Back Row (left to right): Bryce Connolly, Ely Osborne, Chase Reid, Victor Gonzalez, Duncan Spilsbury, Landis Holdorf, Luca Cacciatore, Christopher Hunter Velonis;Â First Row: Anna Adamian, Jake Mercier (AM CCO), Emma Posey (AM Coalitions Manager), Nick Solheim (AM COO), Saurabh Sharma (AM President), Rachel Valdez
Anna Adamian is a recent graduate of Charleston Southern University where she double majored in Business Management and Spanish. She is a native of Branchville, South Carolina where she grew up with her two sisters on a small farm. In college, she completed a bilingual internship at Gibson Law LLC as well as being named to the 2018 All-State Academic Team. While politics has always been one of her passions, she was ultimately motivated to dedicate her career to it after watching how bitter political infighting cripple common sense policies from taking root in our country. Her most specialized interests are legislative policy and foreign affairs. She applied to the Fellowship for American Statecraft because she believes it will give her a unique vantage point in helping to positively impact legislative decisions in the country. Anna will serve as the assistant to the Director of Coalitions for the Republican Study Committee.
Luca Cacciatore is a welder, writer, and former Political Science student at Pennsylvania State University. He is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he resides with his family. Growing up, Luca volunteered on numerous local political campaigns and in late 2016 he founded the publication New Conservatives, where he serves as Chief Editor. Luca applied for the Fellowship for American Statecraft in order to jumpstart his career in public policy after leaving the University disenchanted, and to represent the working-class values of his upbringing in Washington. This summer, Luca will be interning for American Principles Project.
Bryce Connolly is a rising senior at the University of South Florida and a native of Tampa, Florida. As an International Studies and History double major, Bryce has an active interest in public service, having worked in student, city, and county government. He is currently the President of The John Quincy Adams Society at USF. Bryce is motivated by a conservatism that prudently assesses foreign affairs, promotes ordered liberty, and fairly distributes economic benefits. Bryce will be serving as a program assistant this summer helping to promote realist foreign policy for the Center for the National Interest.
Victor Gonzalez is a recent graduate from the University of La Verne, where he received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He is a California native of the Los Angeles area, born and raised in the Eastern Valley suburban outskirts of West Covina, California where he grew up with his younger brother. His interests lie in political philosophy, international relations, and American Government and Politics. He applied for the Fellowship for American Statecraft to personally dedicate his life to solving the uncompassionate and destructive immigration policy plaguing this country today. His other domestic policy interests include revamping Free Trade as a possible pathway for additional investment in infrastructure. Victor will intern this summer at the Conservative Partnership Institute and American Accountability Foundation.
Landis Holdorf is a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside where he studies Business Administration and Finance. He resides in his hometown of Merrill, Wisconsin with his wife Jewell and their son. He currently serves as chairman of both the Lincoln County Republican Party and the North Central Wisconsin Young Republicans Club. Previously, he has managed a variety of successful statewide political campaigns and worked on President Trump’s re-election campaign. Landis was motivated to get involved in politics after witnessing the disastrous effects that globalization had on his community and the indifference that elected officials had for those struggling in his hometown. He applied for the Fellowship for American Statecraft in order to bring long-lasting and impactful public policy solutions to his state and nation. Landis will be interning this summer with The Center for Renewing America.
Ely Osborne is a recent graduate of Fairmont State University where he majored in Political Science and National Security and Intelligence, with a minor in History. He has spent his entire life in West Virginia. Before moving to northern West Virginia for college, he grew up in Wallback with his brother and two parents. Ely is now married to his wife, Laura. Most recently, Ely has worked in the Open Source Intelligence Lab, Chi Alpha Campus Ministries, and in the special elections in Georgia. He found his start in the political realm working for the Family Policy Council of WV where he advocated for Christian values in policymaking. Ely applied for the Fellowship for American Statecraft so he could help restore America from the ills of social degradation, globalist trade policy, and foreign interventionism. Ely will intern this summer in the Office of Senator Josh Hawley.
Chase Reid is a student at MIT studying economics, political science, and data science. Originally from New Jersey, Chase has long had his feet in two, oft-divergent worlds: politics and technology. Upon graduating from high school, he founded a creative arts startup that set out to foster collaboration between independent producers and artists without the need for middlemen. Following a brief stint at a VC firm, Chase grew worried that meaningful innovation in America had come to a halt and set out to remedy what he felt was a national decline in both prosperity and ingenuity through policy and politics. While at MIT, he has sought to create a more politically engaged environment, leading the Public Affairs Committee of the Undergraduate Association and creating the MIT Political Review—a journal for student voices and political discourse. He most recently served as an undergraduate research assistant to Professor John Gruber, investigating long-term care and social insurance in the United States and abroad. Chase will work as a policy intern this summer with the Lincoln Network.
Duncan Spilsbury graduated magna cum laude from Dickinson College in May 2021, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Economics and History. Duncan grew up in Charlestown, New Hampshire, where he managed the town’s pool for three summers and became involved in local governance. Duncan’s involvement in local town affairs led to his election as a member of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee at age 21. He will begin the Master of Public Administration program in the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse University in August of this year. He applied for American Moment’s Fellowship for American Statecraft to develop the skills and relationships necessary to tackle the challenges of the twenty-first century as a young conservative. Duncan will intern this summer in the Office of Senator Marco Rubio.
Rachel Valdez is a Junior at Orange Coast College where she studies Political Science. She was born and raised in Whittier, California where she grew up with three sisters. Like many, Rachel’s eyes were open about the state of our immigration system during the 2016 Presidential election. She realized how radical and unjust the American immigration system is to both illegal immigrants and to the unemployed and forgotten Americans. In 2018, Rachel and her family were sent out by their church to La Gloria, Mexico to help sustain and train missionaries to plant churches throughout Mexico. Residing in close proximity to the Southern Border, Rachel has the first-hand experience with the cruelty of having incentives for Latin Americans to make the long journey to the border. Rachel applied to Fellowship for American Statecraft in hope of having an opportunity to study public policy that would benefit Americans and is personally dedicated to studying and promoting public policy that puts American families first. Rachel will be interning this summer at The Center for Immigration Studies.
Christopher Hunter Velonis is a senior at the College of Charleston where he studies Political Science. He was born and raised in Beverly, Massachusetts but moved to Charleston, South Carolina after high school. Before switching his major to political science, Chris was pursuing a degree in Business with a minor in Entrepreneurship. He is a regular attendee to his local Republican meetings in Charleston and a member of the College Republicans. Chris applied to The Fellowship for American Statecraft because he believes that American Moment and its allies are the best hope for building an effective, principled, uncompromising movement on the right in the United States. His main focus is on meta-politics, American culture, and social issues. Chris will intern this summer at the Claremont Institute’s Center for the American Way of Life.