About CPAAt the Center for Political Accountability, our mission is — and will remain — to shine a light on corporate political spending, to continue to improve transparency and accountability, and to ensure that companies act in ways that are in accord with the values of their shareholders and the principles of our nation.Center for Political AccountabilityCPA_17a82b9a-611d-11eb-a22b-4fab0083ea00The Center for Political Accountability is a non-partisan, non-profit advocacy organization leading the only successful effort that is achieving corporate political disclosure and accountability. As a non-government organization (NGO), CPA works outside the political system.CorporationsHundreds of millions of dollars. That's how much corporations spend to back U.S. candidates and shape U.S. policy. A significant amount of this, coming from public companies, is undisclosed.American CitizensThis means that American citizens — and even shareholders — don't know which companies are influencing elections, how much they spend, or what the consequences are to this country. The lack of transparency — and the opportunities for bias, preferential treatment, and backroom deals — runs counter to the very concept of our democracy.Anthony KennedyIn the current political climate (and since the 2010 Citizens United decision), the issue of political accountability has become more important than ever. In that decision, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy championed disclosure, asserting that "Shareholders can determine whether their corporation’s political speech advances the corporation’s interest in making profits, and citizens can see whether elected officials are ‘in the pocket’ of so-called moneyed interests." Ironically, that same decision unintentionally opened the floodgate to the "dark money" that has since deluged our democratic process.ShareholdersCPA Board of DirectorsShelley AlpernMs. Alpern is director of corporate engagement at Rhia Ventures and has a deep background in socially responsible investing and shareholder engagement. She is secretary of the CPA board.Rebecca AvilaMs. Avila is assistant dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Social Sciences. Previously, she had been chief operating officer of the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands and served as executive director of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission from 1995 to 2000.Kevin BrennanMr. Brennan is the co-head of investment research analytics at Bridgewater Associates. Prior to joining Bridgewater, he worked as an actuary at the Equitable, as a management consultant at McKinsey and Company, and in the U.S. Treasury Department. Kevin received a BA in Mathematics and Economics from Binghamton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, graduating with distinction. He currently serves on the Investment Advisory Board of the Leadership Now Project and is a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.John Milton Cooper, Jr.Mr. Cooper is the Gordon Fox Professor Emeritus of American Institutions, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He serves as Chairman of the board. Bruce F. FreedMr. Freed is President of the Center for Political Accountability.Sam Fulwood IIIMr. Fulwood is a senior fellow for Politics and Elections at the Center for American Progress. He is also the former director and founder of American Progress’ Leadership Institute, a program to assist with the advancement of people of color in public policy. Previously, he had been a journalist, most recently with the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Los Angeles Times.Charles E. M. KolbMr. Kolb is the former President of the French-American Foundation. For 15 years, Kolb was President of the Committee for Economic Development. He served as a White House adviser under President George H.W. Bush. He is the Center's treasurer.William S. LauferMr. Laufer is the Julian Aresty Professor at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is Director of its Carol and Lawrence Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research. Lance LindblomMr. Lindblom is the retired President and CEO, and Trustee, of the Nathan Cummings Foundation. He also has served as a program officer for the Ford Foundation; as executive vice president of the Open Society Institute; as Visiting Fellow, International Human Rights Law Institute; and President and CEO, J. Roderick MacArthur Foundation.Morris PearlMr. Pearl was a managing director at BlackRock, one of the largest investment firms in the world. Prior to BlackRock, he had a long tenure on Wall Street where he invented some of the securitization technology connecting America’s capital markets to consumers in need of credit. He currently serves as Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires.Rona PeligalMs. Peligal is the Vice President for Development and Communications at the Fund for Global Human Rights. Prior to joining the Fund, she served as Vice President for Development at American Jewish World Service and had worked at Human Rights Watch.Daniel SimonMr. Simon is the Senior Advisor on issues involving money in politics, for Voices for Progress. He has consulted with numerous organizations and elected representatives on campaign finance reform, focusing on public campaign financing and disclosure of political expenditures, and is a member of NY LEAD, a bipartisan group supporting campaign finance reform in New York State.Emily TynesMs. Tynes is a consultant in strategic communications. She was formerly Communications Director of the national American Civil Liberties Union and was the first communications director for the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) — now NARAL Pro-Choice.Lawrence ZicklinMr. Zicklin is a former Chairman of the Board of investment management firm Neuberger Berman. He is currently a Clinical Professor at Stern School of Business at New York University and teaches courses in corporate governance and the management of a financial business at Stern.CPA StaffBruce F. FreedBruce F. Freed is president and co-founder of the Center for Political Accountability -- Mr. Freed is widely respected as one of the leading figures in the money and politics space. Under his leadership, CPA the produces the annual CPA-Zicklin Index, which benchmarks the S&P 500 companies on their political disclosure and accountability policies and practices, and TrackYourCompany.org, a searchable, sortable database on company political spending. He helped develop the Center’s innovative strategy of using corporate governance to address the risks companies face from political spending. As a result of CPA’s efforts, political disclosure and accountability is recognized as the norm.He draws on his long experience in journalism, on