Our Story
The American Economic Liberties Project launched in February 2020 to help translate the intellectual victories of the anti-monopoly movement into momentum towards concrete, wide-ranging policy changes that begin to address today’s crisis of concentrated economic power.
Economic Liberties is led by Sarah Miller, who served as the Deputy Director of the Open Markets Institute and has been recognized as “one of the primary architects of the modern antitrust movement.” As concern over concentrated economic power has broadened beyond the community of antitrust reformers, Economic Liberties has quickly grown into a hub for organizing a diverse set of leading policy experts and advocates in areas impacted by concentrated power, ranging from community development to national security to entrepreneurship.
Working together with a growing network of allies, we call on the government to re-assert essential policy tools — like aggressive investigatory agendas, robust antitrust enforcement, anti-corruption measures, corporate accountability, and a reinvigorated administrative state — to challenge monopolies’ dominance over markets and society.
Our Team
Steering Committee
Ross Baird
Ross is the founder and CEO of Blueprint Local, a new venture that aims to become the premier platform for people to invest in their communities, and the founder of Village Capital, a venture capital firm and incubator that supports impact-driven entrepreneurs.
Laura Campos
Laura is the Director of the Nathan Cummings Foundation’s Corporate and Political Accountability program. She has nearly two decades of experience engaging public corporations on topics with implications for climate change and inequality.
Brandi Collins-Dexter
Brandi is a member of the American Economic Liberties Project’s Board. She is also a visiting fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy and a senior fellow at Color Of Change. She is currently writing a book about Black participation in democracy and the U.S. economy, with particular focus on the role technology and information integrity play in improving or deteriorating community health.
Jay Himes
Jay is Co-Chair of Labaton Sucharow’s Antitrust and Competition Litigation Practice. Previously, he served as the Antitrust Bureau Chief in the New York Attorney General’s office, leading significant, high-profile antitrust investigations and enforcement actions.
Laleh Ispahani
Laleh is managing director of Open Society-U.S., where she oversees grant making, advocacy, and administrative work. Previously, she directed OSF-U.S.’s Democracy team and served as senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union.
Richard R. John
Richard is a Professor at the Columbia Journalism School, where he focuses on the history of business, technology, communications, and politics. He is a 2019 Guggenheim Foundation fellow, and has been a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D. C.
Ronald Newman
Ronald is the National Political Director at the American Civil Liberties Union, where he oversees policy, advocacy, organizing, and electoral programming. Previously, he served as the Director of Human Rights and Refugee Protection at the National Security Council.
Zephyr Teachout
Zephyr is an attorney, advocate, and Associate Professor at Fordham Law School. She is the author of two books, Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin’s Snuff Box to Citizens United and Break ‘Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom From Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money.
Lori Wallach
Lori is the director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch and a 25-year veteran of congressional trade battles. She was named to “Politico’s 50” list of thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American politics in 2016.
Staff & Fellows
Krista Brown
Senior Policy AnalystKrista researches and writes about policy at Economic Liberties, with a focus on technology, media, and finance. Previously, she served as a researcher at the Open Markets Institute and an analyst at Future\Perfect Ventures.
Matthew Jinoo Buck
Senior Policy AnalystMatt researches and writes about policy with a focus on antitrust enforcement. Previously, he served as a researcher at the Open Markets Institute and worked as a paralegal at the DOJ Antitrust Division. He has written for The Washington Monthly and The New York Times.
Elle Ekman
Senior National Security FellowElle Ekman guides Economic Liberties’ research on corporate concentration issues relating to national security policy. A Marine Corps Officer, Elle has submitted comments to the FTC to highlight how right to repair restrictions affect the military and has been published in the New York Times, The Marine Corps Gazette, and Proceedings.
Ben Elga
Senior FellowBen is an attorney and founding Executive Director of Justice Catalyst and Justice Catalyst Law, which pursues path-breaking approaches to social justice lawyering to improve the lives of those denied access to justice. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School.
Zach Freed
Advocacy and Outreach ManagerZach helps develop and execute Economic Liberties and Fight Corporate Monopolies’ advocacy efforts. Previously, Zach worked at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, researching anti-monopoly policies.
Pat Garofalo
Director of State and Local PolicyPat directs Economic Liberties’ policy advocacy and engagement with state and local stakeholders. An alum of the Center for American Progress, he is also the author of The Billionaire Boondoggle: How Our Politicians Let Corporations and Bigwigs Steal Our Money and Jobs.
