Mason M. Bishop is a nonresident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on workforce development, reforming employment and job training programs (including policies, practices, and innovations), and career and technical education.
Kevin Corinth is a senior fellow, the Daniel C. Searle Chair, and the deputy director of the Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility at the American Enterprise Institute, where he researches economic mobility, poverty, safety-net programs, homelessness, social capital, and other issues.
Veronique de Rugy is the George Gibbs Chair in Political Economy and a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a nationally syndicated columnist. Her primary research interests include the US economy, the federal budget, taxation, tax competition, and cronyism. Her popular weekly columns address economic issues ranging from lessons on creating sustainable economic growth to the implications of government tax and fiscal policies. She has testified numerous times in front of Congress on the effects of fiscal stimulus, debt and deficits, and regulation on the economy.
Frederick M. Hess is a senior fellow and the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, as well as an affiliate of the Institute’s James Q. Wilson Program in K–12 Education Studies. He studies K–12 and higher education issues.
Michael Q. McShane is an adjunct fellow in education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute and director of national research at EdChoice, where he studies and writes about K–12 education policy, including private and religious schools and the politics of education.
Thomas O’Rourke is a PhD student in sociology and social policy at Princeton University and a former data analyst for the American Enterprise Institute’s Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility. He studies poverty, economic mobility, and social capital.
Brent Orrell is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, specializing in job training and workforce development with a special focus on disconnected and disadvantaged populations, including youth, the justice involved, veterans, and neurodivergent persons.
Angela Rachidi is a senior fellow and Rowe Scholar in opportunity and mobility studies at the American Enterprise Institute, where she studies poverty and the effects of federal safety-net programs on low-income individuals and families in America. Her research focuses on the effectiveness of government programs and policies in increasing employment and long-term family well-being.
Ja’Ron Smith, a partner with the CGCN Group, is a policy expert experienced in advocacy, legislating, and policy strategy and negotiation. He recently served as the executive director of the Center for Advancing Opportunity at Thurgood Marshall College Fund, which aims to move people living in fragile communities from promise to prosperity by developing research-based solutions to pressing issues such as education, entrepreneurship, criminal justice, and overall economic conditions. Previously, Smith worked with the Trump administration as the highest-ranking and longest-serving African American adviser, acting in a number of roles.
Robert VerBruggen is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where he provides policy research, writes for City Journal, and contributes to special projects and initiatives in the president’s office. Having held roles as deputy managing editor of National Review, managing editor of The American Conservative, editor at RealClearPolicy, and assistant book editor at The Washington Times, VerBruggen writes on a wide array of issues, including economic policy, public finance, health care, education, family policy, cancel culture, and public safety. VerBruggen was a Phillips Foundation Journalism Fellow in 2009 and a 2005 winner of the Chicago Headline Club Peter Lisagor Award. He holds a BA in journalism and political science from Northwestern University.
Matt Weidinger is a senior fellow and Rowe Scholar in opportunity and mobility studies at the American Enterprise Institute. His work is focused on safety-net policies, including cash welfare and unemployment insurance.
Paul Winfree is the president and CEO of the Economic Policy Innovation Center. He has served in top management and policy roles in the White House, the US Senate, and think tanks.
Scott Winship is a senior fellow and the director of the Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility at the American Enterprise Institute, where he researches social mobility and the causes and effects of poverty. He also focuses on economic insecurity and inequality, among other issues.