Announcing Our 2024, 1995 Society Inductees!
The results are in! More than 100 outstanding nominations came in for the inaugural inductees to The 1995 Society and America’s Future, and we are excited to introduce our winners.
These young leaders have made it their mission to promote freedom and individual liberty in our society, and their work is inspirational.
Through their work of advancing the ideas of a free society through impactful research, leading grassroots initiatives, enacting meaningful policy reforms at the state level, and giving a voice to free-market ideas in the media – the efforts of this year’s winners to promote freedom and limited government better the lives and happiness of all Americans.
Meet Our 2024 Inductees!
Daniel Di Martino
Daniel Di Martino was born in 1999 in Venezuela to a middle class family. His grandparents escaped poverty and oppression in Italy and Spain in the 1950s, seeking a better future in the then 4th richest country in the world, Venezuela. Italy was destroyed by fascism and World War II and Spain by the Spanish Civil War and the Franco regime. Yet, despite not having a high school education and some having to learn a new language, his family prospered under Venezuela’s relatively free market and strong democracy in the second half of the 20th century. But Daniel saw how socialism transformed the once prosperous nation that welcomed his grandparents into a poor and dangerous place. His family’s income was drastically reduced due to inflation and he was forced to line up for food and basic necessities for hours due to the socialist policies of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro.
In 2016, he left Venezuela to go to college at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis thanks to a full-tuition scholarship that is given to only one international student per year. At IUPUI, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with honors and the highest distinction in Quantitative Economics in December 2019. Daniel’s experience in Venezuela taught him that any country, no matter how rich or democratic, can fall into the trap of “democratic” socialism and gradually lose all its prosperity. In America, he saw the rise of socialism on college campuses and became a major advocate for free markets, using his story to educate Americans, especially those in his generation, about why more freedom, not socialism, is the way to make America even greater than it already is.
Daniel is currently a Young Voices contributor, a Bienvenido Outreach Council member, a Newsmax insider, a speaker of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, and a PhD in Economics candidate at Columbia University.
Daniel has been on national TV dozens of times, being interviewed in Fox News, Fox Business, CNN, Fox 5DC, i24 English, and many other TV channels and radio stations. You can watch and listen to his interviews here.
He regularly writes op-eds and articles for outlets such as the USA Today, the Washington Examiner, the Washington Times, The Daily Wire, and many more. You can read them here.
Daniel is also a sought-after public speaker who lays out the problems of socialism using his story and first-hand knowledge to connect with diverse audiences. He has spoken at events and conferences of organizations like CPAC, Moms for America, the State Financial Officers Foundation, the Heritage Foundation, and universities such as Ball State University and the University of Kentucky. You can watch those here.
Nicholas Horton
A lifelong Arkansan, Nicholas Horton has done political and policy work in roughly half the country, ranging from Maine to Montana. His original research and analysis has been highlighted in The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Forbes, National Review Online, the Washington Examiner, and Townhall, among other national outlets. Nic has also appeared on numerous talk radio shows across the country.
Starting in the political world volunteering for local in Arkansas campaigns, Nic eventually founded and led The Arkansas Patriot, one of the leading conservative news sites in the South. Much of Nic’s work focused on holding local governments and elected officials accountable on wasteful spending, lack of transparency, and tax hikes. Partnering with local concerned citizens, Nic played an instrumental role in defeating numerous local tax increases at the ballot.
Nic later became the editor of The Arkansas Project, the largest policy news site in Arkansas, where he covered state issues ranging from criminal justice policy and tax reform to Medicaid expansion and occupational licensing.
Nic’s early career as a journalist and Medicaid policy enthusiast led him to the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA). Starting as the lone research fellow at FGA, focusing on Obamacare and Medicaid, Nic was quickly promoted to Research Director. Over the next five years, he built the department from the ground up by recruiting, training, and developing top-notch talent. Nic’s team members regularly were recruited and promoted by other departments in the organization which was openly recognized as a key asset for the company and an indication of his high ability to develop talent. During his tenure, he published more than 50 major research studies.
During his tenure at FGA, Nic also served as an on-the-ground lobbyist in Arkansas, where he was directly responsible for nearly 100 policy wins in the state (Previously, the organization had never achieved any policy wins in Arkansas). These wins range from implementing Medicaid work requirements—which made Arkansas the first and only state in the country to do so—to reforming the state’s archaic independent contractor rules to make it easier for Arkansans to find flexible work.
Nic has testified before legislative committees in nearly a dozen states, including in Arkansas and bigger states like Pennsylvania.
Spurred by his passion for Arkansas and solving his home state’s generational problems, Nic took a giant leap of faith in 2022 to pursue his decades-old dream of running his own policy organization. In August of 2022, Opportunity Arkansas was officially incorporated with the state of Arkansas. OA solves generational problems—like poverty, dependency, crime, and failing schools—by simplifying government.
Nic also launched his for-profit research firm, Red Truck Strategies, in 2022 to allow him to continue utilizing his multi-state and federal policy expertise. The firm provides research, data, and strategic consulting services, primarily for national conservative non-profits.
Nic resides in Conway, Arkansas, with his wife, Leah, and two children, Clark and Clara.
When he is not writing a policy piece or chasing his kids, Nic enjoys gardening, any good home improvement project, and storytelling. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration and a Master of Business Administration, both from Harding University.
Justin Musella
Justin Musella is a new Councilman in Parsippany-township Troy Hills. The focus of his campaign was to keep Parsippany the safe, prosperous, and community-oriented township his constituents know and love. Musella has been active in politics since an early age, having worked as a volunteer on Governor Christie’s campaign in 2009, then eventually becoming Chair of the Morris County Young Republicans in 2020.
Even before taking the oath of office, Musella was ranked 11th on Insider NJ’s 2021 list of “most influential millennials” in New Jersey politics. Musella was honored by the NJ Globe for being selected as having one of the best-run campaigns of 2021. Recently, he was ranked by Insider NJ as the 13th most influential millennial in politics of 2022 and 10th in 2023 on the same list.
Unafraid to take a controversial position, Musella separated himself from his GOP colleagues in Parsippany. He kept his campaign promise by voting against every tax increase since being elected and a union mandate for taxpayer-funded projects in 2022. Musella strongly believes in helping a new generation of Republican leaders find their voice in New Jersey and is eager to be a leader in this effort.