Free the Facts is making it easier for young people to be informed, get involved, and 
stay engaged

Kaitlyn Ridel has worked in communications, marketing, and journalism for more than 10 years and previously led digital content strategy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Prior to then, she led digital content campaigns on behalf of Fortune 500 clients at Atlantic Media’s Government Executive Media Group. She began her career as a journalist and has been published in USA Today, CQ Roll Call, and Cleveland.com, among other outlets. She is a graduate of the University of Dayton, a Cleveland native, and lives in Maryland with her partner and two dogs.

Taylor Hourigan earned her bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Colorado State University, where she was a trained facilitator with the CSU Center for Public Deliberation. She holds a master’s degree in political communication from the University of Maryland. Before joining Free the Facts full-time, Taylor participated in the Scholar program. She is an avid college sports fan and her teams are the Colorado State Rams, Maryland Terrapins, and Kentucky Wildcats.

Brianna Moore (Bri) is a graduate from Smith College, where she majored in government. Bri has been involved with Free the Facts since 2017, when she attended one of their Smith campus events. Upon graduating, Bri joined the Free the Facts team as first a Scholar and then as the Tour Coordinator. In addition to her role as Senior Advisor, Bri currently serves as the Interim Leadership Programs Director.

Victoria is a recent graduate from the University of Florida, where she majored in political science and economics, with a concentration in international relations. She interned on the Hill during Summer of 2022 and completed her senior year as an Ambassador on Florida’s campus. She is currently the Leadership Programs Coordinator and works closely with students in both the East and West regions of the country.

Tom Church is a policy fellow at the Hoover Institution. He studies health care policy, entitlement reform, income inequality, poverty, and the federal budget. Church received his master’s degree in public policy with honors from Pepperdine University and a bachelor's degree in mathematics and political science from the University of Michigan.

Victoria Gordon is a filmmaker and communications consultant. She started her career in television news, working as a Researcher and Producers for NBC News in its Washington, DC Bureau and later covering politics for The Washington Post as a member of its video team. In 2015 Victoria began working as a documentary filmmaker when she joined the film ‘Clinton Cash’ (2016) as an editor. Since she has helped deploy content marketing strategies for a series of tech and media start ups as well as produced long and short form content for a number of foundations and political campaigns. Victoria is based in Miami, Florida.

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Thomas Fodor is a 2020 graduate of Carson-Newman University, located in East Tennessee, where he majored in political science and philosophy, with a minor in math and religion. He became involved with Free the Facts in the spring of 2019. Before he joined Free the Facts as a Program Operations Coordinator, he was a part of the Scholar Program. He also spent time interning at USCIS and The Fund for American Studies.

Matthew Spence, PhD, is Global Head of Venture Capital Banking and Managing Director at Barclays, and a professor of practice at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor Law School and Thunderbird School of Global Management. He has also taught at Stanford and Yale. Prior to entering the private sector, Spence served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Middle East Policy, where he was the principal advisor to three Secretaries of Defense for U.S. policy towards the Middle East. Spence has also worked at the White House on the National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for International Economic Affairs and as Senior Advisor to two National Security Advisors. A Marshall Scholar and Truman Scholar, Spence received his doctorate in international relations from Oxford University, J.D. from Yale Law School, and master’s and bachelors degree from Stanford University. He lives in Sausalito with his wife Audrey, and three dogs and five chickens.

Lindsay Hayes has served as a writer and communications consultant in the White House and the U.S. Senate, for a Cabinet-level agency, and on two presidential campaigns. Hayes received her master's degree and Ph.D. in political communication from the University of Maryland, where she taught communications courses for over a decade. She also holds a bachelor's degree in political science and communication from Boston College.

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Lanhee J. Chen, Ph.D. has worked in government, politics, the private sector, and academia. A veteran of several high-profile presidential campaigns, Chen previously served as a presidentially-appointed and Senate-confirmed member of the Social Security Advisory Board—an independent, bipartisan panel that advises the president, Congress, and the Commissioner of Social Security on matters related to the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income programs. He was also a senior appointee at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Chen is currently the David and Diane Steffy Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution; Director of Domestic Policy Studies and Lecturer in the Public Policy Program at Stanford University; and an affiliate of Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. He is also a Senior Counselor at the Brunswick Group, a global critical issues business advisory firm.

Julius L. Chen, Ph.D. is a health economist and Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. Chen’s research evaluates the innovative value-based care delivery and payment models that are being developed by Medicare, state Medicaid agencies, and self-insured employers. He also teaches graduate-level courses on healthcare finance and provider payment systems. Chen earned his B.A. in economics from the University of California, Berkeley; received his M.S. and Ph.D. in applied economics and managerial science from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; and is pursuing his Ed.M. in education leadership at Harvard University. He also served as a California Senate Fellow from 2010-2011.

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Jason Marcella has worked in advertising and marketing for the past 20 years. He is experienced in all aspects of visual design, from branding and promotion to motion graphics and photography. His client list is diverse, including real estate developers, defense contractors, banks, tech companies, and the Virginia Lottery.

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Gabe first attended a Free the Facts Social Security presentation in 2018 and immediately applied to become an Ambassador for his campus. After participating in the organization’s Internship and Scholar Programs, he joined the team full-time. Gabe has worked with a variety of organizations to develop data-driven programs and strategy. Holding a bachelor's degree in ACS biochemistry from Southern Oregon University, Gabe is a native Oregonian, raised in Portland, and remains an avid fan of the Portland Trail Blazers.

Prior to joining Free the Facts, Camden Stuebe served as President of the Independent Journal Review, overseeing the company’s business and editorial operations. Stuebe’s career at IJR spanned more than three years and included a variety of roles, among them being Chief of Staff. Through these positions, she acquired experience in organizational strategy and operations, management and talent development, digital media, editorial operations, and content development. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Beloit College, where she double-majored in political science and psychology.