Libertas (Issue 42.2 - Fall 2021) by Young America's Foundation

FALL 2021

VOL. 42

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NO. 2

Vice President Mike Pence

Kellyanne Conway

Congressman Byron Donalds

Ben Shapiro

Governor Scott Walker

Senator Ted Cruz

Andy Puzder

Congresswoman Kat Cammack

Lila Rose

Zuby

Marc Short

Congressman Dan Crenshaw

Inside: Conservative Leaders Inspire the Next Generation at YAF’s 43rd Annual National Conservative Student Conference

November 1, 2021 Dear Friends,

“F

ire near the Reagan Ranch.” Those are words we never want to hear. On Monday, October 11, 2021, a small fire started west of Rancho del Cielo. It quickly erupted into a massive blaze that covered more than 17,000 acres. Nearly 2,000 firefighters were called on to put an end to the inferno. We thank God for each of them. At one point, the flames were within a quarter mile of our property. The Ranch home, tack barn, Secret Service Command Post, and even the fences—built by President Ronald Reagan himself—were sprayed down with fire retardant. I want to extend a special thank-you to the many generous supporters over the years who helped YAF invest in fire prevention and protection equipment. We are grateful to those who helped us build and line Freedom Lake and then connect it to Lake Lucky and a well, which added one million gallons of water capacity. Thanks also to YAF’s Board of Directors and the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors for approving massive improvements to the property to keep it safe. YAF has established The Fund to Protect the Reagan Ranch to help address the costs associated with protecting the property during this fire and for future actions that may be required as we review our response and potential risks. Please visit YAF.org to learn more. In this edition of Libertas, we report on a busy summer at the Reagan Ranch prior to the fire. The largest-ever crowd in Ranch history came to hear from Vice President Mike Pence. Dr. Arthur Laffer joined us for a memorable celebration of the 40th anniversary of the 1981 Reagan tax cuts. You will read about the 43rd annual National Conservative Student Conference that was held in Houston, our record-breaking Reagan Forum on Capitol Hill, and our free enterprise programs at YAF’s national headquarters in Reston, Virginia. We also held our inaugural student seminar at the Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois, with Michael Reagan. Our students are thrilled to be meeting in person and to know that others share their opinions. Additionally, we provide an update on YAF’s digital work. Research shows that young people receive information on YouTube more than they do on any other form of social media. With more than 600,000 subscribers, YAF is the #1 conservative youth organization on YouTube. And with an aggressive line-up of campus speakers this fall, we expect tremendous growth on this platform. Ultimately, we aim to reach five million subscribers and one billion views on YouTube. These objectives constitute one of the 12 goals outlined in YAF’s Long Game plan inside this issue. Overall, we continue to fight for individual liberties, free enterprise, a strong national defense, and traditional American values. We push back on attempts to impose socialism on our society. And we stand against outrageous policies like Critical Race Theory in our schools. On behalf of the young people we serve, thank you for your support of our efforts. We are grateful!

Keep fighting for freedom,

Governor Scott Walker President

LIB E RTAS Fall 2021

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Volume 42

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Number 2

12 The Long Game

By Young America’s Foundation Staff

22 Shapiro, Pence, Cruz, and Cammack Inspire 600 Young Leaders at YAF’s 43rd Annual National Conservative Student Conference

By Jaime Hahn, Conference Co-Director

29 Reagan, Walker, Tancredo, and Kleefisch Address YAF’s Inaugural Student Seminar at the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home

By Madison Habersetzer, Conference Co-Director

32 Vice President Mike Pence Headlines YAF’s High School CAMP at the Reagan Ranch

By Madison Habersetzer and Jaime Hahn, Conference Co-Directors

36 Passing on the Torch of Freedom: An Interview with Gina & Zachary Brown

By Kyle Ferrebee, Program Director of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home

41 Knowles, Walker, Shlaes, and Rhoden Join YAF Supporters at Largest-Ever Rawhide Circle Retreat in South Dakota

By Kelleigh Clarke, Development Officer for Foundation Relations

44 Changing Young People’s Lives: An Interview with Tom & Joan Streiff

By Clare Hinshaw, Legacy Society & Development Relations Director

On the Cover:

Also in This Issue:

This summer, Young America’s Foundation held the 43rd annual National Conservative Student Conference, the organization’s signature program. The top conservative public officials, thinkers, authors, faculty members, and media personalities provided students with a more well-rounded education than most of them have received throughout their academic careers. This cover features some of the key leaders who made this year’s conference a success.

4 YAF Launches Campus Free Speech Caucus with Congressman

VOL. 42

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NO. 2

FALL 2021

Vice President Mike

Pence

Kellyanne Conway

Governor Scott Walker

Senator Ted Cruz

Congressman Byron

Ben Shapiro

Donalds

Andy Puzder

Congresswoman Kat

Marc Short

Zuby

Lila Rose

Next Generation at Leaders Inspire the Conference Conservative Student YAF’s 43 Annual National

Inside:rdConservative

Cammack

Congressman Dan Crenshaw

Jim Jordan and Congresswoman Kat Cammack 5 Urge Your Representative to Join the Campus Free Speech

Caucus! 6 National Journalism Center Interns Publish More Than 1,000

Articles 7 Donatelli, Spartz, and McFarlane Address YAF’s Annual

Reagan Forum 8 YAF Alumnus Kenny Xu’s Book, An Inconvenient Minority,

Exposes the Left’s Policy of Racial Quotas in Higher Education 9 Dr. Arthur Laffer Headlines 40th Anniversary Celebration of

the 1981 Reagan Tax Cuts and Path to Prosperity Seminar 10 Michelle Easton, President of the Clare Boothe Luce Center

for Conservative Women, Receives YAF’s Outstanding Alumni Award

Libertas, the Latin word for liberty, is a publication of Young America’s Foundation which highlights the programs, events, students, alumni, supporters, and staff of the Foundation. You may contact Libertas and Young America’s Foundation by writing to: Young America’s Foundation, National Headquarters, 11480 Commerce Park Drive, Sixth Floor, Reston, Virginia 20191; calling 800-USA-1776; or visiting yaf.org. Editors: Raj Kannappan and Kelleigh Clarke; Publisher: Governor Scott Walker; Publication Design: Jonathan Briggs; Assistant Editors: Jason Barbour, Vic Bernson, Cheri Cerame, Abby Drass, Karalee Geis, Jaime Hahn, Clare Hinshaw, Jessica Jensen, Michael Mastrianna, Chris Miranda, Tom Robinson, Kara Zupkus; Washington, D.C., event photographers: David Keith and Bob Updegrove; California event photographer: Jacqueline Pilar. This document and all herein contents, images, stories, graphics, and design, fall unto copyright © 2005 to 2021 Young America’s Foundation, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Any use of Libertas’ content without the written permission of Young America’s Foundation is prohibited.

Young America’s Foundation Board Of Directors Governor Scott Walker President Ronald Pearson Vice President Frank Donatelli Secretary and Treasurer Kimberly Begg T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Wynton C. Hall Nicole Hoplin Kate Obenshain Keeler Peter Schweizer Thomas L. Phillips Director Emeritus

Ronald Reagan Presidential Scholar Vice President Mike Pence

Reagan Ranch Board Of Governors Frank Donatelli Chairman Edwin Meese Co-Chairman Robert F. Agostinelli Governor George Allen Reagan Ranch Presidential Scholar Candee Arndt Dr. Suzanne Becker Lisa M. Buestrin Robert Cummins George & Becky Norton Dunlop Bruce & Kathi Eberle Richard Gaby & Barbara Van Andel-Gaby Robert Giuffra, Jr. Timothy S. Goeglein Michael W. Grebe Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold Eric & Nicole Hoplin Ann Knapheide Mark Larson Rebekah Mercer Al Moore Dennis & Nancy Moore Doug & Pat Perry Thomas L. Phillips Rear Admiral JJ Quinn Ruppert & Cheryl Reinstadler Richard & Jane Schwartz Craig Shirley Owen & Bernadette Casey Smith Barbara S. Waddell Tonette Walker Jay Webber

National Journalism Center Board Of Governors T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr. Chairman Chris Bedford John Gizzi Emily Jashinsky Rich Lowry Alex Marlow The Honorable Alex Mooney Larry O’Connor Gabby Orr Katie Pavlich Ronald Pearson Kirby Wilbur Tom Winter Thomas L. Phillips Chairman Emeritus

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YAF Launches Campus Free Speech Caucus with Congressman Jim Jordan and Congresswoman Kat Cammack Young America’s Foundation announced the launch of the Campus Free Speech Caucus—led by co-chairs Congressman Jim Jordan and Congresswoman Kat Cammack—in an exclusive interview with Steve Doocy on Fox & Friends. Longtime YAF ally and House Freedom Caucus Founder Congressman Jim Jordan and freshman rising star Congresswoman Kat Cammack created this officiallyrecognized caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives in partnership with Young America’s Foundation. The group will aim to inform other influential legislators about the suppression of free speech at educational institutions nationwide and bring national and local awareness to First Amendment threats in their own districts and across the country. Jordan and Cammack will meet regularly with YAF leadership and students for briefings about the state of free speech on campuses and then share these updates with fellow members of Congress. Congressman Jordan noted, The First Amendment is under attack on campuses across the country. Every day, students and faculty are forced to selfcensor out of fear that they will be “canceled” by the mob. The Campus Free Speech Caucus, led by Rep. Kat Cammack and inspired by YAF, will work with Congress to push back on woke cancel culture and defend freedom for Americans everywhere.

Congress will stand up for the First Amendment and ensure all have the right to exercise their thoughts and ideas freely and without persecution. YAF President Governor Scott Walker echoed these sentiments: Free speech is guaranteed in our Constitution. It should be revered on our college campuses. Sadly, this is where it’s most at risk. The Campus Free Speech Caucus will help us fight back and ensure all voices can be heard on campus! YAF has been at the forefront of the campus free speech battle for decades, routinely fighting for students’ rights in the classroom, media, and the courts. This caucus is an important next step in ensuring America’s leaders understand the fight at hand. To celebrate the launch of this caucus, co-chairs Congresswoman Cammack and Congressman Jordan joined Governor Walker, YAF leadership, and Representatives Byron Donalds, Doug LaMalfa, Dan Bishop, Glenn Grothman, Bryan Steil, Bruce Westerman, and Gary Palmer for a reception at YAF’s William & Berniece Grewcock Capitol Hill Townhouse. Staff from more than thirty Congressional offices participated in this gathering. To date, nearly 40 members from 22 states (see opposite page) have joined the Campus Free Speech Caucus. YAF encourages students, supporters, alumni, and friends to ask their representatives to join this effort to protect the First Amendment.

Congresswoman Cammack remarked about this groundbreaking initiative, I’m so thrilled to be leading the Campus Free Speech Caucus with my colleague and friend Rep. Jim Jordan. Together with YAF, we’re sending the message that free speech is not only a constitutional right but also a core freedom that must be preserved on college campuses across the country. At a time when university leadership and students are caving to the pressure of liberal progressivism, my colleagues in 4

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

Representatives Jim Jordan and Kat Cammack join Steve Doocy of Fox & Friends to discuss the Campus Free Speech Caucus, an initiative launched in partnership with YAF.

