What You Missed at CPAC 2016
Each year, the Conservative Political Action Conference is a gathering of conservative leaders looking to network, advance conservativism, and learn from some of the greatest minds in the movement.


This year, speakers like Dr. Ben Carson and Carly Fiorina rallied conservatives together.  Above the stage read “Our time is NOW,” taken from Ronald Reagan’s CPAC speech in 1981.

At the conference, Leadership Institute sponsored, staffed, and organized of 5 conference events, including the job fair and boot camp training sessions.

1. Activist Boot Camp

On day one, the Leadership Institute partnered with the American Conservative Union and with American Majority to train 383 conservatives.  Attendees were trained in student activism, community activism, and campaign technology.

The Leadership Institute's Steve Sutton, David Blair, and Summer Ratcliff were among the boot camp faculty.  Speakers from American Majority, Americans for Prosperity, FIRE, the Blaze, and the Franklin Center also trained activists and conservative leaders.

2. ConservativeJobs.com - Career Consultations

After the official CPAC kickoff on Thursday, Leadership Institute's Conservative Jobs organized recruiters from LI and other conservative organizations to critique CPAC attendee's resumes and offer one-on-one career consultations.  Recruiters from LI, Cato, The Heritage Foundation, the Charles Koch Institute, and Americans for Prosperity sat down with 133 conservatives.

3. CPAC Jobs and Internship Fair

Once again this year, the Leadership Institute organized the CPAC Job and Internship Fair.  Over 250 job seekers connected with 40 conservative employers.

Organizations who recruited at the fair included grassroots organizations, media groups, think tanks, and policy foundations.  Groups like Turning Point USA and Americans for Prosperity recruited field representatives while organizations like Townhall Media, Red Alert Politics, and Campus Reform looked for writers to hire.

4. Campus Reform

In the exhibit hall, referred to by conference attendees as “the Hub,” Leadership's Institute's Campus Reform held an on-camera contest for students.  Entrants were asked questions about issues on “live” camera by LI staff and competed for cash prizes.

More than 100 students participated in the competition over the course of three days.  All participants are eligible to be selected as Campus Correspondents, which will increase the number of conservative students exposing liberal bias on college campuses around the country.

5. Young Activists Happy Hour

During CPAC, young activists from around the country network with each other.  Swapping stories, discussing recruitment strategies, and just socializing with like-minded individuals are just a few highlights of the CPAC experience.

To encourage networking among young conservative leaders, the Leadership Institute and seven other organizations hosted a Young Activist Happy Hour.  Almost 400 attendees packed the bar and formed a line to the end of the block to spend the evening networking.  Recruiters and staff of organizations like Young Americans for Liberty, Future Female Leaders, and the Charles Koch Institute mingled with activists.

At the Happy Hour, the Leadership Institute welcomed many new activists to the Campus Leadership Program network. Almost a

Every year, CPAC is a new experience.  Conservatives from all over the country (and from around the world) come together for a week of idea sharing, activist training, and coalition building.  This year was no exception.  With hundreds of new conservatives plugged in, trained, and employed conservative principles have a stronger voice going into election season.

The Leadership Institute offers over 47 types of training programs, working with more than 1,759 conservative student groups, and helping employers connect with conservative jobseekers.  Since the Institute’s 1979 founding, LI has trained more than 172,000 conservative activists, students, and leaders.  Graduates include members of Congress, state legislators, local officials, media personalities, and conservative organization leaders.  For more information, please visit: www.LeadershipInstitute.org

>