Meet Phillip Bader, AF’s Communications and Social Media Manager

America’s Future is excited to welcome the newest member of our team, Phillip Bader!

Phillip is the communications and social media manager at America’s Future, where he works to highlight the AF brand while educating, entertaining, and expanding AF’s audience and online presence. Previously he has interned and worked in communications for organizations such as the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Atlas Network, and Pacific Legal Foundation. 

After graduating from Davidson College, Phillip moved back to the DC area, where he grew up, as he just couldn’t get enough humidity in his life. In his free time Phillip plays ultimate frisbee, as part of his ongoing quest to fulfill every liberal arts stereotype he can. You can also find him playing basketball, obsessing over any and all sports, reading Terry Pratchett, and desperately trying to convince himself being a Washington Wizards fan is worth it.

Learn more about Phillip in our Q&A!

1. What do you enjoy about your career path so far, and why?

I’ve really enjoyed getting a pretty broad look at how the many individual organizations in the liberty movement all interact and come together in pursuit of common goals and ideals. There’s such a variety of viewpoints and ideas, and even though every group has their own specific targets, there’s an ongoing conversation that’s fascinating to observe and be a part of. It’s the free market of ideas in action!

2. Why did you decide to work with America’s Future?

We’re living in a sort of renaissance of activism, and I believe America’s Future is uniquely situated to take part in what I see as a groundswell of grassroots movements making their voices heard. It’s become cool to care about politics again, and more people than ever are looking for ways to make their voices heard. AF has the tools and network to help people do just that, and I look forward to helping them do so.

3. What are you most excited about in the role?

I find digital media and communications endlessly fascinating, and I love being part of a field that is constantly changing and evolving right before our eyes. I’m looking forward to really setting out and illustrating precisely what the America’s Future brand is, and what sets us apart. 

4. What helpful skills do you have that people could ask you for advice on?

I like to think I’m pretty good at trivia. A lifetime spent on the internet, watching TV, and reading until my eyes hurt has left me with approximate knowledge of everything from Ancient Greek mythology to Civil War history to the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the 2nd season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the best one). 

On a more professional level, if you’re trying to work on expanding your online presence or brand, I’d be happy to give you a few tips. Nobody has all the answers to being “good at Twitter” (and anyone who says they do is lying), but there are certain best practices you should be keeping in mind.

I’m also 6’4”, so let me know if there’s anything on a high shelf you’re having trouble with.

5. Book recommendations?

Anything and everything written by Terry Pratchett. Start with Night Watch or The Wee Free Men, and let your imagination take it from there. 

Also, if you have even the slightest interest in basketball, read Basketball: A Love Story. It’s essentially the oral history of the sport, told through the legends and figures that most defined it, jumping from era to era and player to player. Every chapter gives a beautiful insight into how the sport and culture that surrounds it came to be the way it is today.

6. Coffee order?

I’m actually more of a tea person, to be honest. Blame my Japanese grandmother. When I do have coffee though, I only have two moods: 1) black and slightly burnt, diner style; and 2) filled with enough caramel syrup and flavoring to make even Willy Wonka say “that’s a bit much.”

7. Favorite places to travel?

Yes.

Seriously though, you can’t go wrong with Ireland and Scotland. I find Celtic culture and mythology fascinating, pub culture is such a unique experience that isn’t replicated anywhere else in the world, and a good single-malt whisky is one of God’s perfect pleasures. The geography is also stunning, you have lakes, you have moors, you have the ocean, not to mention the Highlands, which will never fail to take my breath away. 

Domestically, if you are ever able to travel to Hawaii, don’t go to the Big Island, go to Maui. It’s drop-dead gorgeous, much less crowded, and infinitely closer to what most people think of as “Hawaii.” Driving the Road to Hana should be on every American’s bucket list.