Media, Communications, and Information Policy Alums
2010-2011
Parul Desai | Policy Counsel,
Consumers Union
Parul P. Desai recently joined Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports. At Consumers Union, Parul manages the organization’s advocacy efforts on cable, wireless, telephone and Internet policy and is responsible for working closely with federal and international policy makers on communications and media policy.
Brandy Doyle | Policy Director,
Prometheus Radio Project
Brandy Doyle is Policy Director at the Prometheus Radio Project, the lead organization working to expand community radio as a tool for social justice organizing and community expression. She is researching media and culture at Cornell University, where she is a PhD candidate in Anthropology. Prior to her work in media justice, she directed communications for several grassroots policy organizations.
Garlin Gilchrist II | Director of New Media,
Center for Community Change
Garlin Gilchrist II is Director of New Media at the Center for Community Change. After graduating with degrees in Computer Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Michigan, Gilchrist became a Software Engineer at Microsoft. He co-founded The SuperSpade: Black Thought at the Highest Level, a leading Black political blog, co-founded blacknetaction, a diverse, strategic collective of online activists and served as Social Media Manager for the 2008 Obama campaign in Washington state. Garlin is a highly sought after thinker doing cutting edge work at the crossroads of traditional organizing and online activism. From members of Congress and the Federal Communications Communication to the Annenberg Foundation and Netroots Nation, from community centers throughout the country to the next generation of social entrepreneurs, Garlin has spoken before every constituency on youth empowerment in revolutionary new organizing spaces, increasing civic engagement and participation though emerging technologies and protecting civil rights in the age of the Internet.
Kamilla Kovacs | Communications and Development Director,
Media Access Project
Kamilla Kovacs is Communications and Development Director of Media Access Project, a nonprofit, public interest telecommunications law and advocacy firm in Washington, DC. She handles MAP’s press, fundraising, and grantwriting activities, while also making frequent visits to Capitol Hill to educate Members of Congress on broadband and low power FM radio policy issues. Kamilla is also a volunteer policy analyst for the Open Spectrum Alliance, a European nonprofit institute that promotes spectrum and broadband policies that encourage free expression, access and innovation.
Benjamin Lennett | Senior Policy Analyst,
Open Technology Initiative New America Foundation
Benjamin Lennett is the Senior Policy Analyst for the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation, contributing to the program’s efforts to develop and advocate policy proposals aimed at achieving universal and affordable broadband access through policy research, writing and outreach. Prior to joining New America, Mr. Lennett served as Associate Communications and Development Manager for the Media Access Project, where he managed outreach and fundraising efforts. Mr. Lennett holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Florida. He is also a graduate of American University’s School of Public Affairs, where he received a master’s degree in public policy, with a concentration in economic and regulatory policy.
Carlos Pareja | Training and Policy Director,
People’s Production House
Carlos Pareja is a media activist, educator and filmmaker who has worked with both adult and youth populations teaching video production and media literacy and organizing around media access. Currently, Carlos is the Training and Policy Director for People’s Production House. In the past, Carlos has worked with Paper Tiger Television, the Educational Video Center, Indymedia and Brooklyn Community Access Television. He is a firm believer that access to media creation tools, knowledge of media production technique and open distribution platforms are key to a functional democracy.
Misty Perez Truedson | Associate Outreach Director,
Free Press
Misty Perez Truedson, Associate Outreach Director, conducts offline and online organizing and outreach activities to advance Free Press’ legislative and movement building initiatives. She works with allied organizations to encourage participation in Free Press campaigns and events, with a particular focus on the SavetheInternet.com campaign. She holds a master’s degree in community development and planning from Clark University.