Urge Your Representative to Join the Campus Free Speech Caucus! L

aunched by Congressman Jim Jordan and Congresswoman Kat Cammack, in partnership with Young America’s Foundation, the Campus Free Speech Caucus is an officially-recognized caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives that informs other influential legislators about the suppression of free speech at educational institutions nationwide and in their own districts.

Campus Free Speech Caucus Members Robert Aderholt (AL-04) Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) Mo Brooks (AL-05) Ted Budd (NC-13) Kat Cammack (FL-03) Buddy Carter (GA-01) Byron Donalds (FL-19) Jeff Duncan (SC-03) Pat Fallon (TX-04) Michelle Fischbach (MN-07) Scott Fitzgerald (WI-05) Scott Franklin (FL-15) Mike Gallagher (WI-08) Bob Good (VA-05)

Mark Green (TN-07) Glenn Grothman (WI-06) Diana Harshbarger (TN-01) Darrell Issa (CA-50) Ronny Jackson (TX-13) Mike Johnson (LA-04) Jim Jordan (OH-04) Young Kim (CA-39) Doug LaMalfa (CA-01) Debbie Lesko (AZ-08) Nancy Mace (SC-01) Mary Miller (IL-15) Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-02) Alex Mooney (WV-02)

Barry Moore ((AL-02) Greg Murphy (NC-03) Ralph Norman (SC-05) Jay Obernolte (CA-08) Burgess Owens (UT-04) Gary Palmer (AL-06) Guy Reschenthaler (PA-14) John Rutherford (FL-04) Victoria Spartz (IN-05) Pete Stauber (MN-08) Bryan Steil (WI-08) Claudia Tenney (NY-22) Bruce Westerman (AR-04)

If your U.S. Representative has not yet joined the Campus Free Speech Caucus, urge him or her to do so now by calling 202-225-3121! For more information about the Campus Free Speech Caucus, please contact YAF’s Capitol Hill Outreach Director Karalee Geis at 800-USA-1776 or kgeis@yaf.org. Reagan Ranch, 217 State Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101, 888-USA-1776 Reagan Boyhood Home, 810 South Hennepin Avenue, Dixon, Illinois 61021, 815-288-5176 National Headquarters, 11480 Commerce Park Drive, Sixth Floor, Reston, Virginia 20191, 800-USA-1776

www.yaf.org

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National Journalism Center Interns Publish More Than 1,000 Articles Under the leadership of National Journalism Center (NJC) Director Emily Jashinsky, NJC interns produced more than 1,000 original articles during the 2021 spring and summer sessions of the program. Their reporting on key public policy issues shaped national news cycles, generating coverage from Fox News, Drudge Report, Daily Wire, and other leading outlets. A virtual spring class published nearly 300 articles, while a hybrid summer class produced more than 700 pieces. Placed at conservative outlets including the Hill, Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, National Review, and Townhall, students published articles in more than a dozen national publications. NJC interns’ investigative projects, produced through an intensive six-week course led by NJC Academic Director and Washington Free Beacon Senior Editor Bill McMorris, probed critical subjects, including the plight of America’s Afghan allies attempting to navigate the U.S. Special Immigrant Visa bureaucracy, a local school district’s radical leftist curriculum, and the bioethics of transition surgeries. The National Journalism Center’s spring and summer classes met with some of the nation’s top conservative journalists, including speakers and alumni from the Washington Examiner, Federalist, Daily Wire, Fox News, CNN, and more. In these classroom sessions, students participated in hands-on training to produce videos, podcasts,

Ben Domenech, publisher of the Federalist, addresses NJC interns during their 12-week summer program.

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

National Journalism Center Director Emily Jashinsky (left) presents Emma Parker (right) with her diploma at the conclusion of NJC’s summer 2021 session.

and radio broadcasts, in addition to written pieces. During the summer session, NJC launched its new curriculum, which organizes the 12-week program around key weekly themes, includes a robust reading list, and provides education on each branch of the U.S. government as well as U.S. foreign policy. Students also spent dedicated time each week critically analyzing the news and discussing the shortfalls and successes of the journalism establishment. NJC interns received a program reading list, copies of books included in the curriculum, and a syllabus, all of which provide key reference points on important public policy topics. The National Journalism Center is also pleased to now offer formal career counseling services to its alumni, providing them with opportunities to discuss their professional goals and the job market with NJC staff. Staff recommend appropriate roles or organizations in journalism, offer guidance on resume writing, and introduce alumni to hiring supervisors at media organizations. As the importance of objective and truth-seeking reporting grows, NJC is well-placed to develop future generations of skilled conservative journalists.

National Journalism Center summer interns gather at YAF’s national headquarters following a classroom training session.

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Donatelli, Spartz, and McFarlane Address YAF’s Annual Reagan Forum Young America’s Foundation’s annual Reagan Forum, held on Capitol Hill, drew a standing-room-only audience of more than 300 students interning in Washington, D.C. The annual event, which coincides with the anniversary of Ronald Reagan’s passing, educates the next generation of young conservatives about the values and legacy of President Reagan. This year’s program—titled “Reagan’s Warning on Socialism”—featured remarks by freshman Congresswoman Victoria Spartz, who was born in socialist-controlled Ukraine; President Reagan’s National Security Advisor Bud McFarlane; and YAF Director and Chairman of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Frank Donatelli, who served as special assistant to President Reagan. YAF’s William & Berniece Grewcock Intern Scholars Blake Weiner and Zoe Hoekstra welcomed attendees to the program and discussed opportunities for students to become involved with the Foundation on campus, including Young Americans for Freedom chapters and YAF’s individual membership program. During his remarks to attendees, many of whom were interning in congressional offices, in Conservative Movement organizations, or at media outlets in the nation’s capital, McFarlane offered his thoughts on what President Reagan might say to young people today. He applauded students for being involved with YAF and discussed his personal experience with President Reagan, including the lessons he learned from Reagan’s first summit with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. McFarlane told the young audience, “You 300 men and women really are the future of our country.” Congresswoman Spartz addressed the failures of socialism in her homeland of Ukraine and reflected on her upbringing: “I grew up in a socialistic country—the Socialist Republic of Ukraine. I saw what happens when it runs out of money, and it is not pretty.” Spartz concluded the Reagan Forum by reinforcing the blessings of living in America and encouraging students to protect the freedom that allowed her to pursue the American Dream.

Freshman Congresswoman Victoria Spartz shares her inspiring story of growing up in socialist-controlled Ukraine and eventually serving in the United States House of Representatives.

Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli moderates the annual program, which serves to inform young people working in the nation’s capital about the legacy of Ronald Reagan.

Bud McFarlane, who served as National Security Advisor to President Ronald Reagan, educates attendees about the importance of Reagan’s “peace through strength” foreign policy strategy.

A record-breaking audience of more than 300 Capitol Hill and Conservative Movement interns participate in YAF’s annual Reagan Forum at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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YAF Alumnus Kenny Xu’s Book, An Inconvenient Minority, Exposes the Left’s Policy of Racial Quotas in Higher Education A standing-room-only audience of Young America’s Foundation alumni, supporters, and friends welcomed YAF alumnus Kenny Xu for a launch event for his first book, An Inconvenient Minority: The Attack on Asian American Excellence and the Fight for Meritocracy, at the Foundation’s national headquarters in Reston, Virginia. Since founding and leading his YAF chapter as a student at Davidson College, Xu has become a lead insider on Ivy League discrimination cases. Currently the president of Color Us United, which advocates for a raceblind America, Xu has also served as the director for media outreach against California Proposition 16— which would have restored racial preferences in California’s colleges Xu’s new book, An and universities. He has written for Inconvenient Minority, the Federalist, City Journal, Daily makes the case for Signal, Washington Examiner, and meritocracy by exposing Quillette, among other media outlets. the policy of racial quotas prevalent at America’s A second generation Chinesecolleges and universities. American, Xu wrote his muchacclaimed book to expose the Left’s race-obsessed agenda in higher education. During his remarks at the Foundation’s headquarters, where he served as a William & Berniece Grewcock Intern

Young America’s Foundation alumnus and former staff member Kenny Xu addresses a standing-room-only audience of YAF alumni, supporters, and friends at the Foundation’s national headquarters.

Scholar three years ago, Xu shared numerous examples of the bias against Asian-American students in the admissions process at America’s top-ranked colleges and universities. He also addressed the damage that Critical Race Theory is wreaking upon our institutions of learning, remarking, There is a new movement in our culture that is unthreading the ideas of meritocracy in America, and that is called Critical Race Theory. The advocates claim that they are fighting white supremacy. But I argue what they’re actually fighting is meritocracy. Additionally, Xu shared his family’s experience of immigrating from China to the United States to build a life of greater freedom and prosperity. He contrasted his personal story with the Left’s focus on identity politics, noting, Immigrants don’t want to be given handouts for no reason. They want an opportunity. They want to be treated on the content of their character, not the color of their skin. The idea of racial preferences is wrong. It’s not consistent with what Americans believe. As YAF campus lecturer and Daily Wire host Michael Knowles notes in his endorsement of Xu’s book, Among the many inane inventions of racehustling radicals, the assignment of ‘white privilege’ to Asians ranks among the most absurd. As Kenny Xu explains with politically incorrect clarity, Asians constitute an ‘inconvenient minority’ for leftist social engineers who exploit white guilt to foist a racial caste system upon America. This poisonous ideology reigns in corporate boardrooms and, notably, the halls of the Ivy League. We cannot fix the problem without first understanding it, and Xu offers an indispensable tool to begin that process.

Xu’s family joins him for his book launch event.

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Dr. Arthur Laffer Headlines 40th Anniversary Celebration of the 1981 Reagan Tax Cuts and Path to Prosperity Seminar More than 200 students and supporters of Young America’s Foundation gathered at Rancho del Cielo to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 1981 Economic Recovery Tax Act, which President Ronald Reagan signed into law at the Ranch on August 13. This important legislation—the largest tax cut in American history—helped to reduce the top marginal income tax rate from 70% to 28% over time and proved to be a pivotal moment in the Reagan Revolution. YAF’s celebration, held in conjunction with the Foundation’s Path to Prosperity Seminar for college students, included a barbecue luncheon on the lawn of the Reagan Ranch. The audience enjoyed an informative address about the tax history of the United States from renowned economist and YAF campus lecturer Dr. Arthur Laffer, who spoke not only about his role on President Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board, but also about the historical significance of the 1981 tax cuts. The luncheon featured a special presentation of a replica of Reagan’s Tax Ax by YAF President Governor Scott Walker to Jimmy Kemp, president of the Jack Kemp Foundation and son of Secretary Jack Kemp, who played a key role in the passage of the 1981 tax cuts in Congress. Jimmy Kemp thanked YAF supporters and students for advancing the ideas his father promoted during his many years of public service. Attendees toured Rancho del Cielo following the program, gaining inspiration from President Reagan’s humble character

Economist Dr. Arthur Laffer (right) and YAF President Governor Scott Walker (middle) present Jimmy Kemp (left), son of Secretary Jack Kemp, with the official Tax Ax in honor of his father.

evident in his 1,800-square-foot adobe home. Young people from 33 colleges and 11 states participated in the celebration as part of the weekend-long Path to Prosperity Seminar at the Reagan Ranch Center in downtown Santa Barbara. In addition to conversations with like-minded peers during a special dinner featuring Governor Walker—who underscored Ronald Reagan’s lasting accomplishments and unapologetic leadership—students enjoyed presentations by a range of economic experts and historians. Author and professor Dr. Paul Kengor discussed the dangers of moral relativism, the differences between Reagan conservatism and leftist progressivism, and the realities of communism, socialism, and democratic socialism; The Fund for American Studies Academic Director Dr. Anne Rathbone Bradley addressed the myths of income inequality; and Anthony Kim, research manager and editor of the Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom, spoke about the four pillars of economic freedom: rule of law, limited government, open markets, and regulatory efficiency. Entrepreneur and Congressman Jay Obernolte concluded the program with an informative session on the federal budgeting process and the importance of responsible governmental spending. Joshua Prewitt from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh remarked, In today’s climate, it is very difficult to escape the lies of the Left and find other like-minded adults who have a desire for truth…From the great speeches by Dr. Kengor on communism and socialism to learning about our greatest President’s life, these two days were truly life-changing. Young America’s Foundation is grateful to Don and Jody Lee for their lead gift that made this program possible.

