall Street Journal and USA Today.

Agenda subject to change. Lunch is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

9:30am:Registration begins

10am - 10:05am:Welcome Remarks from Eli Lehrer, President, R Street Institute

10:10am - 10:45am:Coffee & Conversation [Tentative]

Break

10:50 - 11:45:Beyond the Ban: Market Solutions for Misinformation and AI Governance Panel [Tentative]

• Alissa Cooper, Executive Director, Knight-Georgetown Institute

Break

12pm - 12:35: Lunch and Fireside Chat - The Presidency, Polarization of Political Parties, and Public Trust in American Government

• Sidney Milkis, White Burkett Miller Professor in the Department of Politics, University of Virginia
• Matt Germer, Director of Governance Policy, R Street Institute

Break

12:40pm - 1:35pm: Panel:“Rising Tide of Climate Optimism: A new era of pro-market environmental reforms”

• [Moderator] Devin Hartman, Director of Energy and Environmental Policy, R Street Institute
• Lynne Kiesling, Director of the Institute for Regulatory Law & Economics at Northwestern Pritzker's Center on Law, Business, and Economics
• Nick Loris, Vice President of Public Policy, C3 Solutions
• Marc Marie, Regulatory Policy Fellow, Americans for Prosperity
• Sarah Ladislaw, Managing Director U.S. Program, RMI

Break

1:50pm - 2:05pm: Keynote - Freedom to Disagree: A Legacy of Civil Discourse at 250

2:10pm - 2:45pm: Real Insights, "Navigating the Future of Democracy"

• Erica Schoder, Executive Director, R Street Institute
• Speaker to be confirmed

Break

2:50pm - 3pm:Lightning Talk: “Forging Sustainable Environmental Pathways”

• Jerry Theodorou, Director of Finance, Insurance, and Trade Policy, R Street Institute

Break

3:15pm - 4pm:LiveRed Tape Podcast - Tech Utopia: The Bright Horizons of Tomorrow's Innovation

• Orly Lobel, Warren Distinguished Professor of Law, University of San Diego
• Adam Thierer, Resident Senior Fellow on Technology and Innovation Policy, R Street Institute
• [Moderator] Kelli Pierce, Host, Red Tape Podcast, R Street Institute

4:05pm - 4:55pm:From Tweets to Trust: Reimagining American Discourse in the New Media Era

• Eli Lake, Columnist, The Free Press and Host, Breaking History Podcast
• Speakers to be confirmed

5pm - Happy Hour

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Planet Word, 925 13th Street Northwest, Washington, United States