campaign finance reform, election reform, media and democracy
Background
Gary Kalman directs U.S. PIRG’s federal legislative office in Washington, D.C. From 2005 through 2007 he led the legislative advocacy and research for U.S. PIRG’s Democracy Program where he specialized in campaign finance, government accountability and election reform. During that time, he was a leading voice in fighting rollbacks to the nation’s campaign finance laws and in the successful effort to pass landmark reform of the Congressional ethics and lobbying laws. Mr. Kalman is the author of several reports on money and politics and has testified before Congress, presented at national conferences and has been quoted in and appeared on national and local media including The Washington Post, USA Today, Fox News and MSNBC.
Prior to joining U.S. PIRG, Mr. Kalman worked with a team of producers to develop the nationally syndicated NPR program, Justice Talking. In a partnership with the New York Times, NPR and the University of Pennsylvania, he led the development and design of Justice Learning, an award-winning Internet-based civics program recognized at the 2006 Webby Awards. He is a co-editor of The U.S. Constitution: What is Says, What it Means (Oxford University Press). A graduate of Clark University, Mr. Kalman has also served as Deputy Director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, a political campaign consultant and as an instructor at LaSalle University where he lectured on nonprofit advocacy and development.
