Breaking Battlegrounds

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by Abe Hamadeh, Republican candidate for Arizona Attorney General. Later in the show, award winning filmmaker Jeff Hays joins us to bring the story of the real Anthony Fauci. -Abraham is an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army Reserve and just returned from a 14 month long deployment to Saudi Arabia. On behalf of the United States Army, Abraham negotiated military sales and managed the training for Saudi Arabia’s domestic security forces both in the Kingdom and in the United States. He implemented the first of its kind new enhanced security vetting in response to the 2019 Pensacola terrorist attack. His direct counterparts were generals, colonels, and lieutenant colonels in the Saudi forces as well as high ranking civilians in their respective ministries. Abraham’s awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Gold German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge, and Overseas Service Ribbon among others.Abraham is a former prosecutor of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. Abraham has appeared in court to prosecute criminals, uphold victims’ rights, and seek justice for the community. Abraham earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Arizona State University and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona College of Law. During his law studies, Abraham was awarded the Udall Fellowship by the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council which placed him at the city, county, state, and federal prosecutor offices.-Jeff Hays, an award winning filmmaker and television producer since the early nineties, gained national attention with Fahrenhype 9/11 (2004), a response to Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11.  He followed that with On Native Soil (2006). Narrated by Kevin Costner and Hilary Swank, the documentary focused on the perspective of surviving family members of 9/11 victims and their efforts to create the 9/11 Commission.  The film was acquired by Lions Gate and NBC and was short-listed for an Academy Award.Hays produced a yearlong television series for Lifetime Television, and then returned to documentary film with Doctored in 2012, and Bought in 2014.In 2017, Jeff partnered with Dr. Patrick Gentempo to create Revealed Films. and together, they have released nine multi-part series covering subjects including, health and nutrition, medical issues, wealth- building, religious and political topics.  (Money Revealed, Wine Revealed, Christ Revealed, Supplements Revealed, GMOs Revealed, and Vaccines Revealed,etc.)  Revealed Films launches 3-4 series each year adding the rich stream of information they’ve produced in the past. Revealed is currently finishing a series on the use of  psychedelics in therapy called Mind If I Wake You Up, and filming for a new series on marriage and relationships.In addition to the Revealed projects Jeff Hays Films was the Executive Producer for The Fix, a documentary series based on Johann Hari’s NY Times bestseller, Chasing the Scream. The Fix was acquired by Jeffrey Katzenberg’s company, Quibi. JHF has acquired the rights to two other books to produce via film, the NY Times bestseller, Lost Connections, by Johann Hari and The Bad One, by Erin Tyler.JHF has partnered with Josh Bezoni, Gia Walsh and Brookwell McNamara entertainment to produce Woke AF, a JP Sears comedy. Additionally, JHF is producing a series with Adam Carolla on resilience, and The Millionaire Within Her with Kristi Frank.Jeff resides in the mountains of Utah with love of his life, Dori. They work out of Jeff Hays Films’ soundstage and studio in Midvale UT. Together they have 11 children and many grandchildren.-Connect with us:Official website: www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegrounds Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by former Secretary of State and former CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Later in the show, Brian Domitrovic calls in to talk about Biden’s inflation.-Michael R. Pompeo served as the 70th Secretary of State of the United States, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and was elected to four terms in Congress representing the Fourth District of Kansas. He is a distinguished fellow at Hudson Institute, where he focuses on promoting U.S. national security, technological leadership and global engagement.Mike graduated first in his class from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1986. He served as a cavalry officer in the U.S. Army, leading troops patrolling the Iron Curtain, rising to the rank of Captain. Mike left the military in 1991 and then graduated from Harvard Law School, having served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review.Up next was almost a decade leading two manufacturing businesses in South Central Kansas – first in the aerospace industry and then making energy drilling and production equipment. These two companies made real stuff and provided high – quality jobs for hundreds of hard-working Kansans.In 2010, Mike watched government grow too big and decided to run for Congress. He won and was re-elected three more times to represent South Central Kansas – the heartland of America. Despite being an outsider and fairly junior, Mike played important roles on the House Benghazi and House Intelligence Committees, working to keep our soldiers and diplomats safe and America more secure.Becoming America’s most senior spy, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, was Mike’s next chance to champion American values. He improved collection and operations and made sure that American leaders had the best information in the world to make decisions that impacted the lives of every American and the generations behind us.President Donald Trump saw that good work and decided to make Mike America’s 70th Secretary of State. As our nation’s most senior diplomat in the Trump Administration and President Trump’s chief negotiator, Mike helped to craft U.S. foreign policy based on our nation’s founding ideals that put America First. America became a massive energy exporter and a force for good in the Middle East with real peace cemented in the Abraham Accords. Mike placed special emphasis on renewing alliances with key allies, including India, Japan, Australia, and South Korea. He also led a return to America’s founding principles and a focus on every human life being worthy and the protection of the unborn. The largest human rights gatherings ever held at the State Department occurred under his leadership.Mike’s time at the State Department marked the end of naïve engagement with the Chinese Communist Party, pulling back the curtain shielding the egregious acts of the CCP that threaten American jobs and freedoms. He focused efforts on calling out and punishing perpetrators of attacks on basic human dignity in places like Cuba and Venezuela, North Korea, Iran, Nigeria, China and elsewhere. Mike also led a team that executed America’s largest ever global repatriation effort in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.Married to Susan, Mike and his wife have one son, Nick. The Pompeos dedicated many volunteer hours to their home church — including teaching 5th grade Sunday School and Mike’s time as a church Deacon. The Pompeos also volunteered on numerous educational, fine arts and local government programs and projects. Nick’s Dad also went undefeated as a coach of his son’s 3 on 3 team in summer league. Mike and Susan’s two retrievers, Sherman and Mercer, each named after important American generals, are patriots too!-Brian Domitrovic is the Richard S. Strong Scholar at the Laffer Center in Nashville. He is the author or editor of six books including the standard history of supply-side economics, "Econoclasts" (2009). His forthcoming book, “Taxes Have Consequences,” co-authored with Art Laffer and Jeanne Sinquefield, recounts how the income tax's top rate has determined the fate of the American economy since it was first adopted in 1913. -Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by Pardis Mahdavi, an Iranian-American scholar who recently published an incredible op-ed in the Washington Post, “When Iran’s ‘morality police’ came for me.” Later in the show, Matt Beienburg of the Goldwater Institute joins us with an update on Arizona’s ESA program.-Pardis Mahdavi is the dean of the social sciences division in The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Arizona State University, and a professor in ASU’s School of Social Transformation. Mahdavi's approach to higher education has been informed by her personal journey as an Iranian-American woman growing up in the U.S., as well as her training as an anthropologist where she learned to be reflexive about complex power dynamics. She has focused her academic career on diversity, inclusion, human trafficking, migration, sexuality, human rights, feminism and public health.Prior to joining ASU, she was the acting dean of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver. Before coming to Denver, she was at Pomona College from 2006 to 2017, where she most recently served as professor and chair of anthropology, director of the Pacific Basin Institute at Pomona College, as well as dean of women.She has published five single authored books and one edited volume in addition to numerous journal and news articles. She has been a fellow at the Social Sciences Research Council, the American Council on Learned Societies, Google Ideas and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She has consulted for a wide array of organizations including the U.S. government, Google Inc. and the United Nations.-Matt Beienburg is the Director of Education Policy at the Goldwater Institute. He also serves as director of the institute’s Van Sittert Center for Constitutional Advocacy. Published in local and national outlets, Matt’s work focuses on promoting educational freedom, parental rights, and greater civic appreciation of America’s founding principles.Prior to joining Goldwater, Matt served as a senior analyst at the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC), where he regularly drafted fiscal estimates and briefed members of the state legislature on major policy initiatives in K-12 and higher education.Matt previously worked in human capital consulting for Mercer, where his projects included surveying teacher engagement and analyzing the competitiveness of staff salaries at low-income area charter schools in Los Angeles. He has also worked in Washington, D.C. with Imagine Schools and the Center for Education Reform.A native of Arizona, Matt earned a bachelor’s in economics from Claremont McKenna College, where he graduated summa cum laude, and a master’s in public affairs from Princeton.-Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we are joined by Dr. Aaron Friedberg, a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and an expert on China. Later in the show, Kerry Picket of the Washington Times calls in to discuss some of the week’s biggest headlines. -Aaron L. Friedberg is a nonresident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on China and US-China relations, great-power competition, and US foreign and defense policy. Concurrently, he is a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University, where he is codirector of the Center for International Security Studies.Dr. Friedberg serves on the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission. In addition, he is a counselor of the National Bureau of Asian Research, nonresident senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and president and founding board member of the Alexander Hamilton Society. From 2003 to 2005, Dr. Friedberg served as deputy assistant for national security affairs in the Office of the Vice President of the United States. After leaving government, he was appointed to the Defense Policy Board and the Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on Democracy Promotion.Dr. Friedberg is the author, coauthor, or editor of several books, monographs, and book chapters. His books include Getting China Wrong (Polity Books, June 2022); Beyond Air-Sea Battle: The Debate over US Military Strategy in Asia(Routledge, 2014); A Contest for Supremacy: China, America, and the Struggle for Mastery in Asia (W. W. Norton & Company, 2011); In the Shadow of the Garrison State: America’s Anti-Statism and Its Cold War Grand Strategy(Princeton University Press, 2000); and The Weary Titan: Britain and the Experience of Relative Decline, 1895–1905(Princeton University Press, 1988).Dr. Friedberg has been widely published in policy journals, academic publications, and the popular press, including in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Commentary, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, War on the Rocks, the American Political Science Review, Asia Policy, China Economic Quarterly International, Daedalus, Harvard International Review, and Washington Quarterly.Dr. Friedberg has a PhD and AB in government from Harvard University.-Kerry Picket is a senior congressional reporter for The Washington Times and fill-in radio host at SiriusXM Patriot 125. She previously covered the hill at other DC-based outlets including the Daily Caller and the Washington Examiner. Before that, she produced news for Robin Quivers of The Howard Stern Show on SiriusXM, wrote entertainment news for MTV Radio, and worked as a production assistant at MTV.com. She appears frequently as a guest commentator on cable news programs and syndicated radio shows.-Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by the founders of two incredible organizations. First, Tim Ballard calls into the show with a look at how Operation Underground Railroad is rescuing children from the horrors of sex trafficking. Later, Marcee and Lance Foster of REACH Humanity join us to share how they are helping Ukrainian refugees.-Timothy Ballard is the Founder and President of Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.). He is also CEO of The Nazarene Fund which seeks to save oppressed religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East. Ballard spent over a decade working as a Special Agent for the Department of Homeland Security where he was assigned to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and deployed as an undercover operative for the U.S. Child Sex Tourism Jump Team.He has worked every type of case imaginable in the fight to dismantle child trafficking rings. Ballard has worked undercover in the United States and in multiple foreign countries to infiltrate child trafficking organizations. In this effort, he has successfully dismantled dozens of these organizations and rescued countless children from slavery and exploitation. He is an expert at managing Internet investigations, particularly those dealing with file-share networks where pedophiles and traffickers go to trade child sexual abuse material (CSAM). He has trained hundreds of law enforcement officers and has testified before the United States Congress on best practices to liberate children from sex slavery.In 2013, Ballard and a team of former government operatives left their careers to go about the work of saving children as a private foundation, Operation Underground Railroad.After serving a church mission to Chile, Ballard graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Spanish and Political Science from Brigham Young University. He went on to graduate Summa Cum Laude with an MA in International Politics from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He resides in California with his wife and children.-Lance and Marcee Foster have always had a passion for Humanitarian work.  