Meet the Summer 2019 Writing Fellows Program Virtual Class
This month, AF is kicking off the summer 2019 term of the Writing Fellows Program. With a total of 36 students, it’s our biggest class to date! Below, meet the 19 fellows who will make up the virtual section of this summer’s class.
Julia Brooks
Julia Brooks works at JPMorgan Chase & Co. as a Data Scientist, and so her day-to-day involves telling stories through data and data visualization. She graduated with her master’s at Southern Methodist University in 2018 and is currently pursuing her second master’s at Wharton. She look forward to expanding her writing skills and incorporating ways to improve her storytelling at work. On a personal note, she is expecting her first child this fall.
Andrew Doris
Andrew Doris is a former Captain in the United States Army and a 2015 graduate of the Johns Hopkins University, where he studied political science and economics. He blogs on policy, philosophy, and how to treat one another at Liberty & Justice.
Caroline Downey
Caroline Downey was born in Stamford, Connecticut and grew up in Jupiter, Florida. She is a rising senior at Boston College, where she studies economics and political science. Last summer, Caroline worked as a research and editorial intern at the Capital Research Center, a political investigative journalism think tank in Washington, D.C. She spent the last semester continuing her academic studies at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. Caroline is excited to return to D.C. this summer as an intern for the Truluck Center at The Heritage Foundation. In her free time, she enjoys reading news publications, participating as an attorney on her collegiate mock trial team, writing and sharing political thought, and performing musical theatre.
Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs is a Long Island native currently living in Northern Virginia with her husband and their two daughters. She is a graduate from Regent University’s Robertson School of Government, where she earned her master’s degree in American government and a certificate in law & public policy. She has written extensively on the pro-life issue and religious liberty for several years, with her work appearing for Townhall, The Federalist, Live Action News, and NewsBusters.
Charlie Gers
Charlie, a south Florida native, graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Communications degree in spring 2019. After volunteering at the Iowa for Rand Paul campaign in 2016, Charlie became very involved in the libertarian movement — he interned at Young Americans for Liberty in 2017, became the Midwest Regional Director for Students For Liberty in 2018, ran for mayor of Minneapolis as a Libertarian in 2017, and introduced Gary Johnson at his 2016 rally for president in Minneapolis. In addition, Charlie has gained passion for journalism as a writer for the Minnesota Republic (2016-2019) and Young Voices Contributor. Besides libertarianism, Charlie loves to travel, explore coffee shops, meet new people, and read.
Julie Grace
Julie Grace is a policy analyst for the Badger Institute — a free-market think tank in Milwaukee — where she researches and reports on criminal justice and occupational licensing issues. Prior to that, she served as a policy and communications advisor to Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, where she coordinated the lieutenant governor’s press and media appearances and assisted in policy development. She’s also worked as an editorial intern for Wisconsin Public Television and a graduate assistant at Marquette University in the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism. While completing her master’s degree in communications at Marquette University, Grace also interned at the Badger Institute, researching and reporting on the state and local impact of federal grants as part of the institute’s Project for 21st Century Federalism.
Christina Herrin
Christina Herrin graduated from the University of Iowa where she double majored in English and philosophy. During her time in college she participated in Young Americans for Liberty and was the state director for Turning Point USA. She has worked on state, congressional, and presidential campaigns for liberty-minded candidates, including Rand Paul for President.
While in D.C. she played a crucial role at FreedomWorks where she managed legislative outreach and coalition relationships. One of her most memorable roles while in D.C. was on the board of America’s Future Foundation where she had the chance to build relationships with other liberty-minded individuals in the D.M.V. Her most recent role was as the Regional Director for U.S. Rep. Rod Blum of Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. After spending two years in D.C. she is excited to be back in the Midwest working at the Heartland Institute and is pursuing her master’s in public policy with a specialization in campaigns and elections at Liberty University.
Rachel Horton
Rachel Horton is a researcher for American Philanthropic. She graduated with a degree in economics from Indiana University and participated in AEI’s Summer Honors Program. She enjoys sailing in her free time.
Andrew Houser
Andrew Houser graduated from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2018, with a bachelor’s in political science, Spanish, and international studies, as well as an economics minor. Andrew enjoys different hobbies in his down time, such as reading books, playing video games, and following Detroit sports teams.
Jessica Kramer
Jessica Kramer is a government graduate of Liberty University and currently resides in the Washington, D.C. area. She is an advocate for the restoration of the traditional family and argues for a redefinition of feminism through her organization, Ladies for Liberty.
