Baillee Brown, Head of Government and External Affairs — Washington, D.C.
What excites you most about your current role?
I'm thrilled about the momentum abundance has, and our dedicated, nimble team will help turn abundance policy ideas into action.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I love to do yoga, hike in nature, listen to live music, and spend time with people I love!
What makes you optimistic about our abundant future?
The world will be a better place if we can fix our self-imposed obstacles and invest in building more housing, advancing clean energy, and discovering the cures of tomorrow.
What’s your low-stakes hot take?
Daylight saving time should be abolished.
Anna Marcus, Executive Assistant — New York, NY
What excites you most about your current role? I have worked at larger and less action-oriented organizations in the past. I am excited to be on a smaller team and step up wherever I can to support the mission.
What do you get up to outside of work? Outside of being physically active, I love spending time with friends, listening to music, and drawing.
What makes you optimistic about our abundant future? I have been frustrated and dismayed by the gridlock within American politics. Abundance is a dynamic approach that actually aims to effectively create change on issues that impact people. The fact that people across the board are excited about abundance shows that there is an appetite for change.
Who's your ideal dinner guest? Christoph Niemann is an artist, animator, and author. I first saw his work highlighted on the Netflix special, The Art of Design. He has an account called ‘Abstract Sundays’ where he takes everyday objects and uses their shape, outline, or shadow to create another image entirely. I think he’d be really fun to chat with over dinner about his creative process.
Which person who you don't know do you most admire? Angela Davis.
What’s your low-stakes hot take? A perfectly toasted piece of bread, with just butter, is grossly underrated.
Joshua Seawell, Head of Policy — Los Angeles, CA
What excites you most about your current role? Getting to engage with ideas and learn from really smart people for a living.
What do you get up to outside of work? A great day is if I’m lifting weights, reading, seeing friends, and sitting on a sunny patio somewhere with a snack.
What does abundance mean to you? More sophisticated economic policy and stronger government capacity leading to historic standards of living for all, which in turn creates revitalized communities and empowered households.
What piqued your interest in policy? A fascination with basic moral philosophy and early exposure to The West Wing.
Which person who you don't know do you most admire? Hard to choose just one, but John Maynard Keynes is in the top tier.
What’s your low-stakes hot take? It should be harder to make substitutions at restaurants.
Will Viederman, Chief of Staff — New York, NY
What excites you most about your current role? Working with such a smart team of people trying to make the world a better place, with creativity, novelty, and measurable impact at the forefront.
What do you get up to outside of work? I love to watch movies, try new recipes, walk as much and as far as I can, and get my hopes up about the Mets, Jets, and Knicks.
What makes you optimistic about our abundant future? I love cities, and an America with genuinely abundant housing and energy will make our cities the engines of opportunity and loci of arts and innovation that they should have been all along.
What piqued your interest in policy? I lived in New Hampshire during the 2000 and 2004 Presidential elections and saw so many candidates up close. I bought into the value of public service, and wanted to have the same kind of impact that they did.
Who's your ideal dinner guest? Jane Jacobs. I'm fascinated by the tension between her libertarian economics and communitarian politics, and I would love to talk to her about where she thinks we should go from here.
What’s your low-stakes hot take? Sports are one of the pillars preventing society from collapse.
Brianna Johnson, Head of Communications — Washington, D.C.
What excites you most about your current role? I'm really excited about working with smart people to advance ideas that are optimistic, pragmatic, and interesting. It's a rare combo.
What do you get up to outside of work? Right now, I'm training for a triathlon, figuring out how to knit a sweater, and trying to improve my Spanish.
What piqued your interest in policy? In middle and high school I read every issue of TIME Magazine and watched the West Wing before shipping off to Los Angeles for college and seeing the impacts of the housing crisis.
Who's your ideal dinner guest? Amy Poehler
Which person who you don't know do you most admire? Angela Merkel
What’s your low-stakes hot take? President Bush is a good painter.
Scott Quinn, Director of Government Affairs — Washington, D.C.
What excites you most about your current role?
After more than a decade in DC, I am excited to bring my lived experiences and political expertise to a team already pushing forward on the idea that America can and must do more. I look forward to helping turn policy into results that lower costs, create jobs, and expand opportunity.
What do you get up to outside of work?
I like to take a break from politics and recharge. I enjoy going out with friends to try new bars and restaurants, and I never pass up a good rooftop. During the summer, I like being near the water, whether that is relaxing at the pool, out on a boat, or traveling to a new beach. My golf game also seems to draw me towards the water. During the fall, my weekends are about football, cheering on my hometown Clemson Tigers, and hoping for a W from my fantasy team(s), the Falcons, or the Commanders (All 3 rarely happen).
What makes you optimistic about our abundant future?
Growing up in South Carolina, decisions made in Washington felt far off but often shaped daily life in ways that were not always obvious. Abundance at it’s core focuses on pragmatic solutions that Americans feel and notice on a daily basis. It’s tangible and carries real impact. Momentum is shifting toward unlocking American industry, driving investment, and strengthening communities. Seeing bipartisan energy around bettering America in realistic ways makes me optimistic about the future.
What does abundance mean to you?
Abundance is when growth and opportunity are visible in everyday life. Affordable homes, reliable energy, well-paying jobs, and modern infrastructure give families breathing room and the ability to prosper.
What piqued your interest in policy?
Politics was a daily conversation in my house growing up because it shaped the decisions we made at the kitchen table. The events and debates surrounding them I grew up watching on the nightly news had a direct impact on our lives, which made politics feel real from an early age. My lived experiences, along with what I saw as a teacher, motivated me to shift careers and move to Washington to work on policy in a way that could drive change at a larger scale.
Who is your ideal dinner guest?
Anyone pragmatic, open to real debate, and thoughtful enough to want to leave with a better understanding. Even better if they bring a good bottle of bourbon and offer to help clean up.
Which person who you do not know do you most admire?
Colin Powell. Although he came from humble beginnings, he built a life defined by pragmatism, patriotism, and service to others. Not with the pursuit of political power and wealth, but using it to serve others and put country over party.
What’s your low-stakes hot take?
The South gets a lot of food right, but sweet tea is not one of them.
