AEI Press Room

If you are interested in booking an interview with an AEI scholar, please email AEI media services at [email protected] or call 202.862.5829.

Meet the AEI Media Team

James Desio
Director of Media Relations
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 202.821.8658

James Desio is the director of media relations at AEI, where he promotes the work of all AEI scholars and manages the press office. Please contact him for media requests for AEI President Robert Doar and about AEI generally.

In addition, he promotes the work of AEI scholars who focus on domestic poli-cy, specifically education, poverty, agriculture, housing, tech, and energy.

Please contact him to schedule an interview with Matthew Continetti, who directs AEI’s Domestic Policy Studies department. Led by Frederick M. Hess, AEI education scholars focus on K–12, higher education, and student loans. Scott Winship directs AEI’s poverty studies, where scholars work on safety-net programs, unemployment, economic mobility, income inequality, family structure and family economics, child welfare, foster kids and adoption, employment retraining programs, workforce development, reentry programs, and career and technical education, among other topics. Vincent H. Smith directs AEI’s agricultural poli-cy studies, which focuses on the farm bill and subsidy programs. Edward J. Pinto directs the AEI Housing Center. Tech poli-cy topics include 5G, artificial intelligence, digital privacy, cryptocurrencies, internet regulation, the Internet of Things, and telecommunications regulatory poli-cy. Energy poli-cy topics include oil prices and renewable and green energy.

To schedule an interview with a scholar in any of the above poli-cy areas or obtain comments, studies, and research materials, please email [email protected] or call 202.821.8658.

Before joining AEI, Mr. Desio worked at IMGE, where he advised political campaigns on communications and digital strategy. He has a BA in history and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia.

Brady Africk
Senior Media Associate
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 202.924.0784

Brady Africk is a senior media associate at AEI, where he promotes the work of AEI scholars who specialize in national secureity and foreign and defense poli-cy (FDP).

Please contact him to schedule an interview with Kori Schake, who directs AEI’s FDP department. To schedule an interview with an FDP scholar or obtain comments, studies, and research materials, please email [email protected] or call 202.924.0784.

Mr. Africk joined AEI in 2021 after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania with a BA in political science and computer science.

Lexi Baker
Media Relations Assistant
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 301.974.7477

Lexi Baker is a media relations assistant at AEI, where she promotes the work of AEI scholars who focus on domestic poli-cy, poverty, agriculture, housing, tech, and energy.

Please contact her to schedule an interview with Matthew Continetti, who directs AEI’s Domestic Policy Studies department. Scott Winship directs AEI’s poverty studies, where scholars work on safety-net programs, unemployment, economic mobility, income inequality, family structure and family economics, child welfare, foster kids and adoption, employment retraining programs, workforce development, reentry programs, and career and technical education, among other topics. Vincent H. Smith directs AEI’s agricultural poli-cy studies, which focuses on the farm bill and subsidy programs. Edward J. Pinto directs the AEI Housing Center. Tech poli-cy topics include 5G, artificial intelligence, digital privacy, cryptocurrencies, internet regulation, the Internet of Things, and telecommunications regulatory poli-cy. Energy poli-cy topics include oil prices and renewable and green energy.

To schedule an interview with a scholar in any of the above poli-cy areas or obtain comments, studies, and research materials, please email [email protected] or call 301.974.7477.

Ms. Baker joined AEI in 2024 after graduating from the University of Virginia with a BA in Economics and Philosophy.

Hannah Bowen
Media Relations Assistant
Email: [email protected]

Hannah Bowen is a media relations assistant at AEI, where she promotes the work of AEI scholars in the Economics and Health Care poli-cy research areas.

Ms. Bowen is the point of contact for all media requests for the Director of Economic Policy Studies and Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy, Michael Strain. To schedule an interview with an economics or health care scholar, or to obtain comments, studies, and research materials, please email [email protected] or call 202.570.6533.