For years; they have taken their family to the far corners of the world serving.  They have long had the dream of starting a non profit to provide humanitarian aid to those most in need. While REACH Humanity has been in the works for years; the timing has been right to start it now.   The goal of REACH Humanity is to raise funds and awareness and then travel right into the heart of the crisis; those parts of the world that have been ravaged by war, natural disasters, political unrest or extreme poverty.  We want to lift and serve where the need is acute and the impact immediate. Following an overwhelming feeling to travel to Poland to help with the Ukrainian refugees; the Foster family realized with absolutely clarity that the need is overwhelming.  Women and children are fleeing with the clothes on their backs to a place that really isn’t equipped to handle them.  Generous donations have poured in from friends, family and strangers.  But the need remains vast.Now; REACH Ukraine has become the first project of REACH Humanity.  While we are learning and adapting our mission in real time.  The impact that we have had through generous online donations and an amazing army of boots on the ground volunteers has been overwhelming.   We hope to continue our efforts as we build out our infrastructure and fundraising ability past our own community.  The structure is being put in place to create a lasting organization that will be able to impact those in need for years to come.  Please join us on this journey.  We have been able to serve many but there are SO many more in need of help. Our help.-Connect with us:Website: www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by Austin Knudsen, Republican Attorney General for Montana. Later in the show, Michael McKenna of the Washington Times calls into the show.-Austin Knudsen grew up just outside of Culbertson, in the northeast corner of Montana, where his family has farmed and ranched for five generations. Austin grew up participating in 4-H, raising steers to show at the fair, and Future Farmers of America (FFA) throughout high school. In fact, Austin met his wife, Christie, while they both served as FFA State Officers during their freshman year at Montana State University-Bozeman.Austin put himself through college in Bozeman working jobs at the local butcher shop and a hardware store, and returning each summer to work on the family farm and ranch, growing wheat and sugar beets, and raising angus cattle. Austin and Christie were married shortly after graduation and moved to Missoula where Austin earned his law degree from the University of Montana.After law school, Austin and Christie moved their young family back to the farm and ranch where Austin worked at a law firm in Plentywood before opening his own practice in Culbertson. As a private attorney, Austin represented just about every kind of legal case imaginable, including estate planning, probate, civil litigation, land use, oil and gas, and real estate transactions.In 2010, Austin defeated a two-term incumbent and was elected to serve as the Representative for House District 34. While serving in Helena, Austin quickly noticed the extent of the disconnect between Helena bureaucrats and the political insiders and the rest of the people across Montana, so he pursued leadership roles in his caucus and was elected Speaker Pro Tempore during his second session. During his third and fourth sessions in 2015 and 2017, Austin was elected by all 100 members of the House of Representatives to lead them as Speaker of the House. Austin was one of the youngest people to serve as Speaker in Montana history — and in the nation. Austin was also the only two-term Speaker since term limits were imposed.The Knudsen family lived just about as far from Helena as any other legislator, so during the sessions Austin and Christie and their three kids — Leah, Connor, and Reagan — would move as a family to Helena. As a Legislator and Speaker, Austin worked to ensure his constituents had a voice, and that taxpayers were getting the most out of the hard-earned money they send to the state. In addition to his maximum four legislative sessions, Austin presided over a 2017 Special Session in which he led a united Republican caucus to defeat multiple tax increase attempts by the Governor.Back in Culbertson as a private attorney, Austin was astounded by the lack of prosecutions coming out of the County Attorney’s office, and the illegal drugs and related crime that was devastating his community. Following a drive-by shooting outside of their kids’ school, Austin and Christie knew they had to do more to make their community safe, and in 2018 Austin was elected Roosevelt County Attorney.As a county prosecutor, Austin worked hand-in-hand with the full range of law enforcement personnel, including on the Fort Peck Reservation, to ramp up prosecutions and put violent offenders behind bars. In 2020, Austin ran for Montana Attorney General because the illegal drug pandemic and resulting violence are a statewide problem. In fact, violent crime has increased more than 30% in just over a decade.As Attorney General, Austin has made combating the drug pandemic and supporting law enforcement a main focus — ensuring that Montana is a safe place to live and raise a family.