Matt Schlapp is the Chairman of the American Conservative Union, the nation’s original grassroots conservative organization. During his five-year tenure as chairman, ACU has almost tripled in size, expanded CPAC to reach 25 million live viewers and 1 billion Twitter impressions at the most recent CPAC. ACU also hosts dozens of additional events, including Battleground CPACs in the US and international CPACs abroad.

Mercedes Schlapp serves as an advisor to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. She is also the former White House Director of Strategic Communications for the Trump administration and served in the George W. Bush administration as Director of Special Media and the 2000 and 2004 Bush presidential campaigns.

Schlapp is a second generation Cuban-American whose father escaped to the United States from communist Cuba under Castro. Schlapp was born in Florida and received a bachelor's degree from Florida International University and a master's degree from George Washington University. Apart from her public service, she has also worked as a Fox News Contributor and columnist for U.S. News & World Report and The Washington Times.

Mercedes and her husband Matt cofounded Cove Strategies based in Alexandria, Virginia. Mercedes and Matt have five daughters and are parishioners of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia.

Charles Hurt is the Opinion Editor and a columnist for The Washington Times. Often seen as a Fox News contributor on the cable network’s signature evening news roundtable, Mr. Hurt in his 20-year career has worked his way up from a beat reporter for the Detroit News and Washington correspondent for the Charlotte Observer before joining The Washington Times in 2003. He later served as D.C. bureau chief and White House correspondent for the New York Post and editor at the Drudge Report.