Donald Bryson is president and chief executive officer of the Civitas Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy organization dedicated to removing barriers to freedom for North Carolinians.

Previously, Bryson was state director of Americans for Prosperity-North Carolina (AFP-NC). While at the helm of AFP-NC from 2014-2018, he led the chapter through several successful campaigns to expand conservative policies in the state — including three major state income tax cuts and the expansion of the Opportunity Scholarship program. Bryson started with AFP-NC in 2011 as a field coordinator in charge of grassroots activities in the Raleigh-Durham area.

Bryson is a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s Leadership Network – an exclusive policy education and professional development program for state-based executives in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

He has authored and co-authored op-eds that have appeared in state and national publications including the News & Observer, Fox News, and The Wall Street Journal.