Adam Frankel

Adam Frankel is a well-known American writer, editor, and speaker. He's authored one book and edited three others, and his work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, and more. He's also served as an editor at Fortune and Harvard Business Review, among other publications.

Adam was born in New York City, but grew up largely in Massachusetts. After completing high school, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Cornell University, then a Master’s in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

From 2004 to 2006, Adam worked as a special assistant and speechwriter for Barack Obama, then a U.S. Senator from Illinois. During his time there, Adam was tasked with researching Obama’s policies and writing speeches for significant occasions.

Following his time with Obama, Adam went on to become a senior policy adviser to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in 2009. There, he wrote letters, issued statements, and advised on expectations for No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top programs.

Adam left the U.S. Department of Education in 2010 to write and edit books, his first project being The Manciples: The Survivors of the Great Recession, which he edited in 2011. The next year he served as editor for Beyond Glory: How Medal of Honor Winners Began to Reject Their Culture of War, and the next year he was a co-editor for Saving Ethiopia from Famine: The U.S. Army Mission, 1943-1945.

In 2015, Adam released his first book, The Survivors Club: The Secrets and Science that Could Save Your Life, which was co-authored with Ben Sherwood. The book focuses on how to navigate and survive difficult and dangerous situations, based on true stories and scientific research. The book reached number two on the New York Times bestseller list.

After the success of The Survivors Club, Adam was a contributing author to Global Lingo in 2018, which focused on the global decline in civility and respect in the digital age. The following year, he co-authored Lab Rats: The Rise and Fall of Silicon Valley’s Misfits and Renegades, a historical take on Silicon Valley and the rise of the startup culture.

Aside from writing and editing, Adam also occasionally lectures at universities, including Harvard, Yale, Rutgers, and Oxford. In 2017, he also gave a TEDx talk in Pennsylvania on the power of storytelling to create positive change in the world.

Adam’s writing and editing have earned him recognition from publications such as the Harvard Review and his work has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and NPR. With his knack for researching and storytelling, as well as his insight on current issues, Adam is a voice that readers turn to for advice, insight, and guidance.