Madeline Bartsche

As Campus Rights Advocacy Program Counsel at FIRE, Madeline defends students and faculty from censorship. She first worked with FIRE in 2023 as a Hellman Fellow in the litigation department, after her first year of law school at Cleveland State University College of Law.

Madeline’s passion for the First Amendment began when she faced censorship as a student journalist at the University of Dayton, where she was the arts and entertainment editor of the student-run newspaper and earned her B.A. in English. Writing has been the throughline ever since: She spent all four years of undergrad as a writing consultant, then worked as a legal writing and research teaching assistant in law school. Her writing background gave her both a reason to defend expression and the tools to do it.

For Madeline, defending the First Amendment and preserving the marketplace of ideas is not just a job but a vocational calling. She is admitted to practice law in Ohio. 

When she’s not advocating for free speech, Madeline can be found on a yoga mat, on a forest trail with her camera, or at home with her cat.