College students from around the country meet economist Dr. Arthur Laffer at Rancho del Cielo during YAF’s celebration of the 1981 Reagan tax cuts. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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Michelle Easton, President of the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women, Receives YAF’s Outstanding Alumni Award Young America’s Foundation was pleased to present Michelle Easton with the Outstanding Alumni Award,

which is given to those who have made a lasting impact on the Foundation’s students and programs and the Conservative Movement at large. Past recipients include: Frank Donatelli, YAF director and chairman of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors; Ron Robinson, previous YAF president; Marc Short, Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence; Peter Schweizer, YAF director and New York Times bestselling author; Carol Dawson, founding member of Young Americans for Freedom; and Attorney General Edwin Meese, co-chairman of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors; among other key leaders. This year’s award ceremony included an alumni reception and dinner, held in conjunction with YAF’s 43rd annual National Conservative Student Conference in Houston, Texas (see page 22). Fellow YAF alumnus and former National Journalism Center Executive Director Kirby Wilbur emceed the dinner, with YAF President Governor Scott Walker presenting Easton with the award. Highlighting her more than 40 years of service to the Conservative Movement, Governor Walker noted that the Conservative Political Action Conference and hundreds of other programs would not have existed without Easton’s dedication to the cause of freedom. Easton currently serves as president of the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women (CBL)—an organization she founded in 1993—which puts forward female conservative role models who promote traditional family values and prepare young women for leadership. Prior to founding CBL, Easton received appointments from Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush—with Senate confirmation for her role at the U.S. Department of Education—and served all 12 years of both administrations. During the Reagan administration, she also served as private voluntary liaison of the Agency for International Development’s Africa Bureau and as the first director of President Reagan’s new Missing Children’s Program at the U.S. Department of Justice. In 1994, Virginia Governor George Allen appointed Easton to the State Board of Education, whose members later elected her president of the Board. 10

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

YAF President Governor Scott Walker presents Michelle Easton, president of the Clare Boothe Luce Center for Conservative Women, with YAF’s Outstanding Alumni Award during the 43rd annual National Conservative Student Conference.

Prior to her government service, Easton worked five years for Young Americans for Freedom and two years for National Right to Work. Easton is also the author of How to Raise a Conservative Daughter (Regnery 2021), which outlines principles learned from her decades of working with young conservative women. Upon receiving YAF’s Outstanding Alumni Award, Easton remarked, YAF has remained a big part of my life in the Conservative Movement. It all began while attending the University of London in socialist England in 1970—before Margaret Thatcher cleaned that country up. I came back to college in New York with more of a passion to fight for freedom and started a YAF chapter. I am honored to be given this award by the distinguished president of YAF, Governor Scott Walker. I thank you, Governor, your fine staff, and all the conservative students who make us so proud when they stand up to the Left on their campuses and show them how much better our conservative ideas are.

Connect with Young America’s Foundation online!

Young America’s Foundation offers a wealth of online resources that you can use to sharpen your conservative principles Youtube.com/YAFTV Through exclusive content— including full-length lectures and bite-sized videos featuring your favorite conservative speakers—YAF’s YouTube channel provides you with live and ondemand access to conservative ideas and leaders.

Facebook.com/YoungAmericasFoundation YAF’s Facebook page offers campus content, videos, and other timely information. Don’t miss the chance to interact with the nation’s leading conservatives, activists, and thought leaders through Facebook Live events!

@YAF_ YAF’s official Instagram platform offers memes, IGTV videos, and the opportunity to engage with thousands of like-minded peers. Keep up to date with what students nationwide are doing to advance freedom.

Podcasts By subscribing to YAF’s free podcasts— American Freedom with Vice President Mike Pence, Books with Burt, and The Top Leaders of the Conservative Movement—listeners can learn from YAF’s speakers on a wide range of topics overlooked by educators, including the right to life, the U.S. Constitution, and more.

@YAF Twitter is the #1 platform for breaking news,

YAF.org/polling As the authority on young

and YAF’s Twitter page is the #1 place to hear about young conservatives’ efforts to combat leftist bias on campus.

Americans, YAF regularly conducts surveys and polls of students nationwide. Visit our polling platform to view our exclusive findings now.

@YAFGaming YAF’s Twitch channel is the newest

The New Guard The largest network of on-the-

platform for young conservatives to engage in online culture. Join YAF staff as they livestream today’s most popular video games, discuss the news of the day, and host question-and-answer sessions.

ground student activists makes YAF the best source for breaking campus news. Visit the New Guard, YAF’s historic magazine-turned online news platform, at YAF.org/tips for timely information about campus issues.

Tik Tok One of YAF’s fastest-growing social media platforms, Tik Tok reaches middle school, high school, and college students with 30-second clips of the Foundation’s signature conservative lectures and videos.

VISIT YAF.ORG, the hub of information for young conservatives. Learn about the many opportunities available for you to advance freedom at your school. Reagan Ranch, 217 State Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101, 888-USA-1776 Reagan Boyhood Home, 810 South Hennepin Avenue, Dixon, Illinois 61021, 815-288-5176 National Headquarters, 11480 Commerce Park Drive, Sixth Floor, Reston, Virginia 20191, 800-USA-1776

www.yaf.org

Young America’s Foundation’s plan to persist for freedom and rise to meet the unprecedented challenges facing conservatives By Young America’s Foundation Staff

e are seeing our country slip away, which makes the work of Young America’s Foundation, the nation’s largest and most effective conservative youth outreach organization, more urgent today than it has ever been in our history. America is in a moment of crisis. Leftist hyperactivity and intolerance has torn our streets apart. Free speech is under attack—from Big Tech censorship, from leftist radicalism, and—above all—from a culture of fear and intimidation. Conservatives are shamed into silence for fear of social stigma and even economic ruin. Liberal public officials have too often thrown fuel on the fire instead of condemning hateful antiAmerican agitators. They ignore or even encourage the worst kinds of mob rule. On many college campuses, the climate has become especially tense or even dangerous for conservatives and all who cherish

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

the freedoms upon which America was founded. Conservative students risk being shouted down, attacked, and ostracized simply for expressing conservative values. Young America’s Foundation’s mission is to reach increasing numbers of young people with the importance of limited government, a strong national defense, traditional values, and free enterprise. And we have a robust plan to do it. YAF has a long and impactful history of facing down these kinds of attacks—and fighting back successfully. In 1988, we won a momentous Supreme Court victory, Boos v. Barry, overturning 50 years of precedent and defending the right of protestors to decry the evils of the Soviet Union. Three decades later, YAF won a landmark case against the University of California, Berkeley, for discrimination against conservative views, forcing the school to pay a cash settlement to YAF and abolish its discriminatory policies against conservative speakers. But more remains to be done. Campus radicals are openly hostile to conservatives and our freedom philosophy and, indeed, to America. With Young America’s Foundation’s president, Wisconsin’s 45th Governor Scott Walker, we have launched groundbreaking efforts to inspire America’s youth. It’s about winning the current battles while also looking forward to the larger war for control of our society.

The Proud History of YAF For more than 60 years, YAF has been committed to inspiring young people with conservative values and transforming campus culture. We specialize in bringing the Conservative Movement’s biggest names to campuses where their voices are sorely needed. We have a proven track record of organizing hundreds of life-changing events each year, with national leaders, policymakers, and media figures advancing our ideas while also challenging cancel culture, mob rule, and antiAmericanism through YAF’s campus lecture program. These inperson events also reach tens of millions of people online. As Time magazine noted in a feature on YAF’s campus lectures, “These speeches have become the biggest event of the semester.” Even the New York Times acknowledged that YAF is “the conservative force” behind the free speech movement on campus and beyond. YAF has its origins in an organization called Young Americans for Freedom, which began with a meeting of 100 young conservatives in 1960 in Sharon, Connecticut. They gathered at the family home of William F. Buckley, Jr.—the father of the modern Conservative Movement—whose rallying cry to preserve America’s timeless values is even more urgent today.

“Younger parents aren’t sure that an unambivalent appreciation of America is the right thing to teach modern children. And as for those who create the popular culture, well-grounded patriotism is no longer the style. Our spirit is back, but we haven’t reinstitutionalized it. We’ve got to do a better job of getting across that America is freedom—freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of enterprise. And freedom is special and rare. It’s fragile; it needs protection.” — Ronald Reagan, Farewell Address from the Oval Office, 1989

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In 1962, future President Ronald Reagan joined YAF’s national advisory board, eventually becoming our honorary national chairman and addressing numerous YAF audiences as he led America in its victory over the Soviet Union and communism. We seek to honor Reagan’s legacy of personal freedom, free enterprise, faith in God, and patriotism in everything we do. In 1998, YAF deepened our connection to Ronald Reagan when we saved his Western White House—Rancho del Cielo outside of Santa Barbara, California. In 2006, YAF opened the Reagan Ranch Center in downtown Santa Barbara to complement our work saving Ronald Reagan’s Presidential property. Today, this 22,000-square-foot facility has become the most important hub of conservative activity outside the Washington, D.C., area. In late 2020, YAF strengthened our efforts to protect Ronald Reagan’s legacy by saving his boyhood home in Dixon, Illinois. This historic site also allows YAF to establish a beachhead in the middle of the country, attracting students in the Midwest to programs that highlight the accomplishments of our 40th President and teach timeless conservative principles and values. From addresses by prominent conservative leaders, including Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Milton Friedman, to our High School Conferences at the Reagan

William F. Buckley, Jr., whose leadership was essential to the success of Young Americans for Freedom, addresses a YAF gathering in the early years of the organization.

Ranch—which have become a rite of passage for all young conservatives—YAF ensures young people understand the importance of conservative values. And, most importantly, YAF’s unique educational programs empower students to embrace and boldly share those values throughout their lives.

The Long Game

At YAF’s first major rally in New York City in 1961, Senator Barry Goldwater calls young conservatives the nation’s leaders of tomorrow.

