Andrea Batista Schlesinger
Executive Director
abs@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Since 2002, Andrea Batista Schlesinger has applied her background in public policy, politics and communications to lead the effort to turn the Drum Major Institute, originally founded by an advisor to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, into a progressive policy institute with national impact. During her tenure as Executive Director, DMI has released several important policy papers to national audiences; produced the only progressive analysis of the immigration debate addressing the concerns of the squeezed middle-class; created its Marketplace of Ideas series, which highlights successful progressive policies from across the country; launched two policy blogs that reach several thousand readers each day; and, launched a national program to connect college students from under-represented communities to careers in policy. Andrea has doubled DMI's staff, capacity and budget, making it a leading source for progressive ideas.

Andrea studied public policy at the University of Chicago. Before DMI, Andrea directed a national campaign to engage college students in the discussion on the future of Social Security for the Pew Charitable Trusts and served as the education advisor to Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer. She has been profiled in publications including the New York Times, New Yorker magazine, Latina Magazine and in 'Hear us Now,' an award-winning documentary about her tenure as the student member of the New York City Board of Education. In media outlets from NPR to The Huffington Post, Andrea is turned to for her forward-thinking analysis on America's greatest challenges. She has appeared on television shows including CNN’s 'Lou Dobbs Tonight' and has been published in publications including The Nation, New York Newsday, The Chicago Sun-Times, The Mississippi Sun Herald, New York Daily News, Alternet.com, Tom Paine.com, New York Sun, Colorlines Magazine, The Chief-Leader, and City Limits magazine. She was named a '40 under 40 Rising Star' by Crain's New York Business in 2007, a “Next Generation of Political Leaders in New York' by City Hall Newspaper, and received a LatinaPAC Dolores Huerta Award for 'making great strides in promoting progress in our community.' She serves on the Editorial Board of The Nation, and the boards of the Sadie Nash Leadership Project, WireTap and the Applied Research Center. Andrea has presented at numerous conferences, including Take Back America, Institute for Women's Policy Research, YearlyKos, and Facing Race. She was recently appointed by New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to the New York City Traffic Mitigation Congestion Commission. She grew up and currently lives in Brooklyn.

Amy Traub
Director of Research
atraub@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Amy Traub joined the staff of the Drum Major Institute at the beginning of 2005. A native of the Cleveland area, Amy is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Chicago. She received a graduate fellowship to study political science at Columbia University, where she earned her Masters degree in 2001 and completed coursework towards a Ph.D. Her studies focused on comparative political economy, political theory, and social movements. Funded by a field research grant from the Tinker Foundation, Amy conducted original research in Mexico City, exploring the development of the Mexican student movement. Before coming to the Drum Major Institute, Amy headed the research department of a major New York City labor union, where her efforts contributed to the resolution of strikes and successful union organizing campaigns by hundreds of working New Yorkers. She has also been active on the local political scene working with progressive elected officials. Amy resides in Manhattan Valley with her husband and amazing son.

Op-eds
Invisible Cities by Amy Traub, The Nation, March 24, 2008
Stimulus plan ignores the unemployed by Amy Traub, Saginaw News, February 24, 2008
Stimulus plan must aid the jobless by Amy Traub, Newark Star-Ledger, January 30, 2008
Backfiring Crackdown: DMI delivers testimony to U.S. Congressional staff members on immigration issues by Amy Traub, TomPaine.com, October 1, 2007
Don't brush off progress New York has made by Amy Traub, TimesUnion, July 1, 2007
Guest-Worker Caste System by Amy Traub, TomPaine.com, March 16, 2007

Letter to the Editor
Letter to the Editor: Illegals and Lost Wages by Amy Traub, The New York Sun, January 16, 2006

Position Papers and DMI.com Articles
DMI's Prepared Remarks: Congressional Staff Briefing on Immigration by Amy Traub, DMI, April 11, 2007
Testimony Before The New York City Council Committees on Immigration and Civil Rights by Amy Traub, DMI Web, March 29, 2006

Corinne Ramey
Communications Intern
cramey@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Corinne Ramey is currently an intern at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, in addition to working for MobileActive.org and doing freelance journalism around New York City. She graduated from Oberlin College in May of 2006 with a B.M. in viola performance and a B.A. in comparative literature with highest honors and minors in Spanish and politics. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Pi Kappa Lambda, and was a National Merit Scholar. While in college she was co-president of Oberlin Students in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (OSSGUA), a group that worked to help returned-refugee communities in rural Guatemala, and was a member of the Roosevelt Institution, a nationwide student-run think tank. In 2006, she was a Young People For Fellow, a program of the People for the American Way Foundation, and attended its fellows summit in Washington, D.C. She has also worked as full time reporter at the Elyria Chronicle Telegram, a newspaper in northeastern Ohio. When she is not working at DMI, writing, or reading copious amount of online news, Cory enjoys biking, being outdoors, and playing the viola.

