Get to Know New FIRE Staffers: Bonnie Kerrigan Snyder, High School Outreach Fellow

All week, we’ve been introducing you to a new group of FIRE staff members. They’re a fascinating and diverse crew, and we can’t wait for you to meet them all.

Today, meet FIRE’s first-ever High School Outreach Fellow, Bonnie Kerrigan Snyder. Bonnie’s Philadelphia-based position is a part of FIRE’s new Speech, Outreach, Advocacy, and Research (SOAR) project.

“I've been following FIRE's work for a while now and couldn't be happier to be joining the fight to defend First Amendment rights in academia,” Bonnie said. “FIRE has a great reputation and a great track record, and I couldn't be prouder to be joining the team.”

Bonnie has worked in education at both the high school and college level for most of the past 25 years. With experience as both a high school-level teacher and guidance counselor and as a professor and administrator at both private and public universities, Bonnie has a wealth of experience to share. She’ll be reaching out to high schoolers who want to know more about their First Amendment rights and what to expect when they move on to college.

Bonnie has earned public school certification credentials in four different states and, most recently, served as an adjunct professor in the College of Education at Millersville University in Millersville, PA. She is an honors graduate of Harvard University (where she saw her first disinvitation—Ronald Reagan in 1986), has a master’s degree in Counseling and Student Personnel Services from Virginia Tech, and has a doctorate in Higher Education from Penn State. She is also the author of The New College Reality and The Unemployed College Graduate's Survival Guide, and her work has been featured or mentioned by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, Parents Magazine, CBS MoneyWatch, and other media outlets.

“I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone at FIRE, educating students on their rights, and taking in the amazing aerial view of Independence Hall, which is inspiring, to say the least,” she said.

Join us in welcoming Bonnie to our staff.