Meet Drew Johnson

Meet Drew

Drew is fighting to increase personal freedoms and decrease government mandates.

Drew and his wife Sarah – and their two rescue dogs, Nola Mae and Olive – have lived in Southern Nevada for nearly a decade.

They own a small consulting business that provides marketing and communications support for free market think tanks and pro-liberty grassroots organizations.

Drew and Sarah have been Vegas Golden Knights season ticket members since the inaugural season (they started the Vegas Golden Knights Victory Flamingo tradition!), as well as avid hikers and travelers.

Professionally, Drew is a well-known government waste expert and author. As a taxpayer advocate and budget watchdog, he has exposed hundreds of billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse of taxpayers’ money at all levels of government that has led directly to reduced spending and lower taxes.

Drew’s editorials, columns and articles have been featured in scores of newspapers, magazines, and scholarly journals around the world, including The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and Forbes.

He regularly provides policy insight on national and international television and radio programs and has appeared on: Fox News, the BBC, NPR, CNN, Showtime, and Fox Business, as well as The Glenn Beck Program, Hannity with Sean Hannity, and All Things Considered, among dozens of others.

Childhood

Born in Tennessee, Drew was raised in a blue-collar family in rural Appalachia by a single mother who worked two jobs – at Walmart and as a maid – to make ends meet.

His grandmother, Wanda, was a huge support for Drew when he was a child – both emotionally and financially. When there wasn’t enough food to feed him and his sister, she gathered them around her table – filling their stomachs with her famous chicken and dumplings and zucchini bread.

Drew was a drummer in the high school marching band. His passion for percussion continued through college where he played as a session drummer for several Nashville country and Christian music artists.

Drew Has Appeared On

Ended regressive taxes that harmed lower-income individuals.
Expanded school choice through vouchers and charter schools.
Loosened licensing and regulatory rules on entrepreneurs.

Drew's Work Has Been Published In:

Education

Drew attended Belmont University and it was there that he became inspired by reading works of limited government-oriented economists, including Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman.

After graduation, Drew received a full scholarship to Pepperdine University’s School of Public Policy where he earned a Master of Public Policy.

Drew's Career Highlights

Exposed that former Vice President and environmental activist Al Gore hypocritically consumes 20 times more electricity in his home than the average American household.

Investigated the military’s sponsorship program of several NASCAR teams – ultimately resulting in the program’s termination and single-handedly saving taxpayers more than $200 million.

Founded Tennessee’s free market state-focused think tank (at 24 years old) that continues to be one of the most innovative, influential and successful think tanks in America. Under Drew’s leadership, the organization ended the state’s sales tax on groceries, massively expanded school choice through vouchers and charter schools, loosened the state’s burdensome licensing and regulatory rules on entrepreneurs, and overturned Tennessee’s income tax on interest and dividend income – making the state truly income tax-free.

Determined the cost to taxpayers of every piece of legislation introduced by Congress. That research was used in the National Taxpayers Union’s congressional scorecard to determine the most and least taxpayer-friendly members of Congress.

Uncovered hundreds of millions in wasted tax dollars in Tennessee’s government, paving the way for lower taxes for every Tennessean. This also led to the removal of several corrupt elected officials from office.

Drew's Appointments and Honors:

Public Member, Nevada State Board of Optometry
Campus Advisory Board Member, Phi Delta Theta emerging chapter at UNLV
U.S. Representative, American Swiss Foundation Young Leaders Conference
Former Member, Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
Former Committee Member, National Ethnic & Cultural Diversity Committee of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice
Former Commissioner, Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth

Meet Drew Johnson

Meet Drew

Meet Drew