Cristina Jimenez
Immigration Policy Intern
intern@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Cristina graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in Political Science and Business from Queens College in 2007. As an undergraduate, Cristina organized and created initiatives for the advancement of immigrant youth and minority students. During her senior year, Cristina designed and received funding for a mentorship program for immigrant high school students with the purpose of helping students successfully graduate from high school and attend college. In 2006, she received the Queens College's Student Activities Award.

Cristina is a founding member of the New York State Youth Leadership Council, a network of young advocates representing high schools, colleges, communities of faith and community-based organizations committed to promoting the advancement of immigrant youth through leadership development and advocacy. She has advocated for the passage of the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform for the past three years.

Cristina worked at the Latin American Integration Center, where she developed a youth curriculum focused on civic participation and immigrant communities, and engaged youth in voter mobilization efforts in Queens. She also became the Immigrant Rights Organizer, where she worked developing the power and leadership of immigrant communities in Queens for the passage of comprehensive immigration reform and pro-immigrant legislation.

Cristina has been profiled in the Daily News and El Diario, and quoted in the Daily News, Columbia Spectator, El Diario, and Hoy.

Harry Moroz
Research Associate
hmoroz@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Harry Moroz graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Chicago with a B.A. in Law, Letters and Society. At Chicago, he wrote his honors thesis on alternative voting systems, focusing on the impact that the cumulative vote had on the political behavior of Illinois state representatives and their constituents. While a student, he studied at the University of Seville where he researched the socioeconomic factors that influenced the development of democracy in Spain and wrote for a local paper. Harry studied Latin American media and immigration issues during a Koch fellowship in Washington D.C. and interned at the office of Senator Joseph Biden. In 2006, he participated in a colloquium in Guatemala that addressed the effects of economic liberalization on Latin America.

Op-eds
Our ignored cities by Harry Moroz, metro New York, May 6, 2008

John Petro
Policy Analyst, Urban Affairs
jpetro@drummajorinstitute.org
 
John Petro was born in Cape Coral, Florida and received his B.A. in political science from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. He continued his studies at Seton Hall University in New Jersey where he earned his Master's degree in international relations with a concentration in political and economic development. John then moved to Washington, DC for an internship at the U.S. Department of Commerce conducting research on the World Bank, IMF, the Export-Import Bank, and other international financial institutions. John remained in Washington to work for the Child Welfare League of America in the Research and Evaluation division where his research focused on best practice and emerging practice in the child welfare field.

Kaitlin McGovern
Development Intern
intern@drummajorinstitute.org
 
A native of Rhode Island, Kaitlin McGovern is a senior undergraduate at St. John’s University in Queens double majoring in Economics and Government. With an interest in third-world development and international affairs, Kaitlin has interned with US Senator Jack Reed and US Congressman James Langevin as well as the United Nations Association working to promote educational awareness for landmine removal and funding of education opportunities for AIDS orphans. Actively involved on campus, Kaitlin is Head Skull of the University’s Skull and Circle Society, a member of The President’s Society, a Student Ambassador, President of Pi Sigma Alpha Government and Politics National Honor Society, an Economics and Pre-Calculus tutor, as well as a former Senior Resident Assistant. After completing her undergraduate study, Kaitlin hopes to pursue a Master’s Degree in International Economics and enjoys both cooking and traveling in her spare time.

Kia Franklin
Civil Justice Fellow
kfranklin@drummajorinstitute.org
 
A native of Seattle, Washington, Kia C. Franklin graduated from Stanford University in 2003 with a B.A. in Political Science and African and African-American Studies. She wrote her Senior Honors Thesis on Youth Mobilization and Hip Hop, exploring the use of music as a cross-racial tool for civic engagement and coalition-building among Bay Area teens. After college she worked at two Seattle-area law firms, gaining exposure to civil and criminal litigation matters. Kia earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. She was active in the Black Law Students Association, the Total Knock-Out Mentoring Program, and the Just Praise Gospel Choir. She also participated in the Street Law Clinic and interned at the Public Education Network, exploring the intersection of law and policy in issues of educational equity. Kia devoted pro bono volunteer hours to various projects for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, the Center for American Progress, and other organizations. During her summers, Kia explored her interest in civil litigation while working at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP (Washington, DC) and Perkins Coie, LLP (Seattle). Kia is honored to join the Drum Major Institute as their 2007-2008 Civil Justice Fellow.

