U.S. PIRG Education Fund Staff

Gary Kalman directs U.S. PIRG Education Fund's federal policy office in Washington, D.C. From 2005 through 2007 he led the research and education programs for U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s Democracy Program where he specialized in campaign finance, government accountability and election reform. During that time, he was a leading voice to strengthen ethics practices in government. His research was required reading for members of the House’s special task force on ethics. In 2009, Mr. Kalman was a founding member of Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of more than 250 state and local organizations that, in the wake of the economic crisis, led efforts to educate and inform policymakers and the public about the causes of the crisis and potential responses.  He is the author of several reports on money and politics and government accountability. He has been invited to brief policymakers on numerous occasions on issues ranging from campaign finance reform to deficit reduction and he and his work have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Today, Fox News, MSNBC and elsewhere.

Prior to joining U.S. PIRG Education Fund, 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 a political campaign and organizational consultant and as an instructor at LaSalle University where he lectured on nonprofit advocacy and development.