please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article has an unclear citation style . the references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation footnoting or external linking . may 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2011 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message lexington institute key people merrick carey loren thompson daniel goure don soifer budget revenues 1 941 042 expenses 1 996 703 fye december 2014 1 location 1600 wilson boulevard arlington virginia the lexington institute is a small public policy think tank headquartered in arlington virginia that focuses on national security education reform energy policy and logistics . 2 it is organized under section 501 c 3 of the internal revenue code which means it is a tax exempt non profit foundation that may not lobby . 3 the institute does not receive money from the federal government . its main sources of funding are corporations foundations and individuals . contents 1 history and philosophy 1.1 defense policy 1.2 education policy 1.3 politics 1.4 energy 1.5 members 2 references 3 external links history and philosophy edit the lexington institute was founded in 1998 by former congressman james courter r nj former congressional aide merrick carey former georgetown university professor loren thompson and policy analyst donald soifer . as of september 2015 they are respectively the chairman chief executive officer chief operating officer and executive vice president of the institute . 4 the institute s political philosophy as reflected in its publications is center right emphasizing a strong national defense education reform and market driven solutions to energy and logistic needs . although the organization s mission statement does not describe it as conservative or libertarian 5 it tends to oppose big government tax increases and federal intervention in the daily lives of citizens . the institute s employees there are fewer than ten supplemented by outside experts and interns are frequently quoted in national media . one survey of think tank visibility rated the institute as number two in the nation relative to its budget size . 6 loren thompson is a longstanding contributor to forbes.com and other staffers such as daniel goure and don soifer are cited regularly in national media . 7 defense policy edit the lexington institute has been called the defense industry s pay to play ad agency reflecting that it receives funding from military contractors and issues stream of reports usually favorable about the performance and status of key weapons programs . 8 however institute staffers are frequently critical of particular weapons or policies assailing among other things the navy s next generation destroyer the army s future troop carrier a proposed joint replacement for the humvee light tactical vehicle and most of the acquisition reform measures proposed during the obama administration . citation needed media citations frequently note that lexington staffers have ties to military contractors . thompson stated i m not going to work on a project unless somebody somewhere is willing to pay . this is a business . my bottom line is that if what i write and say is true it doesn t really matter what my motives are . 8 daniel goure and thompson are two lexington defense analysts . goure was formerly associated with the center for strategic and international studies and holds a ph.d. from johns hopkins university . thompson was deputy director of georgetown university s security studies program and taught there for two decades during which time he received a ph.d. from the university . thompson argued in favor of continued c 17 production in 2009 and against this production in 2010 . 9 he also taught briefly at harvard . thompson has said that the united states is likely to engage in war against vietnam again and so needs the efv to storm their beaches . 10 he has also called for a shift in american defense spending towards items such as the littoral combat ship and the lockheed martin f 35 lightning ii that can be exported to allies . 11 thompson has said that the united states can not continue to spend especially on defense the way it has been over the past decade . 12 despite being funding by defense contractors goure has argued that the use of these contractors is a sign of an army in decline . 13 education policy edit in 2015 the institute launched the lexington education leadership award lela fellowships the first national fellowship for personalized learning . the inaugural cohort of fellows included ten school district superintendents and assistant superintendents from around the country participating in a six month fellowship program . in november 2015 the institute announced 30 semifinalists for the second cohort of fellows . 14 in february 2014 the institute published a report updating career and technical education for the 21st century . 15 in february 2014 an article in the richmond times dispatch by lexington analysts doug mesecar and don soifer called for broader implementation of performance based funding models for public education . 