The Connecticut Public Interest Research Group Education Fund (ConnPIRG Education Fund) is the policy research arm of the Connecticut Public Interest Research Group (ConnPIRG). ConnPIRG is the Connecticut state affiliate of the larger U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US-PIRG), a network of left-of-center grassroots advocacy groups. In turn, US-PIRG is part of the Public Interest Network (PIN) , a collection of over one hundred left-wing nonprofit and for-profit organizations headed by Doug Phelps, a Democratic Party political operative connected with the Democracy Alliance (DA) network of left-of-center donors. ^{1 2}

History

ConnPIRG Education Fund was established in 1997, when it received charitable nonprofit status as the policy-education affiliate of the Connecticut Public Interest Research Group. ¹ It operates alongside other ConnPIRG branches and is part of the larger U.S. PIRG network. ²

While ConnPIRG’s student chapters date back to 1973, when University of Connecticut students first voted to dedicate a mandatory student fee to support PIRG activities, the Education Fund itself was formally created two decades later to focus on research, public education, and fostering civic participation on issues like consumer protection, environmental reform, and healthcare. ³

ConnPIRG Citizen Lobby, the 501(c)(4) sister organization to ConnPIRG Education Fund, is a subordinate organization under Environment America. Environment America is a left-of-center 501(c)(4) advocacy group comprised of multiple state organizations across the country that lobby for weather-dependent energy sources such as wind and solar and oppose the use of zero carbon nuclear energy. ⁴

Advocacy

The ConnPIRG Education Fund conducts consumer-protection advocacy. ⁵ A flagship initiative is its annual “Trouble in Toyland” consumer safety report, which scrutinizes popular children’s toys for hazardous chemicals like lead, chromium, and phthalates. ⁶ These studies, usually timed around the holiday season, have resulted in recalls and prompted safety regulations. ⁷

ConnPIRG has aided grassroots campaigns like the “Sooty Six” effort, which targeted emissions from Connecticut power plants, ultimately contributing to one of the nation’s first-ever laws restricting carbon emissions from these facilities. ⁸

Controversies

In 2007, a decision was made by the Connecticut Office of State Ethics that found ConnPIRG and its representative Christopher Phelps to have violated state ethics law by failing to file a required lobbying financial report before its deadline. Despite a warning letter giving them until August 31 to correct the oversight, the report was filed 64 days late, on September 13. The Citizen’s Ethics Advisory Board determined that the delay warranted a civil penalty of $640. Although Phelps claimed the error was an innocent mistake, the Office upheld the full penalty and ordered future compliance. ⁹

Further, the Public Interest Network, the organization of which ConnPIRG is a subsidiary, has been criticized in the past for poor labor practices, being dubbed as “the Liberal Sweatshop” by journalist Luke Rosiak for the Daily Beast. ¹⁰

Leadership

Faye Park has been the president of the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (US-PIRG) since 2018. Park is also the executive vice president of Public Interest Network, the media outreach wing of the PIRG. Prior to these roles, Park was the organizing director of CALPIRG, the California state affiliate of the larger US-PIRG. ¹¹

Emily Rusch has been both the vice president and senior director for state organizations at The Public Interest Network as well as the senior director for state organizations at PIRG since 2021. From 2009 until 2021, Rusch served as the executive director of CALPIRG. ¹²

1. “Connpirg Education Fund Inc.” Connpirg Education Fund Inc – GuideStar Profile. Candid Guidestar, June 5, 2016. Uploaded June 5, 2016. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.guidestar.org/Profile/06-1341177.
2. About – pirg. Accessed July 28, 2025. https://pirg.org/about/.
3.  Pinho, Rute. Publication. UCONNPIRG HISTORY AND FUNDING. Mansfield, Connecticut: The Office of Legislative Research at The University of Connecticut, 2010. https://www.cga.ct.gov/2010/rpt/2010-R-0005.htm
4. “Nuclear Power Risks.” Environmentamerica.Org. Environment America, July 22, 2022. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://environmentamerica.org/topics/nuclear-power-risks/.
5. “Our Work” ConnPIRG Education Fund. https://pirg.org/connecticut/edfund/our-work/
6. “Trouble in Toyland 2024: Unsafe toys that slip through border” Consumer Reports, ConnPIRG Education Fund. November 19, 2024. https://pirg.org/edfund/resources/trouble-in-toyland-2024-unsafe-toys-that-slip-through-border/
7. “Connecticut Research Group Warns Parents about Toys That May Be Toxic for Your Children.” NBC Connecticut. NBC Connecticut, December 1, 2014. Last modified December 1, 2014. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/pirg-warns-parents-of-hazardous-toys/1960959/
8. “Milestones: Laboratories for Clean Air Protection.” The Public Interest Network. Last modified August 26, 2024. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://publicinterestnetwork.org/resources/milestones-laboratories-for-clean-air-protection/.
9. Ethics Enforcement Officer, Office of State Ethics v. ConnPIRG and Christopher Phelps  (The Connecticut Office of State Ethics  2007). https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/ethics/enforcement_actions/fd20072ulconnpirgandphelpspdf.pdf
10. Rosiak, Luke. “The Liberal Sweatshop.” The Daily Beast. The Daily Beast Company, September 11, 2024. Last modified September 11, 2024. Accessed July 10, 2025. https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-liberal-sweatshop/
11. Faye Park. LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/faye-park-0839823/
12. Emily Rusch. LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-rusch-9aba1428/