SUNSHINE WEEK 2026 CONTENT FOR PUBLICATION

The nonpartisan Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida has, since 1977, provided research and education in the public’s ability to access government information. Dr. David Cuillier has served as director since 2023, and before that was an associate professor and director at the University of Arizona School of Journalism. A leading authority on freedom of information, he also served as president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. and the Society of Professional Journalists. During the past 25 years, Cuillier has taught more than 15,000 journalists, students and citizens on how to acquire public records, and is co-author of “The Art of Access: Strategies for Acquiring Public Records” and “Transparency 2.0: Digital Data and Privacy in a Wired World.” He is a member of the Federal FOIA Advisory Committee, which provides guidance to the National Archivist on how to improve the Freedom of Information Act, and he has testified three times before Congress regarding FOIA. He can be reached at cuillierd@ufl.edu.

Miranda S. Spivack is the author of Backroom Deals in Our Backyards: How Government Secrecy Harms Our Communities and the Local Heroes Fighting Back (The New Press 2025). She is vice president of the D.C Open Government Coalition. You can reach her at mirandaspivack@yahoo.comand at https://www.mirandaspivack.com/

Thomas M. Susman is the American Bar Association’s Strategic Advisor for Global Programs and Governmental Affairs and a member of the National Freedom of Information Coalition board.