Brian Lee Wolff

Date and place of birth: Sept. 5, Litchfield, Ill.

Five people I would invite to a fantasy dinner party: President George W. Bush; Mike Hemphill, director of Presidential Leadership Scholars; Diane Blair, author and University of Arkansas political science professor; and John Lewis, civil rights leader. A book I recently read and liked: For Colored

Girls Who Have Considered Politics by Donna Brazile, Yolanda Caraway, Leah Daughtry, Minyon Moore and Veronica Chambers. My favorite meal: Sushi.

Something I always have with me: Glasses. My most precious childhood memory is: Just of being at my grandmother’s house in the country outside Arkadelphia. We went all the time and that was to me, just being a little boy and being able to go out and explore. I want to be thought of as: Someone who really cared about public service. Something not many people know about me is:

I have a huge infatuation with studying past presidents. It’s kind of a geek-out thing for me. I wish I could: Teach full-time.

My favorite place on earth is: Probably Annapolis [Md.]. It’s a real off-the-grid place for me. I think it’s probably one of the things that allows me to go and do, having that place to unwind.

The best advice I ever got was: A teacher told me, “If you ever learn to accept criticism, you’ll go far.” One word to sum me up: Determined.