How did you get your start in politics? “I saw President Clinton speak at a DLC conference in middle school and was hooked on Democratic politics. My first campaign job was running national security policy for President Obama on his 2012 reelection. I left a career job at the CIA for the Obama campaign because I couldn’t imagine sitting on the sidelines of that historic effort.”

What’s an interesting book/article you’re reading during coronavirus social distancing? And why? “I just finished Ben Macintyre’s ‘A Spy Among Friends,’ the incredible true story of British spy Kim Philby that reads like a novel. I recently started Jill Lepore’s ‘These Truths’ because we all need to dive more deeply into our country’s history. I’m also reading the latest by Jen Hatmaker, whose writing I love because it makes you think about your principles in intentional and necessary ways.”

What’s a trend going on in the U.S. or abroad that doesn’t get enough attention? “The idea that’s increasingly prevalent in our country today that any kind of personal sacrifice is an assault on personal freedom. Our country was founded on the ideals of both personal liberty and the collective good, but that equilibrium has become seriously skewed. Covid-19 has laid this bare, whether it’s people refusing to wear masks that could save lives or our inability to successfully undertake widespread collective actions like contact tracing.”

How’s the Trump presidency going? “It’s an even worse disaster than I imagined. I don’t think we’ve ever had a president so unequal to the office. I fear he is going to make these months leading up to November’s election very tumultuous.”

What’s a fun fact that people in Washington might not know about you? “I am a rabid Ohio State Buckeye football fan, and my dream is to be the guest picker on ‘College Game Day.’”