Please join us for a breakfast conversation on freedom's fragility and other warnings from Venezuela + Brazil
- Date & Time
- June 23, 2026 from 7:30AM to 9AM EDT
- Location
-
Amway Grand (Pantlind Ballroom)
187 Monroe Avenue NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Doors Open at 7:30am with event beginning promptly 8am
RSVP
The Freedom Series at Acton U: Freedom Warnings for West MI
Join us for a breakfast with The Freedom Series at Acton University on June 23 featuring Daniel Di Martino and Marcel van Hattem.
Marcel van Hattem is a Brazilian politician, journalist, and political scientist serving as an elected Federal Representative from the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Van Hattem began his political career at the local level, eventually becoming the youngest assemblyman before ascending to the national stage — where he was awarded the Order of Rio Branco, Brazil's highest civilian honor. A vocal advocate for individual liberty and limited government, Van Hattem has been at the center of Brazil's constitutional battles, confronting an increasingly authoritarian Supreme Court that has threatened the rule of law, a free press, and freedom of speech.
Daniel Di Martino is a Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a PhD candidate in Economics at Columbia University. Born and raised in Venezuela, Di Martino experienced the terrible consequences of socialism firsthand. After leaving Venezuela for the U.S. in 2016, he dedicated himself to explaining how socialism destroyed his homeland, advocating for its freedom, and stopping this ideology from ever being implemented in America and elsewhere. Di Martino has appeared on Fox News and CNN, and written for USA Today, National Review, City Journal and New York Post, among others.
The Freedom Series is a Grand Rapids speaker series advancing American Principles.