Letter to the Editor
The Injustice of Private Arbitration by Kia Franklin, The Washington Post, April 21, 2008

In the News
Paying It Back and Forward: Senate to Vote on Pay Discrimination Bill by Robert Knight, Public News Service, April 23, 2008

Position Papers and DMI.com Articles
Six Guiding Principles of a Pro-Civil Justice Presidential Platform by Kia Franklin, DMI, January 10, 2008

Lauren Su
Operations Manager
lsu@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Lauren Su joined the staff of the Drum Major Institute as the Operations Manager in January 2007. Prior to joining DMI, she worked in public relations at CNN. A native New Yorker, Lauren graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in Government, concentrating in Law and Society. In Washington D.C., Lauren worked as an outreach coordinator with the National Foundation for Women Legislators, an organization that strives to provide strategic resources and leadership development for women legislators on the local, state, and national levels.

Mark Winston Griffith
Senior Fellow, Economic Justice
mwgriffith@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Mark Winston Griffith is a community economic justice activist and journalist whose articles have appeared in dozens of publications including the New York Times, the Nation, the New York Daily News, the Village Voice, the Source, Spin magazine and Essence magazine. Mark is also a columnist with Gotham Gazette, a board member of Free Speech TV based in Denver Colorado, and a board member of City Futures, which includes City Limits magazine and the Center for an Urban Future.

From 2005 to 2007, Mark served as the co-director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, a leading economic justice advocacy group. Prior to that he served for twelve years as the founding Executive Director of the Central Brooklyn Partner­ship, a grassroots economic self-determination organization, and was the founding board chair of the Central Brooklyn Federal Credit Union.

Mark is a gradu­ate of Brown Universi­ty and received a Master's degree in contemporary literature from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria in 1988. Mark was also a Revson Fellow at Columbia Universi­ty, a Rockefeller Foundation’s Next Generation Leadership Fellow and an Open Society Institute (OSI) Community Fellow.

The Los Angeles Times’ Ron Brownstein called Mark a “fresh voice” on economic security policy. Mark was the recipient of the Union Square Award and has also received awards from Crain's New York Business, Black Enterprise magazines, Fortune Magazine and New York Magazine.

Op-eds
Griffith: Giving people a chance to keep their homes is sound public policy by Mark Winston Griffith, Austin-American Statesman, April 25, 2008
At tax time, avoid predatory lenders by Mark Winston Griffith, metro New York, April 10, 2008
The black church arrives on America's doorstep by Mark Winston Griffith, In The Fray Magazine, April 6, 2008
"I Am Barack Obama" by Mark Winston Griffith, Mother Jones, March 17, 2008
The Myth of the Risky Sub-Prime Borrower by Mark Winston Griffith, AlterNet.org, April 9, 2007
Middle-class Manhattanites: An endangered species by Mark Winston Griffith, amNewYork, September 13, 2006

In the News
America is changed, but falls short of Martin Luther King's vision of justice by Errol Louis, NY Daily News, March 30, 2008
DMI In the News: Subprime Crimes From Wall Street to Brooklyn and Beyond by Nicholas Jahr, The Brooklyn Rail, March 10, 2008
Possible Foreclosure Moratorium for New York by Robert Knight, Public News Service, January 7, 2008
Holiday loans = high-interest headaches by MSNBC Nightly News, MSNBC, December 18, 2006
DMI in the News: A Fresh Voice Sees the Downside of Bush's 'Ownership Society' by Ronald Brownstein, LA Times, May 2, 2005

Matthew Graham
Research Intern
intern@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Joining DMI in May 2007, Matt is also a project assistant at the Women of Color Policy Network, an organization working to end the invisibility of women of color in policy. He is part of the production of a forthcoming report on the status of young women, a qualitative study of workforce development programs, and a UNDP report applying the Human Development Index to the city’s neighborhoods.
Matt will graduate in May from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service with a Masters in Public Administration and a specialization in international public policy. His Capstone project is working with the burgeoning Near East Foundation on their participatory community development projects in the Middle East and Northern Africa.
After graduating from Pomona College in 2004, Matt lived in Minneapolis providing mental health services to children and families. Matt worked at the YWCA in their daycare as well as their Public Policy and Racial Justice department, where he was a part of coalition for fair, comprehensive immigration reform and another advocating for increased funding and access to childcare. Matt volunteered with the Minneapolis NAACP, and Keith Ellison for Congress.