-Michael McKenna, a columnist for The Washington Times, is the president of MWR Strategies. He was most recently a deputy assistant to the president and deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs at the White House. He can be reached at mike@mwrstrat.com.-Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we are joined by Congressman Andy Biggs, Republican from Arizona’s 5th Congressional District. -Andy Biggs was first elected to serve the people of Arizona’s Fifth District in 2016. He currently serves on the House Oversight and Reform Committee and the House Judiciary Committee, where he is Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.From 2019 through 2021, he served as Chairman of the House Freedom Caucus. He is currently co-chair of the Border Security Caucus, Vice Chair of the Congressional Western Caucus, and a co-founder of the bipartisan War Powers Caucus.Prior to his election to Congress, Andy served in the Arizona State House of Representatives for eight years, and in the Arizona State Senate for six years. In 2012, Andy was elected Senate President.Andy received his B.A. in Asian Studies from Brigham Young University, his J.D. from University of Arizona, and his M.A. in Political Science from Arizona State University.An Arizona native, Andy and his wife, Cindy, have lived in Gilbert for 35 years. They have six children and are the grandparents of eight grandchildren.-Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we are honored to be joined in studio by best selling author and nationally syndicated radio talk show host Dennis Prager.-Dennis Prager is a best-selling author, columnist and nationally syndicated radio talk show host based in Los Angeles and heard on 150 stations across the country.A Fellow at Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, where he did graduate work at the Middle East and Russian Institutes, he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the U.S. Delegation to the Vienna Review Conference on the Helsinki Accords, and by President George W. Bush to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. He holds an honorary doctorate of law from Pepperdine University.A highly sought-after speaker and frequent cable news show guest, Dennis has lectured all over the world. His New York Times best-selling books include Think a Second Time, Happiness is a Serious Problem and Still the Best Hope: Why American Values Must Triumph. His newest book is The Ten Commandments: Still the Best Moral Code.-Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, Chuck and Sam are joined by Matthew Continetti, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the new book The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism. Later in the show, we check in with Tom Horne, Republican candidate for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. -Matthew Continetti is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where his work is focused on American political thought and history, with a particular focus on the development of the Republican Party and the American conservative movement in the 20th century.A prominent journalist, analyst, author, and intellectual historian of the right, Mr. Continetti was the founding editor and the editor-in-chief of The Washington Free Beacon. Previously, he was opinion editor at The Weekly Standard.Mr. Continetti is also a contributing editor at National Review and a columnist for Commentary Magazine. He has been published in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post, among other outlets. He also appears frequently on Fox News Channel’s “Special Report” with Bret Baier and MSNBC’s “Meet the Press Daily” with Chuck Todd.Mr. Continetti is the author of two books: “The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star” (Sentinel, 2009) and “The K Street Gang: The Rise and Fall of the Republican Machine” (Doubleday, 2006).He has a BA in history from Columbia University.-Tom Horne is a candidate for Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction. Mr. Horne has served both his community and our state impressively in several elected offices:  Paradise Valley School Board member and president; Legislator where he was chair of the academic accountability committee; Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction; and, Arizona Attorney General.  As Superintendent, he is most famous for enforcing the English immersion mandate for mostly Spanish-speaking children and getting rid of La Raza studies in Tucson schools. As Attorney General, he earned acclaim for winning lawsuits for Arizona that he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.   -Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe

