Think Progress

Think Progress is a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. The Center for American Progress Action Fund is a nonpartisan organization. With the blog, CAPAF seeks to provide a forum that advances progressive ideas and policies.

ThinkProgress was voted “Best Liberal Blog” in the 2006 Weblog Awards. It was also named best blog of 2008 by The Sidney Hillman Foundation, receiving an award for journalism excellence.

Editor

Faiz Shakir is the Research Director at the Center for American Progress and serves as Editor-in-Chief of ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report. He holds a B.A. degree in Government from Harvard University and a J.D. degree from the Georgetown Law Center. Faiz has previously worked as a Research Associate for the Democratic National Committee, as a Legislative Aide to Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL) on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and as a communications aide in the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. His writings have appeared in the Jerusalem Post, Florida Today, and Salon. Faiz has appeared on CNN, Fox News, and CNBC television, among other places, and has been a guest on many radio shows. (E-mail Faiz HERE.)

Staff

Amanda Terkel is Deputy Research Director at the Center for American Progress and serves as Managing Editor for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress. Amanda also served as the Center’s Special Assistant for Strategic Planning. Her past positions have been with the Office of Senator Charles E. Schumer, the Office of the New York State Attorney General, the 2004 presidential campaign of Senator Joseph Lieberman, and the Office of the Inspector General in the Office of Personnel Management. She graduated from Colgate University. Her writing has been in The New York Times, Politico, the Guardian, American Prospect Online, and InTheseTimes.com, and she has appeared as a guest on various television and radio shows, including MSNBC, BBC, and Al Jazeera, among others. (E-mail Amanda HERE.)

Satyam Khanna is Assistant Editor for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Satyam holds a B.A. in Biology and Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis. Prior to joining the Center, he worked as a field organizer for Jeff Smith’s Missouri Senate campaign and a researcher for Claire McCaskill’s US Senate race, both in St. Louis. He is also an alumnus of the Washington Leadership Program of the Indian-American Center for Political Awareness. Satyam hails from Edmond, Oklahoma.

Matt Corley is Assistant Editor for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Matt holds a bachelor’s degree in politics from Ithaca College. Prior to joining the center, he was a research intern for TPM Media and a blogger for Wiretap Magazine. While at Ithaca College, he edited the News and Views section of Buzzsaw Haircut, Campus Progress’ 2006 “Publication of the Year.” Matt hails from Newton, Massachusetts.

Benjamin J. Armbruster is Assistant Editor for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Ben grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Ohio University and a master’s degree in international relations from King’s College London. Ben previously served as a national security research assistant at the Center for American Progress and has also held research positions at Media Matters for America; the Henry L. Stimson Center; and the Verification Research, Training and Information Centre in London. His work has been published in online and print outlets as well as various international security journals.

Ali Frick is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. She grew up in Denver, Colorado, and holds a B.A. in History from Yale. Before joining ThinkProgress, Ali interned with the D.C. Prisoners’ Project at the Washington Lawyers’ Committee. At Yale, she worked as a writer and editor at The Yale Herald, a weekly campus newspaper.

Ryan Powers is a Research Assistant for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Ryan grew up in Warrenton, VA, and holds a B.A. in Government from the College of William and Mary. Previously, Ryan interned with ThinkProgress and held research assistanships at the Institute for the Theory and Practice of International Relations and the Global Environmental Governance Project. In college, Ryan served as the Online Design Editor for his campus newspaper, The DoG Street Journal, and founded BodyPolitik.org.

The Wonk Room

Matthew Duss is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and The Wonk Room at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Matthew holds a master’s degree in Middle East Studies from the University of Washington. Prior to joining the center, he was a research intern for the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a blogger for The American Prospect. Matthew grew up in Nyack, New York.

Brad Johnson is a Research Associate for The Progress Report and The Wonk Room at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Brad holds a bachelor’s degree in math and physics from Amherst College and master’s degree in geosciences from the Massachusetts Institute for Technology. He is the co-author of Technomanifestos and the founder of HillHeat.com. Prior to joining the Center, he worked as a developer for Saatchi & Saatchi, Lextranet, and the Democratic National Committee. Brad grew up in Boston, Massachusetts.

Igor Volsky is a Research Assistant for The Progress Report and The Wonk Room at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, focusing on health care issues. Igor majored in history at Marist College where he also hosted his own political radio show and contributed political columns to the school newspaper. Prior to joining the Center, Igor blogged at BodyPolitik.org and interned with ThinkProgress, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), and the Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College. Igor grew up in Russia, Israel, and New Jersey.

Yglesias blog

Matthew Yglesias is Senior Editor at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Harvard University. His first book, Heads in the Sand, was published in May 2008 by Wiley. Matt has previously worked as an Associate Editor at The Atlantic, a Staff Writer at The American Prospect, and an Associate Editor at Talking Points Memo. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, the Guardian, Slate, The Washington Monthly, and other publications. Matthew has appeared on Fox News and MSNBC, and been a guest on many radio shows.

Interns

Pat Garofalo, Brandeis University, ‘08: Pat is an intern for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. He graduated in 2008 from Brandeis University with a bachelor’s degree in history and journalism. While at Brandeis he was the editor-in-chief of The Brandeis Hoot, Brandeis’ community newspaper; he also interned with the New Jersey Herald. Pat is originally from northern New Jersey.

Photos of Amanda and Faiz by: Scott Rex Ely
Photos of Satyam and Matt by: Ralph Alswang