Fellows in Media, Communications, and Information Policy
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, 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
