Travis H. Brown

Author, How Money Walks

Travis H. Brown is the author of How Money Walks and the co-author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of States (with Art Laffer, Steve Moore, and Rex Sinquefield). Brown is an entrepreneur with a passion for helping cities and states grow via smart tax policies. He’s a frequent contributor to Fox and Friends as well as Forbes.com, and has appeared on various radio and television broadcasts such as Fox Business Network, CNBC, Opening Bell with Maria Bartiromo, NPR’s All Things Considered, Bloomberg News, and CSPAN. Publications including US News and World Report, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Fiscal Times, and the Dallas Morning News have cited Brown’s work when reporting on taxes and the economy. <br /> <br /> As an issue-advocate who has worked across 35 states throughout the past 20 years, Brown’s unique experience led his firm, Pelopidas, LLC (pronounced pe-LOP’ a dus), to find a way to share how working wealth was moving nationwide. Pelopidas, which is Greek for "freedom-fighting,” is most often recognized as an issue advocacy firm that takes on tough state and local issues that others often try to avoid. The company is based in both St. Louis, MO, and Miami, FL. A core mission at Pelopidas is to recruit, build, and serve as "happy warriors," spreading the fundamental truths that need to be told. Brown embraces the role of assembling and supporting the best and brightest to work on the issues of the day, such as holding schools more accountable to individualized learning, improving states’ job climates, and enhancing their urban engines. <br /> <br /> Tackling tough issues that often miss their moment is a source of pride in Brown’s issue-based work. Civic leaders such as the late Lamar Hunt, then the owner of the Kansas City Chiefs Football Club, hired his firm to pursue funding solutions for restoring Arrowhead Stadium. Medical doctors across the fields of anesthesia, cardiology, and orthopedic medicine have worked with his team to improve patient safety and tort reform laws. Over the last several years, Brown has applied his attention to increasing tax policy awareness through the passage of several statewide ballot initiatives related to earnings taxes and city governance. <br /> <br /> Brown’s career advising governors, chief executives, legislatures, mayors, and venture philanthropists got started by lobbying for his alma mater, the University of Missouri-Columbia. His undergraduate degrees were in both agricultural economics and political science from Mizzou, with an MBA from Washington University in Saint Louis. His corporate work in sales, marketing, and government affairs has included such companies or clients as the American Home Products Corporation, the Monsanto Company, the Oracle Corporation, the American Petroleum Institute, and Procter &amp; Gamble. <br /> <br /> A pilot himself, by bush-flying America to spread the results about where our growth is going, Brown hopes to inspire new small-business champions, non-profit charities, and community leaders to prepare their regions for our highly mobile age. Dedicated to giving back to his community, Brown sits on the board of the Saint Louis Science Center and is the vice chairman of the Wings of Hope Board of Directors. <br /> <br /> Get engaged by following @HowMoneyWalks and @WOSbook on Twitter, or downloading his apps at <br /> www.howmoneywalks.com.