Morgan Harper
Senior AdvisorMorgan leads Economic Liberties and Fight Corporate Monopolies’ advocacy efforts. She is a lawyer and, most recently, was a progressive candidate to represent Ohio’s Third Congressional District in Columbus, Ohio. Morgan holds an M.P.A. from Princeton and a J.D. from Stanford Law School.
Denise Hearn
Senior FellowDenise is a recognized leader in new economic thinking and the co-author of The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition, named one of the Financial Times’ Best Books of 2018 and endorsed by two Nobel Prize winners.
Nidhi Hegde
Director of Strategy & ProgramsNidhi develops Economic Liberties’ organizational strategy and programs and directs operations. She is a seasoned international development professional and an alum of the Open Markets Institute, the Monitor Group, FSG, and the Omidyar Network.
Sally Hubbard
Senior FellowSally is the Director of Enforcement at Open Markets Institute and advises Economic Liberties on antitrust law and enforcement with a focus on technology platforms. She previously served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Bureau of New York State.
Nia Johnson
Communications and Program AssociateNia supports the communications and senior leadership teams. Previously, Nia interned with the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, where she drafted and edited analyses relating to national healthcare spending, prescription drug pricing and healthcare mergers.
Lucas Kunce
Director of National Security PolicyLucas is an attorney and expert on the impact of financialization and consolidation on national security. He is a Marine veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and has worked as an International Negotiations Officer on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon.
Sarah Miller
Executive DirectorSarah guides Economic Liberties’ organizational strategy and is recognized as “one of the primary architects of the modern antitrust movement.” She is an alum of the Open Markets Institute, the Center for American Progress, and the U.S. Treasury Department.
Kalen Pruss
AdvisorKalen supports the execution of advocacy strategies at Economic Liberties. She has served as the Policy Director for the Democratic National Committee, as a Policy Advisor to the Clinton-Kaine transition team, and as a Special Assistant at the Department of Labor.
J.D. Scholten
Senior AdvisorJ.D. is a two time congressional candidate from Iowa’s 4th district who ran a creative, grassroots campaign that drew national attention to antimonopoly issues. A Sioux City native, J.D. attended college and played baseball at Morningside College and the University of Nebraska.
Robyn Shapiro
Director of CommunicationsRobyn drives communications strategy across digital and traditional media. Previously, Robyn was an Account Supervisor at BerlinRosen, where she supported communications work on policy issues including healthcare, the economy, energy, and the environment.
Reed Showalter
FellowReed researches and writes about policy with a focus on antitrust enforcement. Previously, Reed served as a Fellow to the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative law, assisting with its investigation into competition in digital markets.
Graham Steele
Senior FellowGraham advises Economic Liberties on policy matters involving financial institutions and markets. He is the Director of the Corporations and Society Initiative at Stanford Graduate School of Business and served as Minority Chief Counsel on the Senate Banking Committee.
Matt Stoller
Director of ResearchMatt is the author of the Simon and Schuster book Goliath: The Hundred Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy, called “one of the year’s best books on how to rethink capitalism and improve the economy.” He is a former advisor to the Senate Budget Committee.
Maureen “Moe” Tkacik
Senior FellowA former Wall Street Journal reporter, Moe has written for The Nation, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and Reuters. Her analysis of Boeing’s decline, “Crash Course: How Boeing’s Managerial Revolution Created the 737 Max Disaster,” was featured as The New Republic’s cover story.
David Toppelberg
FellowDavid contributes and advises on research projects relating to the pharmaceutical industry. He is also a researcher at UC Hastings’ Center for Innovation, where he leads projects on pharmaceutical market structure, authorized generics, and drug competition and innovation.
Olivia Webb
Senior Policy AnalystOlivia researches and writes about policy at Economic Liberties with a focus on health care and pharmaceuticals. Previously, she served as a researcher at the Open Markets Institute. Her writing has appeared in The American Prospect, BuzzFeed, and Current Affairs.
Kate Yeager
Communications and Program AssociateKate supports the communications and senior leadership teams. Previously, Kate was the Executive Assistant to the Campaign Manager for Bernie 2020, where she coordinated the campaign manager’s schedule and supported senior staff and other departments.
Careers
Learn about the latest opportunities to join the Economic Liberties team!