People For the American Way
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
People For the American Way (PFAW) is a liberal/progressive advocacy organization in the United States. Under U.S. tax code, PFAW is organized as a tax-exempt 501(c)(4) non-profit organization. The current president of PFAW is Ralph Neas.
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[edit] Purpose
Since its inception, PFAW has been particularly visible in battles over judicial nominations. It has also been active in recent years on issues including school class size, separation of church and state, civil rights, voting rights for Washington, DC, in the U.S. Congress, equal rights for LGBT people, and promotion of civic participation.
PFAW describes itself as "an energetic advocate for the values and institutions that sustain a diverse democratic society ... threatened by the influence of the radical right and its allies who have risen to political power." Its principal rivals have been the Christian Right organizations such as Christian Voice (USA), Moral Majority, and Focus on the Family.
[edit] History
PFAW was founded by television producer Norman Lear (All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, etc.) in 1981 specifically to counter the efforts of the religious right. According to the PFAW website, Lear was particularly concerned with the growing clout of televangelists such as Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. Co-founders included Barbara Jordan, Andrew Heiskell, and other leaders from the political, religious, business, and entertainment communities.
PFAW continues to maintain its ties to each of those communities today, with such figures as actress Kathleen Turner and the Rabbi David Sapperstein sitting on its boards. Each year, PFAW holds "Spirit of Liberty" awards dinners, which usually honor such prominent figures from the various communities as well. Recent recipients have included Sharon Stone (entertainer), Peter Lewis (businessman), and Reg Weaver (president of the National Education Association).
When it was first formed, PFAW was broadly bipartisan after Norman Lear had changed his voter registration to Republican Party and endorsed John Anderson's campaign, as an independent, for President in 1980. Former Republican President Gerald Ford also served for a number of years as co-chairman. The former presidents of PFAW are Anthony Podesta (1981-1987), Arthur Kropp (1987-1995), and Carole Shields (1996-2000).
Soon after its founding, PFAW launched an affiliated 501(c)(3) organization, PFAW Foundation, for the purpose of conducting more extensive educational and research activities. Later, the PFAW Voter Alliance was launched as a political action committee, which, as opposed to its sister organizations, has the legal capacity to endorse candidates for office.
[edit] Scope of Activity
Today, PFAW is prominent within the progressive political movement for monitoring right-wing activities, conducting rapid response, political lobbying, and volunteer mobilization. In addition, PFAW's affiliated foundation runs programs designed for voter education and progressive infrastructure building. PFAW Foundation programs include Mi Familia Vota, which conducts Hispanic civic engagement, and several African-American outreach programs such as the African-American Ministers Leadership Council.
In 2005, PFAW Foundation initiated a fellowship program, called Young People For to identify, train, and support future progressive leaders. In 2006, Young People For spun off the Young Elected Officials Network, which was created to identify and support progressive elected officials from around the country who are under the age of 35.
Another new endeavor is the Center for American Values in Public Life, a think tank tasked with studying and clarifying the intersection of religion, morality, and progressive politics.
The national headquarters of PFAW and PFAW Foundation is in Washington, DC, and smaller regional offices are located in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Austin, Chicago, Tallahassee, and Miami. Various organizers are also employed in "battleground" states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio. The organizations share field, policy, research, communications, legal, internet strategy, and administrative departments.
[edit] Leadership
- Ralph Neas, President
- Marge Baker, Chief of Staff
- Carol Blum, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
- Nick Ucci, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
- Elliot Mincberg, Senior Vice President and General Counsel and Legal Director
- Mary Jean Collins, Senior Vice President and Political Director
- Sharon Lettman, Vice President for External Affairs and National Programs Director
- Jorge Mursuli, Vice President and Florida Director and Director of Democracia U.S.A.
- Peter Montgomery, Vice President for Communications
- Barbara Handman, Senior Vice President for Special Arts Projects
[edit] Other Notable Staff
- Ann Beaudry, Director of Strategic Planning and published author
- Nancy Kaszak, Midwest Regional Director and former Illinois State Representative
- Iara Peng, Director of Young People For
- Andrew Gillum, Director of Young Elected Officials Network and City Commissioner in Tallahassee, FL
- Deece Eckstein, Texas and Southwest Regional Director, former Director of Economic and Regulatory Policy for Texas Governor Ann Richards
- Alisha Thomas Morgan, YEO Network Membership Services Manager and Georgia State Representative
- Tanya Clay, Director of Public Policy
- Shaunna Thomas, Deputy Director of Young People For and former director of Bike and Build
- Robert P. Jones, Ph.D., Director of the Center for American Values in Public Life and published religious studies scholar
- Irma Palacios, Deputy Director of Democracia U.S.A.
- Kyle Fernando Stevens, Florida Director of Democracia U.S.A. and former Executive Director of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party
- Andrew Stengel, Director of New York Office and former Vice President of Miramax Films
[edit] Coalitions, Partnerships, and Joint Ventures
PFAW is a member of a number of progressive coalitions surrounding various issues, and it sometimes conducts joint campaigns with other organizations. Some of these projects include:
- Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
- Fair Taxes for All
- Partners for Public Education
- Emergency Campaign for America's Priorities
- The DC Vote Coalition
