Jillian Melchior

Age

29

Location

New York City, New York

Occupation

Political editor, Heat Street; Senior Fellow, Independent Women's Forum

Twitter

@JillianKayM

Jillian Kay Melchior is a Senior Fellow for the Independent Women’s Forum, covering energy and environmental issues and government waste, fraud, and abuse. She is also the political editor for Heat Street and the Tony Blankley Fellow for the Steamboat Institute.

Jillian is one of the most respected young investigative reporters in the industry. Some of her best known work includes exposing political correctness on college campuses, revealing how Bernie Sanders’ wife may have committed federal loan fraud, how Philadelphia’s corrupt unions use violence and intimidation to dominate the construction sector, how an Obamacare navigator was a convicted terrorist, and how easy it is to defraud the Obamaphones program.

Jillian has previously reported for National Review, the Franklin Center, The Daily, Commentary, and Wall Street Journal Asia, with freelance writings appearing in Cosmopolitan, The Weekly Standard, the New York Post, and other major publications. Her foreign correspondence has also taken her to China, Iraq, Ukraine, and elsewhere in Europe and Asia. She is a graduate of Hillsdale College.

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What was the biggest factor in your success?

Good mentors! There are too many to list here, but I’m so thankful for the support and wisdom of much better, much more experienced journalists who have given me opportunities and taught me the tricks of their trade.

What advice would you give to other millennials?

Build strong friendships, including with people who hold different viewpoints, and give those people permission to be brutally honest with you. On one hand, they’ll give you courage to take risks–and on the other, they’ll check your worse impulses and keep you honest.

Does the GOP have a future and why?

Only if it sticks to its principles, which it has increasingly abandoned. Right now, it’s doing a spectacularly poor job of giving young people a good reason to stick around.