A less divided future begins with all of us getting on the same page — literally.

Annafi Wahed, CFA, has a broad array of experience spanning the federal government, non-profit, political, and private sectors. In 2016, she left her role as a Senior Consultant at Ernst & Young to join the Democratic campaign. Walking door to door, she saw firsthand how next-door neighbors could be completely isolated from one another by the media they consume. Annafi launched The Flip Side as a passion project in 2017, and has since spearheaded each new stage of the venture. Annafi’s op-eds have been published in The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, and USA Today. Her public appearances include everything from Fox & Friends and The Young Turks to being a keynote speaker at the Reagan Foundation.

Jihan Varisco has degrees in Political Science and Public Policy from the University of Chicago, and is interested in applying insights from behavioral economics and game theory to improve policy. He studied with several Nobel Prize winners, including the behavioral economist Richard Thaler. He is particularly interested in attempts to model human political attitudes and voting decisions by combining insights from psychology with data-driven AI models.

Matt Harris has over 15 years of software engineering and product leadership experience. He has held leadership positions at Twitter, Uber, and Color Health, taking startups through IPOs and scaling them from tens to thousands of employees. Matt co-invented four patents, and oversaw the autonomy product development of self-driving vehicles and their associated machine teaching and validation infrastructure.

Joe Vigliotti is a writer and novelist who holds elected office as a County Commissioner for Carroll County, Maryland. Prior to that, he was elected three times to the City Council in Taneytown, Maryland. He is a graduate of Mount Saint Mary’s University where he studied history, political science, and philosophy. A Catholic and conservative Republican, Joe is thrilled to be a part of The Flip Side’s crucial effort to strengthen civil conversations about even difficult topics, and our mutual understanding as fellow Americans.

Kelly Hawkes is a teacher and a Doctoral Candidate in Education, researching Information and Media Literacy. She also holds degrees in Social Studies Education and Political Science. She was formerly a researcher of issues related to diversity, equity, and social justice, and worked for United States Senator Cory Booker. These experiences make Kelly uniquely qualified to understand the complex intersections of politics, education, and the media.

Roberto Rodriguez is an active duty Marine specializing in communications intelligence, currently serving as the senior advisor to the Director of Information Operations Force Development for the Marine Corps. He believes that a free and robust press is vital to the survival of a thriving democracy. A Penn State junior, majoring in Digital Journalism and Media, Roberto was born and raised in Cidra, Puerto Rico, and lives in Northern Virginia.

Spenser Dopp studied journalism at Ohio University with a specialization in classics and world religions. He believes people across the political spectrum and all walks of life generally share similar values and goals but have different ways of expressing them, which is why open communication is so important. Spenser is happy to be working with The Flip Side to help himself and others learn, think, and communicate in an honest and balanced way.