Brooke Rae-Hunter | Chief Operating Officer,
Public Knowledge
Brooke Rae-Hunter is Chief Operating Officer at Public Knowledge. She has extensive experience in the fields of organization management and development, having been a senior manager for development at the American Film Institute, as well as having development responsibilities at the Media Access Project and Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington. Prior to her DC development experience, Brooke served as Executive Director at SEABA, an arts and business association in Burlington, VT. She is a 1999 honors graduate of Loyola University, New Orleans, and holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Antioch University in Los Angeles.
Steven Renderos | Media Justice Program Director,
Main Street Project
Steven Renderos is Main Street Project’s Media Justice Program Director, leading the media justice and community building efforts, including the Minnesota Digital Justice Coalition and their collaborative work with the nationwide Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net). He brings more than six years of community organizing and training experience, and more than nine years of filmmaking and media production experience. He currently serves on the boards of the Organizing Apprenticeship Project, Headwaters Foundation for Social Justice and the Center for Media Justice. Renderos is originally from Los Angeles, CA but his roots extend to El Salvador, where the majority of his family currently resides. He’s lived in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/Saint Paul) for the last eight years. Aside from his work at MSP, Steven is a local DJ and hosts a radio show on KFAI called Radio Pocho.
Lissa Rosenthal | Executive Director,
Future of Music Coalition
Lissa Rosenthal brings more than 15 years of experience in arts leadership, advocacy and nonprofit development to her role as Executive Director of the Future of Music Coalition. Prior to joining FMC, she served as Programs Director for the American Council for the Arts, Development Director of P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center and National Program Director for PAX: Real Solutions to Gun Violence. She has also worked extensively in AIDS fundraising and event production. As a social justice advocate, she led and supported numerous fundraising and awareness-generating campaigns in Pittsburgh, PA. Most recent volunteer activities include work with the national hunger relief agency Share Our Strength and their Taste of the Nation events. This led to her nomination for Share Our Strength’s National Leadership Award, ranking her among their most effective national advocates and volunteers. A promoter of all things green, she has authored several “green” cover features for Pittsburgh Magazine.
Brittny Saunders | Senior Advocate,
The Center for Social Inclusion
Brittny Saunders is Senior Advocate at the Center for Social Inclusion, a national policy advocacy organization that is committed to racial justice. At CSI, Brittny’s work has focused on broadband equity, transportation equity and disaster and emergency preparedness. Brittny is a graduate of Harvard Law School, where she worked with a number of racial justice and civil rights organizations including the Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment and the ACLU Racial Justice Program. Prior to joining CSI, Brittny worked as Policy Counsel at Be the Change, Inc., helping to develop and implement strategies to support the expansion of opportunities for voluntary community and national service.
Aparna Sridhar | Policy Counsel,
Free Press
Aparna Sridhar, Policy Counsel, advises Free Press on legal matters related to its policy, research and campaign work, and represents Free Press on its issues in court and before the FCC. Prior to joining Free Press, Aparna was an associate at Strumwassser & Woocher LLP, a public interest law firm in Los Angeles. She also clerked for the Honorable M. Margaret McKeown of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Before attending law school, Aparna worked at McKinsey & Company, the management consulting firm. She earned her Juris Doctorate from Stanford Law School and her A.B. from Harvard University.
Joshua Stearns | Associate Program Director,
Free Press
Josh Stearns, Associate Program Director, manages Free Press’ journalism, public media and media consolidation campaigns. He develops campaign strategy, outreach and organizing efforts and works with partner organizations on events and actions designed to amplify the voices of people and communities around the country. Josh directs the Free Press internship and fellowship programs and speaks regularly about media policy and activism.
Mark Surman | Executive Director,
Mozilla Foundation
Mark Surman is in the business of connecting things: people, ideas, everything. A community technology activist for almost 20 years, Mark is currently the executive director of the Mozilla Foundation, with a focus on inventing new ways to promote openness and opportunity on the Internet. On the side, Mark convenes conversations about ‘open everything‘ in his home town of Toronto and around the world. Before joining Mozilla, Mark was an open philanthropy fellow at the Shuttleworth Foundation in South Africa, where he invented new ways to apply open source thinking to social innovation. Earlier, he was the founding director of telecentre.org, a $26 million effort to network community technology activists around the world. Mark has served as president of the Commons Group, Director of Content and Community at Web Networks and senior advisor to Volunteer @ction Online. Mark’s first real job was training social activists to make their own documentaries in the early 1990s.
