In June of 2021 President Biden appointed Hoopes to serve on the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. The President said: “The Commission is composed of outstanding citizens who reflect the diversity and strength of America while representing a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and professions. Commissioners are responsible for recommending a group of candidates to the President for selection as White House Fellows, a prestigious program for leadership and public service that provides young Americans experience working at the highest levels of the federal government.”
In 2012 Hoopes took a leave of absence from VOX Global to serve as the Chief of Staff for Vice President Biden’s DNC Convention team. In this role Hoopes oversaw and coordinated all aspects of the Vice President’s time spent in Charlotte, NC. This included managing convention staff, daily coordination with Biden senior staff and strategic positioning of the Biden team with state party leaders, members of Congress, donors and key stakeholder organizations. Hoopes has worked at the past six Democratic Conventions.
Hoopes sold his communications company to Omnicom, OMC, in 2007 and started VOX Global with a team of 10 people that today is over 60 people and one of the largest DC based consultancies. Hoopes provides counsel that combines deep experience and a dynamic understanding of how reputation, brand and/or public affairs all work together to further an organization’s objectives. Hoopes has a unique skill in helping his clients tell the story they want to the audiences they care about, bringing to bear creative use of technology, social media, traditional media, live events and creative storytelling.
Hoopes is a sought-after commentator on current political, cultural and economic events. He provides regular political commentary for NPR, MSNBC, FOX News, CBS Evening News and BBC World News and is a published author in works by the Public Affairs Council and Huffington Post. Hoopes served as a Fellow at the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University where he taught about the intersection of technology and politics and for the past ten years Hoopes has been a regular lecturer at the Duke Law School on the role of grassroots lobbying in shaping public policy.
Hoopes is active in philanthropy, serving as a Trustee at Colby College, Chair of the Admissions and Financial Aid Committee and a member of the executive committee of the Board. Hoopes is the Co-chair of the Advisory Board of the Graduate School of Political Management and George Washington University and serves on the Executive Committee of the First Tee of Baltimore.
Hoopes is a graduate of Wilmington Friends School and earned his BA in Government from Colby College and a master’s degree in Legislative Affairs from the George Washington University. He lives in Washington, DC with his wife Hilary, twins Penelope and Riter and daughter Charlotte.