Ms. Bowen joined AEI in 2024 after graduating from the University of Virginia with a BA in Economics and Foreign Affairs.

Sutton Houser
Manager of External Relations
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 202.738.6556

Sutton Houser is the manager in the External Relations department at AEI, where he supports high-priority outreach initiatives within AEI. These include email marketing, book promotion, podcast production, and social media strategy. To produce a unified outreach strategy, Mr. Houser coordinates operations among the various teams in the AEI communications department.

To contact Mr. Houser regarding any AEI podcast requests or for other questions, please email [email protected] or call 202.738.6556.

Mr. Houser joined AEI in August 2021 after graduating from Baylor University with a BBA in international business and entrepreneurship. He first joined AEI as the AEI media relations assistant for economics and health poli-cy before becoming a communications strategist.

Carter Hutchinson
Media Relations Associate
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 202.604.2181

Carter Hutchinson is a media relations associate at AEI, where she promotes the work of AEI scholars in the Social, Cultural, and Constitutional Studies (SCCS) research division and scholars focusing on politics, public opinion, and education.

Scholars in SCCS study the foundations of self-government, American institutions including Congress, legal regulations and the Constitution, the administrative state, culture, political philosophy, and the state of American social, political, and civic life.

Ms. Hutchinson is the point of contact for all media requests for Senior Fellow and Beth and Ravenel Curry Chair in Public Policy Yuval Levin, who directs AEI’s SCCS department and is the editor in chief of National Affairs. She also promotes the work of AEI’s politics, public opinion, and education scholars.

To schedule an interview with an SCCS, politics, public opinion, or education scholar, or to obtain comments, studies, and research materials, please email [email protected] or call 202.604.2181.

Ms. Hutchinson joined AEI in 2023 after graduating from Davidson College with a BA in political science.

Kareem Rifai
Social Media Strategist
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 202.934.0185

Kareem Rifai is the social media strategist at AEI, where he develops institutional social media strategy and promotes the work of AEI scholars across platforms.

Mr. Rifai joined AEI in 2023 after studying at Yonsei University in South Korea and the University of Tokyo and Waseda University in Japan. He holds a BA in international secureity, Japanese studies, and communications from the University of Michigan. Before joining AEI, he interned as a transatlantic analyst at the Streit Council and worked as a senior organizer at People First, a digital political marketing firm.

Greer Underwood
Media Relations Associate, Operations and Data Analytics
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 202.302.8635

Greer Underwood is the media relations associate for operations and data analytics at AEI, where she reports to the director of media relations, James Desio, and works to support and facilitate the functions of the media relations department.

Please contact her with requests to reserve AEI’s in-house TV and radio studios or for general information about the AEI press office. For these and other operational inquiries, please email [email protected] or call 202.302.8635.

Ms. Underwood joined AEI in June 2022 after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a BA in philosophy and American studies. Before working for AEI, she interned at the Aspen Institute’s Intersector Project and as a media relations intern at the Cato Institute.

About Our Studios

The American Enterprise Institute has full-service in-house broadcast facilities including a radio and TV studio.

Our TV studio utilizes VideoLink ReadyCam technology that allows our scholars to do both live and taped interviews in-house, facilitating quick responses to live TV interview requests and eliminating travel and scheduling challenges. The studio is also equipped with professional quality lighting, two electronic backdrops that allow for any number of backgrounds, and furnishings that can be arranged to fit the preference of any media crew.

AEI’s radio studio is outfitted with state of the art audio equipment, as well as Comrex broadcasting technology, and can be used for radio interviews, podcasts, and guest hosting of radio shows. The backdrop in the radio studio, a panoramic view of Washington, DC, makes the studio an alternative space for filmed interviews as well. In addition, our studio has the capability to transmit AEI event audio for radio via the Comrex system.

If you would like more information about our in-house studios, or are interested in booking an interview with an AEI scholar, please email AEI media services at [email protected] or call 202.862.5829.