Richard R. Whidden, Jr.
Executive Director and Senior Counsel

Richard R. Whidden, Jr. is Executive Director and Senior Counsel of the National Law Center for Children and Families.  As Executive Director, he has testified before the United States Senate on legal issues surrounding the impact of pornography on children and families, addressed a national audience of local government attorneys on local ordinances regulating sex offenders and is a frequent source for media outlets. Mr. Whidden is a former Interim County Attorney for the Flagler County, Florida handling the legal matters for one of the fastest growing counties in the United States. Mr. Whidden first served as a local government attorney for the City of Gainesville, Florida handling land use, code enforcement and litigation matters. While with the City of Gainesville, Mr. Whidden attained board certification from the Florida Bar in City, County and Local Government law. He also served as Assistant Attorney General of Florida and Assistant General Counsel to the Florida Department of State. Mr. Whidden also served as Associate Director for Government Relations and Contracts with a legal publishing company in Virginia. Since graduating from the University of Alabama School of Law in 1989, he has successfully represented state and local governments in state and federal court, and has handled a number of legal issues including zoning, nuisance abatement, state and federal regulatory matters, injunctions, employment law, as well as enactment of municipal ordinances.

Tiffany A. Richards
Associate Counsel and NLC PROTECTS Program Director

Tiffany A. Richards is Associate Counsel at the National Law Center for Children and Families, focusing on sex offender regulations at the local, state and federal level.  In June 2007, she assumed the position of Program Director of the NLC PROTECTS Seminar Series at the National Law Center. Prior to June, she served as Marketing and Communications Director for the program.  She presents the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act and its ramifications on states at seminars across the country. She co-authored an article in Municipal Lawyer magazine that discusses the efforts of local governments to protect children from sex offenders. After graduating with a degree in psychology from the University of Virginia, Ms. Richards earned a J.D. at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law where she was Articles Editor of the Penn State International Law Review. Ms. Richards obtained experience with the Real Estate Division of the Virginia Beach City Attorney's Office and the Community Justice Section of the Cumberland County (PA) District Attorney's Office.   She is licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Joanne Loughlin, Office Administrator

Christien Oliver, NLC Law Clerk