People Profiles

Learn how specific individuals are influencing public policy. Each profile below is carefully curated by an InfluenceWatch contributor, and includes funding data where appropriate.

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View Jodie Evans

Jodie Evans

Activist, Board Member or Executive, Criminal Justice Policy, Drug Policy, Environmental Policy, Foreign Policy, Healthcare Policy
Jodie Evans is the co-founder of the controversial far-left anti-war organization CODEPINK, a political activist, and an author. She has defended anti-U.S. insurgents during the…
View Roger Waters

Roger Waters

Activist, Other, Environmental Policy, Foreign Policy
Roger Waters is a British musician and former front-man of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. Waters is known for his support for left-wing activism,…
View Brian Becker

Brian Becker

Board Member or Executive, Foreign Policy, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)
Brian Becker is the national director of the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition, a radical-left, anti-war, antiracist group that organizes…
View Calla Walsh

Calla Walsh

Activist, Foreign Policy
Calla Walsh is a radical-left activist based in Boston. Walsh is a member of numerous activist groups, including Massachusetts Peace Action, the Democratic Socialists of…
View Omar Barghouti

Omar Barghouti

Activist, Foreign Policy
Omar Barghouti is the founder of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement, an international network of pro-Palestinian groups that opposes the State of Israel….
View Haim Saban

Haim Saban

Donor, Foreign Policy
Haim Saban is an Israeli-American media proprietor, investor, philanthropist, musician, record, film & television producer. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media,…
View Medea Benjamin

Medea Benjamin

Activist, Economic Policy, Foreign Policy
For more information, see Code Pink (Nonprofit)
View Francis Najafi

Francis Najafi

Activist, Board Member or Executive, Economic Policy, Foreign Policy, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)
Francis Najafi is a billionaire Iranian immigrant who owns an asset management firm as well as part of the Phoenix Suns basketball team. He is…
View Paul E. Singer

Paul E. Singer

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Economic Policy, Foreign Policy, LGBT Policy
Paul E. Singer is a billionaire hedge fund manager who is also the founder, president, and co-CEO of Elliott Management. Singer, who is a major…
View Max Blumenthal

Max Blumenthal

Journalist, Foreign Policy
Max Blumenthal is a journalist, author, and documentarian highly critical of Israel who currently works as the editor-in-chief of the Grayzone. He is the son…
View Marc Elias

Marc Elias

Lawyer, Elections Policy, Foreign Policy
Marc Elias is an American attorney best known for his involvement in Democratic Party political campaigns, redistricting litigation, and election litigation. He was formerly a…
View Linda Sarsour

Linda Sarsour

Activist, Foreign Policy
Linda Sarsour is a controversial Palestinian-American activist who promotes intersectional left-wing activism to address a wide-array of left-wing issues. In 2017, Sarsour gained national prominence…
View Rachel Gelman

Rachel Gelman

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Economic Policy, Foreign Policy, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)
Rachel Gelman is a member of the billionaire Strauss family, the heirs to the Levi Strauss & Co. clothing fortune.
View Trita Parsi

Trita Parsi

Board Member or Executive, Foreign Policy
Trita Parsi is the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, a think tank promoting a non-interventionist U.S. foreign policy. The Quincy Institute was founded…
View Norman L. Eisen

Norman L. Eisen

Lawyer, Foreign Policy, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Norman L. Eisen is a lawyer and former diplomat with an extensive track record of left-of-center institution-building and policy advocacy. Eisen held several positions in…
View Sheldon Adelson

Sheldon Adelson

Donor, Education Policy, Foreign Policy
Sheldon Adelson was the chairman and CEO of the Las Vegas Sands casino-management firm. Adelson had previously donated to political campaigns for members of the…
View Bill de Blasio

Bill de Blasio

Politician, Foreign Policy, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)
Bill de Blasio is a New York City Democratic politician who served as mayor of New York City from 2014 through 2021 after serving lesser…
View Michael Peterson

Michael Peterson

Board Member or Executive, Donor, Foreign Policy, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Michael Peterson is the son of billionaire of Peter G. Peterson, founder of the centrist Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which seeks to reduce the national…
View Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader

Activist, Politician, Environmental Policy, Foreign Policy, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Ralph Nader is an American environmentalist and consumers’-interests activist and left-of-center politician. Though he affiliates with neither major party, his views are generally considered left-wing…
View Jane Fonda

Jane Fonda

Activist, Other, Abortion Policy, Environmental Policy, Foreign Policy
Jane Fonda is an Academy Award-winning actress and a longtime left-wing political activist. The daughter of actor Henry Fonda, Jane Fonda won two Oscars for…

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Sunita Leeds

Sunita Leeds (sometimes referred to as Sunita Gupta Leeds) is a philanthropist based in Washington, D.C. who has been involved with numerous left-of-center advocacy groups,…

Madison Teachers, Inc. (MTI)

Madison Teachers, Inc. (MTI) is a labor union representing teachers and other educational employees of the Madison Metropolitan School District in Madison, Wisconsin. Its teachers’…

Democracy Matters Foundation (formerly Franklin Education Forum)

The Democracy Matters Foundation is an activist organization that makes grants in support of left-of-center communications and advocacy campaigns. It was known since its 2013…

D.N. Batten Foundation

The D.N. Batten Foundation contributes millions to a broad array of organizations including left-of-center environmentalist groups focusing on climate change, and other environmentalist priorities. The…