R Street beefs up communications and outreach staff
Carnes previously was communications director both for the Office of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and for Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. Before working on Capitol Hill, Ben was legislative director for a conservative nonprofit and worked on grassroots efforts in South Carolina for the presidential campaign of Gov. Sam Brownback. He is a graduate of North Greenville University in South Carolina.
Kitchens joins R Street from the American Enterprise Institute, where she was a senior research associate in social and cultural studies. At AEI, she co-hosted a popular video blog, The Factual Feminist, with Christina Hoff Sommers and was the editor of AEI’s Free-Market Feminist, a newsletter focused on issues facing women in the modern world. She also managed the book launch of bestselling author Charles Murray’s “By the People: Rebuilding Liberty Without Permission.“
“As R Street continues to grow, we’re thrilled to bring on Caroline and Ben to help manage the ever-expanding portfolio of our issues,” R Street President Eli Lehrer said. “Our communications and outreach teams will be stronger than ever before and I’m proud to welcome them on board.”
“I’m excited about R Street’s brand of pragmatic libertarianism and I look forward to working with the outreach team to bring our research to new audiences,” Kitchens said. “R Street has an innovative and results-oriented approach that is unique in the right-of-center think tank community, and I’m thrilled to work in such a high-energy environment.”
“In a city known for constant gridlock, R Street has become a very visible model of how to build broad coalitions without sacrificing principles,” said Carnes. “R Street’s fact-based, rapid-response approach has allowed it consistently to be ahead of the curve, and to have a decisive impact on emerging issues before others have had time to formulate their carefully worded talking points.”
Carnes and Kitchens are the second and third new hires R Street has announced this week, after announcing the addition of Western Region Director Steven Greenhut on Monday.