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To meet the unique challenges of this new era, Governor Scott Walker has taken the lead as full-time president of Young America’s Foundation, after courageously advancing freedom in a state that once was a “progressive” bastion. Governor Walker’s hard-earned conservative credentials and fearlessness to do the right thing—regardless of opposition—mirrors YAF activists’ commitment to the principles of freedom. He took on the big government special interests and restored power to the hard-working taxpayers. In turn, opponents tried to intimidate him. When

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College students meet with Young America’s Foundation’s president, Governor Scott Walker, at YAF’s National Conservative Student Conference in 2019.

that did not work, they tried to recall him. But he did not back down. Governor Walker’s dedication to rooting out fraud and corruption in government also reflects YAF’s work to expose the Left’s schemes to corrupt higher learning and indoctrinate—rather than educate—today’s young people. YAF promotes positive conservative reforms. As Governor, Scott Walker enacted them. Schools in his state can staff based on merit and pay based on performance. That means they can put the best and brightest in the classroom. Because he trusts parents, Governor Walker expanded parental school choice statewide. During his two terms as Governor, Scott Walker pushed for major reform on college campuses, including freezing tuition, ending mandatory student fees that too often fund radical organizations, and implementing enforceable free speech

policies. YAF continues to be on the front lines of fighting for free speech for conservative students. Now, Governor Walker has announced Young America’s Foundation’s Long Game plan to capture the hearts and minds of the next generation: The Long Game is the way we win not only the battle but also the war. It’s investing in our children’s children. It is about persisting for the cause of freedom and what we know to be true and right. This plan will help ensure future generations of Americans pass on the same love of country and freedom which our parents and our grandparents shared with you and me. This plan provides a road map for instilling in today’s young people the essential ideals which safeguard the values upon which our great nation was founded. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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YAF’s Long Game plan will ensure we reach greater numbers of college students and aggressively expand our programming to recruit more high school and middle school students. In the years to come, we will: 1)

Sponsor one million new participants to attend YAF programs. Ronald Reagan said, “There is a flickering spark in us all which, if struck at just the right age...can light the rest of our lives.” YAF’s programs do just that. Participating in a YAF program is a life-changing experience for students that pays dividends for our cause. Bestselling author, Fox News host, and Townhall Editor Katie Pavlich got her start in the Conservative Movement in 2008, when she attended a YAF student program at the Reagan Ranch in California and heard from the late YAF speaker Andrew Breitbart. As Pavlich says, “Young America’s Foundation changed my life. I was one of those…kids who had no idea what I should have been studying or what field I should have gone into until I went to my first YAF conference…I immediately knew I wanted to do something that made a difference.”

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Today, our Movement is even stronger because of Katie Pavlich’s work. We must continue to recruit and inspire future conservative leaders. 2) Establish a YAF presence on more than 4,000 college campuses across America. Once YAF activates young conservatives, they can make a tremendous impact—regardless of their college’s size or location. Indeed, YAF’s campus programs have a multiplier effect, with one student activist recruiting their peers to our cause. Take for example, Michael Scholl, who attended Denison University in Ohio, which enrolls just north of 2,000 students. Scholl contacted YAF for resources and support, and YAF subsequently helped him bring nine prominent conservative speakers to campus. In doing so, Scholl impacted thousands of students over the course of his college career and then went on to work in the Conservative Movement after graduation. We plan to replicate this model on thousands of America’s post-secondary campuses. 3) Bring a YAF speaker to campuses in all 50 states and add new speakers to the YAF roster, expanding our premier campus lecture program. YAF’s lecture program is an incredible method for reaching new audiences—in part because we work with the Conservative Movement’s most prominent leaders to send them directly to college campuses. Today, YAF’s most popular speaker is also the nation’s most sought-after conservative commentator. Daily Wire Founder Ben Shapiro began speaking for YAF in 2013, and he has since spoken on close to 60 campuses, drawing the largest audiences of any speaker. In addition, Shapiro’s lectures reach beyond campus auditoriums, with online streams reaching millions of viewers during and after each event. We know the importance of reaching young people in every part of the country and attracting new conservative leaders to partner with YAF. We expect to expand our efforts on both fronts. 4) Grow YAF’s digital and in-person reach to the tune of five million YouTube subscribers and one billion video views.

YAF alumna, Fox News contributor, and Townhall Editor Katie Pavlich meets with a student at YAF’s national headquarters following her remarks to a Foundation audience.

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Despite the mainstream media and Hollywood’s attempts to prevent young people from learning about

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Young Americans for Freedom chapter members at Southern Methodist University participate in YAF’s 9/11: Never Forget Project.

conservatism, students discover conservative ideas through YAF’s YouTube channel, YouTube.com/YAFTV. Through our expansive library of video content, millions of students learn about the importance of individual freedom, free enterprise, a strong national defense, and traditional values via YAF’s exclusive, fulllength videos featuring Ben Shapiro, Michael Knowles, Elisha Krauss, Dinesh D’Souza, and many others. YAF leads the Conservative Movement in YouTube subscribers, and we aim to reach millions more through all our social media platforms. 5) Hold a record number of schools accountable for free speech violations, fighting back across the country against anti-conservative bias and discrimination. YAF has a long history of supporting students’ rights. We have taken on and successfully won lawsuits against several universities, including the University of California, Berkeley—where campus administrators severely limited conservatives’ ability to speak. UC Berkeley mandated security fees and promotional regulations and even made conservative guest speakers

address students at venues far removed from the main campus. YAF won this landmark case, forcing Berkeley to pay a cash settlement and correct its unconstitutional policies. But more universities are stifling students’ rights. YAF will fight these free speech violations by building out our legal team and aggressively monitoring actions by campus administrators, faculty members, and others. Learn more at YAF.org/Tips. 6) Fight leftist indoctrination at the middle school-level by creating appealing programs for younger students and resources for parents to instill patriotic values in their children. The Left is seeking to indoctrinate middle school children and even those in elementary school. YAF recently exposed an Iowa school district’s plan for a Black Lives Matter “Week of Action” targeting students as young as preschoolers. One lesson included “transgender affirming” coloring pages, which stated, “Everyone gets to choose if they are a boy or a girl or both or neither or something else.” This is wrong. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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In 2019, Grand Canyon University YAF hosts Ben Shapiro in front of a capacity audience despite campus administrators’ initial efforts to block the chapter

Through the Long Game plan, YAF will develop new initiatives to recruit pre-teens and counter this leftist indoctrination. We cannot wait until students are in college or even high school to start making an impact on their beliefs. The Left is starting earlier and earlier. We have to fight back—and win. 7) Host a record number of YAF student programs nationwide, inviting a new generation into the Conservative Movement through unparalleled and impactful conferences and events. YAF’s history demonstrates that our programs make a lasting impression on young people. New York Times bestselling author and YAF Director Peter Schweizer, for example, credits Young America’s Foundation for “igniting his interest in politics and ideas.” Schweizer became involved with YAF as a high school student when he attended the 1982 National Conservative Student Conference in Washington, D.C. He 18

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cites this conference as his first exposure to conservative books and thinkers. Today, Schweizer has authored nine books, including the explosive #1 bestsellers Clinton Cash and Profiles in Corruption. By organizing more programs than ever before across the country, YAF can influence and inspire America’s future conservative leaders. Over more than four decades, Young America’s Foundation’s previous president, Ron Robinson, built a strong organization with an outstanding board of directors, remarkable staff, tremendous supporters, and inspirational student leaders. Now, we aim to grow the reach of these impactful programs. 8) Support conservative professors and teachers—including those at the elementary, middle, and high school levels as well as college—by creating a national YAF network and providing critical resources. Throughout our history, YAF has sought out and promoted conservative educators on the front lines

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of the battle for the hearts and minds of the next generation. Author and history professor Dr. Burt Folsom, YAF’s longest-serving faculty member, is one such speaker who consistently receives top ratings from the young people he reaches at YAF’s programs. Dr. Folsom partners with YAF because, as he says, “Young America’s Foundation emerged to give students another way to learn the conservative ideas that were absent in their classrooms.” Young conservatives at schools nationwide are eager to find a teacher or professor they can seek out for mentorship and guidance as they pursue their educations and enter the professional world. As the leading conservative youth organization, YAF is in a prime position to identify and support these educators to guide the next generation. 9) Reinforce the strength of our founding principles and Judeo-Christian values— and combat the false narrative of liberal propaganda, including the 1619 Project—by distributing pro-America materials targeted to younger students.

from bringing the nation’s top conservative podcast host to campus.

YAF provides students with impactful educational materials about the importance of the Constitution and defending our nation’s leading historic figures, including Christopher Columbus, Ronald Reagan, and our Founding Fathers. The Left is determined to influence

Students hear from more conservative speakers at YAF’s weeklong National Conservative Student Conference than they will encounter in all four years of college. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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For more than 22 years, YAF has hosted students at the Reagan Ranch, where they walk in the footsteps of our 40th President and learn about his values and lasting accomplishments. YAF recently acquired the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home in Illinois to provide similar opportunities—through tours, conferences, and seminars—for young people in America’s heartland. We plan to market and expand both in-person and virtual tours to reach increasing numbers of homeschool students, private and charter school students, and public school students. 12) Expose liberal bias and hypocrisy on campuses, in government, and in culture by training students to be pro-active investigative journalists.

Local students help create YAF’s 9/11: Never Forget Project flag memorial on West Beach in Santa Barbara, California.

The National Journalism Center (NJC)—a key program of YAF for decades—has trained thousands of young people in the skills of accurate and truthful reporting. In addition, during NJC’s multi-week sessions,

students at even younger ages. To counter this, YAF will develop materials—targeted at middle and elementary school students and their families—to defend American exceptionalism and the values upon which America was founded. 10) Educate young people on how to effectively debate and defend conservative principles in their classrooms and on their campuses by launching a digital system featuring easily accessible resources and information. For decades, YAF has provided young people with written and recorded materials on how to challenge left-wing professors and counter radical activists. The next logical step is to create a searchable system for young people to access conservative arguments by topic. In doing so, they will learn how to defend our shared values in public discourse and through conservative activism. 11) Teach a record number of students about Ronald Reagan and the principles for which he fought using virtual and in-person tours of the Reagan Ranch in Santa Barbara, California, and Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois. 20

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High school students from across the country travel to Washington, D.C., for their

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we teach these students the skills they need to become top-notch investigative journalists. Through hands-on workshops and weekly sessions featuring accomplished reporters and leading conservatives, YAF’s National Journalism Center ensures that these future reporters and writers know how to expose leftist bias and hypocrisy in our education system, in the mainstream media and culture, and in government bureaucracy. Decades of poor education have deprived young Americans of the tools they need to understand their country and its values in an accurate and wholesome way. That must end now. YAF’s goal is no less bold than the Left’s has been: take hold of the souls of young Americans and teach them the truth. Instead of filling the minds of our young people with grievance, resentment, and racialism, we will be teaching them to love the liberties and rights our founders enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and defended in the Constitution. This is an abridged version of YAF’s Long Game plan. To access the full plan, visit YAF.org/LongGame.

Young visitors enjoy learning about Rancho del Cielo and Ronald Reagan through the Timeline Table Exhibit at the Reagan Ranch Center.

introduction to the Conservative Movement at YAF’s Gratia Houghton Rinehart National High School Leadership Conference. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

Vice President Mike Pence inspires the student audience at YAF’s 43rd annual National Conservative Student Conference.

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Kellyanne Conway, senior counselor to President Donald Trump, urges students to stand up for conservative values on campus and in culture.

