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 Alex Friedmann

Alex Friedmann

Activist, Journalist, Criminal Justice Policy
Alex Friedmann is a left-of-center prison advocate who worked for the 2016 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT). He is a former staff…
View Kate Shaw

Kate Shaw

Journalist, Lawyer, Scholar, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Kate Shaw is a professor at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University and a left-of-center political commentator. She frequently comments on legal…
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 Nicolle Wallace

Nicolle Wallace

Journalist
Nicolle Wallace is a former Republican political operative turned left-of-center television host who hosts “Deadline: White House,” which debuted with her as the anchor on…
View Joe Scarborough

Joe Scarborough

Journalist, Lawyer, Politician
Joe Scarborough is an attorney, former U.S. Representative, and a media personality who hosts the MSNBC show “Morning Joe” with Mika Brzezinski. Scarborough was elected…
View David Brock

David Brock

Donor, Journalist, Multi-Issue Advocacy
David Brock is a political operative, author, commentator, and founder of Media Matters for America and American Bridge 21st Century. Formerly a conservative journalist, Brock…
View Vijay Prashad

Vijay Prashad

Journalist, Scholar, Economic Policy
Vijay Prashad is a Marxist journalist and historian. An ardent supporter of communism, Prashad is the author of many books defending the ideology’s legacy and…
View Kyle Kulinski

Kyle Kulinski

Journalist, Environmental Policy, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Kyle Kulinski is the socialist-leaning host of Secular Talk, a YouTube-based political talk show he created in 2008 while a student at Iona College. A…
View Jane Mayer

Jane Mayer

Journalist
Jane Mayer is a left-of-center investigative reporter and contributor the New Yorker. Prior to joining that publication, Mayer worked as a White House correspondent and…
View William Kristol

William Kristol

Board Member or Executive, Journalist
William (Bill) Kristol is a political commentator and the son of left-wing-turned-conservative intellectuals Irving Kristol and Gertrude Himmelfarb. Since the mid-1990s, he has been one…
View Michael Harrington

Michael Harrington

Activist, Journalist, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism), Multi-Issue Advocacy
Michael Harrington (full name Edward Michael Harrington) was an influential left-wing activist. He founded the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), an organization which works to…
View David Rothkopf

David Rothkopf

Journalist, Scholar, Multi-Issue Advocacy
David Rothkopf is a left of center podcaster, writer, and consultant whose firm, The Rothkopf Group, conducts work on behalf of the embassy of the…
View Eugene Puryear

Eugene Puryear

Journalist, Foreign Policy, Identity Politics (for race-based policy/activism)
Eugene Puryear is a radical-left journalist, activist, author, podcast host, and politician who helped found the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) with Gloria La…
View Jordan Uhl

Jordan Uhl

Activist, Journalist, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Jordan Uhl is a left-of-center activist who currently serves as the video distribution manager for agitation group MoveOn.org. Uhl is also the founder of Nobody…
View Josh Silver

Josh Silver

Journalist, Elections Policy
Josh Silver is a left-of-center activist and co-founder and director of Represent.Us, an organization advocating for substantial restrictions on campaign advocacy with both 501(c)(3) and…
View Chris Hayes

Chris Hayes

Journalist
Chris Hayes is an author, political pundit, and host of “All In With Chris Hayes” on the left-of-center news network MSNBC. Hayes is a self-described…
View Peter Fritsch

Peter Fritsch

Board Member or Executive, Journalist, Abortion Policy, Foreign Policy, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Peter Fritsch is an American journalist and Democratic Party operative. He is a founding partner at Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm that produced the…
View Symone Sanders-Townsend

Symone Sanders-Townsend

Activist, Journalist, Multi-Issue Advocacy
Symone Sanders-Townsend is a political commentator and Democratic Party strategist who hosts “Symone,” an MSNBC weekend program. She was previously the chief spokesperson for Vice…
View Nancy R. Bagley

Nancy R. Bagley

Board Member or Executive, Journalist, Elections Policy, Immigration Policy
Nancy Bagley is the president of the Arca Foundation, a foundation funder of various left-of-center causes and groups. She is also on the board of…
View Perianne Boring

Perianne Boring

Board Member or Executive, Journalist, Tech Policy
Perianne Boring is a former congressional staffer and television anchor who is the founder and CEO of Chamber of Digital Commerce, a Washington, D.C.-based trade…

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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…