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. Through this blog, CAPAF seeks to provide a forum that advances progressive ideas and policies.

ThinkProgress was voted “Best Liberal Blog” in the 2006 Weblog Awards and chosen as an Official Honoree in the 2009 Webby awards. It was also named best blog of 2008 by The Sidney Hillman Foundation, receiving an award for journalism excellence.

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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 ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report 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 published in The New York Times and Politico, and on the websites of Salon, The Daily Beast, the Columbia Journalism Review, the Guardian’s Comment is Free, The American Prospect, and In These Times. She has appeared as a guest on various television and radio shows, including MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann, BBC, Fox News, Fox Business Network, Voice of America, The Young Turks, and Al Jazeera, among others. (E-mail Amanda HERE.)

Matt Corley is Assistant Editor for ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report 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 ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report 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.

Ryan Powers is a Reporter/Blogger for ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report 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.

Nate Carlile is a Reporter/Blogger for ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Nate grew up in Columbus, Ohio and holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Ohio University and a master’s degree in Journalism from Syracuse. Nate previously worked as a legal business and regulatory reporter for Legal Times and as an internal reporter for the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.

Lee Fang is a Researcher for Progressive Media and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Lee is a lifelong resident of Prince George’s County, Maryland, and holds a B.A. in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park. Previously, Lee interned with ThinkProgress and worked as a researcher for Progressive Accountability. In college, Lee held internships with Media Matters for America, Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, and Westin Rinehart.

Victor Zapanta is a Researcher for Progressive Media and ThinkProgress.org at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Victor holds a B.A. in Technocultural Studies at the University of California at Davis. Prior to joining the center, he was a New Media Producer for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in Florida, and a war room researcher for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Victor has produced numerous viral web videos with over a million views that have earned coverage on national media outlets including The New York Times, CNN, NBC Nightly News, and The Drudge Report.

Ian Millhiser is a Legal Research Analyst for ThinkProgress.org. He received a B.A. in Philosophy from Kenyon College and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Duke University. Ian clerked for Judge Eric L. Clay of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and has worked as an attorney with the National Senior Citizens Law Center’s Federal Rights Project, and as Assistant Director for Communications with the American Constitution Society. His writings have appeared in a diversity of legal and mainstream publications, including The Guardian, Huffington Post and the Duke Law Journal; and he is a frequent radio and television commentator on legal issues.

The Wonk Room

Matthew Duss is a National Security Researcher/Blogger for ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report 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 Climate Researcher/Blogger for ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report 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 Health Care Researcher/Blogger for ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report 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.

Pat Garofalo is an Economics Researcher/Blogger for ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. He graduated in 2008 from Brandeis University with a bachelor’s degree in history. While at Brandeis, he was the editor-in-chief of The Brandeis Hoot, Brandeis’ community newspaper, and worked for the International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life. He has interned with ThinkProgress and the New Jersey Herald. Pat is originally from northern New Jersey.

Andrea Nill is an Immigration Researcher/Blogger for ThinkProgress.org and The Progress Report at the Center for American Progress Action Fund. Andrea holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in Political Science with a concentration in Latin American Studies and Law and Society. Prior to joining the center, Andrea was a Communications Associate at the Immigration Policy Center where she founded the blog, Immigration Impact. Andrea was also a Communications Specialist at the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), specializing in bilingual public relations. Andrea was born in Guatemala and grew-up in upstate New York.

Yglesias blog

Matthew Yglesias is a Fellow 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

Ben Bergmann, Duke University, ‘11: Ben is a rising junior at Duke University, majoring in Political Science and Theater Studies. He is a native of Gainesville, Florida.

Kyle Schmidt, University of Kansas ‘08: Kyle received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Kansas. He is currently pursuing his juris doctor from the University of Iowa College of Law. He is originally from Overland Park, KS.

Claire Teitelman, Mount Holyoke College, ‘11: Claire grew up in New Jersey and is currently pursuing bachelor degrees in history and English at Mount Holyoke College.

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