Chad Thevenot Bio
Chad Thevenot
Chad Thevenot has served as the chief operating officer of the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) since October 2004. He is an alumnus of IHS's summer seminar program and was awarded a Humane Studies Fellowship from IHS in 2001 and 2002 while earning a master's degree in Communications, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. In December 1991, he earned a bachelor's degree in Business Management from the University of Texas in Austin.
Prior to working with IHS, Chad served as the director of grants and outreach for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) in Washington, D.C., where he directed the nation's largest marijuana policy reform grant-giving program. At MPP, Chad was also responsible for managing MPP's celebrity outreach campaign.
From June 1996 until October 2001, Chad worked at the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation (CJPF), where he served initially as operations and research manager and later as director of communications. In 2000, Chad initiated and coordinated the Coalition for Jubilee Clemency (CJC), a coalition of more than 700 religious leaders nationwide who urged President Clinton at the end of his presidency to grant clemency to nonviolent, low-level drug offenders in federal prison. In January 2001, President Clinton granted clemency to almost two dozen such offenders, including to Dorothy Gaines, who had served as the "poster person" for the CJC campaign.
When not advocating for economic and civil liberties, Chad writes, produces, and performs music professionally under the pseudonym "Sugar Jones." He has released two CDs, "The Push" in 1994 and "Bring Your Own Insanity" in 2001, the latter featuring George Porter Jr., legendary bassist of The Meters. Chad has performed hundreds of live shows and earned reviews and features in publications nationwide, including in OffBeat magazine, OnStage magazine, and The Washington Post. He is currently producing his third CD, "Satsuma Skin," for release in 2005. He also founded and manages Sovereign Music, an independent record label with the motto, "Independent Minds. Independent Music."
Born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Chad lives in the Takoma neighborhood of Washington, D.C., with his wife and his son. Being from Southern Louisiana, Chad loves cooking Cajun food. He also loves movies, bicycling, and hanging out with friends and family.
