Center for American Values

Drake Franklin is from Gainesville, Georgia, and serves as AFPI’s Southeastern Development Director & Policy Analyst in the Center for American Values. Drake most recently served as the Executive Director of Evangelicals for Trump for the Trump-Pence 2020 presidential campaign. In this role, he managed 62 prominent advisory board members and numerous national surrogate relationships. He also worked closely with national and state-level GOP campaign staff to implement several initiatives, including a targeted voter contact program and a robust digital presence while managing and executing over eighty in-person and online events all across the nation. Franklin previously served as a White House Intern in the Presidential Correspondence Office, where he assisted the writer’s team in researching, drafting, and dispatching proclamations, greetings, and letters on behalf of the president. Franklin currently resides in Washington, D.C. When he’s not studying, he enjoys running, boxing, and spending time with friends.

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Joseph P. Kennedy

Garrison Grisedale is from Morgan Hill, California, and serves as a Policy Analyst for the Center for Opportunity Now and the Center for American Values at AFPI. Previously, Garrison served as the Speechwriter to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Ben Carson and as the Deputy White House Liaison for HUD. After his time in the Trump Administration, Garrison moved to Alaska’s Bristol Bay region, where he spent a season as a fly-fishing guide at a fly-out lodge located in Katmai National Park. Prior to his time in Washington, Garrison attended Hillsdale College in Michigan and majored in Political Science. Garrison currently lives in Arlington, Virginia, and can usually be found fly fishing (and teaching his friends!) in his spare time.

“What has been, will be again; what has been done, will be done again; There is nothing new under the sun.”

Ecclesiastes 1:9

Javon Price is from Fairfax, Virginia, and serves as a Policy Analyst in the Center for Opportunity Now, the Center for Second Chances, and the Center for American Security for AFPI. Price most recently worked in the United States House of Representatives as a Staff Assistant for Congressman Byron Donalds of Florida, Previously, Price interned for the White House Domestic Policy Council and the Office of American Innovation. He also interned for the Republican Governors Association and the Republican Attorneys General Association. Additionally, Price is a graduate of Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, where he studied International Politics with a focus on Security. Price is a veteran of the United States Air Force, having served in the Reserves from 2017-2020. He left the Air Force as a Senior Airman (E-4). When Price is not focused on politics or his studies, he enjoys watching the Dallas Cowboys compete every Sunday. Outside of football season, he is a huge fan of the Georgetown Hoyas Basketball Team and the Washington Nationals.

“The future is for those who prepare for it today.”

Malcolm X

Paula White-Cain was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, and serves as the Chair of the Center for American Values at AFPI. Currently, White-Cain serves as Senior Pastor at City of Destiny. For the past 37 years, White-Cain has worked across the world in almost 200 countries, ministering, fighting for religious freedom and humanitarian rights, and advocating for the voiceless. White-Cain also served as an advisor to President Donald J. Trump in the Office of Public Liaison’s Faith and Opportunity Initiative. Prior to her work at the White House, she co-founded one of the fastest growing and largest churches in the nation, which currently has over 28,000 members. She served as pastor of this church for 22 years, and during that time, Paula White Ministries was launched and became a global media and outreach ministry. She is married to legendary singer/songwriter Jonathan Cain of the iconic Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band Journey and recites his daily motto of Don’t Stop Believin’ while riding horses and having the time of her life with her family.

“When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.”

Maya Angelou

Mark Zelden is from New Orleans, Louisiana, and serves as the Senior Advisor of the Center for American Values at AFPI. He recently served as the Director of Budget and Finance at the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Director of the Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives. During his tenure at DOL, Zelden was active in promulgating several rules expanding religious liberty, conscious protection, and increased participation of faith-based stakeholders in government contracting and grants. He joined the Trump Administration as an executive with CRC Global Solutions, an international transport company based in New Orleans. Previously, Zelden served on the legislative staff of former Congressman Robert L. Livingston (R-LA) and Congressman Robert B Aderholt (R-AL). He earned his Bachelor of Science from Louisiana State University and his Master of Arts from the Catholic University of America. Zelden is married to his wife Dina of 29 years and father to five children. He is an avid reader of history and a fan of tennis and traveling in his free time.

“We should not be surprised to find the left concentrated in institutions where ideas do not have to work in order to survive.”

Thomas Sowell