Penny Abeywardena
Director of Strategic Relations
penny@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Prior to joining DMI Penny was the Development Program Officer at the Funding Exchange in New York. She has also worked in development and program areas for Human Rights Watch, the Fund for Global Human Rights and Doctors Without Borders. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 1999 with a BA in Political Science and minor in Business Administration. She completed her Master in International Affairs at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in 2004, where she studied economic and political development and non-profit management. Penny concurrently completed Columbia's Fundraising Management program. She was the editor of Rights News, an annual publication by Columbia's Center for the Study of Human Rights from 2004-2006. Penny serves on the Board of Directors of Sakhi for South Asian Women and previously served on the Board of Advisors for Resource Generation.

Tsedey Betru
Director of DMI Scholars
tbetru@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Prior to joining the Drum Major Institute, Tsedey was the Director of Administration for the New York City Center for Charter School Excellence, managing operations for a range of services that support New York City charter schools. She has provided research support to PolicyLink on their Equitable Development Toolkit, the Center for Social Inclusion¹s Diversity Advancement Initiative and the Living Cities Milano Collaborative for the Milano Graduate School for Management and Urban Policy. In addition to her work in nonprofit administration and research, Tsedey led national and local mobilization campaigns with young people for the Fannie Lou Hamer Project of the National Voting Rights Institute and the 7th Street McClymonds Neighborhood Improvement Initiative of the San Francisco Foundation. These campaigns aim to build the capacity of youth to become agents of change in their communities. She serves on the Coordinating Committee of The Grassroots Movement, a national grassroots advocacy organization. Originally from Ethiopia, Tsedey grew up in Memphis and currently resides in Manhattan. She has a B.S. in Urban Planning from Cornell University and a M.S. in Nonprofit Management from New School University.

Position Papers and DMI.com Articles
Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You, Ask How to Impact Policies that Impact You by Tsedey Betru, DMIBlog, January 11, 2007

Tyler McClelland
Research Intern
intern@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Tyler McClelland is currently an intern at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy. After spending three years at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY, Tyler moved to New York to study political science and history at Hunter College. Tyler has worked with local and state legislators in Kentucky to create representative positions for students and staff members on high school decision-making councils, having helped author an amendment to the Education Reform Act.

In 2003, Tyler was heavily involved in organizing and promoting the Boyd County High School Gay Straight Alliance which quickly became a nationally recognized group fighting for free speech and survival in rural northeastern Kentucky when a precedent-setting lawsuit was filed against the Boyd County School Board in Federal District court. As a senior member of the Governing Board for the group, Tyler has been quoted in the New York Times and the GSA was profiled and covered by USA Today, on The O’Reilly Factor, and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

For his leadership and outspoken advocacy, Tyler was awarded the ACLU’s National Youth Activist Award along with an Award of Recognition from the National Association for Multicultural Education. As a special guest at the ACLU’s first-ever national membership conference in Washington, D.C., Tyler worked with the Kentucky ACLU President and Executive Director in lobbying members of Congress to oppose Patriot Act II and repeal Patriot Act I. Tyler has served as a guest speaker and media darling on the subject of student and gay rights and has been a special guest judge in the Atlanta Pride annual parade.

Veronica Gonzalez
Administrative Associate
vgonzalez@drummajorinstitute.org
 
Veronica Gonzalez joined the staff at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy as the Administrative Associate in March 2008. Prior to joining the DMI staff, Veronica worked as the Administrative Coordinator for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a national, 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention service for those in suicidal or emotional crisis. As the Administrative Coordinator, she assisted the Project Director in designing and implementing all internal and external administrative procedures for the Lifeline. In June 2007, Veronica worked closely with the Lifeline’s Project Director, SAMHSA, the Lifeline’s funding agency, and the Department of Veteran Affairs to expand the Lifeline’s mission to include assistance for all current and former military personnel in crisis. While working at the Lifeline, she also volunteered as a Rape Crisis Advocate at Bellevue Hospital’s Rape Crisis Program assisting survivors through the emergency room experience. Veronica graduated from Boston University in 2000 with a BA in Psychology and is currently enrolled as a part-time graduate student at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Social Services. When not working at DMI or in school, Veronica enjoys spending her time sleeping, traveling with her husband, and developing her handmade jewelry and accessories business.