This week on Breaking Battlegrounds, we are joined by Florida’s Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez to learn more about the many incredible successes she and Governor Ron DeSantis have had in Florida. Later in the show, David Drucker of the Washington Examiner joins us to break down the week’s biggest headlines and offer his insight into upcoming elections nationwide. -Jeanette M. Nuñez was born and raised in Miami, Florida. She was elected as Florida’s First Hispanic Female Lieutenant Governor of Florida in 2018. She previously served as a State Representative of the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018 and was named Speaker Pro Tempore from 2016 to 2018. In November 2016, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez was named Speaker Pro Tempore of the Florida House of Representatives. She served as the Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee and served on the Rules and Policy Committee. She was appointed Chair of the Select Committee on Hurricane Response and Preparedness. In the past, she chaired the Health Quality Subcommittee, Government Operations and Technology Appropriations Subcommittee, and Higher Education and Workforce Subcommittee. She began her healthcare career working at Jackson Health System in 2004 as the State Director for Government Relations and handled all aspects of the organization’s state affairs. In 2006, she was promoted to Vice President of Government Relations and was responsible for overseeing the advocacy efforts at the local, state and federal level. In addition to her duties, she served on numerous boards and healthcare organizations, including the National Association of Public Hospitals Fellowship Program. In 2010, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez joined Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) as their Vice President of Community Affairs for both Kendall Regional Medical Center and Aventura Hospital and Medical Center. She oversaw their community outreach for 3 and half years and was responsible for a number of marketing and business development initiatives. In late 2013, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez began her own consulting firm, OnPoint Strategies. She has been working with Jackson Health System, providing them with strategic advice on service line and business development. She has also been tasked to work with the Managed Care Department and Population Health.  Over the years, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez has demonstrated her ongoing commitment to the South Florida community through her active involvement in various local organizations and professional groups. She has been involved with the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Miami, WHEN, and Women in Government. In 2007, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez was named Hispanic Woman of Distinction. From 2007 – 2015, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez served on the Board of Kristi House, an organization dedicated to children who are victims of sexual abuse. Additionally, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez served as a member of the Statewide Council of Human Trafficking. The 15-member Council, chaired by State Attorney General Pam Bondi, was created to support victims of human trafficking by enhancing the available care options. Recently, Lieutenant Governor Nuñez was appointed to the National Assessment Governing Board which sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card. She was also appointed to the Constitution Revision Commission which examined the Florida Constitution, identified issues, performed research and possible recommendations to amend the Florida Constitution. Lieutenant Governor Nuñez is a proud graduate of Florida International University (FIU) and a lifetime member of the FIU Alumni Association. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Political Science, her Master of Public Administration from FIU, and a Six Sigma Certificate from the University of Miami. Lieutenant Governor Nuñez has served in the past as an adjunct professor at Florida International University.  She is also a graduate from Leadership Miami. Lieutenant Governor Nuñez attends Christ Fellowship West Kendall Campus. Lieutenant Governor Nuñez is married to her husband of 23 years, Adrian Nuñez, and together they are the proud parents of three children – Megan age 20; Justin, age 17; and Jason, age 12. -David M. Drucker is a senior correspondent for the Washington Examiner, where he focuses on Congress, campaigns, and national political trends. Prior to joining the Washington Examiner, he was a reporter for Roll Call, a newspaper in Washington, D.C. Before joining Roll Call, Drucker covered California politics, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, from the Sacramento bureau of the Los Angeles Daily News. Drucker graduated from UCLA with a BA in history, and spent eight years managing a family-run manufacturing business in Southern California, giving him a unique perspective on how what happens inside the Beltway affects the rest of the country. Drucker is a Vanity Fair contributing writer and regular on cable news and nationally syndicated radio programs. A native of Los Angeles, Drucker resides on Capitol Hill with his wife and two sons.-Connect with us:www.breakingbattlegrounds.voteTwitter: www.twitter.com/Breaking_BattleFacebook: www.facebook.com/breakingbattlegroundsInstagram: www.instagram.com/breakingbattlegroundsLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/breakingbattlegrounds Get full access to Breaking Battlegrounds at breakingbattlegrounds.substack.com/subscribe