Senior Tax Fellow

Tom Sands is a long-time advocate for strong fiscal policy, tirelessly promoting the belief that government, at any level, is only as strong as its people. Empowering people is what has made our nation great; strong fiscal policy must start with that basic premise and be judged accordingly.

Sands is the former President and CEO of the Iowa Taxpayers Association (ITA). For nearly eight years, he led ITA members in shaping public fiscal policy that impacts businesses. In addition to managing government and member relations, Sands oversaw the daily operations of the organization.

Before joining ITA, Sands served for 14 years in the Iowa House of Representatives as a dedicated voice for Iowa taxpayers. During his last six years in office, he chaired the influential tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

Throughout his tenure in the Iowa House, Sands received numerous awards for his work on tax policy. Before becoming a state legislator, he served as a Concord Township trustee and was a member of the Columbus Junction City Council. He also owns a family farm in Louisa County, which he leases to his oldest son. Alongside his legislative work and farming, Sands was a bank officer in Columbus Junction for 18 years.

Tom and his wife, Catherine, have been married since 2008, are active in their local church, and reside in rural Louisa County.

Contributing Scholar

Vance Ginn, Ph.D., is an accomplished free-market economist who works to let people prosper. He is the founder and president of Ginn Economic Consulting where he provides high-quality research and trusted insights on how to affect change at the federal, state, and local levels.

Dr. Ginn’s experience includes time in public policy, government, and academia. He is a fellow or scholar at several think tanks, including at Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) and Americans for Tax Reform. He previously served as the associate director for economic policy (“chief economist”) of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, 2019-20, where he advised the OMB’s senior staff on economic and fiscal policy matters, resulting in $4.6 trillion in savings over a decade and the need for a fiscal rule in the President’s FY 2021 Budget. Dr. Ginn was the former chief economist at TPPF and policy director for TPPF’s Alliance for Opportunity campaign, a multi-state poverty relief initiative, where collectively he fought for and won many free-market reforms to let people prosper during multiple legislative sessions.

He has taught many economic courses at several institutions of higher education, including Sam Houston State University and Texas Tech University, where he won a teaching award. Dr. Ginn has appeared on leading national and state news shows, such as America Reports on Fox News and Cavuto: Coast to Coast on Fox Business. His commentaries have been published in The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Washington Post, National Review, and other national and state publications. Dr. Ginn earned his BBA in economics and accounting and a Ph.D. in economics at Texas Tech University.

He graduated from home school in South Houston, Texas, resides in Round Rock, Texas with his wife and three kids, and is a drummer who played for a top rock band in Houston, Texas.

Contributing Scholar

John C. Mozena is the president of the Center for Economic Accountability, where he works to advance transparency, accountability and free-market-based reforms of state and local economic development programs across the United States.

In addition to his public policy experience as a former vice president at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan, Mozena also brings significant private-sector experience to his work as a contributing scholar for the ITR Foundation. A long-time marketing and communications professional and former journalist, he spent two decades in private-sector agency and corporate roles where he worked with Fortune 500 manufacturers and technology companies, economic development authorities, trade associations, commercial real estate developers, a major regional tourism bureau and convention center and other real-world stakeholders in economic development policy.

Mozena’s work regularly features in local and national media. He is a regular contributor to National Review, and his byline has also appeared in national outlets including The Hill, RealClearPolicy, the Daily Caller, The American Conservative and even Baseball Prospectus, as well as major local newspapers such as the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Detroit News, Kansas City Star, Las Vegas Review-Journal, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Tennessean and many more.

He is a fellow at the Better Cities Project, an alumnus of the AEI Leadership Network and a graduate of the Atlas Network Academy, including its Executive Accelerator leadership development program. He lives in Michigan with his wife and son.

Contributing Scholar

Alan Ostergren is President of Kirkwood Institute, a non-profit, strategic litigation law firm in West Des Moines, Iowa, as well as an attorney in private practice.

Ostergren earned his bachelor’s degree from Grinnell College in 1994 and graduated with honors from Drake University School of Law, where he earned his Juris Doctorate in 1997.

As a prosecutor with over twenty years of experience, Ostergren served as Assistant Muscatine County Attorney from 1997 to 2011. Starting in 1999, he also worked as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney for three years, primarily handling federal drug, firearm, and immigration cases out of Muscatine County. Ostergren was elected to be Muscatine County Attorney and took office in January 2011. He served as County Attorney for nearly ten years before leaving office to found Kirkwood Institute.

Alan is a frequent guest on Iowa media programs and has been featured on Dateline NBC.

Contributing Scholar

Justin Owen is the President & CEO of the Beacon Center of Tennessee and its 501(c)(4) advocacy partner, Beacon Impact. Justin has helped bring about Tennessee’s universal private school choice program, enact numerous healthcare reforms, and repeal Tennessee’s Hall Income Tax and death tax, saving taxpayers nearly $5 billion to date and becoming just the second state in history to repeal an income tax. Several of these reform efforts have received national awards for their sophistication and unique approach. Justin recently led the successful Yes on 1 campaign to place right-to-work in the Tennessee Constitution, which received the support of 70% of voters statewide.

He received his J.D. from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis and obtained his undergraduate degree from Middle Tennessee State University.

Contributing Scholar

Dr. Chris Peters is a Contributing Scholar to ITR Foundation, a 9-year Army Medical Corps veteran, a surgeon, and a small business-owner in Coralville. He was also the Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in Iowa’s 2nd District in 2016 and 2018. Most importantly, Chris has been happily married to Julie for 26 years, is the proud father of three adult sons, Cole, Jake, and Caleb, and is the delighted grandfather to Jake’s son, Liam.

Contributing Scholar

Rich, a native of Muscatine, has been with ITR Foundation for over 10 years, serving as Vice President until 2025.  Prior to joining ITRF, he was President of Pearl Mutual Funds. Rich has been employed by private law firms in Iowa and financial institutions in Arizona and Iowa. A former Assistant Attorney General for the State of Arizona, Phillips worked in the area of money laundering and criminal forfeiture. He served as the elected Muscatine County Attorney for 10 years and during his public service was chair of the Iowa County Attorney Association Legislation Committee, lobbying at the Iowa Capitol and served as President of the association. Phillips earned degrees from Iowa State University and Drake Law School.

Rich is married to Patricia, a middle school teacher. They have 4 adult children and 6 grandchildren. They are both active in their parish and school.