Capitol Hill, and in strategic public affairs. He speaks widely and co-authored major CPA reports including Collision Course and Conflicted Consequences, the first examinations of the heightened risks to companies of conflicted political spending. In addition, he co-authored The Conference Board Handbook on Corporate Political Activity and articles in the Harvard Business Review, Washington Post, Financial Times and Reuters.Mr. Freed has two adult children and lives in the Washington, D.C. suburbs with his wife and their West Highland White Terrier. He graduated from the University of Chicago and has an M.A. in American history from Brandeis University.Contact Bruce at bffreed@politicalaccountability.net or (202) 464-1570 ext. 102Karl SandstromKarl Sandstrom is the Center's counsel. In addition to being Of Counsel in the political law practice of Perkins Coie, he is an adjunct professor at American University's Washington College of Law and is a member of the advisory board of the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Previously, Mr. Sandstrom was a member of the Federal Election Commission from 1998 to 2002 where he also served as vice chair and was staff director of the U.S. House of Representatives elections subcommittee.Dan CarrollDan Carroll is the Center’s Vice President for Programs. Prior to joining the Center, Dan spent six years on Capitol Hill, advising a senior House member on campaign finance issues, the judiciary, and tax policy. Dan also tracked judicial nominations, researched and analyzed federal appellate court decisions, and created advocacy materials for a national non-profit advocacy organization, and served in the chambers of a federal magistrate judge. He earned a degree in Public Policy from Hamilton College and a J.D. from William & Mary Law School, where he was a fellow at the Institute of Bill of Rights Law.For inquiries regarding the CPA-Zicklin Index, please contact Dan at dcarroll@politicalaccountability.net or (202) 464-1570 ext. 103Donna G. ThomasDonna Thomas is the Center’s Vice President for Advancement and Operations. She has held several senior level development positions at Capitol Technology University, the China Institute and New York Law School. She received a doctorate in psychology from Tufts University and a B.A. and M.A. from Simmons College.Carlos HolguinCarlos Holguin is the Center’s Research Associate. He previously worked as an intern for the Center. A graduate of Bowdoin College, he was involved in researching various forms of racial and socio-economic inequality working under the direction of Professor Marcos López—a researcher of migrant laborers. He graduated cum laude with a BA in sociology and a minor in anthropology.Contact Carlos at cholguin@politicalaccountability.net or (202) 464-1570 ext. 100.Peter HardinPeter Hardin is a writer and editor for the Center. He previously worked as a journalist for more than 30 years, including 15 years as Washington correspondent for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, covering Congress and the executive branch. Hardin was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his investigative series on eugenics and its history in Virginia. He has written for a range of non-profit groups including the Center and several health advocacy organizations.Andrew FeldmanAndrew Feldman is a communications strategist for the Center. In 2015, he was recognized for his work and named a “Rising Star” by Campaigns and Elections Magazine - a prestigious honor for up-and-coming political professionals.Ben BeckerBen Becker is the Center’s Werner Brandt Research Fellow. The position was created to honor the late long-time aide to House Speaker Thomas Foley. An incoming senior at Colgate University, Ben is a double major in Political Science and Computer Science and started at CPA as an intern in the spring of 2019. He became an integral part of the Center’s groundbreaking 527 Mapping Project where he helped create research methodologies and collect data on contributions to and spending by political groups known as 527 committees over the past decade.Shareholders determine whether corporate political speech advances their interests_17a82d5c-611d-11eb-a22b-4fab0083ea00To achieve corporate political disclosure and accountability_17a82e38-611d-11eb-a22b-4fab0083ea00TransparencyAccountabilityPolitical SpendingShine a light on corporate political spending_17a82f0a-611d-11eb-a22b-4fab0083ea001DatabaseBuild and maintain the TrackYourCompany.org database, which includes undisclosed company spending and profiles, available to the public and the press._17a82fd2-611d-11eb-a22b-4fab0083ea001.1The PressThe PublicTransparency & AccountabilityImprove transparency and accountability_17a830b8-611d-11eb-a22b-4fab0083ea002Business ValueDemonstrate the business value of spending transparency_17a83194-611d-11eb-a22b-4fab0083ea002.1CompaniesWith prospects nil for legislative or regulatory fixes nationally, CPA has developed an innovative strategy that enlists the cooperation of companies themselves by demonstrating the business value of spending transparency.Since 2003, CPA has achieved unparalleled success in making disclosure and accountability the norm by:BenchmarkingPublish the annual CPA-Zicklin Index, which benchmarks S&P 500 companies, and is the only index of its kind._f941f000-6185-11eb-ae29-b2001783ea002.1.1S&P 500 CompaniesEducationEducate companies on how voluntary disclosure and spending oversight can help them manage risk for both company and shareholders._f941f154-6185-11eb-ae29-b2001783ea002.1.2Leadership, Guidance & ExpertiseProvide ongoing thought leadership, guidance and expertise to the press._f941f24e-6185-11eb-ae29-b2001783ea002.1.3The PressNew York TimesWashington PostWall Street JournalThe GuardianFORTUNEValues & PrinciplesEnsure that companies act in ways that are in accord with the values of their shareholders and the principles of our nation_17a83266-611d-11eb-a22b-4fab0083ea003CompaniesShareholdersUnited StatesOversightHelp companies move beyond disclosure to actual change in conjunction with robust board oversight._17a83342-611d-11eb-a22b-4fab0083ea003.1CompaniesCorporate BoardsPoliciesSpearhead new efforts that ensure companies follow-through with their evolved policies, especially as they relate to — or collide with —their brand and publicly stated core values and policies._17a83496-611d-11eb-a22b-4fab0083ea003.2DisclosureContinue to push for adoption of the CPA-initiated Securities and Exchange Commission rule to require public companies to disclose their political spending with corporate funds._17a8357c-611d-11eb-a22b-4fab0083ea003.3Securities and Exchange CommissionPublic Companies2021-01-28https://politicalaccountability.net/about/about-usOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net