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Sean Duffy, a former business and financial news journalist, is a graduate of Dickinson College, where he received a bachelor s degree in English and political science. Mr. Duffy served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications for Colorado Governor Bill Owens. As a member of the Governor s senior staff, Duffy manages the Administration s external affairs team, including media relations, constituent services, computer operations and event planning. He serves as the Governor s chief speechwriter and personally directs his national public relations. Prior to joining the Governor s Office, he served as president of The Commonwealth Foundation, a statewide, non-partisan public policy research organization based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. In addition to his duties as the Foundation s chief executive, Duffy focused on education and technology policy and edited two newsletters. He is also the founder and director of the Charter School Resource Center, a statewide catalyst for innovative charter public schools, providing hands-on assistance to parents, citizens and educators who are interested in creating charter schools. He served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Pennsylvania Virtual Charter School, a cyber charter affiliated with K12 Inc., a company founded by former U.S. Education Secretary Bill Bennett. Prior to joining The Commonwealth Foundation, Mr. Duffy was press secretary to Pennsylvania Attorney General Mike Fisher. He also worked as press secretary to Pennsylvania Education Secretary Eugene Hickok, serving as a key spokesman for Gov. Tom Ridge s Administration on education policy. He served as spokesman for the state Senate Republican Caucus, and has been a volunteer advisor to a number of political campaigns. In the mid-1990s, Duffy was president of the Pennsylvania Leadership Council, the state s largest, pro-taxpayer citizens lobby. In that role he worked closely with hundreds of local taxpayer groups throughout Pennsylvania and was an aggressive and prominent advocate for local tax reform, education reform, and pro-free-enterprise public policy. | 