Young Voices

Writers affiliated with Young Voices as of early 2021 include Brad Polumbo, a frequent Fox News commentator; Daniel Di Martino, a Venezuelan-American commentator on Latin American issues; and Molly Davis, a columnist on criminal justice reform and policing issues. ³

Young Voices is a participating organization with the Charles Koch Institute’s Koch Associate Program (KAP) and Koch Internship Program (KIP). ⁴ Young Voices is an associate member of the State Policy Network⁵ and a member of the Atlas Network, two coalitions of free-market advocacy groups. ⁶

History

Young Voices started as a project of Students for Liberty (SFL), a libertarian student organization, and became an independent non-profit in 2016. ⁷ That year, SFL employee Casey Given spun off Young Voices into an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and became its executive director. ⁸

SFL and Young Voices have continued to maintain a close partnership, including by hosting an annual joint reception at SFL’s LibertyCon, which is billed as “the premier annual event for libertarian students and young professionals.” ⁹

Activities

Young Voices provides training, mentorship, brand building, and public relations services to young libertarian writers. ¹

Young Voices uses its own “rigorous application process” to choose writers for its program. Writers accepted into its program are provided editing and public relations services, along with assistance in pitching articles to “top publications” and scheduling radio and television interviews. ¹⁰

Young Voices website provides profiles on each of its writers. Featured contributors as of late 2020 include:¹¹

• Ashkhen Kazaryan, the director of civil liberties at TechFreedom, an Internet Law and Policy Fellow at the IP Foundry, and a member of the Federalist Society’s Emerging Technology Working Group. Kazaryan has made appearances on C-SPAN, the BBC, and CNBC, and has been published in the American Conservative. ¹²
• Ross Marchand, director of policy for the Taxpayers Protection Alliance who has previously worked with FreedomWorks and ALEC. Marchand has made appearances on C-SPAN and Stossel TV, and has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, and the Washington Examiner. ¹³
• Brad Polumbo, a contributing columnist for the Washington Examinerand a fellow with the Foundation for Economic Education. Polumbo has been published in USA Today, the Daily Beast, National Review, and the Boston Globe, among others, and has made appearances on Fox News, Fox Business, and other national radio programs. ¹⁴

It was announced on October 6, 2020 that Young Voices podcast Underscored, which highlights its network of writers, will become a weekly live radio program. Moving Forward with Young Voices will be hosted by Bryan Hyde as part of the Fed by Ravens audio network. ¹⁵

In 2017, Young Voices hired a public relations liaison for the United Kingdom, where it has since recruited several writers. ¹⁶

Funding

In 2019, Young Voices received $479,000 in contributions and grants, which comprised its entire revenue for the year. ¹⁷

Young Voices in funded by donations from individuals, corporations, and non-profit foundations. While Young Voices does not disclose its donors, its annual reports show that on average, 70% of donations come from foundations. ¹⁸

Tax records indicate that the Charles Koch Institute contributed in 2017 ¹⁹ and the Charles Koch Foundation contributed  in 2016 and 2017. ²⁰ Young Voices is a “Media and Journalism Fellowship Partner” of the Charles Koch Institute. ²¹

Board and Staff

Staff

Young Voices has a staff of seven, which includes editors, public relations staff, and a partnerships manager. ²² In 2019, Young Voices spent $278,000 on salaries and employee benefits. ¹⁷

Casey Given is the executive director and president of Young Voices. Given is a former director of communications at Students For Liberty and a former state policy analyst at the Americans for Prosperity Foundation.” ⁷

Stephen Kent, head of public relations for Young Voices, has disavowed the Republican Party and promotes a libertarian third party. ²³

Board of Directors

Board secretary Jared Meyer was an economist at the Council of Economic Advisors during the Trump administration. ²⁴ Meyer is a former senior fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability and a former policy analysis at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. ²⁵

Vice president Scott Barbee serves on the advisory board of the Atlas Network and on the board of the Donald and Paula Smith Family Foundation. ²⁶

Dan Grossman is the treasurer of Young Voices and sits on the board of the Atlas Network, where he formerly served as chair. Grossman is also treasurer of the boards of Students for Liberty, Compassion and Choices, and Foundation for Economic Education, where he formerly served as chair. Grossman is a member of the boards of the Future of Freedom Foundation, the Center for Innovative Governance Research, and the Consumer Choice Center. ²⁷