John Wood Jr. started as an opinion columnist for USA TODAY in May 2022. He is also National Ambassador for Braver Angels; America's largest bipartisan, grassroots organization dedicated to the work of political depolarization. Prior to that Wood was a nominee for congress in California's 43rd district in the 2014 election cycle, afterwards serving as 2nd Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County (America's largest county level Republican Party). John is highly regarded public speaker on matters of racial and political reconciliation. He is a member of the Progress Network, an initiative of the New America Foundation dedicated to foster civilizational progress through thought leadership across a wide spectrum of views, a field builder with New Pluralists, a collaborative of organizations dedicated to civic bridge-building and racial justice, and an advisor with the American Project: an initiative of the Pepperdine School of Public Policy dedicated to restoring the communitarian roots of conservatism.