2025 Speakers

Ron Wyden began his political career in Congress in 1981 as a representative and became Senator in a 1996 special election. He serves on the Committees on Finance, Budget, Intelligence, and Energy & Natural Resources. He is Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and a senior member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He is a founding member and Co-Chair of the Senate Whistleblower Caucus. Wyden has shown strong support for whistleblowers throughout his time as a legislator.

Chuck Grassley was first elected to the Iowa state legislature in 1958 and served there until Iowans sent him to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974. In 1980, Grassley was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he has developed a reputation for bipartisanship and pragmatism. This approach to legislating consistently earns Grassley high marks as one of the Senate’s most effective and collaborative lawmakers. In each post, serving Iowans has always been Grassley’s guiding light and primary objective. Over the course of his time in Congress, Senator Grassley has led the effort to protect and empower whistleblowers through strong legislation meant to encourage whistleblowing and protect whistleblowers from retaliation. He is also a founding member and current Chairman of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus.

Stephen M. Kohn is one of the nation’s leading whistleblower attorneys. A founding director of the National Whistleblower Center, he is the author of eight books on whistleblower law, including The New Whistleblower’s Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide to Doing What’s Right and Protecting Yourself. He is a practicing whistleblower attorney and serves pro bono as the Chairman of the Board of the National Whistleblower Center. Stephen is a partner in the whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto. His primary litigation focus includes representing international whistleblowers under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, tax fraud whistleblowers, qui tam reward laws, the False Claims Act, SEC whistleblowers, and IRS whistleblowers. In 2012, the firm obtained the largest qui tam whistleblower reward given to a single individual in history ($104 million to UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld), and he represents Danske Bank Whistleblower Howard Wilkinson.