Public Allies is a nonprofit based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The organization is to advance social justice in young adults. ¹ The organization has an overtly left of center history and background with several notable left of center alumni including former First Lady Michelle Obama, an early Executive Director for the Chicago branch of Public Allies. ²

The focal point of Public allies is the large AmeriCorps program that the organizations operates through several local chapters where it places volunteers at small community passed nonprofit partner organizations. Public Allies and receives significant government funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency. ³

History

Public Allies was founded in the early 1990s by Vanessa Kirsch as a national youth service organization. Public Allies became an federal government partner during the George H.W. Bush administration and was cited by President Bush as a top model for a national service program. The organization continued to grow with support from the Clinton administration, which established the modern AmeriCorps program. ⁴

Under Kirsch’s national leadership, Public Allies grew to several branches, including a Chicago chapter that was founded and led by future First Lady Michelle Obama, who is still engaged with the organization as a supporter. Public Allies CEO Jaime Ernesto Utzeta stated that “Public Allies is about cultivating the ‘Michelle Obamas’ of this generation,” at a 2018 event featuring Obama. ⁵

Kirsch, the founder of Public Allies is an influential figure in liberal political and nonprofit circles. ⁶  She is currently the president of New Profit, Inc., a left-of-center funding group in Boston, Massachusetts. Kirsch previously also founded a group for pro-choice, Democratic women called the Women’s Information Network and was a staffer on the Presidential campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis (D). ⁷

Government Funding

Several AmeriCorps organizations including Public Allies have been criticized for having a left-leaning advocacy alignment while also accepting taxpayer money from the federal government. ⁸

1. “About us”. Public Allies. Accessed October 1, 2019. https://publicallies.org/about-us/
2. Stilson, Robert. “National Service: Reconsidering the Federal Role”. Capital Research Center. September 11, 2019. Accessed October 1, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/national-service-reconsidering-the-federal-role/
3. Stilson, Robert. “National Service: Reconsidering the Federal Role”. Capital Research Center. September 11, 2019. Accessed October 1, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/national-service-reconsidering-the-federal-role/
4. Perry, Suzanne. “Fired Up and Ready to Grow”. Chronicle of Philanthropy. April 17, 2008. Accessed October 2, 2018.  https://www.philanthropy.com/article/Fired-UpReady-to-Grow/167225
5. Eckhart, Erica. “Former First Lady Michelle Obama Joins Public Allies In Young Leader Workshop In Northern California”. Public Allies. December 17, 2018. Accessed October 1, 2019. https://publicallies.org/former-first-lady-michelle-obama-joins-public-allies-in-young-leader-workshop-in-northern-california/
6. “Vanessa Kirsch” New Profit Inc. Accessed October 1, 2019. https://archive.is/20120717161527/http://newprofit.com/kirsch
7. “Vanessa Kirsch” New Profit Inc. Accessed October 1, 2019. https://archive.is/20120717161527/http://newprofit.com/kirsch
8. Stilson, Robert. “National Service: Reconsidering the Federal Role”. Capital Research Center. September 11, 2019. Accessed October 1, 2019. https://capitalresearch.org/article/national-service-reconsidering-the-federal-role/