Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy President & CEO Garrett Ballengee joined the organization in 2015 as its first employee and has since helped build it into one of the nation’s leading state-based free-market think tanks. A native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, Garrett is a nationally recognized advocate for economic freedom, education choice, entrepreneurship, and public policy reform in Appalachia and beyond.

Garrett is the recipient of the 2022 Buckley Award, a member of the American Enterprise Institute Leadership Network, and a George Washington Statesmanship Fellow with the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. He believes the foundational principles of liberty, opportunity, and civil society can help spark a “West Virginia Miracle” and broader Appalachian renewal.

Under Garrett’s leadership, the Cardinal Institute won one of two top prizes in Atlas Network’s “Smart Bets 2020” competition and became one of six worldwide finalists for the prestigious Templeton Freedom Award in 2021 for its work in advancing education freedom. Garrett considers the passage of the Hope Scholarship Education Savings Account program — one of the nation’s broadest school choice programs — to be his proudest achievement as a liberty advocate. In 2023, the State Policy Network honored the Cardinal Institute with its Bob Williams Award for Biggest Home State Win for helping advance the largest tax cut in West Virginia history.

Garrett’s commentary and writing on public policy, economics, education, and Appalachian renewal have appeared in or been featured by The Washington Post, Fox News, U.S. News & World Report, the Washington Examiner, RealClearMarkets, Education Next, and numerous other national and state publications. He is also the host of the “Forgotten America” podcast, which explores the challenges, opportunities, culture, and future of rural America.

Garrett graduated summa cum laude from West Virginia University Honors College in 2009 with a B.S. in Finance. He was also named a recipient of the WVU Foundation’s prestigious Outstanding Senior Award, an honor awarded to no more than the top one percent of graduating seniors. He later earned an M.A. in Financial Economics from Ohio University in 2011.