Katie Andriulli
Communications and Outreach Manager

Katie comes to Campus Progress from the DC public relations firm Venture Communications, where she did media work for progressive nonprofits and for the 2008 Oscar winner for best documentary “Taxi to the Dark Side.” From 2005 to 2007, Katie was a Communications Associate at the Justice Project, a DC-based nonprofit that promotes fairness and accuracy in the criminal justice system. Katie is a 2005 graduate of Georgetown University, where she was editor-in-chief of the Georgetown Independent newspaper. She has also worked as an editorial intern in arts and entertainment at the Washington Post Express and as a promotions intern with Island Def Jam Records in New York. In her spare time, Katie can often be found dancing (badly) to 80s music.

Annika Carlson
Manager of Operations and Development

Annika graduated in 2007 from Hope College, where she received a B.A. with honors in English and Political Science. At Hope, she was involved in Student Congress, served as a student liaison to the Board of Trustees, protested lack of academic freedom, led the Women’s Issues Organization and wrote for the campus paper and literary magazine. She also worked as a research assistant, focusing on international food aid and anti-poverty strategies.

Pedro de la Torre III
Advocacy Senior Associate

Pedro de la Torre III has worked on improving college affordability and protecting the free exchange of ideas on campus at both the state and national level, and coordinates Campus Progress efforts on those issues. He has advocated on behalf of increased investment in higher education, restoring integrity to the financial aid system, improving protections for borrowers, increasing grant aid, and related issues. Before joining Campus Progress in 2005, Pedro was an active member of UT Watch, a student based watchdog group for the University of Texas. He was also involved in a bilingual voter registration drive as an employee of Proyecto Buena Vista. Pedro graduated with a B.A. in Sociology from University of Texas – Austin.

Michael Fisher
Online Communications Associate

Michael Fisher is the Online Communications Associate for Campus Progress. Michael comes to Campus Progress from Blue State Digital, where he planned and executed online social media strategy for non-profit and political clients. He recently graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a degree in American Studies. Michael spent time during college both at the Center for American Progress as an intern, and at Apple, where he helped local businesses better appreciate their Macs. In his spare time he can be found rock climbing and watching (and re-watching) episodes of The West Wing.

Sara Haile-Mariam
Communications and Outreach Associate

While earning her B.S. in Communications at New York University, Sara volunteered as a grassroots organizer, surrogate and out-of-state coordinator for the New York Obama campaign. Sara spoke on behalf of the campaign at rallies and town halls in New York City and on television, emphasizing the importance of young people’s participation in politics. Since the campaign, Sara has continued to write about youth activism, contributing to Global Grind and the Huffington Post. She also served as campaign coordinator for David Yassky’s campaign for New York City Comptroller.

Shereen Hall
Online Communications Manager

Before joining Campus Progress, Shereen was a Strategic Brand Management Coordinator for Depuy Orthopaedics, a Communications Fellow with Polaris Project, a freelance communications consultant and web designer, a Graphics Instructor at Ohio University, and an Intern with Senators Barbara Mikulski and Herb Kohl. Shereen also worked as a Youth Treatment Specialist in Indiana, where she taught independent living skills to teenage boys in a group home. Shereen received a B.A. from Lee University and an M.S. in journalism from Ohio University’s Scripps School of Journalism where she studied publications management and online journalism, and researched perceived media bias and media uses for mood management. While a graduate student, Shereen served as Web Designer for The Post, a student-run daily newspaper, and was a key online organizer in establishing a lindy hop dance community in Athens, Ohio.

David Halperin
Director, Campus Progress, and Senior Vice President, Center for American Progress

David joined the Center for American Progress in September 2004 to build Campus Progress, which was launched in February 2005. He previously was: a consultant and attorney, advising groups including Public Citizen, Greenpeace, and Democracy for America; senior policy advisor and speechwriter for Howard Dean's presidential campaign; founding executive director of the American Constitution Society; Special Assistant for National Security Affairs and speechwriter to President Bill Clinton ; fellow of the Harvard Law School Berkman Center for Internet & Society; legal and policy advisor to Ralph Nader; solo legal practitioner and legal associate to Professor Laurence Tribe; co-founder of Progressive Networks (now RealNetworks); counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee; law clerk to U.S. District Judge Gerhard Gesell; research assistant to Robert McNamara; and research analyst at the Arms Control Association. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, New York Times Magazine, The Nation, National Law Journal, Foreign Policy, Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, etc. He graduated from Yale College and Yale Law School.

Shani Hilton
Associate Editor

Prior to joining Campus Progress, Shani worked in the Office of Communications at Princeton University, where she started as a graphic designer. She later became a news writer and Princeton’s social media coordinator. Shani is a contributor to PostBourgie.com, and has written for The American Prospect and The Atlantic. She has also guest blogged for Ta-Nehisi Coates, Spencer Ackerman, and The American Prospect's TAPPED blog. Shani graduated from Howard University in 2006 with a B.A. in journalism, where she worked at The Hilltop as copy chief, section editor, page designer, and managing editor. Her likes include feminism, animals, animal-based foods, reading YA books for fun, and writers who surprise her. Her only notable dislikes are raisins, bananas, and racism.

