AFW Leadership

America First Works Executive Director Ashley Hayek is originally from the small agricultural town of Clovis, California. Hayek is a political strategist with over 15 years of experience in political, non-profit, and organization strategy, most recently serving on the Trump-Pence 2020 presidential campaign as the National Coalitions Director. At the age of 22, she started her first company in the loft of her townhouse in San Diego and within five years became the premier political and non-profit fundraising firm in Southern California. Hayek attended the University of California, San Diego, where she received a degree in Political Science. She is the proud wife of a United States Marine and mom of five.

Brooke Rollins is originally from Glen Rose, Texas, and serves as a Board Member and Senior Advisor to America First Works and as President and Chief Executive Officer of AFPI. Rollins was formerly Director of the Domestic Policy Council and Chief Strategist in the White House under President Donald J. Trump, where she also previously served as Director of the Office of American Innovation. In these roles, she developed and managed the transformational domestic policy agenda of the Trump Administration, leading to historic achievements for the American people.

Linda McMahon is originally from New Bern, North Carolina, and serves as a Senior Advisor to America First Works and is Chair of the Board and Chair of the Center for the American Worker for AFPI. McMahon served in President Donald J. Trump’s Cabinet as Administrator of the Small Business Administration. At SBA, McMahon re-imagined the organization, focusing on rural development and championing women entrepreneurs and military veterans. She oversaw natural disaster recovery efforts and helped improve the way the SBA connected small businesses to capital, counseling, and government contracts. Prior to her career in public service, McMahon was the President and later CEO of WWE, INC., which she grew from a small regional corporation to a multinational public company.

Lee Zeldin was elected to the United States Congress in 2014, representing New York’s First Congressional District, and has now won seven consecutive races since 2010 in purple NYC suburban districts, unseating two Democrat incumbents along the way. In Congress, Lee quickly became a leading voice in America on top local, domestic and foreign policy issues. He ran for Governor in 2022, nearly unseating Democrat Kathy Hochul in a state with party registration of a mere 22 percent Republican registration. Lee also served in the state senate in New York. Lee spent four years on Active Duty with the U.S. Army after completing ROTC and served in different capacities, including as a Military Intelligence Officer, Prosecutor, and Military Magistrate. In the summer of 2006, while assigned to the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division, Lee deployed to Iraq with an infantry battalion of fellow paratroopers in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2007, Lee returned to Suffolk County with his family. It was at this time that Lee transitioned from Active Duty to the Army Reserve, where he currently serves with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Albany and then his law degree from Albany Law School, becoming New York’s youngest attorney at the time at the age of 23.