2019 Speechwriters Fellows

Scott Blakeman is a part of the speechwriting team at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he writes speeches, op-eds, and other messaging pieces for the Secretary and Deputy Secretary. Prior to working at HHS, he served on the Hill with the House Committee on Natural Resources, and Rep. Doug Lamborn. He started his career at The Heritage Foundation, serving in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies. He hails from Wake Forest, North Carolina, and graduated from Liberty University with a bachelor’s degree in government.

Jonathan Bronitsky is chief speechwriter to the U.S. Attorney General and senior advisor for strategic communications at the U.S. Department of Justice. He has written for, among other publications, Weekly Standard, Los Angeles Times, National Interest, National Affairs, Modern Age, and Claremont Review of Books. He received both his PhD in history and MPhil in international relations from Cambridge University. His master’s thesis highlighted the rise of British-Muslim radicalization during the Bosnian War while his doctoral dissertation examined the Anglo-American origins of neoconservatism. Jonathan is a summa cum laude graduate of The Pennsylvania State University. He is a 2017 Lincoln Fellow.

Charles Correll III is the deputy speechwriter for Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). He is responsible for producing speeches, op-eds, and other written products. Previously, he worked on regulatory and technology policy for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. His writing has been published in National Review. He earned his B.A. in politics (with honors) and American History from Washington and Lee University. He is a 2018 Publius Fellow.

Charles Correll III is a Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Speechwriters Fellow for 2019

Katie Davern works as a speechwriter for Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT). Prior to working for Sen. Lee, she worked in the House of Representatives for Congressman John Ratcliffe (R-TX) and interned for The Heritage Foundation. She received her bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Dallas.

William Eucker is the speechwriter for Admiral James Foggo, the NATO Operational Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples, Italy, and the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa. In his role, he advises strategy, writes speeches and develops content for all engagements and public appearances from Africa to the Arctic. Prior to speechwriting, William served as a submarine officer. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he has a master’s degree in policy and a Ph.D. in polar studies from the University of Cambridge where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar.

Nicholas G. Hahn, III is director of speechwriting at the U.S. Department of Education. In his capacity as chief speechwriter for Secretary Betsy DeVos, Hahn helps the Secretary make her case for education freedom. Hahn also leads a team of writers who assist him in writing for the Secretary and her surrogates. Before entering public service, Nick was an accomplished journalist who led the opinion section of The Hill and was published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, and The Detroit News. He was a Phillips Foundation Ronald Reagan College Leaders Scholar, was named among the country’s top ten campus conservative activists by Young America’s Foundation in 2006-2007, and was named to MediaDC’s Red Alert Politics “30 Under 30” list in 2016.

Daniel Parker is an Investigator for the Senate Finance Committee, where his responsibilities include writing speeches for the Committee Chairman, Senator Chuck Grassley. He previously worked as an Investigator for the Senate Judiciary Committee. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in government from Cornell University. Dr. Parker’s research has focused on the role of ideas in politics. As part of his dissertation research at Penn, he transcribed the proceedings of political action conferences held during the 1970s and used the transcriptions as a basis for analyzing changes in conservative political discourse.

Angeline Riesterer is the communications director for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives where she oversees all aspects of the member’s communications strategy including media relations and writing speeches and op-eds. Her writing has been published by the Wall Street Journal and The Seattle Times, among others. Before starting on Capitol Hill, Angeline worked in full-time church ministry in Portland, Oregon, her hometown. She holds a B.A. in American studies from Hillsdale College, where she edited the college newspaper.

Matt Salisbury is a communications consultant. He has worked with dozens of advocacy organizations and nonprofits, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Open Doors USA, the Freedom Forum Institute at the Newseum, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. In addition to providing crisis communications counsel and strategic planning, Matt works as a private sector speechwriter, and has written under his own name in The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, and other outlets. He is a member of the U.S. board of Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice, a Vatican foundation dedicated to the promotion of Catholic Social Teaching.

Antonin Scalia is a speechwriter to the 11th U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. Prior to his appointment to the Department of Education he worked at the U.S. Department of State, and as a research assistant at Princeton University’s James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. He is a graduate of Rhodes College.

Wilson Shirley is the speechwriter for Senator Roger Wicker, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Previously, Shirley worked in the government relations and academic programs departments of the American Enterprise Institute. Before that, he was a research assistant at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law focusing on disputed territories in the Middle East and North Africa. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, where he studied political science, philosophy, and Arabic and was an active member of the theater community.

Wilson Shirley is a Jack Roth Charitable Foundation Speechwriters Fellow for 2019

Nicole Stacy is communications writer and principal speechwriter at Susan B. Anthony List, the nation’s largest pro-life political organization. Previously, she was public policy assistant at the Family Institute of Connecticut. Raised in West “by God” Virginia, Nicole trained to be a professional musician at West Virginia University and then at the University of Hartford before becoming involved in pro-life, pro-family work.

Elad Vaida is government relations associate at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. In this role, he helps to manage the Foundation’s relationships on Capitol Hill and in embassies in D.C. Born in Israel to Romanian parents, he immigrated to the U.S. and became a citizen in 2014. His work has appeared in The Washington Examiner, The Federalist, The Daily Signal, American Greatness, The National Interest, and The New Lyceum. Before moving to D.C., he lived in Boston, Massachusetts, where he earned a Master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from Harvard University.