Marcus Maldonado
Marcus Maldonado is a development and research associate at the Pelican Institute for Public Policy in New Orleans, Louisiana. He primarily assists the Pelican team in executing their fundraising programs, and he also contributes policy pieces and research to the organization’s blog. He’s most passionate about criminal justice reform, and he is also interested in policy regarding tech and innovation, civil liberties, and occupational licensing.
Jessica Murphy
Jessica was born in South Africa and spent most of her life in Wisconsin. She holds a BA in political science and BS in environmental policy from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay. She was heavily involved in Young Americans for Liberty and Students for Liberty in college, a research intern at a Wisconsin free market think tank, and a State Policy Network Generation Liberty Fellow in 2017. Her work has been featured in Campus Reform, Daily Caller, College Fix, and other media outlets. She currently works as the Foundations Officer at Students For Liberty and was formerly on the development team at the Leadership Institute. She lives in Arlington, Virginia and hosts Liberty Karaoke, a networking event for liberty-minded individuals, every Tuesday at O’Sullivan’s in Clarendon.
Jacob Lane
Jacob Lane is director of external relations for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI). Prior to his current role, he served as managing director of ISI’s Collegiate Network student journalism program. He attended DePauw University for his undergraduate studies and is a graduate of Ball State University, where he earned his master’s in journalism. While at Ball State, he served as a graduate assistant for the journalism department. Lane has been involved in Indiana politics since his days as an undergrad, and worked for both the Indiana House Republican Caucus and the Indiana Republican State Committee before deciding to attend graduate school.
Janson Prieb
Born and raised in Phoenix, Janson graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in economics. It was during his college years he grew an appreciation of Austrian economics and started his first internship with the Goldwater Institute. After graduation, Janson decided to head east to intern with the Commonwealth Foundation. During his free time, you can catch Janson reading Tolstoy, going to the ballpark or trying his new material at an open mic comedy night. He currently lives in Harrisburg, PA and is excited to see where his next position takes him!
Ryan Puzycki
Ryan Puzycki has worked as an analyst on Wall Street and as an executive in private education. He is currently the director of finance & operations at Mission Montessori in San Francisco. He holds a bachelor’s in international relations from Boston University and an MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business. His published writing has appeared in The Objective Standard and The Undercurrent, and he is currently finishing his first novel.
Levi Russell
Dr. Levi Russell currently serves as the Gwartney Institute Professor of Economic Education and Research at Ottawa University’s Angell Snyder School of Business. A native of Kansas, Dr. Russell earned degrees in finance and economics at Kansas State University. Prior to joining Ottawa, he was a professor of agricultural economics at Texas A&M University and the University of Georgia.
Dr. Russell has taught courses in finance, political economy, agricultural policy, production economics, and business strategy. His scholarly interests lie at the intersection of economics and politics, with an emphasis on the way policy is determined, the unintended consequences of policy, and the design of government and private institutions for serving the needs of people. He is a specialist at bringing economic concepts and principles to people of all ages and backgrounds through simple but compelling writing and speaking.
James Scimecca
James Scimecca is the press secretary for the Foundation for Government Accountability.
Prior to joining FGA, James worked as the communications manager for New American Economy, where he led media outreach and communications strategy advocating for market-based immigration reform.
James began his career working for the National Campus Leadership Council, where he researched and co-authored the organization’s first white paper, which focused on the correlation between federal financial aid programs and job readiness. The findings were presented to the White House and the Department of Education.
He holds a bachelor’s in political science and a master’s in political communications, both from The American University in Washington, DC.
Sarah Silberstein
Sarah Silberstein is the press secretary at the Texas Public Policy Foundation. She has been with the foundation since 2017.
A native Californian, Sarah moved to Texas with her family during the economic recession in 2008 and has been fortunate to have first-hand experience of the juxtaposition of ideologies and their effects on the respective state’s constituents.
Sarah graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2017 with a Bachelor of Journalism degree. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys reading, crafting and spending time with her family and three dogs, Theodore, Eleanor and Franklin.
Joe Tabor
Joe Tabor is a policy analyst with the Illinois Policy Institute. Joe researches and writes on law and economic policy in Illinois. He is the editor of the first book published by the Illinois Policy Institute: An Illinois Constitution for the Twenty-First Century, a collection of essays recommending amendments to the current Illinois Constitution.
Joe graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering and received his J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law.