Cord Jefferson
Contributing Editor, CampusProgress.org

Cord Jefferson is a staff writer at The Root and a former associate editor at CampusProgress.org. Cord has been a pro soccer player in Tijuana, a kidney donor in Saudi Arabia and left for dead in Italy. Throughout it all he's also done writing and editing for National Geographic, The Daily Beast, Huffington Post, The Root, Filter, GIANT and various other publications. His comedy writing has appeared on MTV, but he'll never tell you to what show he contributed. And though he received his degree in sociology from the College of William and Mary in 2004, he's only just recently gotten his father off his back about law school.

Paula-Raye O'Sullivan
Events Associate
Paula comes to Campus Progress from the Disney Event Group where she coordinated events for Disney Executives across the Walt Disney Company. She previously worked as a field representative on the Obama for America campaign as well as an Assistant Event Planner for Harvard Law School Events Office. During her undergraduate career at Harvard College, she contributed to campus social life through a slew of successful events aimed at promoting cultural understanding between Caribbean and African-American student populations and the greater campus community. Her passion for events extends to her personal activities, in which she serves as the Logistics Manager on the annual Taste of the Caribbean Summer Festival in Orlando, FL.

Angela Peoples
Advocacy and Policy Manager

Before joining the Campus Progress team, Angela was the Legislative Director of the United States Student Association (USSA), the country’s oldest, largest, and most inclusive student-run, student-led organization, focused on organizing and advocating for affordable and accessible higher education. As Legislative Director, Angela played a key role in campaigns to enact legislation to increase college access and affordability, including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act. She also supported grassroots voter registration and get out the vote efforts during the 2008 election in Michigan and Wisconsin. Angela is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a degree in Political Science and Africana Studies. As a student she also collaborated with universities across the state of Michigan to develop and institutionalize the Student Association of Michigan. Angela enjoys practicing bikram yoga, dancing and cooking for friends and family.

Kelley Peters
Special Assistant to the Director of Campus Progress

Kelley is a 2010 graduate of Michigan State University where she studied political science and gender studies. There, she volunteered for Michigan for Obama, as well as several state and mayoral races. Kelley also wrote and edited for The Pleiad, The State News, The Red Cedar Review, and the Young Democrats. She enjoys cooking, blogging, reading, and museums.

David Spett
Journalism Network Associate

David is a 2008 graduate of Northwestern University who's a bit embarrassed to admit he grew up in New Jersey. He comes to Campus Progress from Harrisburg, Pa., where he worked as a political reporter for a variety of newspapers and a web site. He enjoys journalism, politics, technology and going outdoors. Besides the members of Campus Progress' network, which are tied for his favorite publication, he enjoys the New York Times, the New Yorker and Gawker.

Kay Steiger
Editor, CampusProgress.org

Kay has written for The American Prospect, In These Times, The Guardian, Jezebel, and Bitch as well as guest blogged for TAPPED and The Atlantic. She was formerly an editorial assistant at The American Prospect. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in journalism.

Tobin Van Ostern
Network Associate

Tobin Van Ostern is the Network Associate for Campus Progress. Tobin is a recent graduate of The George Washington University where he received a B.A. in International Affairs. While in college, Tobin was the National Director of the student wing of the Obama for America campaign –Students for Barack Obama– as well as a National Co-Chair of the campaign. In this capacity, he helped lead Students for Barack Obama from its initial launch with twenty chapters to over 1,000 chapters nationally by Election Day in 2008. Tobin enjoys combining his interests in politics and technology in order to better engage young adults in the political process.

Vincent Villano
Events Associate

Vincent is a 2008 graduate of American University, where he studied Political Science and Education. As an undergraduate, Vincent focused on LGBT advocacy and education through his work with the American University GLBTA Resource Center recruiting and training students for the Rainbow Speakers Bureau. Most recently, Vincent interned with Renna Communications, a public interest communications firm that works exclusively with LGBT non-profits. As a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, Vincent has focused his research on social justice education, diversity, and intergroup relations. In his other life, Vincent is an avid Heroes fan despite its downward spiral in season 2. On the weekends, he can be found dancing in fine local institutions like the Black Cat and DC9.

Erica Williams
Senior Adviser

Erica Williams is the Deputy Director of Progress 2050, a project of the Center for American Progress that develops new ideas for an increasingly diverse America. Listed by Politico.com as one of Top 50 Politicos to Watch, she is the former Deputy Director and Policy Manager of Campus Progress, where she still serves as a senior advisor. While at Campus Progress, Erica led the staff and network of young Americans in advancing progressive policy with and for young people across the nation. Her advocacy work focused on economic mobility, equal opportunity, health care, and clean energy. Before joining the Center for American Progress, Erica worked at the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, coordinating grassroots activity in nearly 45 states to advance effective civil and human rights legislation at the federal level. She is a past participant of the American University Women and Political Leadership Training Program, a 2008 O Magazine Women Rule Leadership winner, and a 2008 Aspen Institute IDEAS fellow. Erica has appeared on CNN, C-Span, "The Tavis Smiley Show," "Focus Earth with Bob Woodruff," and the BBC, among others. She has been widely quoted in print publications such as U.S. News and World Report, The Washington Post, and The Nation.