American Democracy & Health Security

American Democracy and Health Security

Lighting a path forward amid pandemic Polarization

Gordon Larsen


Senior Advisor for Federal Affairs, Office of Utah Governor Cox

Dr. Anne Zink

Gordon Larsen is Senior Advisor for Federal Affairs, managing Utah’s interests before Congress, the White House, and federal agencies. From 2017-2020, Larsen served as the Director of Federal Affairs for the Herbert administration and as the Director of Policy from 2019-2020. Prior to working for Gov. Herbert, Larsen was a Congressional staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives and then Legislative Counsel for Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

A native of Kearns, Utah, Larsen attended Brigham Young University and holds JD and MBA degrees from the College of William and Mary. He and his wife have five children and live in Farmington.

“Telling the truth is even more important, it seems, in a pandemic than in any other kind of emergency because there’s so much uncertainty. When I look back to the comments that came from federal public health officials, there was an enormous amount of certainty that was unjustified.”

“A disaster like our nation experienced on 9/11 brings everybody together, but a pandemic forces you – by its very nature – to stay apart, and you lose that social connection that can help you connect with people who are different from you and come together.”

Gordon Larsen

Senior Advisor for Federal Affairs, Office of Utah Governor Cox

Dr. Anne Zink

Gordon Larsen is Senior Advisor for Federal Affairs, managing Utah’s interests before Congress, the White House, and federal agencies. From 2017-2020, Larsen served as the Director of Federal Affairs for the Herbert administration and as the Director of Policy from 2019-2020. Prior to working for Gov. Herbert, Larsen was a Congressional staffer in the U.S. House of Representatives and then Legislative Counsel for Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

A native of Kearns, Utah, Larsen attended Brigham Young University and holds JD and MBA degrees from the College of William and Mary. He and his wife have five children and live in Farmington.

“Telling the truth is even more important, it seems, in a pandemic than in any other kind of emergency because there’s so much uncertainty. When I look back to the comments that came from federal public health officials, there was an enormous amount of certainty that was unjustified.”

“A disaster like our nation experienced on 9/11 brings everybody together, but a pandemic forces you – by its very nature – to stay apart, and you lose that social connection that can help you connect with people who are different from you and come together.”