16 lexington s research on successful strategies for structured english immersion programs was cited by the u.s. supreme court in its 2009 horne v. flores opinion . 17 bob holland and don soifer policy analysts with the lexington institute have argued that multiculturalism has fostered a decline in the teaching of us history and the rise of islamic extremism . 18 19 as a result of his writings soifer s 2012 reappointment to the board of the district of columbia public charter school board was delayed 20 but soifer was reconfirmed to serve a second four year term on the board on december 4 2012 by a 7 2 vote of the dc council . 21 an april 2013 education paper why blended learning can t stand still analyzed best practices at several of the nation s highest performing blended learning public charter and traditional schools . 22 as one education week writer described their findings constant real time data monitoring streamlines the formerly arduous task of analyzing student results giving teachers more time to plan and individualize lessons to accelerate and enhance learning . 23 soifer has also published articles arguing that virginia needs more charter schools state takeovers of failing schools and other ways to foster innovation . 24 politics edit the institute also covers purely political topics . for example thompson wrote that most of the candidates in the republican party united states presidential primaries 2012 are unsuited to high office . 25 energy edit the institute published a 2014 white paper keeping the lights on how electricity policy must keep up with technology . 26 lexington operates the policy website energytrends.org that focuses on energy use and renewable energy in the united states . 27 a 2013 lexington report ensuring the resilience of the u.s. electric grid argued for strategies to minimize the impact of disruptions to the power grid . 28 members edit jim courter chairman merrick carey ceo loren b. thompson chief operating officer don soifer executive vice president dan goure vice president dr. rebecca grant was formally a senior fellow references edit charity rating . charity navigator . lexington institute . lexington institute . retrieved 2015 09 04 . 26 u.s. code section 501 . lexington institute . lexington institute . retrieved 2015 09 30 . lexington institute . retrieved 2015 09 30 . cost effectiveness of the most widely cited think tanks pdf . center for economic and policy research . retrieved 2015 09 30 . google news . news.google.com . retrieved 2015 09 30 . a b mad men introducing the defense industry s pay to play ad agency c 17 debate loren thompson vs loren thompson beach storming drill returns marines to roots the u.s. can t afford unilateral military moves abroad spires shelby g. expert federal spending freeze beats alternative . the sun 7 february 2011 . goure daniel . the sun has finally set on the british army and we are next . lexington institute 6 july 2012 . lexington institute . lexington institute . retrieved 2015 11 12 . http www.lexingtoninstitute.org updating career and technical education for the 21st century 2 http m.timesdispatch.com opinion their opinion columnists blogs guest columnists mesecar and soifer education reform consider performance based funding article 27c221d7 9011 5490 baf2 556852b68985.html mode jqm 1 supreme court of the united states 25 june 2009 page 24 note 10 cook alta m. students need foundation in basics . the gazette 2 october 2011 . holland & soifer multiculturalism fosters isolated communities . council puts hold on charter school board member s reappointment over articles on multiculturalism . legislative roundup www.dcist.com 05 december 2012 . sean kennedy & don soifer why blended learning can t stand still . www.lexingtoninstitue.org 05 april 2013 . rob bock success of blended learning depends on innovation study says . www.educationweek.org 17 april 2013 . soifer don soifer time for a school takeover plan . www.lexingtoninstitute.org 04 april 2013 . thompson loren b. if republicans don t pick romney obama will win reelection in a landslide . www.lexingtoninstitute.org 10 november 2011 . lexington institute . lexington institute . retrieved 2015 11 12 . www.energytrends.org thompson loren b. ensuring the resilience of the u.s. electrical grid . lexington institute 22 january 2013 . external links edit lexington institute organizational profile national center for charitable statistics urban institute coordinates 38 53 43 n 77 04 38 w 38.8953 n 77.0771 w 38.8953 ; 77.0771 retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title lexington institute & oldid 695108418 categories political and economic think tanks in the united stateslibertarian think tankslibertarian organizations based in the united stateshidden categories wikipedia references cleanup from may 2015all articles needing references cleanuparticles covered by wikiproject wikify from may 2015all articles covered by wikiproject wikifyarticles needing additional references from september 2011all articles needing additional referencesall articles with unsourced statementsarticles with unsourced statements from february 2014coordinates on wikidata navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent 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