SPEAKERS

Drew McKissick was elected Co-Chairman of the Republican National Committee in January of 2021. Drew has serves as the State Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party since May of 2017. He is a Columbia, S.C. based conservative political strategist with over thirty years of experience in grassroots politics and a passion for teaching others how the system works and how to make a difference.

Neil Newhouse is a partner and co-founder of Public Opinion Strategies, a national political and public affairs research firm which has been described by the New York Times as “the leading Republican polling company” in the country. Neil has been named “Pollster of the Year” by the American Association of Political Consultants a record-tying three times for his work on political and public affairs campaigns.

Neil has worked in public opinion research for more than 35 years and has helped elect dozens of Members of Congress, U.S. Senators, and Governors. He has served as the Republican partner in the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, and he has twice been named as one of the “Money 20″ political consultants in the country who make a difference.

Mikey Swetz has been fundraising for over a decade and brings a wealth of expertise to the table for Arena. He most recently served as the RNC’s National Field Finance Director and built fundraising programs for state GOPs and campaigns across the country and raised millions of dollars through digital solicitations, fundraising events and major donor asks. He previously fundraised for the New Hampshire GOP & Connecticut GOP. Mikey was born and raised in New England (shockingly not a sports fan) and now lives in Salt Lake City, UT. 

Lori Franssen began her career at the Republican Party of Florida as Deputy Finance Director. In 2001, Lori joined a nationally focused direct marketing fundraising firm as Vice President and has worked with countless state parties and candidates at the local, state, and national level. In the 2014 mid-term and 2016 Presidential cycle Lori joined the Republican Nation Committee as the National Field Finance Director and worked with all 50 Republican state party organizations to support, enhance, and execute their fundraising operations which supported the historic mid-term election wins and the 2016 Presidential election race. Lori continues her fundraising a career as a key member and partner of a nationally recognized direct mail firm
with a focus on providing top-notch services to Republican state party organizations and numerous
candidates at all levels.

Jeffrey Lord, a former Reagan White House political director, is a columnist and contributing editor for The American Spectator. He is a graduate of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. His work has been published around the country, including The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Weekly Standard, National Review Online, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Harrisburg Patriot-News.. His television appearances include Hannity and Colmes, The Big Show with John Gibson, and other Fox shows hosted by Stuart Varney and Brian Wilson. He has also appeared on the Lou Dobbs Show at CNN, It’s Your Call with Lynn Doyle on Comcast’s CN8, along with over a hundred talk-radio shows around America. The Borking Rebellion was his first book. He lives and works in Pennsylvania.

Stephen Moore is a former journalist and a Distinguished Fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Moore focuses on advancing pro-growth economic policies at the Heritage Foundation and has a wealth of knowledge on the economy. Formerly, he wrote for the Wall Street Journal and obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his master’s degree from George Mason.

Timothy DeFoor was sworn in as Pennsylvania’s 50th Auditor General on January 19, 2021. Tim started his career in public service as a Special Investigator with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Inspector General, where he investigated government and contractor fraud, waste, and abuse within state government. Tim then went on to become a Special Agent with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Attorney General, investigating Medicaid fraud and illegal prescription drug diversion. Later, he became a Fraud Investigator and Internal Auditor for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – Health Plan and various federal contractors.