Fred Edwords

Contact Information:
Phone: (202) 238-9088
Fax: (202) 238-9003
E-mail: fedwords@americanhumanist.org
Click here for high-res picture

A leading voice for Humanism in the United States and abroad, Fred Edwords is recognized as an outstanding lecturer, debater, and inspirational speaker on human rights, Humanist philosophical issues, and Humanist lifestyle concerns. He has appeared on national and local television in the United States and Canada, has been interviewed on radio and for newspapers around the world, and has lectured in North America, Europe, and India. He has also written for several publications in the United States and elsewhere.

Fred Edwords began his Humanist activism in 1977 as vice president of the Humanist Association of San Diego. He became president the next year, expanded his reach as American Humanist Association West Coast regional coordinator in 1979, and became national administrator for the organization in 1980. He then served for fifteen years as AHA executive director (1984-1999) and twelve years as editor of the Humanist magazine (1994-2006). Edwords now focuses his attention on bringing Humanism to a wider public in his capacity as AHA director of communications.

Fred Edwords is also seen as a leader in the broader community of reason. He was the first president of Camp Quest, Inc., a summer camp for freethinking children, and continues to serve on its board of directors. He has also served on the boards of the International Humanist and Ethical Union and the National Center for Science Education, served as vice president of the North American Committee for Humanism, and been a member of the adjunct faculty of the Humanist Institute. In 1980 he was the founding editor of the Creation/Evolution journal-the only publication dedicated to answering the pseudoscientific, philosophical, educational, and legal arguments of creationists-serving as its editor for eleven years. For such work Edwords was recognized in the mid-1980s as Rationalist of the Year by the American Rationalist Federation and as a Humanist Pioneer by the American Humanist Association. He continues as an advisor for the Secular Student Alliance and a Humanist Celebrant in the Humanist Society.

He is also the director of planned giving for the American Humanist Association.