Dear John,

We are delighted to announce the newest members of the Claremont family: the 2025 Speechwriter Fellows, a talented group of communicators who are influencing speechcraft and ideas within government, media, and conservative thought.
 
During the program, Speechwriter Fellows will study themes of America’s founding principles, natural law, equality, American identity, globalism, multiculturalism, identity politics, and the administrative state–all with the aim of becoming equipped with the tools necessary for a robust defense of the American way of life. Classes will be led by a combination of Claremont scholars and former presidential speechwriters.

Thank you for your support in making this program—and all of our programs—a success. We invite you to learn more about this exceptional class below.

Corey Adamyk is a speechwriter and deputy communications director within the Executive Office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. In this role, he spends every day contributing to the mission of protecting freedom and advancing conservative principles for the people of Florida. He previously served as a research analyst with the Government Accountability Institute, where his research focused heavily on government corruption and foreign influence. He also has extensive experience working on campaigns at the local, state, and presidential levels. Corey earned a B.S. in History and Political Science and an M.S. in Applied American Politics and Policy from Florida State University. During his free time, he enjoys staying active, spending time in nature, traveling, and rooting for his alma mater.

Joe Amato is a writer and culture strategist. He left academia to work as a ghostwriter and policy researcher for a prominent American tech entrepreneur. He holds degrees from the University of California, Berkeley, and Stanford University, where he is completing a Ph.D. in European History. Joe is a 2021 Publius Fellow and received an inaugural Passage Prize for poetry.

Jack Beyer is a writer working in the defense industry. He was formerly Press Secretary for the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services under Chairman Roger Wicker, and before that he worked in Senator Wicker’s office. He previously reported on national security issues for the Washington Free Beacon. Jack is a graduate of Wake Forest University, where he received a B.A. with honors in History, and the U.S. Naval War College, where he earned an M.A. in Defense and Strategic Studies.

Andrew Brennan currently serves as Chief Speechwriter and a Communications Advisor to Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. Prior to working for Governor Youngkin, he worked for two conservative House members on Capitol Hill and at the RNC. A 2017 graduate of the University of Richmond, Andrew is originally from northern New Jersey. He is also a 2022-2023 Washington, D.C. Leonine Fellow and worships at St. James Catholic Church in Falls Church. In his free time, he enjoys cooking, golfing, running, hiking, reading, watching movies with friends, and mixing (mostly whiskey!) cocktails.

William DiBugno is a policy advisor for U.S. Senator Jim Banks. He previously worked for Senator Eric Schmitt as his Speechwriter and also worked for Senator Marco Rubio as Rapid Response Director. Prior to that, he served as the Rapid Response Director for America2100, which he launched with other Rubio alumni in the summer of 2023. Prior to his time on the Hill, he spent three years at America Rising, where he worked in the War Room during the 2020 and 2022 campaign cycles. Mr. DiBugno is from Long Island, New York and holds a B.B.A in Accounting from Adelphi University.

Coburn Dolloff serves as Executive Writer at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA, where he writes for university President Jim Gash and other Pepperdine executives. He also teaches courses in literature and philosophy at Pepperdine and writes academic and freelance work in his free time. Coburn is passionate about the future of American culture and conserving the good, the true, the beautiful, and the free for future generations.

Andrew Garcia works in the Speechwriting Office at the White House as the Director of Research. Prior to working in the Trump Administration, he worked at the RNC and was Legislative Director for Congressman Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma. Andrew is a native of Northern California and graduated from University of California, Davis with a degree in Psychology.

Jake Gannon currently resides in Texas where he works as Director of the Office of the President at the Claremont Institute. He is responsible for a combination of administrative duties and special projects for President Ryan P. Williams. He has held other roles within Claremont, including Assistant Director for the Center for the American Way of Life and both Communications and Production Manager for The Roundtable podcast. Jake served as a White House intern at the Office of Political Affairs in 2017 during Donald Trump’s first term as president. He holds a B.A. in Political Science with a law emphasis from California State University, Los Angeles Honors College.

Michael Lachanski is a doctoral candidate at the Penn Population Studies Center, where he focuses on using data science to improve empirical social science and public policy. He is especially interested in applied statistics, demography, and labor economics. Michael holds an M.P.A. and A.B. in Economics from Princeton University.

Roy Mathews is a Legislative Correspondent for Senator Ted Cruz, where he covers national security. Previously, he was a Legislative Correspondent for Rep. Erin Houchin and Press Secretary and Digital Director for former Rep. Bruce Poliquin. Roy has also worked as a freelance writer and commentator, with his work featured in The Wall Street Journal, Law & Liberty, The American Mind, The Federalist, and other outlets under various pseudonyms. He has worked for over a dozen conservative campaigns in Maine and his home state of South Carolina. Roy is an OCS candidate in the Virginia Army National Guard. He holds a B.A. in History and Politics from Bates College, where he also earned a J. William Fulbright Fellowship.

John McGehee is a public information officer with the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office, where he serves as the principal speechwriter for Secretary of State Nancy Landry. He is also working to establish an Office of International Affairs and Protocol within the department to conduct subnational diplomacy on behalf of the state. John previously worked for Senator John Kennedy in constituent services and in his 2016 campaign for U.S. Senate. A Louisiana native, he graduated from Louisiana State University with a B.A. in Political Science and History and holds an M.A. from Southeastern Louisiana University, where he studied naval and diplomatic history.

Grayson Quay is a consultant for Point Made PR, a public affairs firm specializing in media placement and grassroots advocacy. He previously worked as Communications Director for Vivek Ramaswamy and as an editor at The Daily Caller and The Week. His writing has appeared at Newsweek, The American Conservative, National Review, The American Mind, The Federalist, and other publications. Grayson holds an M.A. in English from Georgetown University and is the author of The Transhumanist Temptation: How Technology and Ideology Are Reshaping Humanity—And How to Resist.

Tom Sarrouf is a speechwriter in the Department of State, Office of Policy Planning in the Trump administration. Prior to joining the admin, Tom spent three years at the Intercollegiate Studies Institute in a variety of roles focused on education and faculty formation, as well as managing and hosting their podcast, Conservative Conversations with ISI. He graduated summa cum laude from Boston College in 2022, and was a Publius Fellow in 2023 with the Claremont Institute. He is a contributor for The American Postliberal, and has also been published at The American Mind, Modern Age, Anchoring Truths, and The University Bookman amongst other publications. In his spare time, he is an avid student of jiu jitsu.

Mattheus Wagner is Director of Communications for Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of President Trump’s social media platform, Truth Social. A native of California’s San Joaquin Valley, he previously worked as an aide to his hometown congressman, Devin Nunes. Mattheus holds an A.B. in History from Harvard College.

Noah Weinrich currently serves as a speechwriter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. Previously, he served as Director of Media and Public Relations at The Heritage Foundation, where he oversaw Heritage’s public messaging, managed a team of bookers and editors, and advised Heritage leadership on media strategy. He also served as Director of Communications for Heritage Action, Heritage’s advocacy arm, and for Sentinel Action Fund, a conservative Super PAC. Noah previously worked as a Staff Writer at Pinkston Group, a public relations firm in Virginia. He holds a B.A. in Politics from Hillsdale College. A native of Athens, Georgia, he now lives in Maryland with his wife and two young children.

ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP

Founded in 2017, the Claremont Institute Speechwriters Fellowship combines an education in the principles of the American Founding with a study of modern political speechcraft. Fellows meet over the course of the Columbus Day weekend to discuss and debate these important ideas. Upon acceptance into the program, fellows will receive a reading packet with designated primary texts and assignments, when applicable, for each course.