POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY - Key Persons
Ms. Lee is a former Commissioner and Acting Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. During her tenure, she focused on transparency and accountability in capital markets including with respect to political spending. She currently teaches at New York University Law School and has written, lectured, and taught courses internationally on financial regulation and corporate law. Lee is also a director of the International Foundation for Valuing Impacts (a spinoff of Harvard Business School's Impact Weighted Accounts Initiative), and a member of the American College of Governance Counsel.
Job Titles:
- Communications Strategist for the Center
Andrew Feldman is a communications strategist for the Center. In 2015, he was recognized for his work and named a "Rising Star" by Campaigns and Elections Magazine - a prestigious honor for up-and-coming political professionals.
Job Titles:
- President and Co - Founder of the Center
Bruce F. Freed is president and co-founder of the Center for Political Accountability
Mr. Freed is widely respected as one of the leading figures in the money and politics space. Under his leadership, CPA produces the annual CPA-Zicklin Index, which benchmarks the S&P 500 companies on their political disclosure and accountability policies and practices, and TrackYourCompany.org, a searchable, sortable database on company political spending. He helped develop the Center's innovative strategy of using corporate governance to address the risks companies face from political spending. As a result of CPA's efforts, political disclosure and accountability is recognized as the norm.
He draws on his long experience in journalism, on Capitol Hill, and in strategic public affairs. He speaks widely and co-authored major CPA reports including Collision Course and Conflicted Consequences, the first examinations of the heightened risks to companies of conflicted political spending. In addition, he co-authored The Conference Board Handbook on Corporate Political Activity and articles in the Harvard Business Review, Washington Post, Financial Times and Reuters.
Mr. Freed has two adult children and lives in the Washington, D.C. suburbs with his wife and their West Highland White Terrier. He graduated from the University of Chicago and has an M.A. in American history from Brandeis University.
Mr. Freed is President of the Center for Political Accountability.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Programs and Counsel
Dan Carroll is the Center's Vice President for Programs and Counsel. Prior to joining the Center, Dan spent six years on Capitol Hill, advising a senior House member on campaign finance issues, the judiciary, and tax policy. Dan also tracked judicial nominations, researched and analyzed federal appellate court decisions, and created advocacy materials for a national non-profit advocacy organization, and served in the chambers of a federal magistrate judge. He earned a degree in Public Policy from Hamilton College and a J.D. from William & Mary Law School, where he was a fellow at the Institute of Bill of Rights Law.
Mr. Simon is the Senior Advisor on issues involving money in politics, for Voices for Progress. He has consulted with numerous organizations and elected representatives on campaign finance reform, focusing on public campaign financing and disclosure of political expenditures, and is a member of NY LEAD, a bipartisan group supporting campaign finance reform in New York State.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director for Programs
David Pahlic is the Center's Assistant Director for Programs. He earned his bachelor's degree in Political Science at the University of Colorado-Boulder and interned with CPA before joining the staff. Prior to his studies at CU Boulder, David served in the United States Air Force for seven years, including stations at Aviano Air Base, Italy, Incirlik Air Base, Turkey, and Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Advancement
Donna Thomas is the Center's Vice President for Advancement and Operations. She has held several senior level development positions at Capitol Technology University, the China Institute and New York Law School. She received a doctorate in psychology from Tufts University and a B.A. and M.A. from Simmons College.
Jeanne is the Center's Research Director. Prior to joining the Center she taught at several DC-area universities. As a doctoral candidate in Public Anthropology at American University, she published research on politics, cultural change, and institutional norms in multiple countries. She also holds a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Memphis.
Mr. Cooper is the Gordon Fox Professor Emeritus of American Institutions, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He serves as Chairman of the board.
Karl Sandstrom is the Center's Strategic Advisor. In addition to being Of Counsel in the political law practice of Perkins Coie, he is an adjunct professor at American University's Washington College of Law and is a member of the advisory board of the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Previously, Mr. Sandstrom was a member of the Federal Election Commission from 1998 to 2002 where he also served as vice-chair and was staff director of the U.S. House of Representatives elections subcommittee.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Co - Head of Investment Research Analytics at Bridgewater Associates
Mr. Brennan is the co-head of investment research analytics at Bridgewater Associates. Prior to joining Bridgewater, he worked as an actuary at the Equitable, as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company, and in the U.S. Treasury Department. Kevin received a BA in Mathematics and Economics from Binghamton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, graduating with distinction. He currently serves on the Investment Advisory Board of the Leadership Now Project and is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.
Mr. Zicklin is a former Chairman of the Board of investment management firm Neuberger Berman. He is currently a Clinical Professor at Stern School of Business at New York University and teaches courses in corporate governance and the management of a financial business at Stern.
Mr. Pearl was a managing director at BlackRock, one of the largest investment firms in the world. Prior to BlackRock, he had a long tenure on Wall Street where he invented some of the securitization technology connecting America's capital markets to consumers in need of credit. He currently serves as Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires.
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner of the Firm of Schulte
Mr. Roth is a founding partner of the firm of Schulte, Roth and Zabel. Throughout his career, he has acted as counsel to leading public and private companies in financial services and to their boards of directors. He is an Adjunct Professor of Law at NYU School of Law. In addition, he is a senior director of the Legal Defense Fund of the NAACP and a member of the advisory board of the RAND Center for Corporate Ethics and Governance.
Job Titles:
- Writer and Editor for the Center
Peter Hardin is a writer and editor for the Center. He previously worked as a journalist for more than 30 years, including 15 years as Washington correspondent for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, covering Congress and the executive branch. Hardin was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his investigative series on eugenics and its history in Virginia. He has written for a range of non-profit groups including the Center and several health advocacy organizations.
Job Titles:
- Vice President for Development and Communications at the Fund for Global Human Rights
Ms. Peligal is the Vice President for Development and Communications at the Fund for Global Human Rights. Prior to joining the Fund, she served as Vice President for Development at American Jewish World Service and had worked at Human Rights Watch.
Mr. Fulwood is the Dean of American University's School of Communications. Previously, he was a senior fellow for Politics and Elections at the Center for American Progress. He is also the former director and founder of American Progress' Leadership Institute, a program to assist with the advancement of people of color in public policy. He has been a journalist, most recently with the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Los Angeles Times.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Is Director
Ms. Alpern is director of corporate engagement at Rhia Ventures and has a deep background in socially responsible investing and shareholder engagement. She is secretary of the CPA board.
Job Titles:
- Operations and Technology Leader
Mr. Popeleski is an entrepreneurial operations and technology leader with more than 25 years of experience leading dynamic, multi-location, international organizations with significant P&L backed by extensive consulting experience in the financial sector.
Mr. Laufer is the Julian Aresty Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is Director of its Carol and Lawrence Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research.