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Member of the Week: Angel Chitnatham, Leadership Institute

Congratulations Angel on being our Conservative Book Club “Member of the Week!” Tell us a little bit about yourself and the work you do as Director of Political & Fundraising Training at The Leadership Institute.

I am a Southern California native but now call Washington, D.C. my home. Prior to joining the Leadership Institute, my first entrance into politics was as a Field Representative for a congressional campaign and later as a Volunteer Coordinator on a state senate race.  While I enjoyed my time on the campaigns and learned a lot, I also knew that my strengths were being able to streamline processes and build out enduring relationships with those around me.  

As LI’s Political and Fundraising Training Director, I am able to unite these two personal interests into my programs. When I’m not conducting a week long training at LI, I develop contacts with the best-known experts in campaigns, public policy, donor relations, and all aspects of non-profit fundraising.  

I have been a Political and Fundraising training facilitator at The Leadership Institute for over two years, specifically overseeing the Campaign Management School, Future Candidate School, Comprehensive Fundraising Training, High Dollar Fundraising, Direct Mail School and even engineer the occasional brand new course training.

What got you interested in politics, and the work you currently do?  

My first Constitutional History class in college was really what stirred the pot for me.  I was inspired by our Founding Fathers who had the challenge and foresight to structure the Constitution’s guiding principles and framing it in such a way that government would be forced to control itself.  

With 2016 election results accounted for, there are 578 LI trained graduates nationwide currently holding elected office. While I can’t claim to have met them all under my last two years at LI, it is inspiring to know that my role at Leadership Institute has the capacity to guide other conservatives in finding their own pathway to their goals and connect them with the resources they need to succeed in the process.  

Why is political training so important?  

Political Training like any other industry-centered training is a key to success.  Running for elected office or managing a campaign race on volunteer experience is the same as jumping into the ocean if you didn’t know how to swim.  It doesn’t mean you won’t succeed, but you could potentially waste a lot of valuable time and resources in the process of figuring it all out.  By then it might be too late.  

Essentially, Leadership Institute provides conservatives a training source for our participants to learn how to win.  Not simply from their own mistakes but from the wisdom of first-hand experiences and successes of our long list of knowledgeable, and specialized, top-tier faculty.

Tell us a little more about yourself! 

    • Favorite Movie: Back to the Future
    • Favorite TV Show: Seinfeld because it’s a show about nothing and everything. Netflix-wise Stranger Things will be difficult to beat.
    • Favorite Band:  Zac Brown Band, Lorde, Led Zeppelin
    • Favorite Food/Drink: Anything spicy otherwise, why bother?
    • Where do you get your news from primarily?  Real Clear Politics, the Hill and Politico
    • If you could meet any person, dead or alive, who would it be? I would have loved to meet and observe Leonardo da Vinci the “Renaissance man” himself, to see his inspiration and thought process from the birth of his idea to its implementation. In terms of politics, I’m a devoted Milton Friedman fan. I would have liked to deliberate over some of his free-market economic theories and hear his thoughts on our modern political landscape.
    • If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?  Budapest and Istanbul are on my list of travel destinations I want to visit before my 30th birthday.
    • What do you do for fun? At the moment, I am planning my wedding a year from now, so in my spare time I devote myself to wedding planning.  I also like to get lost in antique stores and the nearest bookstore or library.

Why did you join the Conservative Book Club? How is the user experience beneficial to you? 

Try as I may, I don’t have time to read the back cover of every book and not surprisingly, the neighborhood Barnes & Noble doesn’t exactly offer a “Conservatives” section.

The Conservative Book Club is the best platform for self-aware conservatives to discover both new and old influencers in our way of thinking.  As a political trainer myself, I know how important it is that we as conservatives continue to expand our philosophical brand and have a resource like CBC to look to as a guideline for an engaging and interactive online community base on our values and policies.

Thank you for being the model and platform from where many conservatives may benefit from the user experience and recommendations of others.

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