Tawny Kilpper
Tawny Kilpper, a creative strategist and committed advocate of conservative values, has recently taken on the Middle School Program Director role at Young America’s Foundation. Her mission is to inspire and instill conservative values in young learners nationwide. With over two decades of professional experience spanning various sectors, Tawny brings a wealth of knowledge to […]
Rayna Laakso
Rayna Laakso serves as the event coordinator at YAF’s Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara. In this position, she facilitates the planning and the execution of events at the Center and Rancho del Cielo. Rayna is originally from Montana and graduated summa cum laude from Rocky Mountain College (RMC) in Billings, Montana, in 2022. She […]
Micah Salazar
Micah grew up in a conservative family in Orange County, and originally wanted to pursue a career in firefighting. In high school he started working for Lorrain Lim catering who caters all of the Reagan Ranch lunches and Round Table events. While catering a YAF High School Conference lunch at the Ranch, he spoke with […]
Kody McLain
Kody McLain joined Young America’s Foundation as an assistant curator at the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, California. Growing up in Simi Valley, California, home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, sparked his interest in history, the Conservative Movement, and the museum field. Kody obtained his BA in history from Westmont College, focusing on […]
Alison Abshire
Alison Abshire serves as a program officer at the Reagan Ranch Center, working with high school and college chapters across California. Alison is originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, and recently graduated from Liberty University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal psychology and minored in criminal justice and sociology. Alison was introduced to YAF in […]
Alejandrina Piper
Alejandrina (Ale) Piper joined YAF’s team in mid-October as assistant to the director at the Reagan Ranch Center. Ale’s mother immigrated from Colombia, and her paternal grandmother immigrated from Puerto Rico. She was raised with a great appreciation for the opportunities America has afforded her family, who shared with her the importance of hard work. […]
Matt Cutler
Matt joined Young America’s Foundation in January 2022 as a senior development officer at the Reagan Ranch Center. Prior to joining YAF, Cutler served for six years as the director of development at the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy (SPP). In this role, he worked closely with the dean and other senior leadership to […]
Veronica Nguyen, Reagan Ranch Intern
Veronica Nguyen is a sophomore at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, where she is majoring in Political Science and Business/Economics. In high school, Veronica attended several Young America’s Foundation conferences which strengthened her conservative ideologies and interest in societal and governmental issues. While at Westmont College, she became President of a conservative club where […]
Mary Wishing
Mary is a rising junior at Grove City College, studying political science with minors in economics and sociology. She first came to know about Young America’s Foundation through her professor, Dr. Paul Kengor, who is also a longtime YAF ally and frequent speaker. Mary grew up in a conservative home but her schooling lacked a sufficient […]
Adam Ochs
Adam Ochs currently serves as a member of our Reagan Ranch Center staff in Santa Barbara. He grew up in a conservative family in Northern California. After looking for an organization to grow his conservative values, he discovered YAF. He first got involved as a student attending our conferences in high school, and like most […]
