At CPR, our Member Scholars are integral to our research and advocacy work, driving our organization to address some of the most pressing issues facing our country. As the climate crisis grows increasingly urgent, it’s no surprise that President Joe Biden has invited four CPR scholars — leaders in climate and energy justice, natural resources, and environmental law — to serve in his administration.

These scholars are on leave from CPR while serving in the administration. Below, we highlight their new appointments and past contributions to CPR.

Shalanda H. Baker, Secretarial Advisor on Equity, and Deputy Director for Energy Justice, U.S. Department of Energy

A leading expert in climate, energy, and justice, Baker is making history as the nation's first-ever deputy director for energy justice at the Energy Department. Her role as deputy director is to ensure that the burdens and benefits of energy projects are equitably …

As a progressive think tank, our mission is to leverage existing law and influence new policy to better protect people and our planet. To do this, we must understand and respond to the social movements of the day, with one foot immersed in the communities and lands we strive to protect and the other in government process and policy.

Alejandro Camacho, Sekita Grant, and Ajulo Othow are leaders in their respective fields, and they bring critical voices and perspectives to our organization. Among other experiences, they’ve worked with conservation and frontline communities on the West Coast, in Puerto Rico and in the Southeast. As CPR moves into its third decade, their rich set of experiences in and connections to the movements for good, effective governance and social justice are exactly what we need to move the needle of change forward.

Alejandro Camacho is a law professor …

Change is a natural phenomenon, though it is often met with resistance and skepticism. Women, who are responsible for countless social, cultural, political, scientific, and economic achievements that have shaped the world, have stood in the face of such resistance, particularly when confronted with unequal opportunity and rights. 

International Women’s Day celebrates the changes made by women and calls for action to accelerate women’s equality. This year, International Women’s Day notes that a challenged world is an alert world, and from challenge comes change. 

At the Center for Progressive Reform, the women on our staff “choose to challenge” existing norms so that we may create a just America that works for all people and our planet. Below, our women staff describe what motivates them to work for all Americans.

Maggie Dewane, Digital Media Manager — My mother worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs for …

As many of you know, I started as the Center for Progressive Reform's new executive director this month. I am thrilled to join CPR in this historic moment, to commit the next stage of my life to fight for the integrity and strength of our democracy, and to establish, as FDR said 90 years ago, "the purpose of government to see that not only the legitimate interests of the few are protected but that the welfare and rights of the many are conserved."

CPR's mission speaks to me personally. My own winding story saw me raised in the American South, defending refugees and human rights in Central America in the '80s, living in Cuba in the '90s, and, for the past 15 years, working at Oxfam to defend workers' rights and socially vulnerable communities in the United States. The fault lines of race and entitlement that …

Over the last six months, we had the honor of leading the search for a visionary new leader to guide our organization. Our search is over, and we're thrilled to announce that Minor Sinclair will be taking CPR's helm next month.

Sinclair is a dynamic leader with a commitment to the progressive values CPR has fought for over the last two decades: justice, equity, public health, safety, and environmental sustainability. He is uniquely qualified to guide our organization through this moment of social and political change.

A tireless advocate for justice, Sinclair has dedicated his career to supporting the rights of low-income and vulnerable communities. He also has management and fundraising experience, an ability to bring people together around progressive change, and an ambitious vision for CPR as it enters its third decade.

After earning a bachelor's degree in international development from Davidson College, Sinclair began his …

Seventeen years ago, I had lunch at a suburban diner with Rena Steinzor, then a stranger to me, now an old friend. She'd found me through a colleague at the Natural Resources Defense Council, who'd suggested to her that I might be able to work with her and the other founding members of what was then the Center for Progressive Regulation as they sought to add some media know-how to their fledgling organization. If you've ever met Rena, you might know that her full-court press is second only to LBJ's. I took the gig, coming on board as a consultant, and have been here ever since.

Today, I take my leave after 17 terrific years. During that time, the organization has grown to be a true player on the issues we care about, producing smart, hard-hitting, idea-rich reports that create powerful intellectual ammunition for the progressive …

As many of our allies and supporters know, CPR is now in the midst of a nationwide search for our next executive director. Earlier this month, with the start of the school year, Matt Shudtz left us to be a full-time parent of young home-bound children whose schools and daycare are restricted to virtual learning.

So, it's time for us to find new staff leadership. We're looking for a dynamic leader prepared to guide our nearly 20-year-old organization into its next stage of growth and impact. Since the days in the early aughts when you could squeeze all our Member Scholars and staff around a medium-sized conference table, we've grown to have more than 60 Member Scholars across the nation and a permanent staff of eight, all working virtually even before the pandemic. And, importantly, we've had and continue to have real impact on a number of …

Since the very beginning of the pandemic, public health officials have warned of a second wave of COVID infections. With no epidemiological background, I’d say the impact of the virus looks more like a wildfire rolling across a forest seeking fresh fuel. But I fear that I am on the front side of a different sort of second wave.

When the pandemic forced shutdowns across the country in March and April, millions of Americans lost their jobs. Some of us, myself included, were fortunate to work for organizations that have been able to weather the storm in a “virtual office.” But with September approaching, and schools forced to navigate uncharted waters, there are hard choices to be made.

My wife and I had to make one such choice not long ago, and as a result, I'm leaving the best job I've ever had.

I have two …