To the Board of Directors of Students For Liberty,

We, the Alumni of Students For Liberty, are writing to inform you of our collective concern for
the future of SFL.
The signatories here represent some of SFLs best and brightest student leaders, staffers, and
alumni in the organizations history. We have each had different roles and varied levels of
involvement, but are united by our commitment to SFLs mission of empowering student
leaders. We have all proudly witnessed SFLs rapid transformation into a vibrant and powerful
global student movement for liberty. Our motivation here is not anger, disdain, nor animus, but
rather a sincere belief in SFLs power to help achieve a free society and a shared desire to see
SFL succeed.
We believe the viability of SFLs long-term success is threatened by President Alexander
McCobins persistent mismanagement. It is our shared observation that SFL is suffering from a
gradual but increasingly unsustainable diminution of support from its strongest members. We
fear that, without a change of course, this damage will soon become irreparable.
We would like to preface this letter with a well-deserved recognition that Alexander has been
invaluable to SFL. However, a growing organization that wishes to continue its momentum
should carefully re-evaluate its formula for success from time to time. Inertia can lead to
crashes, and the undersigned sense an impending crash.
The first premise of SFLs strategy is simple and oft repeated: People and ideas matter. But the
behavior of its executive director has come to undermine this principle by alienating the very
people most needed to spread the ideas of liberty. Rather than emerging from the organization
feeling supported and empowered, SFLs most promising and talented leaders routinely leave
feeling bitter, cynical, and disempowered.
Just over the past 18 months, the turnover rate of SFLs D.C.-based staff was a staggering 48
percent. Volunteer burnout is equally problematic, as demonstrated by Alumni For Libertys
failure to gain meaningful traction despite the fact that SFL is approaching its ten year
anniversary.
The student movement feels these effects. Regions that were once forces to be reckoned with
in SFL (Arizona, California, Philadelphia, and New York) have shrunk or died in recent years, in
part because of the instability fostered by low volunteer retention rates. As former staffers and
student leaders, we have been disappointed to see countless full-time students who are at
first excited to work long hours for no pay be slowly scrubbed of their passion for a freer
society. Internationally, others have observed these same problems. And this week, with the
collective resignation of the Texas Executive Board, we have witnessed the wholesale loss of
one of the largest and most impressive regions in SFLs network.
All organizations deal with imperfect management. All student groups suffer from instability.
However, based on our shared experiences, we believe these issues are uniquely connected at
SFL and the result has been both quantifiable and unseen losses for the student movement for
liberty.
While Alexanders fundraising abilities have been a core pillar of SFLs sustained success, his
arbitrary and erratic decision making, disrespect and lack of appreciation for staff and student

leaders, and overall lack of concern for morale has resulted in a culture of disempowerment.
Staff and students alike are micromanaged, made to feel inadequate, and routinely disregarded
in decisions that directly affect them. Unrealistic, stubborn demands and sudden terminations
leave staff members in a culture of fear. And the counterproductive obsession with a specific
type of data essentially email dumps pressures students to fulfil basic quotas that have
low conversion rates into quality student leaders and expanded regional networks. Aside from
inflating data to the detriment of usefulness, this puts students in the role of supporting SFL, the
reverse of the intended relationship.
We also believe that there is a serious problem when one individual acts as both lead fundraiser
and director of programming. After all, skills that work in a development capacity do not
necessarily translate into successful oversight of staff and operations. Conflating these two
positions has created a clear and obvious conflict of interest to the mission. As a result,
operations have become beholden to development priorities.
While we acknowledge Alexanders tremendous dedication and are profoundly grateful for his
work in co-founding SFL, we must respectfully urge that he be removed from oversight of staff,
programs, and operations.
Previous efforts to address these problems have been met with little success. We come
together now in hopes that our unified voice will receive all due consideration.
Sincerely & For Liberty,
1. Carlos Alfaro, Former North American Executive Board Member
2. Ricardo Avelar, Former Es Libertad Executive Board Member
3. Taweh Beysolow II, Former North American Executive Board Member
4. Greg Burr, Former North American Executive Board Member
5. Trevor Burrus, Alumni For Liberty Board Member
6. Dustin Brennan, Former Texas Executive Board Member
7. Ankur Chawla, Former Staff
8. Moriah Costa, Former International Executive Board Member
9. David Deerson, Former Staff
10. Chris Deming, Alumni For Liberty Board Member
11. Adam Fletcher, Alumni For Liberty Board Member
12. Elizabeth Francis, Former North American Executive Board Member
13. Marissa Giannotta, Former Staff
14. J.P. Gonzales, Former North American Executive Board Member
15. Joe Henchman, Alumni For Liberty Chairman
16. Anthony Hennen, Former North American Campus Coordinator
17. Riley Inks, Former North American Senior Campus Coordinator
18. Ross Kenyon, Alumni For Liberty Board Member
19. Matthew La Corte, Former Chairman of the North American Executive Board
20. Dustin Lane, Former Chairman of the Texas Executive Board
21. Brittney Little, Former North American Executive Board Regional Director
22. Nicole Lough, Former North American Executive Board
23. Tyler Lively, Former North American Executive Board Regional Director
24. Zo Little, Former North American Senior Campus Coordinator
25. Noelle Mandell, Former Staff
26. Lexxie Monahan, Former Staff

27. Peter Neiger, Former Staff

28. Jose Nio, Former Staff
29. James Padilioni, Former Chairman of the North American Executive Board
30. John Payne, Alumni For Liberty Board Member
31. Luke Ripp, Former North American Executive Board Member
32. Dannelly Rodriguez, Former North American Executive Board Regional Director
33. Nick Roskams, Former Staff
34. Humberto Rotondo, Former Es Libertad Executive Board Member
35. Suzanne Schaefer, Former North American Senior Campus Coordinator
36. Abhi Sivasailem, Former North American Campus Coordinator
37. Sara Ther, Former North American Executive Board Member
38. Clint Townsend, Former Staff
39. Tom VanAntwerp, Former Chairman of Alumni for Liberty
40. Gilles Verstraeten, Former European Executive Board Member
41. Keara Vickers, Former SFL Staff