Photo by Matt Stensland

Hannah Giles, of the American Phoenix Foundation, speaks Saturday during the Freedom Conference at The Steamboat Grand.

Steamboat Springs Freedom Conference attendees on Saturday got to hear what drove Hannah Giles to investigate corruption at an agency that was supposed to be advocating for low-income families.

Giles was a 20-year-old aspiring journalist who had landed an internship in the Washington, D.C., area during summer 2009. While out for a jog, she ran past the housing barracks for the The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN.

It hit me, Giles said. I could do an investigation. Theyre right here.

She said she had written investigative pieces that were critical of ACORN and its political ties during college, but the articles did not change the national perception of the organization.

By the time Giles had finished her jog and returned to her apartment, she said she had formulated a plan to investigate ACORN.

She joined with James O'Keefe, who along with Giles is generally described as a conservative activist. Together, at a cost of $1,500, they produced a number of undercover videos that drew national controversy and led to the organizations downfall. One of the videos was shown at the beginning of Giles speech Saturday. It showed O'Keefe, posing as a pimp, and Giles posing as a prostitute. An ACORN employee was offering them advice on how to avoid paying taxes on their prostitution ring.

ACORN lost its government and private funding and declared bankruptcy in 2009.

Today, Giles helps lead investigations for the American Phoenix Foundation. According to its website, the goal of the foundation is to recruit and train select young potential leaders to transcend the traditional media by becoming independent truth-seeking journalists who relentlessly pursue truth with courage and creativity.

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Freedom Conference speaker emphasizes truth and justice