EXCLUSIVE: NatCon Is Having an American Moment

EXCLUSIVE: NatCon Is Having an American Moment

State of the Union: American Moment President Saurabh Sharma will also take on the responsibilities of the Edmund Burke Foundation’s executive director.

The Edmund Burke Foundation (EBF), a non-profit organization best known for its National Conservatism conferences, has tapped Saurabh Sharma as its new executive director.

Sharma is taking on the responsibilities of EBF’s executive director while continuing to serve in his current role as the president of American Moment, a D.C. based nonprofit he co-founded with Nick Solheim and Jake Mercier in 2021. Recently described in a POLITICO profile as “a small but scrappy organization that’s quietly reshaping the conservative establishment in Washington,” American Moment’s mission is “to identify, educate, and credential young Americans who will implement public policy that supports strong families, a sovereign nation, and prosperity for all.”

The growing partnership between the two nonprofits founded in the twilight and aftermath of part one of the Trump years is a natural fit. The EBF’s National Conservatism conferences serve as an important meeting ground for a conservative coalition of thinkers, writers, experts, and organizations. American Moment, meanwhile, brings a rapidly growing network of young, conservative talent in D.C. and beyond.

In a release announcing Sharma’s appointment, Yoram Hazony, a thinker and writer who serves as the chairman for the Edmund Burke Foundation, said that Sharma’s appointment is just the beginning of a broader strategic partnership. “We’ve had a strong working relationship with American Moment from the moment Sharma and his co-founders first conceived their organization three years ago,” Hazony said. “Now, we are ready to take the National Conservatism movement to the next level. A closer collaboration between us and American Moment is just the thing that’s needed at this time.”  

Sharma shares Hazony’s enthusiasm. “National Conservatism Conference laid the intellectual soil in which American Moment first grew,” Sharma said in the release. “We at American Moment are honored to help lead this movement, and look forward to hosting the most impactful NatCon yet in the coming months.”

Despite living and working in D.C., Sharma still calls Texas home, though he’s lived all over the country as a naturalized citizen since immigrating from India at three months old. While at the University of Texas, Austin, Sharma served as the youngest chairman for Young Conservatives of Texas in its forty-plus year history. Now just 25-years-old, Sharma continues to challenge what is possible for twenty-somethings in institutional Washington.

Heritage Foundation President Dr. Kevin Roberts told The American Conservative that “Saurabh is one of the most gifted leaders of modern conservatism, so it’s exciting to see him assume his new role. All of us at Heritage look forward to continuing our work with Saurabh and the Edmund Burke Foundation.”

Ryan Williams, the president of the Claremont Institute, put it simply to TAC: “Saurabh is a great choice.”

“He will bring energy to an important conference and growing coalition just in time for one of the most important national elections in decades,” Williams added.

TAC’s Executive Director Emile Doak said, “EBF and American Moment have long found a home in the pages of TAC, so I’m thrilled to see this new partnership. Saurabh is exactly the right person to broaden the NatCon movement’s already considerable influence.”

Rachel Bovard, a member of both American Moment’s board of advisors and the American Ideas Institute’s board of directors, told TAC that “Saurabh and American Moment are well positioned to take the ideas National Conservatism has pioneered in the public square and make them relevant to how power is negotiated in Washington. I’m excited to see what they can do.”

While the EBF planned on having another National Conservatism conference in D.C. in December, that has been pushed off until likely the start of next year as Sharma enters his new role. With the 2024 primary season fast approaching and the conservative coalition very much divided on the question of Trump or DeSantis, ensuring the coalition’s continued growth is a serious challenge. Sharma plans on taking it in stride as he walks into his new role.

The post EXCLUSIVE: NatCon Is Having an American Moment appeared first on The American Conservative.

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