Chancellar Williams | Government and External Affairs Manager,
Free Press
Chancellar Williams represents Free Press’ members by lobbying to ensure that media and telecommunications policies serve the public interest. He works to make Washington more accessible by preparing and engaging key allies in lobbying and advocacy on Capitol Hill and at the FCC. Chancellar also builds and sustains collaborative projects that advance Free Press’ policy and movement building goals. Prior to joining Free Press, Chancellar worked extensively with the public interest media reform and media justice communities as Advocacy Manager for the Media and Democracy Coalition.
2008
Kai Aiyetoro, Chief Operating Officer
National Federation of Community Broadcasters
Oakland, CA
Amalia Anderson, Project Director
Main Street Project, The Raices Project
Minneapolis, MN
Peggy Berryhill, Director of Services & Planning
Native Public Media
Gualala, CA
Michael Bracy, Policy Director
Future of Music Coalition
Washington DC
Dharma Dailey, Director of Research
Ethos Group
Haines Falls, NY
Scherazade Daruvalla King, President & Executive Director
Project: Think Different
Boston, MA
Lauren-Glenn Davitian, Executive Director
CCTV Center for Media & Democracy
Burlington, VT
Inez Gonzalez, Vice President, Media Policy
National Hispanic Media Coalition
Washington, DC
Antoine Haywood, Director of Community Development
People TV
Atlanta, GA
Nathaniel James, Campaign Coordinator
Media & Democracy Coalition
Washington, DC
Linda Jue, Director
G.W. Williams Center for Independent Journalism
San Francisco, CA
Joel Kelsey, Policy Analyst
Consumer Union
Washington, DC
Kimberly Larson, Communications Director
The Public Interest Network
Seattle, WA
Nicol Turner-Lee, Vice President, Digital Inclusion
One Economy Corporation
Chicago, IL
Onica Makwakwa, Executive Director
UNITY Journalists of Color
Washington, DC
Tim Marema, Vice President of Communications
Center for Rural Strategies
Knoxville, TN
Beth McConnell, Executive Director
Media & Democracy Coalition
Washington, DC
Andy Opel, Associate Professor, Department of Communication
Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL
Ronald Rice, Professor, Department of Communication
UC Santa Barbara & Carsey-Wolf Center for Film, Television & New Media
Santa Barbara, CA
Sabrina Roach, Development & Outreach Director
KBCS 91.3 FM Community Radio/Reclaim the Media
Seattle WA
Tracy Rosenberg, Managing Director
Media Alliance
Oakland, CA
Shivaani Selvaraj, Organizer
Media Mobilizing Project
Philadelphia, PA
J. H. Snider, President
iSolon.org
Severna Park, MD
Jim Sommers, Senior Vice President of Content Management
Independent Television Service
San Francisco, CA
Janice Thompson, Executive Director
Democracy Reform Oregon
Portland, OR
Emy Tseng, Project Director, Digital Inclusion Program
City and County of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
2007
Leonard Baynes, Director & Professor
Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development
Queens, NY
Karen Bond, Executive Director
National Black Coalition for Media Justice
Evanston, IL
Michael Botein, Director & Professor, Media Center
New York Law School
New York, NY
Lillie Coney, Associate Director
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Washington, DC
Elsa E’der, Editor
Center for International Media Action
San Francisco, CA
Bruce Fife, President
American Federation of Musicians Local 99
Portland, OR
Kathryn Galán, Executive Director
National Association of Latino Independent Producers
Santa Monica, CA
Yolanda Hippensteele, former Outreach Director