YAF’s most popular campus speaker, Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro, headlines the program’s opening night.

Shapiro, Pence, Cruz, and Cammack Inspire 600 Young Leaders at YAF’s 43rd Annual National Conservative Student Conference Jaime Hahn, Conference Co-Director

essica Costescu, a Georgetown University Young America’s Foundation activist, remarked after attending YAF’s 43rd annual National Conservative Student Conference, My family fled communism in Eastern Europe for freedom. After this conference, I will fight for America, no matter what it takes.

Like Jessica, more than 600 young people were inspired to strengthen their beliefs and advance conservatism on campus after meeting like-minded peers from across the country and hearing from the Conservative Movement’s top leaders. YAF supporters and alumni also joined students for select events during the Foundation’s signature program.

“You have to fight back. You have to mobilize. You have to organize, and you have to be smart about it.” — Ben Shapiro

More than 600 young people attend YAF’s National Conservative Student Conference in Houston, Texas, gaining inspiration, knowledge, and lifelong friendships.

The National Conservative Student Conference provided the education, networking, and training necessary for young people to learn how to promote freedom as they begin the new academic year. Question-and-answer sessions with speakers also offered students the opportunity to gain insights into some of today’s most pressing issues. Daily Wire Co-Founder and Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro kicked off the opening dinner banquet, offering important advice to the young audience: “You have to fight back. You Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

National Conservative Student Conference participants enjoy taking selfies with Senator Ted Cruz following his remarks at the closing dinner banquet.

Texas A&M University YAF activists meet like-minded friends during the conference.

have to mobilize. You have breakfast banquet featuring “What America needs most, what to organize, and you have to Congressman Kevin Brady, the Conservative Movement needs most, be smart about it.” After his who noted, “Having young speech, Shapiro took photos people and leaders like is men and women who are ready to with all student participants, you engaged...is really assume the mantle of leadership and who also received a copy of encouraging.” carry on the fight to preserve American his latest New York Times Additional speakers bestseller, The Authoritarian throughout the day freedom for generations to come.” Moment. included former CKE That evening, YAF Restaurants CEO Andy — Vice President Mike Pence supporters enjoyed a special Puzder; Texas Right to Life reception featuring Young Executive Director Veronica America’s Foundation Arnold Smither; historian President Governor Scott Walker, who discussed YAF’s Long and author Dr. Burt Folsom; Rivada Networks Founder, Game plan (see page 12) to win the hearts and minds of the Chairman, and CEO Declan Ganley; and British rapper and next generation. author Zuby. The second day of the program commenced with a Kellyanne Conway, who served as senior counselor to

Stephen Miller, senior advisor for policy and White House director of speechwriting for President Donald Trump, argues for stronger immigration policies.

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Students Paige Maho (left) and Hannah Klang (right) gather during a rooftop reception at YAF’s National Conservative Student Conference.

British rapper and author Zuby takes the stage during the weeklong program.

Shelley Luther, entrepreneur and founder of Courage to Stand, makes the case for greater personal freedom.

YAF Conference Co-Director Madison Habersetzer interviews YAF alumnus Marc Short, who served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence.

President Donald Trump, concluded the second day with a passionate speech on the importance of being fearless in advancing conservative values. Director of YAF Membership Breana Marsh and Young America’s Foundation’s William & Berniece Grewcock Intern Scholars led a special morning reception the following day for members of Young Americans for Freedom—during which the group discussed strategies for effective campus activism. Conservative leaders addressing students on the third day included entrepreneur and Courage to Stand Founder Shelley Luther; 51st Attorney General of Texas Ken Paxton; Congressman Byron Donalds; author and New Discourses Founder Dr. James Lindsay; and YAF alumnus Stephen Miller, who served as a senior policy advisor and White House director of speechwriting in the Trump administration. Additionally, historian Dr. Burt Folsom, YAF’s longest-serving faculty member, discussed the legacy of

freedom established by Harriett Tubman’s leadership and the Underground Railroad. A highlight of the week was a dinner banquet featuring Vice President Mike Pence, YAF’s Ronald Reagan Presidential Scholar, who met with YAF interns, staff, and students from his home state of Indiana prior to his remarks. During his speech, Vice President Pence urged the students to do their part in preserving freedom:

Congressman Kevin Brady discusses the importance of pro-free enterprise economic policies for the prosperity of all Americans.

What America needs most, what the Conservative Movement needs most, is men and women who are ready to assume the mantle of leadership and carry on the fight to preserve American freedom for generations to come...If you want to make a difference in America, be different; become men and women of character.

The next day of the program featured informative speeches

Dr. Ryan Anderson, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, teaches students how to stand up for religious liberty in today’s culture.

Participants enjoy a full agenda of conservative speakers at YAF’s signature student conference.

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Lt. Col. Allen West motivates students to stand up for American exceptionalism.

by Congressman Chip advised students to “never “This event has impacted my view on Roy; Convention of States underestimate the power of conservatism, my role in the fight for the Action President and Tea a small group of people who Party Patriots Co-Founder are hell-bent on making a future, and my resolve to continue growing.” Mark Meckler; YAF change.” President Governor Scott Students enjoyed — Nick Rutherford, University of Pennsylvania Walker; Ethics and Public numerous opportunities to Policy Center President Dr. meet like-minded friends Ryan Anderson; and Live throughout the week, Action Founder and President Lila Rose, all of whom offered including Freedom Karaoke—during which Congresswoman students an inside look at the key policy issues being debated Cammack made a surprise appearance—5K and one-mile nationwide. runs in Houston, and a networking breakfast sponsored by the During the conference, Governor Walker presented Heritage Foundation. Michelle Easton, president of the Clare Boothe Luce Center The fifth and final day of YAF’s conference began with for Conservative Women, with YAF’s Outstanding Alumni a lecture on American exceptionalism—sponsored by Award at a dinner banquet (see page 10). Congresswoman Kat Foundation supporter Keith Work—by longtime YAF ally Lt. Cammack headlined the evening program, during which she Col. Allen West. 28th U.S. National Security Advisor Robert

Kirby Wilbur, member of the National Journalism Center Board of Governors, emcees the alumni dinner banquet.

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Mark Meckler, president of Citizens for SelfGovernance and co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, discusses the importance of preserving personal freedoms in America.

Congressman Byron Donalds encourages the young audience to fight for freedom at their schools and beyond.

Author and founder of New Discourses Dr. James Lindsay exposes the dangers of Critical Race Theory.

Students serving in the military enjoy the opportunity to meet with Congressman Dan Crenshaw during the program.

O’Brien followed with a discussion of the key national security threats facing America. Marc Short, YAF’s first director of the Reagan Ranch and Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence, also addressed the audience during an interview with YAF Conference CoDirector Madison Habersetzer. Short highlighted YAF’s role in saving the Reagan Ranch, complimenting YAF’s previous president, Ron Robinson, for having the vision to launch this key project. Short also discussed YAF’s growth since his days as a member of the Foundation staff, stating, “Never in our wildest dreams could we have seen all that YAF has accomplished at the Ranch over the years.” Additional speakers included Congressman Louie Gohmert, Center for Industrial Progress Founder and President Alex Epstein, and Congressman Dan Crenshaw. Congressman Crenshaw encouraged the young audience to “fight effectively,” noting,

Center for Industrial Progress Founder and President Alex Epstein makes the moral case for free market energy policies.

It is new for us, this experiment in liberty, and we cannot take it for granted—not for one second...The Left will always be on offense, and we will always be on defense. We have to convince people—at a fundamental level—why we are right. Senator Ted Cruz, the closing conference speaker, left the audience with a clear and simple message: “Speak the truth... because it scares the living daylights out of the Left.” Nick Rutherford from the University of Pennsylvania remarked at the conclusion of the program, “This event has impacted my view on conservatism, my role in the fight for the future, and my resolve to continue growing.” Young America’s Foundation is grateful for the Challenge Foundation’s matching grant which made this conference possible. This lead gift inspired hundreds of patriotic Americans to join the effort to support young people to participate in YAF’s longest-running student program.

College students from across America participate in the nation’s premier conservative youth conference.

28th U.S. National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien educates students on the threats facing America on the world stage.

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Become a Member of Young Americans for Freedom! Whether you have been in a Young Americans for Freedom chapter for years, are just getting involved in one, or you’re new to the Conservative Movement, you can now become a member of Young Americans for Freedom! Students who are 13 and older and enrolled full-time in school are welcome to join YAF. Once you become a YAFer, you will receive: • A welcome packet that includes a t-shirt and other YAF swag • Your own membership card • A free copy of 11 Principles of a Reagan Conservative by Dr. Paul Kengor • Opportunities to attend unique, members-only events at YAF conferences and retreats • First opportunities and discounts to register for key YAF conferences and other programs

This is to certify that

William F. Buckley, Jr. is a member in good standing since

1960

Membership Number: 000001

YOUNG AMERICANS FOR FREEDOM Young Americans for Freedom is a project of Young America’s Foundation

Becoming a member is free and easy, and once you sign up you do not need to renew—ever! You will receive a confirmation email once we have reviewed your application, and, if approved, you will receive your very own membership card and welcome packet. For more information, please call our national headquarters at 800-USA-1776 or visit yaf.org. Reagan Ranch, 217 State Street, Santa Barbara, California 93101, 888-USA-1776 Reagan Boyhood Home, 810 South Hennepin Avenue, Dixon, Illinois 61021, 815-288-5176 National Headquarters, 11480 Commerce Park Drive, Sixth Floor, Reston, Virginia 20191, 800-USA-1776

www.yaf.org

Reagan, Walker, Tancredo, and Kleefisch Address YAF’s Inaugural Student Seminar at the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home By Madison Habersetzer, Conference Co-Director

oung America’s Foundation was thrilled to host the inaugural student seminar at the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois. YAF’s seminar, American Exceptionalism: The Education of Ronald Reagan & the Enduring Promise of the American Dream, attracted a capacity audience of high school students from 10 states and 38 schools. Throughout the seminar, students learned about the principles and values—including faith, integrity, dignity, and selfless service—that shaped the boy who would become President Ronald Reagan. The young audience absorbed lessons from Reagan’s youth by touring his boyhood home, now preserved and protected by YAF, and spending time at Lowell Park, where the future President of the United States served his town as a lifeguard for six years. This momentous program in Reagan’s hometown was made possible by a lead gift from Young America’s Foundation supporter Larry Polhill.

High school students from around the country gather at Ronald Reagan’s boyhood home in Dixon, Illinois, for Young America’s Foundation’s first student seminar at the Presidential property, now preserved and protected by YAF.

The Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home For nearly 60 years, Young America’s Foundation has worked with President Ronald Reagan’s family to inspire young people with the ideas of individual freedom, free enterprise, a strong national defense, and traditional values. In 1962, Reagan joined YAF’s National Advisory Board, eventually becoming the organization’s honorary national chairman. In 1974, the Foundation sponsored a nationally-syndicated radio program featuring thenCalifornia Governor Ronald Reagan. During each year of his Presidency, Reagan hosted

students attending YAF’s National Conservative Student Conference at the White House. In 1998, YAF stepped forward to save Reagan’s 688-acre Rancho del Cielo in California with the blessings of the Reagan family. The recent acquisition of President Reagan’s boyhood home in Dixon, Illinois, strengthens YAF’s relationship with our 40th President and his legacy of freedom. As the new caretaker of this Presidential property, YAF will carry on the important work of passing on Reagan’s values to young people. Growing up in Dixon—in this modest home built in 1891—

was a formative experience for Reagan. It was there, in the 1920s, that he developed the values that would guide the rest of his life. Now, YAF is ensuring that Reagan’s boyhood home will be preserved for future generations through private funding, just as it has preserved and protected Ronald Reagan’s beloved Rancho del Cielo. ———————————————— To learn more about the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, please visit reaganhome.org or contact Program Director Kyle Ferrebee at kferrebee@yaf.org or 815-288-5176.

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Midwest natives Charley Kastl and Kyle Wilhite enjoy the company of like-minded young conservatives at YAF’s seminar on American exceptionalism.

YAF President Governor Scott Walker opened the program, underscoring the importance of America’s founding and encouraging students to boldly share their values with their peers. YAF Conference Co-Director Madison Habersetzer followed with an activism training session to help students put these lessons to practice at their schools and in their communities. Seminar participants also heard from 44th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin Rebecca Kleefisch; 47th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois Evelyn Sanguinetti; and longtime Foundation friend and supporter Tom Tancredo, who represented Colorado’s sixth congressional district from 1999 to 2009. These officials highlighted the importance of courageous leadership in the face of adversity, countering leftist myths about America’s founding, and understanding the values that make America an exceptional country.

Peggy Grande, who served as Ronald Reagan’s postPresidency executive assistant, shares insights about Reagan’s personal character.

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“These past couple of days have energized and revamped my love for civic engagement in this country. A true role model has been found in Ronald Reagan.” — GABRIEL OLSEN WHEATON ACADEMY

Generous Young America’s Foundation supporters joined students at Dixon’s historic Post House Ballroom for a special luncheon with members of the Reagan family. President Reagan’s granddaughter, Ashley Reagan, opened the program

Student participant Kathryn Kennedy enjoys meeting with Michael Reagan, President Ronald Reagan’s son.

Kyle Ferrebee, program director of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, welcomes attendees to YAF’s inaugural student seminar in Dixon, Illinois.

Docent Michael McBride hosts students for a tour of Ronald Reagan’s boyhood home, where they learn about the values that shaped the 40th President as a young man.

with the Pledge of Allegiance. President Reagan’s son, Michael The program introduced YAF students and supporters Reagan, then offered keynote remarks on the impact growing to the Foundation’s new presence in the Midwest and the up in Dixon had on his father. opportunities to advance President Reagan’s values. The luncheon also included a special interview with Gabriel Olsen, a student from Wheaton Academy in program sponsor Larry Polhill, who shared the stage with Illinois, remarked, “These past couple of days have energized Governor Walker to discuss his inspiring story of becoming a and revamped my love for civic engagement in this country. A successful entrepreneur starting in high school. true role model has been found in Ronald Reagan.” Peggy Grande, Ronald Reagan’s post-Presidency executive YAF looks forward to bringing more life-changing student assistant, then offered students a personal perspective on programs to America’s heartland through the preservation who Ronald Reagan was not only as a President, but also as a and protection of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home. man—and what inspired him to carry the mantle of freedom. Additionally, students heard from two of YAF’s most popular faculty members. Historian Dr. Burt Folsom empowered students to stand up for America’s aspirational values and respond to Critical Race Theory by detailing the inspirational stories of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Educator Dr. Jake Jacobs discussed the dangers of communism and the role President Reagan and America have played in fighting authoritarian regimes and liberating people across the world. For their final activity of the weekend, attendees enjoyed an evening barbecue on the banks of the Rock River, where young Ronald Reagan served as a Young America’s Foundation supporters join Governor Scott Walker (front row, left) and Michael and Ashley lifeguard when he was their age. Reagan (front row, middle) on a visit to the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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Vice President Mike Pence Headlines YAF’s High School CAMP at the Reagan Ranch By Madison Habersetzer and Jaime Hahn, Conference Co-Directors

Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence, along with their daughter, Charlotte Pence Bond, and son-in-law, Henry Bond, greet high school students at the Reagan Ranch.

oung America’s Foundation welcomed more than 400 participants to the Reagan Ranch for two high school Conservative Activism Motivational Programs (CAMPs) and a supporter gathering. Addressing the first CAMP, Vice President Mike Pence remarked to students and supporters at Rancho del Cielo, What Ronald Reagan conveyed was a boundless confidence in the American people...it was here that [Reagan] was reminded where his strength and the strength of our nation comes from...his victory in 1980 breathed life into conservatism, and there was no going back. Vice President Pence, who serves as YAF’s Ronald Reagan Presidential Scholar, also encouraged students to “take the time now to become the kind of leader you would follow... 32

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“Study your heroes. Study history...invest now in your life because America needs principled leaders in the future.” — VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE

grow in wisdom.” He continued, “Study your heroes. Study history...invest now in your life because America needs principled leaders in the future.” The Vice President and his wife, Karen Pence, greeted and took photos with students at the Western White House before (Continued on page 34)

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Breitbart News Editor-in-Chief and YAF alumnus Alex Marlow discusses the dangers of media bias during his remarks at the Reagan Ranch Center.

Former YAF spokesman and alumnus Jason Mattera encourages students to question the arguments of leftist social justice activists.

YAF alumnus and Black Conservative Federation President Diante Johnson motivates students to change the hearts and minds of their peers.

Antonia Okafor, founder of Empowered, speaks with a YAF CAMP participant about the importance of the Second Amendment. (Right) Barbara Riggs, the first woman to serve as deputy director of the United States Secret Service, and Rear Admiral JJ Quinn, Naval Aide to President Ronald Reagan, share memories of their experiences protecting the President.

(From left) Caleb Jones, Abigail Thiemer, Malikai Mitchell, and Claire Cronce from Milwaukee Lutheran High School enjoy a memorable tour of the Reagan Ranch. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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President Reagan’s post-Presidency executive assistant Peggy Grande meets with students (from left) Andrew Serrano, Natalie Serrano, and Anna Serrano.

Students Abigail Chou and Adeline Moberg enjoy participating in a YAF CAMP session at the Reagan Ranch Center.

YAF President Governor Scott Walker urges the young leaders to remain optimistic and steadfast in their conservative values.

(Continued from page 32) joining YAF supporters on the lawn for the Foundation’s largest-ever program at Rancho del Cielo. The Pences were joined by their daughter, Charlotte Pence Bond, and her husband, Lieutenant Henry Bond. The Pence family last visited the Reagan Ranch 15 years ago while the Vice President was serving in Congress. During the CAMPs, students also heard from President Ronald Reagan’s son, Michael Reagan, who shared stories about his experience growing up with Ronald Reagan as his father. YAF Conference Co-Director Madison Habersetzer followed with remarks encouraging the young leaders to be strong conservative activists. Peggy Grande then inspired students with the lessons she learned from serving as President Reagan’s post-Presidency executive assistant and official photographer, noting that the Reagans treated her children like their own family—even 34

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after she concluded her work with President Reagan. During a special presentation, Rear Admiral JJ Quinn— Naval Aide to President Reagan—and former Deputy Director of the Secret Service Barbara Riggs—the first woman to hold that position—shared insightful stories about their experiences protecting the President, emphasizing Reagan’s humility and sense of humor. YAF’s CAMPs also featured three alumni—Jason Mattera, Alex Marlow, and Diante Johnson—who educated the audiences with the lessons they have learned through their involvement with the Foundation and in their careers. Mattera, who served as YAF’s spokesman from 2005 to 2010, argued in his remarks that “there is nothing more American than rejecting social justice.” Marlow, the editorin-chief of Breitbart News and a member of the National Journalism Center Board of Governors, discussed media bias, highlighting the dangerous relationship between the

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“Thank you for caring about me, my peers, and our future! Thank you for investing in my life! This conference has made a tremendous impact on me.” — DANIELA KOTENKOFF FRESNO, CALIFORNIA

Chinese Communist Party and many American media outlets. Johnson, the president of the Black Conservative Federation, inspired students to effectively change the hearts and minds of their peers. YAF President Governor Scott Walker, whom students met with throughout the weekend programs, underscored the importance of protecting freedom and the values upon which our nation was founded. He described the individual threads making up one American flag as the perfect representation of our nation’s motto, e pluribus unum—“Out of Many, One.” CAMP participants also heard from Andy Puzder, the former CEO of CKE Restaurants, who promoted the virtues of the free market, noting, “It is the only economic system whereby you succeed by helping other people.” In a lively presentation, economic historian Dr. Burt

Folsom—YAF’s longest-serving faculty member—educated students about the dangers of government subsidies, contrasting the success of early American entrepreneurs with the failures of their government-subsidized counterparts. Folsom’s wife, Anita Folsom, joined him for a second session, during which they discussed the lasting legacy of Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Students also enjoyed participating in sessions with Empowered Founder Antonia Okafor and Project If Life Founder Anna Strasburg on the importance of protecting the Second Amendment and the right to life, respectively. The highlight of each YAF CAMP for students and their parents was the opportunity to take memorable tours of Rancho del Cielo, where they walked in Ronald Reagan’s footsteps and experienced the unique property where our 40th President went to “think things out.” Following her visit, Emily Bush from Pacifica Christian High School reflected, “I feel much more confident in defending my beliefs and have so much respect for President Reagan.” Grateful students left the high school programs inspired to fight for the principles of freedom. Daniela Kotenkoff from Fresno, California, remarked to the generous supporters of YAF, “Thank you for caring about me, my peers, and our future! Thank you for investing in my life! This conference has made a tremendous impact on me.” Young America’s Foundation is especially grateful to Jamie and Marcia Constance for their leadership support of these transformative student programs at Rancho del Cielo.

Vice President Pence, Second Lady Karen Pence, and Governor Scott Walker meet with students attending YAF’s high school program at the Reagan Ranch. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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Passing on the Torch of Freedom: An Interview with Gina & Zachary Brown By Kyle Ferrebee, Program Director of the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home

s part of our mission to advance the ideas of individual freedom, free enterprise, traditional values, and a strong national defense, Young America’s Foundation seeks to effectively prepare future parents, educators, and community leaders who will influence countless young Americans for years to come. Gina Brown is a Young America’s Foundation alumna who exemplifies this mission. A graduate of YAF’s high school programs, Gina grew up in Seattle, Washington, and first got involved with YAF when she attended the Foundation’s inaugural high

school conference in Washington, D.C., in 1996. She made the decision to participate after her father learned about the event through YAF alumnus and National Journalism Center Board of Governors member Kirby Wilbur’s conservative talk radio show. Inspired by her experience, Gina has not only continued to participate in YAF programs herself, but she has also actively recruited family and friends. Recently, she took advantage of the opportunity she had always hoped for: sending one of her own children to a YAF program. Zachary Brown, Gina’s oldest son and a junior at Covington Catholic High School in Park Hills, Kentucky, attended YAF’s inaugural student seminar—American Exceptionalism: The Education of Ronald Reagan & the Enduring Promise of the American Dream—at the newlyacquired Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois (see page 29). Over the course of two days spent with like-minded young people, Zachary gained inspiration from the kinds of leaders and ideas that influenced his mother. Following his experience, Zachary is eager to establish a Young Americans for During YAF’s inaugural student seminar at the Ronald Reagan Freedom chapter at Boyhood Home, Zachary Brown enjoys meeting with Michael Reagan, President Reagan’s son. his school and share

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

“We need to stand up for what is right. We need to stand up for our freedoms. I hope that my generation will be able to help roll back the corruption in government.” — ZACHARY BROWN, COVINGTON CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL

his conservative values with fellow students. Young America’s Foundation is pleased to present this interview with Gina and Zachary Brown, who share what YAF means to them and their family. Libertas: Gina, you have been involved with YAF for more than 25 years. What first attracted you to our organization? ————————————————————

Gina: My dad listened to Kirby Wilbur’s conservative talk radio show in Seattle, where we lived in the 1990s. It was on one of these shows that Kirby discussed an upcoming Young America’s Foundation conference for high school students in Washington, D.C. It was a long trip from Seattle to Washington, but we were incredibly blessed. Kirby’s show generously offered to pay my conference fee, so

Gina Brown shares the educational resources from her YAF conference experience with her son, Zachary.

