Project 21 Ambassador Phil Bell is the founder and chief executive officer of the Tower K Group, an investment bank dedicated to nonprofit organizations.

Phil’s story in politics and public policy began in an unlikely place: at the Amtrak station in Jacksonville, FL. Young Phil had a long time before his train arrived and he wondered why Amtrak owns very little of the track it uses. Learning the story of Amtrak’s creation was an introduction to the problems of overregulation, the benefits of free markets, and the understanding of how people lose when government decides that it knows better than us how to live our lives and run our businesses.

Grownup Phil nurtured this early public policy lesson through his college years at Boston University and his early employment with courier service Inplex, Inc. and financial heavyweight State Street Bank. He later landed at GoRail, where he worked with grasstops (state and local elected officials, political appointees such as state secretaries of transportation, and private businesses including chambers of commerce) to help members of Congress understand why re-regulating the railroad industry would have devastated our economy. That led to grassroots work on political campaigns, notably House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s 2012 run, during which Phil educated individuals on why activities like going door-to-door and making voter outreach calls are critical to electoral success. He motivated many of these same individuals to become consistent volunteers, and maintains plenty of these relationships years later.

After returning to the advocacy world in support of state-level pro-religious liberty legislation, Phil spent nearly 7 years leading corporate and foundation fundraising at the center-right grassroots organization FreedomWorks. As part of his work, he played a key role in placing op-eds, facilitating newspaper/television/digital advertising and managing the organization’s relationships with Fortune 500 companies.

Phil brings this diverse background to the Tower K Group, which develops solutions both for nonprofit organizations that are building lasting, well-funded programs; and for donors seeking organizations that will best be able to realize their policy goals.

Phil can be found on the airwaves co-hosting The All American Talk Show, opining on the railroad industry at The All Aboard Podcast and serving as the D.C. correspondent for The Daily Mojo.

FEATURED APPEARANCES

All American Talk Show
Phil Bell’s Morning Update
All Aboard Podcast