One Last Look Back Before We Move

It seems like only a short time ago that the staff of the Competitive Enterprise Institute was packing up to leave our old office on Farragut Square and move into our current headquarters at 1899 L Street NW here in Washington. But after eight years it’s time to move along again, though fortunately we won’t be going far. As of Monday, August 15^th we’ll be settled into our new office suite on the 7^th floor of 1310 L Street NW. Our phone numbers will remain the same – more on the details here.

CEI has grown a lot since our last move. Our budget has increased from $5 million to $7.7 million, and we've significantly increased our staff, including our merger last year with the saavy litigators of the Center for Class Action Fairness. We’ve transitioned from the venerable leadership of CEI’s founder, Fred L. Smith, Jr. (pictured above), to our second president Lawson Bader, and now, since March of this year, to our third president Kent Lassman.  

Much of what has made this a special place, however, has been the support of our many friends in the world of politics, public policy, and philanthropy. Both the people we see around town on a regular basis and the friends who drop in on us from around the world help keep us connected and remind us of what’s important. Our success over the last 8 years is a result of collaboration with those allies, and, of course, the generous support of our donors.

We’ve also had a lot of fun along the way. From our initial office-warming celebration after moving in, to the receptions, roundtables, film screenings, and book parties we’ve had the privilege to host, we’ve always thought that hospitality and sociability go a long way toward making connections in a sometimes combative town. Below are a few of the snapshots from our archives. To everyone that's crossed our threshhold since that first day, thanks for being part of the CEI family, and we hope to see you soon at our new office.

Fund for American Studies senior scholar Don Devine and CEI director of communications Christine Hall at our 1899 L Street office warming party.

A tale of two executive directors: the Mercatus Center’s Dan Rothschild and CEI’s Greg Conko discuss Greg’s award-winning book, The Frankenfood Myth.

Former CEI senior communications director Cord Blomquist and senior editor Richard Morrison prepare to record an episode of the Liberty Week podcast.

Former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao addresses the launch event for CEI’s Labor Policy Project. Former CEI labor policy counsel F. Vincent Vernuccio (front, second from right) looks on, next to CEI founder Fred L. Smith, Jr (far right).

Former presidents Lawson Bader and Fred L. Smith, Jr. bring down the house at CEI’s torch-passing event.

Principled party people: former CEI director of communications Drew Tidwell, CEI research fellow Ryan Radia, former CEI media coordinator Nicole W. C. Yeatman, Beach Foundation executive director Jon Beach, and CEI fellow Marc Scribner share a smile and a drink.