Gina (front row, fourth from right) and fellow young conservatives gather at a YAF high school conference in Washington, D.C., in the late 1990s.

my family only had to cover the cost of transportation—which was affordable because my dad worked for the airlines. My mom now says, “I can’t believe we sent you across the country for four days!” But I enjoyed that first experience so much that I brought my sister and then a friend to future conferences. Now here we are sending our own children! Libertas: Your son, Zachary, recently attended YAF’s inaugural student seminar at the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois. How did you feel about sending Zachary away for the weekend? ————————————————————

Gina: I felt comfortable because I remembered my own YAF experience. Students spent four nights at the conferences I attended, and we had a great experience while behaving ourselves. I have to admit that I was a little nervous dropping Zachary off at his first YAF program because I didn’t know if he knew exactly what he was getting into. But when we picked up Zachary and his friend, who joined him at the seminar, it was obvious they had enjoyed their time because they talked about the weekend nonstop on the car ride home.

While attending a YAF student conference, Gina (left) enjoys the opportunity to tour the United States Senate.

Libertas: Zachary, after attending your first YAF student program, can you share what you enjoyed most about the experience? ————————————————————

Zachary: I liked the whole weekend, but the best aspects of the seminar were visiting the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan and meeting like-minded teenagers from around the country. Seeing how Reagan grew up in a regular town and in a regular house was not something I had expected.

Libertas: What was your biggest takeaway from the seminar? ————————————————————

Zachary: The biggest takeaway for me is how pervasive corruption is across America. It’s close to a breaking point, and we need to find our voice as conservatives. We need to stand up for what is right. We need to stand up for our freedoms. I hope that my generation will be able to help roll back the corruption in government. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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Libertas: Gina, it seems Zachary has already gained some valuable insights from his first YAF experience. What are the lessons you learned from your time with the Foundation that you hope Zachary will absorb? ————————————————————

Gina: YAF opened my eyes to two key things—first, I wasn’t alone in my beliefs, and second, we have to watch for bias every day. At my first YAF conference, I remember meeting a student from Omaha. I had never before met anyone from Nebraska! There were also three girls from Fort Lauderdale and two boys from New York. We came from all over the country, and we believed in the same ideas. I found that to be hugely helpful. I thought to myself, “I can hold my conservative beliefs and be successful. They’re not outdated or uncool.” I also remember hearing a conference talk by Dr. Burt Folsom about textbook bias. I discovered for the first time that we are regularly bombarded with bias. His message stuck with me.

Having grown up, married, and built a family with five children, I feel better equipped because of Dr. Folsom. Even in conversations with my family and friends today about what’s going on around the country, I always say, “This is what we just heard. Let’s take that apart and ask who is providing the information, and what kind of bias might they have?” Libertas: Those are certainly important lessons that we strive to teach all YAF students. Zachary, what surprised you at YAF’s seminar?

“Knowing what I know about Young America’s Foundation, I would say that YAF will provide your children with the lessons they aren’t getting anywhere else.” — GINA BROWN, YAF ALUMNA

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Zachary: I was surprised to learn how widespread the liberal influence is at so many schools across the country. You can’t really find any school—a university, high school, or even elementary school—that hasn’t been tainted by this influence. Libertas: Gina, can you share any other memorable YAF experiences from your time as a student? ————————————————————

Gina: I got to meet Alan Keyes, who spoke at one of the programs I attended! I’ve told people for years that I voted for a black man for President, and it wasn’t Barack Obama. Meeting conservative leaders at YAF conferences was inspiring and gave me the motivation to think, “I can do this. These are great people, and we can emulate them and follow in their footsteps.” Libertas: Zachary, who was your favorite speaker at your first YAF program? ————————————————————

Zachary: Congressman Tom Tancredo. I didn’t know what to expect, but he was entertaining and funny, particularly when discussing how he became a public official. I also enjoyed meeting Dr. Burt Folsom. It’s cool to know that he spoke at conferences my mom attended as a student, and now I’m hearing from him. Libertas: Gina, as you think back to your early experience with YAF, what influence would you say the Foundation had on you? ———————————————————— Zachary Brown and his fellow YAF seminar attendees tour the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan in Dixon, Illinois.

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

Gina: My four years of attending YAF conferences made such a lasting

Following her own involvement with YAF as a high school student, Gina Brown and her husband look forward to getting all of their children involved in the coming years.

impression on me. I knew that I wanted to give my children the opportunity to meet other like-minded young people from around the country. As a result, I hoped that I would be able to send my kids to YAF programs as soon as they were old enough. Zachary could tell you how many times he has heard me talk about YAF. I still have my notebook from one of my conferences! But I would say that in the last couple of years—since Zachary entered high school—I’ve shared more about the organization than ever before because I know how important it is to get young people involved early. Libertas: Zachary, we see how YAF has influenced your mom. What do you hope to accomplish with Young America’s Foundation? ————————————————————

Zachary: One of the main components of YAF’s seminar was learning how to become an activist. There is not yet a Young Americans for Freedom chapter at my school, and I now want to start one and help other students gather and organize with likeminded peers. Libertas: As you look further ahead, what professional path would you like to pursue? ————————————————————

Zachary: My two biggest aspirations are music and the military. Music is my favorite hobby, and it’s a way for me to be engaged. Additionally, our family has a long military history. Both of my grandfathers served, and my uncle currently serves in the U.S. Coast Guard. I would be honored to carry on the tradition of fighting for our freedoms.

Libertas: Finally, Gina, what would you tell parents who are considering sending their children to a YAF program? ————————————————————

Gina: My faith is my greatest foundation. But Young America’s Foundation is second in line. We know that the education system doesn’t allow us to prioritize our faith. It also doesn’t support our conservative values. Knowing what I know about Young America’s Foundation, I would say that YAF will provide your children with the lessons they aren’t getting anywhere else—even things as basic as the fact that there were more Founding Fathers than just the two often mentioned in history textbooks! Among other things, your children will learn that history is interesting and gain an appreciation for the huge sacrifices our forefathers made.

This interview has been edited for clarity. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

"YAF "YAF has has provided provided me me with with opportunities opportunities II would would not not get get anywhere anywhere else." else." Diana Soriano Diana BostonSoriano University Boston University

CHANGE THE LIVES OF YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH CHANGE THE LIVES OF YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH A LEGACY GIFT TO YOUNG AMERICA’S FOUNDATION. A LEGACY GIFT TO YOUNG AMERICA’S FOUNDATION.

Young America’s Foundation is the largest youth outreach organization in the Young America’s Foundation is the largest outreach organization in theof Conservative Movement introducing millionsyouth of young Americans to the ideas Conservative Movement introducing millionsfree of young Americans to the ideas of individual freedom, a strong national defense, enterprise, and traditional values. individual freedom, strong national defense, free enterprise, and traditional values. The Foundation is a the exclusive owner and operator of the Reagan Ranch, having The Foundation is the exclusive owner and operator of the Reagan Ranch,freedom. having worked with Ronald Reagan and the Reagan family since 1962 to advance worked with Ronald Reagan and the provides Reagan family 1962 to advance freedom. Today, Young America’s Foundation youngsince people across the country with Today, Young America’s Foundation provides young people across the country with unparalleled experiences through conferences and seminars at the Reagan Ranch unparalleled experiences through conferences andinternships; seminars at and the Reagan Ranch and across the country; educational materials; speakers. and across the country; educational materials; internships; and speakers. To receive a free Estate Planning Guide or to learn about the exciting benefits of membership in ToYoung receive a free Estate PlanningRanch GuideIn orThe to learn about the exciting benefits of membership America's Foundation's Sky Legacy Society, please call Legacy Society &in Young America's Foundation's Ranch In The Sky Legacy Society, please call Legacy Society & Development Relations Director Clare Hinshaw at 1-800-USA-1776 or visit www.yaf.org/legacy. Development Relations Director Clare Hinshaw at 1-800-USA-1776 or visit www.yaf.org/legacy. NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS 11480 COMMERCE PARK DRIVE | SIXTH FLOOR | RESTON, VIRGINIA 20191 REAGAN BOYHOOD11480 HOME 810 SOUTHPARK HENNEPIN | DIXON, ILLINOIS VIRGINIA 61021 20191 NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS COMMERCE DRIVE AVENUE | SIXTH FLOOR | RESTON, REAGANBOYHOOD RANCH CENTER STREET | SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA REAGAN HOME217 810STATE SOUTH HENNEPIN AVENUE | DIXON, ILLINOIS93101 61021 REAGAN RANCH CENTER 217 STATE STREET | SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA 93101

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Knowles, Walker, Shlaes, and Rhoden Join YAF Supporters at Largest-Ever Rawhide Circle Retreat in South Dakota By Kelleigh Clarke, Development Officer for Foundation Relations

Members of Young America’s Foundation’s Rawhide Circle of supporters gather at the State Game Lodge in South Dakota, which served as President Calvin Coolidge’s summer White House.

ore than 160 loyal supporters and friends of Young America’s Foundation gathered in Rapid City, South Dakota, for YAF’s annual Rawhide Circle Retreat. This event—the largest Rawhide Circle Retreat ever—brought together supporters from across the country to meet with YAF leadership and spend time with like-minded friends. YAF chose to host this key program in South Dakota because of the state leadership’s approach to keeping South Dakota open for business. Additionally, inspiring attractions—including Mount Rushmore and Custer State Park—provided educational and memorable excursions for attendees. The program began with an opening reception at the historic Hotel Alex Johnson, where guests stayed during the week. South Dakota’s Lieutenant Governor Larry Rhoden welcomed the guests, highlighting how his state persevered during the pandemic. The reception allowed supporters to

meet one another, reconnect with friends, and spend time with YAF team members. The group reconvened for breakfast and several informative sessions the next morning. Supporters introduced themselves before hearing from YAF President Governor Scott Walker on the Long Game (see page 12)—YAF’s bold plan to reach more students, campuses, like-minded faculty, and online viewers in the years ahead. Perhaps most impactful was a panel session featuring three YAF students—Julianna Purcell of Ave Maria University, Negar Jadidi of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and Didi Malka of the University of Central Florida. These top student activists shared their experiences hosting YAF speakers on campus and inspiring their peers to stand up for free speech and conservative principles. They also discussed obstacles they faced along the way and how they succeeded with YAF’s support. Following the panel, supporters enjoyed a casual luncheon at Hay Camp Brewing Company before heading to Custer State Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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39th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota Larry Rhoden welcomes YAF supporters to his home state during the opening reception of the Rawhide Circle Retreat.

