About Us
a movement of citizens who are fed up with business as usual in D.C.
We’re everyday patriots who have committed their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to restore self-governance in America by cultivating constitutional knowledge, moral virtue, and civic leadership.
Who We Are
THE LARGEST GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATION IN AMERICA
We’re funded by thousands of everyday patriots who have committed their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to protecting liberty for future generations.
We have a solution that is as big as the problem
The Convention of States (COS) Project was founded by Citizens for Self-Governance for the purpose of raising awareness of this constitutional solution. We believe Washington, D.C., is broken and will not fix itself. The federal government is spending this country into the ground, seizing power from the states and taking liberty from the people.
The Core Values That Define Our Mission
The United States of America was created of, by, and for people who were, in the words of the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, “free and who mean to remain so.” Our Founding Fathers risked everything to establish a society with a government designed to protect the natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and to use only the powers granted by ‘The People.’ Their example, and the values they lived by, guide our mission today.
national leadership
President, Convention of States
Mark Meckler
Mark Meckler is the President of Convention of States (COS). COS has over 5 million supporters and volunteers representing every state in the nation. Mark appears regularly on television, radio and online discussing the conservative grassroots perspective on political issues.
Before COS, Mark was the Co-Founder of Tea Party Patriots. He left the organization in 2012 advance principles of self-governance beyond the partisan divide in D.C. Mark has a B.A. from SDSU and a law degree from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. He practiced law for two decades.
From February 2021 to May 2021 Mark served as the Interim CEO at Parler to help bring the free speech social media company back online and equip it for a strong future. Meckler said, “It was an honor to serve in this capacity in the fight for free speech in America.”
Mark and Patty have been married more than 28 years. They have two grown children and reside in central Texas.
Senior Advisor, Convention of States
Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum is a Senior Advisor for Convention of States. Sen. Santorum was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 2012 and 2016 – winning the 2012 Iowa caucuses, 10 additional states and nearly 4 million votes. Prior to his campaigns for president, Rick served two terms in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, where he gained a reputation as one of the nation’s leading government reformers, pro-life advocates, and national security experts.
Rick Santorum is the author of the 2005 New York Times bestseller It Takes a Family, American Patriots: Answering the Call to Freedom, and Blue Collar Conservatives: Recommitting to an America that Works. Rick and his wife Karen are also the co-authors of Bella’s Gift that chronicles the inspiring story of life with the Santorums’ special-needs youngest child. Bella’s miraculous life has only strengthened Rick and Karen’s belief in the dignity of each and every life. Rick and Karen are the parents of seven children including Bella: Elizabeth, John, Daniel, Sarah Maria, Peter, and Patrick.
Senior Advisor, Convention of States
Michael Farris
Michael Farris is a Senior Advisor to Convention of States and co-founded the organization with Mark Meckler. He is largely known for his work in constitutional appellate litigation, religious freedom, and homeschool advocacy.
After years of success in the COS movement, God called Mike back to defending religious freedom, human life, and the family. Mike left Convention of States in 2017 to serve as the President, CEO and General Counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, the world’s premiere defender of religious liberty.
Mike was the founding president of both the Home School Legal Defense Association and Patrick Henry College. He has argued before the appellate courts of 13 states, eight federal circuit courts of appeals, and twice before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Following five years of dedicated work with ADF, Mike returned to Convention of States in 2023 to advance the movement for liberty and the protection of fundamental rights in America.
Mike and his wife Vickie have 10 children and many grandchildren.
Chief Public Policy Officer, Convention of States
Rita Peters
Rita Peters is the Chief Public Policy Officer for Convention of States. She has been with the movement since 2011. Rita is an attorney and a member of the bars of the state of Virginia and the United States Supreme Court, and is an affiliated attorney with the Alliance Defending Freedom, for whom she has written several friend-of-the-court briefs. Rita is the author of Restoring America’s Soul. Prior to joining COS, Rita worked for The Rutherford Institute, a non-profit civil liberties organization.
Rita lives with her husband and children in Virginia.
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