Nelson Pavlosky has done 2 years as a law student at George Mason Law in Arlington, VA, but is currently on a leave of absence. He previously graduated from Swarthmore College in Philadelphia, PA with a BA in Philosophy. As co-founder of both Students for Free Culture and its first campus chapter, Free Culture Swarthmore, Nelson has been involved in the “free culture” movement since shortly after the term was coined, and has worked tirelessly to make intellectual property and technology law better reflect the public interest. He made international headlines in 2003 as a plaintiff in OPG v. Diebold, a case which set an important precedent protecting freedom of speech from abuse of copyright law. Nelson is also co-founder of OpenHatch, Inc., an internet startup dedicated to making the open source software community better connected, more productive, and ultimately well rewarded for its expertise.
In his spare time, Nelson likes to ride his bike, eat fruit, and play guitar. He is one half of the songwriting duo behind Wrong Side of Dawn and performs regularly at open mike nights wherever he may be. As an amateur pyrotechnician and fireworks enthusiast, he co-founded the Junior Pyrotechnics Association and is a longtime member of the Pyrotechnics Guild International and Crackerjacks. He is a libertarian vegetarian Quaker but dislikes labels.