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(From left) YAF President Governor Scott Walker, Lisa Lundstrom, YAF alumna Reagan Warner, and Don Warner enjoy the first day of the Rawhide Circle Retreat opening reception.

YAF supporters Bob and Leah Traut meet with popular YAF campus lecturer and Daily Wire host Michael Knowles.

Park, where they enjoyed open-air jeep tours that provided close-up encounters with bison, prairie dogs, antelope, and other wildlife. Members of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors also held their annual meeting at the Hotel Alex Johnson. The evening included a memorable dinner emceed by Reagan Ranch Board of Governors Chairman Frank Donatelli and featuring Governor Walker, who discussed the need for 42

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

New York Times bestselling author Amity Shlaes discusses the life and legacy of President Calvin Coolidge during a luncheon held steps from his summer White House—the Custer State Park Game Lodge—in South Dakota.

students, YAF supporters, and all conservatives to persist in the fight for freedom. The final day of the Rawhide Circle Retreat included a luncheon at the Custer State Game Lodge—known as the “Summer White House”—where President Calvin Coolidge spent three months of his Presidency exploring the Black Hills and pondering the important decisions that lay ahead. Supporters learned more about President Coolidge

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Rawhide Circle Retreat participants take an open-air jeep tour of picturesque Custer State Park (from left: Laine Wagenseller, Reagan Ranch Board of Governors member Tim Goeglein, LeAnn Turrentine, Konnie Boulter, YAF Director Ron Pearson, and Ken and Marci Kalbfell).

YAF Development Director Jason Barbour thanks supporters for helping to make the 2021 Rawhide Circle Retreat the largest ever in the Foundation’s history.

Members of the Reagan Ranch Board of Governors gather at the Hotel Alex Johnson in Rapid City, South Dakota, during YAF’s Rawhide Circle Retreat.

from bestselling author and Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation Chair Amity Shlaes. Following lunch, the group traveled to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, where YAF supporters enjoyed walking the trails and touring the visitor center. The final dinner of the week featured popular YAF campus lecturer and Daily Wire commentator Michael Knowles, who discussed his involvement with Young America’s Foundation

and the importance of advancing conservative ideas among the next generation. Knowles thanked the group for their commitment to freedom through their support of YAF and addressed questions from the audience. Young America’s Foundation thanks all who gathered in South Dakota and looks forward to hosting the 2022 Rawhide Circle Retreat in California. Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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Changing Young People’s Lives: An Interview with Tom & Joan Streiff By Clare Hinshaw, Legacy Society & Development Relations Director

om and Joan Streiff are Pittsburgh natives and members of Young America’s Foundation’s Rawhide Circle and Legacy Society. They have generously supported YAF’s mission to reach young people with Ronald Reagan’s freedom philosophy for more than 20 years. They have also been involved with YAF’s student programs at the Reagan Ranch, New Jersey Reagan Day events, annual Rawhide Circle Retreats, and other key programs and projects. Their two

adult sons, Rob and Jim, participated in YAF’s student programs during their educational careers. Tom and Joan enjoy spending time with their family, exploring the outdoors, expanding their knowledge of Civil War history, and working on their 60-acre farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Tom & Joan: We were both raised in Pittsburgh in a relatively conservative area. Joan was raised in a Republican home. Tom came from a middle-class Democrat family—though when Ronald Reagan came along, Tom’s family supported him for President. Reagan was the first President we both voted for. In 1981, we had just gotten married and moved to California. We were living in the Orange County-area, where Reagan held many rallies. Going to those rallies was what first got us involved in the Conservative Movement. Reagan spoke about freedom, liberty, and free markets. We realized that everything we were, he was, too.

Libertas: Can you share a little bit about your upbringing? How did you become conservatives?

Libertas: How did you first learn about Young America’s Foundation?

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Join the Ranch in the Sky Legacy Society Through Young America’s Foundation’s Ranch in the Sky Legacy Society, patriotic Americans are empowered to create their personal legacy of educating young people and advancing freedom. By including YAF in their estate plans, YAF’s Legacy Society members enjoy many benefits, including: • Lifelong membership in YAF’s President’s Club and invitations to exclusive events • A beautiful recognition plaque The names of YAF’s Legacy Society members are permanently • Their names permanently engraved on the special engraved on Freedom Wall at the Reagan Ranch. Legacy Society panel on Freedom Wall at the Reagan Ranch • An engraved stone at the Reagan Ranch in honor of Executive Members of the Legacy Society once documentation of an estate gift is shared • An oak tree planted at the Reagan Ranch in honor of Torch of Freedom Society Members of YAF’s Legacy Society once documentation of an estate gift of $1 million or more is shared Please update your estate plans to include Young America’s Foundation by sharing this sample bequest language with your attorney: I give, devise, and bequeath to Young America’s Foundation, tax identification number 23-7042029, 11480 Commerce Park Drive, Sixth Floor, Reston, Virginia 20191 (insert percentage, amount or nature of gift, or remainder of estate) to be used for educational purposes (or to support the Reagan Ranch Fund). Contact Legacy Society & Development Relations Director Clare Hinshaw at 800-USA-1776 or chinshaw@yaf.org to enroll in the Legacy Society or request a free estate planning guide.

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

Tom & Joan: We were involved with many conservative groups but didn’t learn about Young America’s Foundation until YAF purchased the Reagan Ranch. When that came to our attention, we were very happy. We started to learn more about the Foundation and understand it better— especially the educational programs for students, which really appealed to us. That’s when we started to commit some of our resources. Libertas: You first visited the Reagan Ranch with your two sons in 2005. What do you recall about that experience?

Tom and Joan Streiff, along with their sons, Rob (left) and Jim (right), make their involvement with Young America’s Foundation a family affair.

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Tom & Joan: Our son, Rob, said, “It was the best day ever!” The first thing that struck us was the modest Ranch house itself and the humility of the property. We had visited various Presidential homes over the years, but none of them were anything like the place where the Reagans lived. The humble and beautiful environment of the Ranch really stuck with us. What made our experience really special was John Barletta, Reagan’s Secret Service agent, who was there with his dog. While we were touring the Ranch house, John went down to the lake and played with our sons. We were so impressed with the attention and time that he gave our boys. They didn’t really appreciate the house or the humility at the time—they were only nine and thirteen—but they appreciated this gentleman spending all that time with them. Libertas: Your son, Rob, attended his first YAF student program—our National High School Leadership Conference—in 2009. Your son, Jim, later interned with YAF at our headquarters in Reston, Virginia. How did they decide to participate in these activities, and how did these experiences influence them? ————————————————————

Tom & Joan: As soon as Rob and Jim were old enough to attend a YAF conference, we encouraged them to do so. Hearing from speakers like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Steve Forbes, or Nigel Farage is an experience most kids never have in their entire lives, and our kids got it multiple times. Kids get to a point where they are influenced more by their peers than by their parents. And when their peers are fellow believers in freedom and liberty and have conservative values, they’re going to be exposed to that. We’re convinced that our sons’ YAF experiences—the education they got and the friends they made—strengthened their resolve. They have conservative values now because of YAF programs. Libertas: You have loyally participated in so many YAF programs around the country, including our activities at the Reagan Ranch, our annual Rawhide Circle Retreats around the country, and our New Jersey Reagan Day Events. What keeps you engaged? ————————————————————

Tom & Joan: It’s extremely important to us that the focus is on young people—on educating high school and college students and even younger children, as we know Governor Scott Walker plans to do through his

“We think that making an estate gift to Young America’s Foundation is the best way of leaving something behind that can change young people’s lives.” — TOM & JOAN STREIFF

leadership of YAF. There are many great conservative organizations, but we don’t think there’s one that comes anywhere close to matching Young America’s Foundation’s educational programs. But that alone wouldn’t convince us to go to events. We keep attending YAF events because of the great community of like-minded believers in freedom, liberty, and Reagan values. Libertas: YAF has been blessed by your involvement for more than 20 years, including your support of the Reagan Ranch project. Why have you Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

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been such committed supporters of our mission? ————————————————————

Tom & Joan: When Young America’s Foundation purchased the Reagan Ranch, we don’t know that we envisioned how important and special it would be for students to have the opportunity to see how humbly the Reagans lived. But we were drawn to the idea of saving the Ranch and of having it be a place where students could have a special experience. When you visit the Reagan Ranch, that experience stays with you. We think this helps cement young people’s conservative values. Libertas: You recently decided to include YAF in your estate plans and join the exclusive Torch of Freedom tier of our Legacy Society. Can you share how you made this significant decision? ————————————————————

Tom & Joan: We think that making an estate gift to Young America’s Foundation is the best way of leaving something

behind that can change young people’s lives. We asked, “When we’re gone, how do we ensure that what we believe in and what we’ve spent much of our lives fighting for will continue?” This gift is a way we can be sure that after we’re gone, our thoughts and values will continue on. Libertas: Do you have any advice for those who are considering including YAF in their estate plans? ————————————————————

Tom & Joan: As you look to where you are going to leave resources from your estate, think about where your support can best be leveraged to reach others. As we reflected back on the 20 years that we’ve been involved with Young America’s Foundation, we saw that YAF had been steadfast in its mission. In fact, we have seen YAF grow stronger in a number of ways. One example is how well YAF has done during the COVID-19 pandemic in continuing to reach students and execute programs around the country in safe and effective ways.

We’re also very excited about the fact that YAF now has the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home (see page 29) as part of its programs. Ron Robinson did a phenomenal job of building YAF over many years. We think that the additional energy and amount of exposure that Governor Walker has brought to YAF has given it another tremendous shot of adrenaline. All of these things came together for us when we were determining where we could make a difference. We wanted to leave a legacy to impact where the energy and the effectiveness of the messaging are growing. Libertas: Can you share what you hope to achieve with YAF in the years ahead? ————————————————————

Tom & Joan: We want to help others experience what we’ve experienced. We’d love to give many more parents the opportunity for their kids to experience what our kids did with Young America’s Foundation. Libertas: What would you say to a family who is considering supporting Young America’s Foundation or sending their children or grandchildren to our student programs? ——————————————

Tom & Joan: Just do it. We have met so many people whose children have gone off to college or the workplace and ended up not sharing a single value with their parents. That’s how we draw the distinction between being a part of YAF’s educational programs and missing something like this entirely.

At YAF’s New Jersey Reagan Day event in 2016, Tom (left) and Joan (right) Streiff enjoy meeting with YAF Director Kimberly Begg and Rafael Cruz, father of Senator Ted Cruz.

Young America’s Foundation | Libertas | Fall 2021

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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Fall 2021 Volume 42 • Number 2

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uring Young America’s Foundation’s inaugural student seminar at the newly-acquired Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois, high school students from across the Midwest visit a statue of Ronald Reagan at Heritage Crossing on the Rock River. YAF is honored to preserve and protect the childhood home of our 40th President so future generations of young Americans may learn about his values and freedom philosophy.