Joel  S. Hirschhorn

Now a writer, consultant and public speaker who focuses on politics and government, he was formerly a full professor at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, a senior staffer for the U.S. Congress (Office of Technology Assessment), head of an environmental consulting company, and Director of Environment, Energy and Natural Resources at the National Governors Association.  His latest book is Delusional Democracy – Fixing the Republic Without Overthrowing the Government, an original analysis of the decline of American democracy coupled with a set of practical solutions for fixing it.  His previous book was Sprawl Kills – How Blandburbs Steal Your Time, Health and Money, a holistic evaluation of suburban sprawl, sprawl politics, and the housing and community alternatives to sprawl.  He is a co-founder of Friends of the Article V Convention, its National Press Secretary, and writes regularly for many websites, often advocating the nation’s first Article V convention as the more practical route to restoring American democracy than regular elections controlled by the two-party plutocracy.