Free Press
Northampton, MA
Bill Jong-Ebot, Associate Professor
Florida Memorial University
Pembroke Pines, FL
Steven Katz, Vice President, Strategy & Development
Mother Jones
San Francisco, CA
Dorothy Kidd, Chair, Department of Media Studies
University of San Francisco
San Francisco, CA
Jonathan Lawson, Executive Director
Reclaim the Media
Seattle, WA
Michael Ed Lenert, Professor, Reynolds School of Journalism
University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, NV
Rik Panganiban, former Program Manager
Social Science Research Council
New York, NY
Andrea Quijada, Executive Director
New Mexico Media Literacy Project
Albuquerque, NM
Lisa Rudman, Executive Director
International Media Project/National Radio Project
Oakland, CA
Leah Rush, Executive Director
Midwest Democracy Network
Chicago, IL
Laura Saponara, Communications Director
ACLU of Northern California
San Francisco, CA
Shirley Sneve, Executive Director
Native American Public Telecommunications
Lincoln, NE
Gigi Sohn, President
Public Knowledge
Washington, DC
Kim Spencer, President
Link Media
San Francisco, CA
Tracy Van Slyke, Program Director
The Media Consortium
Chicago, IL
Evern Williams, Community Media Center Manager
‘Ōlelo Community Television
Honolulu, HI
Betty Yu, Director of Community Outreach & Media
Manhattan Neighborhood Network
New York, NY
Denice Zeck, Executive Director
American Forum
Washington, DC
2006
Ryan Alexander, President
Taxpayers for Common Sense
Washington, DC
Inja Coates, former Executive Director
Media Tank
Philadelphia, PA
DeAnne Cuellar, Executive Director
Texas Media Empowerment Project
San Antonio, TX
Malkia Cyril, Executive Director
Center for Media Justice
Oakland, CA
Henry Desio, former National Campaign Director
Media & Democracy Coalition
Washington, DC
Aliza Dichter, Co-Director
Center for International Media Action
Harold Feld, Sr. Vice President
Media Access Project
Washington, DC
Saskia Fischer, former Project Manager, Office of Communications
United Church of Christ
Washington, DC
Karen Helmerson, Director
New York State Council of the Arts
New York, NY
Joe Karaganis, Program Director
Social Science Research Council
New York, NY
Gene Kimmelman, Vice President of Public Policy
Consumers Union
Washington, DC
Cheryl Leanza, Managing Director, Office of Communications
United Church of Christ
Washington, DC
Sheetal Matani, Consultant
Center for International Media Action
Hye-Jung Park, Program Officer, Media Justice Fund
Funding Exchange
New York, NY
Jeff Perlstein, Working Group Coordinator
Grantmakers in Film and Electronic Media
Oakland, CA
Carol Pierson, President and CEO
National Federation of Community Broadcasters
Oakland, CA
Jennifer Pozner, Executive Director
Women in News and Media
Brooklyn, NY
Nan Rubin, Principal
Community Media Services
New York, NY
Hannah Sassaman, former Program Director
Prometheus Radio Project
Philadelphia, PA
Andy Schwartzman, President and CEO
Media Access Project
Washington, DC
Judith Siers-Poisson, Associate Director
Center for Media & Democracy
Madison, WI
Josh Silver, Executive Director
Free Press
Northampton, MA
Alison Stein, Founder
Younger Women’s Task Force
Washington, DC
Jenny Toomey, Program Officer
Ford Foundation
Washington, DC
Pete Tridish, Founder
Prometheus Radio Project
Philadelphia, PA
Antwuan Wallace, PhD Candidate
New School University
New York, NY
Martha Wallner, Board Member
Media Alliance
Oakland, CA
Celia Wexler, Senior Lobbyist
Union of Concerned Scientists
Washington, DC
Noah Winer, Campaign Director
MoveOn.org Political Action
Philadelphia, PA