Merrill Matthews, Ph.D., is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation, a research-based, public policy “think tank.” He is a health policy expert and weekly contributor at Forbes.co...

Matt Mackowiak (Mack-o-VEE-yack) is an Austin and Washington, DC-based political and communications consultant and President of Potomac Strategy Group (PSG), LLC, which provides political consulting t...

Matt Mackowiak (Mack-o-VEE-yack) is an Austin and Washington, DC-based political and communications consultant and President of Potomac Strategy Group (PSG), LLC, which provides political consulting to conservative campaigns and media relations and crisis communications assistance to companies, groups and individuals. He has served in senior roles for two U.S. Senators and a Governor, in the Bush administration, and in winning campaigns, and has developed a deep network of media and political relationships nationwide. Matt consultancy, PSG, which he founded in 2009, provides corporate communications services, including public affairs, media relations, writing, opposition research, digital strategy and other services and has been actively working in the energy, health care, transportation and tech sectors, among others. In addition to offering counsel to individuals and corporations, Matt appears regularly on MSNBC, Fox News, Sky News, BBC News and CBC-TV, and provides political analysis three times a week for KTBC Fox 7 in Austin. He is an exclusive weekly columnist for The Washington Times and periodic columnist for The New York Observer and The Hill. His weekly national politics podcast, “Mack On Politics,” which is produced in partnership with The Washington Times, has surpassed the 80,000-download mark and has featured interviews with U.S. Senators, members of Congress and a Cabinet Secretary, best-selling authors, diplomats and top journalists. He is a judge for professional awards through the AAPC Pollies and the Goldies, given to top performing campaign operatives and vendors annually. Matt is currently serving as Chairman of the Travis County Republican Party, where he manages three staff and an annual budget of over $350,000. He is a Director of the Center for Public Policy and Political Studies at Austin Community College. In 2016, he was named a finalist for “Austin Under 40” in the Public Affairs category and he is a graduate of Leadership Austin’s 2017 Essential Class. After raising over $54,000 in ten weeks for cancer research, he was named 2016 “Man of the Year” runner-up for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and serves as a member of their leadership committee. He serves as a member of the Board of Advisors for the Texas Cowboys and for the Veterans non-profit Luke’s Wings and on the Board of Directors for Balcones Country Club. He serves as Vice President of the Texas Delta Chi Housing Foundation. He was a 2016 delegate to the British-American Project, and now serves as U.S. Vice Chair, and is a member of the Council for National Policy and the Headliners Club in Austin. A native of Austin, Matt graduated with a B.S. in Political Communications from the University of Texas in 2003. Aside from his professional work, he owns and manages the popular blog site www.PotomacFlacks.com, which the Washingtonian Magazine has called “one of the best political blogs.” In 2012, Matt started a bipartisan political blog for Texas politics, MustReadTexas.com, which aggregates the top news and opinion from across the state and delivers a daily email newsletter to more than 3,000 subscribers. Matt and his wife Suzanne live in Northwest Hills in Austin and have three spoiled dogs, Ginny, Jasmine and Ella.

Chelsey Youman, Esq., is Chief of Staff & Counsel for First Liberty Institute, concentrating on religious liberty matters and First Amendment rights. She joined First Liberty Institute after workin...

Chelsey Youman, Esq., is Chief of Staff & Counsel for First Liberty Institute, concentrating on religious liberty matters and First Amendment rights. She joined First Liberty Institute after working for a law firm in private practice, where she successfully litigated corporate fraud matters, complex commercial litigation, and consumer rights issues in both federal and state jurisdictions. Youman received her Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University, where she was a Dean’s Scholarship Recipient. She was also a member of the Board of Advocates, where she successfully argued in off-campus mock trial competitions, and was a member of the Aggie Law Society and SMU Christian Legal Society. During law school, she clerked for the Consumer Protection Division in the Office of the Attorney General of Texas and Liberty Institute.