Nathan Fatal was a libertarian through and through — and even ran an Objectivist reading group — when he was at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. But the only formal, registered club he was in was …. the College Republicans.

Then he boarded a bus bound for Washington, D.C.

The bus included young people from several different states, most of whom had never been to a political event, but all of whom, on some level, felt politically homeless.

“When I think back on the big things I’ve accomplished,” he said, “I can trace it all back to that bus ride.”

That bus was bound for LibertyCon International, Students For Liberty’s annual, flagship event.

“It was a huge first exposure, and a crash course for everyone involved,” he continued. “It was a catalyst. Meeting all those people, being inspired by them, it was like, ‘Finally, there’s an ideological home for us, and it’s not just disembodied ideas in books.’”

Fatal (pronounced Fuh-tahl), 33 years old as of this writing in 2026, would go on to work for multiple political campaigns, Young Americans for Liberty, and Students For Liberty after receiving his degree. In 2023, he became the Director of Community Organizing at the Leadership Institute (LI), where he leads and trains organizers across the U.S. 

But when his head hits the pillow at night, what makes him proudest is the role he played in three huge wins for freedom, including on dozens of college campuses.

In Los Angeles, across the LA Community College system’s nine campuses and 100,000 students, he organized a student-led petition effort against illegal restrictions on speech. When these actions led to formal retaliation against one student, Nathan, through LI and FIRE, helped that student initiate a lawsuit — and won.

“I developed a strategy for finding an unjust and unconstitutional policy that affects a big system across multiple campuses, like the nine-campus Los Angeles Community College District. We were ready for litigation, but with the primary goal of actually doing organization building, to change policy through ethical but consistent pressure,” he said.

With that momentum in his back pocket, Nathan helped student leaders across California and Arizona defend their rights. In California, lawsuits in which Nathan referred the students to legal support changed policies at 42 public colleges. In Arizona, the threat of litigation was answered with statewide legislation that abolished free speech restrictions at all 24 public campuses in the state. 

This unprecedented series of policy changes shaped an Executive Order during President Trump’s first term to eliminate federal funding to any public university that limits free speech.

“He based that executive order on a few specific legal cases — most of them were ones I was involved with, including LACC and some cases in Michigan where our people got arrested,” Nathan said. “It was a really rewarding victory.”

Then, during the height of Covid (2020-2022), Nathan organized Disobey LA, a “totally grassroots, volunteer effort for coordinated, ethical civil disobedience,” as he put it. His coalition of business owners, as the name suggests, disobeyed LA’s lockdowns and mandates.

In the spirit of free speech, members of multiple political parties and supporters of more than one presidential candidate were part of Disobey LA. It represented a truly issue-based campaign that focused on one thing: freedom of assembly, and did not focus on others (such as the political campaigns and debates dominating the headlines at the time).

Nathan organized and educated business owners about their rights, teaching people how to engage with their governments civilly. “I had to encourage people, not just get them angry. And I kept reminding people, ‘This is NOT a Trump event.’ This is about something very specific, a specific policy. All of my previous experiences were building toward that.”

He went on: “I used what I learned from my time with SFL to develop those strategies, to become a more effective activist. Above all, the desire for service — the desire on the part of SFL to do real community-building … and that sense of optimism and idealism, the idea that you can do something in this world, but it has to be something structured and mature. That always stuck with me.”

In 2026, with his bus ride to and experience at LibertyCon forever stamped in his mind, he returned the favor to three deserving SFLers who will go on to score the next huge victories for freedom.

A Portuguese speaker himself, Nathan launched a fundraiser that brought those students — from two of the Portuguese-speaking African countries, Mozambique and Angola, which had never before been represented at the event — to LibertyCon Africa in Zambia.

He minced no words in his Instagram post: “I’m asking for a personal favor on something tangibly important to me … I’m speaking at this event and I want to build an international network of Portuguese speakers who fight for Liberty. If you aren’t sure if this is the cause for you, consider doing it for me. My birthday is in a month and this is the only thing that I want from anybody.”

His words, “I’m speaking at this event” might have been an understatement. He led an in-person training there, called BREAKTHROUGH LEADERSHIP: Sparking Possibility in Others. It was the best-attended breakout session of the conference. The room literally overflowed with people, some of whom had to stand in the hallway and crane their necks to listen. It was a full-circle moment and a reminder of how SFL alumni care — care for their roots, for liberty, and for creating life-changing experiences for new volunteers.

Here’s what some of them had to say after the event:

“Inspired by the discussions in a session led by Nathan Fatal, I created a question that I now use to gauge my own leadership: ‘If I were in a position to make decisions that affect your life, would you trust me to make the right choices?’ I’ve been asking friends, classmates, and acquaintances this question, and it’s been eye-opening. It forces me to reflect on how my actions either big or small impact others and challenges me to lead with integrity, clarity, and empathy.” -Dalitso Mweemba

“A key takeaway from Nathan’s session was the powerful idea that ‘leadership starts with the mindset, not the title.’” -Donald Jose

“Genuinely enjoyed learning more about decentralization, decentralized finances, digital policies and also about leadership with Nathan Fatal from Leadership Institute.” -Ropafadzo Abigail Tambara

“Nathan Fatal posed a very interesting yet provocative question during LibertyCon Africa … The question was “Who would want to be given an opportunity to lead without titles, break limiting beliefs, make bold requests, and light the spark in others?” You should have been there to see the delight in young people taking keen interest in the feedback and engagement!” -Austin Kachenga

“One thing that stayed with me from Mr. Nathan Fatal: Leadership is not about having all the answers, it’s about creating possibility in others.” -Francis Tembo