Introducing Our 1995 Society Inductees for 2026!
America’s Future was founded in 1995 by young people eager to make their mark in Washington and the nation. Following a long tradition of celebrating young people’s contributions to advancing freedom in the United States, America’s Future launched the 1995 Society in 2023.
The 1995 Society recognizes exceptional young professionals who advance the classical liberal tradition and strengthen America’s future. These awards celebrate men and women whose leadership, ideas, and service are advancing the liberty movement in their communities, careers, and the broader culture.
This year, America’s Future will induct three individuals into our 1995 Society at our Annual Gala & Awards Showcase on May 28 at Sequoia in Washington, DC. Get to know them below!
Matthew Hurtt
Matthew Hurtt is the Director of Professional Services at the Leadership Institute. He is also an internationally recognized fundraiser, organizer, writer, and public speaker.
For nearly six years, Hurtt worked at Americans for Prosperity & AFP Foundation, where he organized activists across the country around policies that promote prosperity and opportunity. For three years, Hurtt was the public face of AFP/F’s Grassroots Leadership Academy, representing AFP/F at national conferences and other speaking engagements.
Prior to his time at AFP/F, Hurtt raised millions of dollars for conservatives as a copywriter for Response America, a direct mail fundraising firm in Alexandria. Before that, Matthew managed the campaign of then-State Senator Alex X. Mooney.
In 2009, Matthew joined the Leadership Institute staff as a Regional Field Coordinator, where he identified, recruited, and trained university students in Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and his home state of Tennessee. It was there that Hurtt began teaching grassroots activists how to organize for the conservative candidate or cause of their choice.
Since 2009, he has trained tens of thousands of activists at the LI headquarters in Arlington and across the country (and in Canada and Europe).
Matthew is involved in national Republican politics, serving as an at-large delegate to both the 2012 and 2016 Republican National Conventions. Since 2013, Hurtt has served as a special assistant to Virginia’s Republican National Committeeman, Morton Blackwell, at the Republican National Committee’s regular meetings.
Hurtt has been published in numerous outlets and has appeared on local, national, and international television and radio as a pro-liberty activist. He resides in Arlington, Virginia.
Stephanie Slade
Stephanie Slade is a senior editor at Reason, the magazine of “free minds and free markets,” and the author of Fusionism: Liberty, Virtue, and the Future of the American Right, forthcoming from University of Notre Dame Press. Her writing has appeared in America magazine, The New York Times, U.S. News and World Report, the Online Library of Liberty, and elsewhere. She covers the intersection of religion and politics.
Slade is best known for her piece “Why I Am a Pro-Life Libertarian,” her magazine feature on booze-producing monks, and her defenses of fusionism (which probably isn’t what you think!).
Don’t miss her discussing the differences between comprehensive and political libertarianism on The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie.
In 2013, Slade was named a finalist for the Bastiat Prize for Journalism. In 2016, she was selected as a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow. She has been a guest on a variety of podcasts, including Jonah Goldberg’s The Remnant, Charlie Sykes’ The Bulwark Podcast, and The New York Times’ Ezra Klein Show.
Prior to joining Reason, Slade worked as a speechwriter and pollster. She’s a proud graduate of the University of Florida, where she studied economics and political science.
Izabela Patriota
Izabela is a passionate advocate for freedom and market-based solutions, currently serving as the Director of Development at the Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA). She graduated with a law degree from her hometown university in northeastern Brazil in 2015, followed by a master’s degree in Law and Regulation from Brasília in 2018.
In 2024, she completed her PhD in Law and Political Economy at the University of São Paulo, Latin America’s most prestigious university. In 2019, she moved to the USA to intern at the Cato Institute and became a Bastiat Fellow with the Mercatus Center.
Her journey with LOLA began in 2018 as a volunteer, and her dedication led to her becoming the Director of Development in 2021. An advocate for women’s rights, she challenges the status quo by promoting market-based solutions over increased government intervention. Her insights have been featured in major Brazilian media outlets, and she maintains a column in a prestigious liberty-oriented magazine.
Beyond her professional achievements, she is a karate black belt and three-time national champion, a testament to her enduring courage and ambition. She continues to seek new opportunities globally, driven by a relentless pursuit of knowledge and freedom.
As our country celebrates its 250th birthday, America’s Future looks ahead by channeling bold optimism and the belief that the future is still ours to build. Inspired by the optimism of the mid-century, this evening celebrates innovation, technological progress, and the enduring belief in a freer, brighter American future.
For more than two decades, the AF Annual Gala has brought together liberty-minded leaders from across the country to celebrate freedom, community, and the promise of what comes next. 2026 will be our most visionary yet.
Walk the red carpet and celebrate the induction of the newest members of the 1995 Society before closing out the night on the dance floor.
Interested in sponsoring this year’s gala? Reach out to Emma at [email protected].