Ms. Ratcliff has been a mentor, presenter and organizer for programs encouraging minorities and girls to explore careers in math and science.
Combining a passion for bringing the best out of people and a keen interest in science and technology, she writes on the environment,
energy policy, human psychology and behavior, leadership, politics, and occasionally can be found rhapsodizing on what bird she just saw.
Laurie Spivak,
Fellow, has a background
in marketing and communications in the nonprofit sector. Ms. Spivak is currently a research associate examining nonprofit best practices for the UCLA Center for Civil Society, a research center devoted to the study of civil society, philanthropy, and nonprofit and grassroots organizations and movements. Ms. Spivak has had a number of articles published by the progressive, on-line magazine AlterNet, which have ranged in subject from pop culture pieces to in-depth policy critiques and have been posted on hundreds of web sites including Yahoo.news and TomPaine.com.
A 2000 - 2001 US-UK Fulbright Scholar, Ms. Spivak received the distinguished British American Chamber of Commerce Fulbright award to study public-private partnerships. With master’s degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science and the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research, she has an extensive understanding of public policy, economics, political science, and organizational theory.
Previously as a consultant with a strategic marketing firm working on public interest campaigns and the multi-million dollar Ford Foundation Corporate Involvement Initiative campaign, Ms. Spivak advised national nonprofit organizations on marketing, communications, and public relations. Throughout her career, she has created numerous marketing and communications strategies, plans, and materials for a variety of private, academic, and nonprofit entities.
Ms. Spivak has a long history of progressive public service and is currently a commissioner on the Los Angeles County Community Action Board. Part of the national network of Community Action Boards (CABs) established under President Johnson, these volunteer boards allocate federal funds to nonprofit and grassroots organizations that provide vital services to underserved individuals and families across America. She has also served on numerous nonprofit boards and committees.
Jon Gray, Associate,
is currently engaged in MBA studies at INSEAD, an
international business school in Fontainebleau, France. While at INSEAD, Mr. Gray is providing
periodic communiqués and moral support to his colleagues at Commonweal. Post-graduation, he
intends to return to the U.S., where he will apply the marketing, organizational, and
entrepreneurial fundamentals he acquired at INSEAD to the task of spreading the Progressive
movement. Previously a financial analyst at Symantec Corporation, Mr. Gray has volunteered in
local politics, as well as written for the Commonweal Institute's e-newsletter, Uncommon Denominator.
Mr. Gray received his B.A. in Mathematical Economics from Pitzer College, a member of the Claremont
Colleges in California.
Robert Dickinson,
Associate, is known for his leadership, management, communication, and technical skills
in working in grassroots organizing and legislative politics.
As Executive Vice President
of Californians for Electoral Reform, Mr. Dickinson drafted bill proposals, lined up
legislative sponsors, initiated a grassroots lobbying campaign, and set up a
houseparty-based public education and recruitment campaign. He is currently an independent
consultant with clients in both the political and technical arenas, and was one of the
developers of the interactive website for the Commonweal Institute’s Progressive Roundtable.
Mr. Dickinson has held Vice President positions at Novation Biosciences and Perspecta,
as well as managed software development teams at other Silicon Valley companies,
including 3Com, Apple, Taligent, and Excite@Home. He received a Bachelors degree in
Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Jeni Krencicki,
Associate, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California, Berkeley, where she studied
Political Science and Conservation and Resource Studies. Her political experience includes working
as an in-house consultant to Environment2004, coordinating the national environmental outreach for
the Gore 2000 campaign, serving as a Bessette-Kennedy Fellow in Public Policy with the California
Democratic Party, and working as a Conservation Organizer with the Sierra Club. She has been
identified as an “Emerging Progressive Leader” by Campaign for America’s Future and she currently
serves as a proud member of the “Inspiring America” team. Jeni is also the Founder and Chairperson
of Deep Roots Nepal, a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding the educational expenses of
orphans and financially disadvantaged rural students in Nepal.
Jeni is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Environmental Science at the Yale School of Forestry
and Environmental Studies. While at Yale, she has been busy creating and co-teaching the university’s
first course addressing the environmental impacts of war and militarization, as well as working
closely with classmate Dahvi Wilson on the “Progressive Synergy Project,” an effort to design an
innovative organizing model for increased collaboration within the Progressive movement.
Dahvi Wilson,
Associate, received her Master’s degree in Environmental Management from the Yale
School of
Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2007, where she focused her research on the development
of the modern progressive movement. She co-authored a thesis on this topic, seeking to develop
new solutions for encouraging strategic coordination within the progressive community. During
her time at Yale, she also served on the planning committee of the Next Generation Leadership
Retreat with the Center for Whole Communities, the planning committee of Inspiring America,
and the planning team of a Yale speaker series titled, "Shades of Green: Recognizing Diverse
Environmental Leaders." In August, 2007, she accepted a position as the Sustainability Director
of a green and community oriented development in Victor, Idaho, where she will help the village
earn its LEED Neighborhood Development certification and develop sustainability programs for the
community's residents. She is also working with Redefining Progress to organize a gathering of
progressive think tank leaders. Ms. Wilson graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brown University with a degree in Environmental Studies. Her other professional experience includes air quality planning and policy development with the California Air Resources Board, teaching and curriculum design with the Teton Science Schools, facilitation and leadership work with The Murie Center, and nearly ten years of guiding on wild rivers.
Paul Sheldon, Consultant,
is an Underwriting Consultant in the home office of California's State Workers' Compensation
Insurance Fund and also serves as private development consultant specializing in sustainability,
non-profit fund raising, board development, and philanthropic advising. He serves as Senior
Consultant with Natural Capitalism Solutions (www.natcapsolutions.org),
and teaches "Principles of Sustainable Management" and "Implementing Sustainable Business Practices"
at the Presidio School of Management (www.presidiomba.org).
In addition to supporting Commonweal Institute, he helped to organize the Rocky Mountain Institute,
the Los Angeles-based TreePeople, Friends of the Los Angeles River, and many other progressive
organizations, and has served as a motivational consultant to General Motors, Bank of America,
Muzak, and the City of Aspen, Colorado. Mr. Sheldon is a former Board member of Colorado Mountain
College, the City of Aspen Planning and Zoning Commission, the Aspen Lodging Association, and
several Chambers of Commerce in Colorado and California. Mr. Sheldon received B.A. and M.A. degrees
in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena, CA.
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while serving as its principal spokesperson, fundraiser, and community representative.
He brings to the Institute significant experience in non-profit management, along with a deep understanding of the role of religion in American culture and a history of engagement with progressive political causes.
served as editor of the Commonweal Institute’s newsletter, Uncommon Denominator, for five years. He is an Assistant Professor of English at the University of North Texas in Denton, TX, where he teaches American literature and culture. His academic research focuses on race relations, environmental philosophy, and visual culture. In addition to numerous articles on American literature, Dr. Finseth is the editor of The American Civil War: An Anthology of Essential Writings (Routledge, 2006) and the author of Shades of Green: Visions of Nature in the Literature of American Slavery (under contract, University of Georgia Press).
program "Network
Earth",
and served as a commentator on National Public Radio. He has
received an Emmy, four Tellys, and a Peabody nomination, among other
awards. He was Executive Producer of two first-ever global public
affairs television campaigns, for the United Nations Conferences on
Environment and on Population and Development. He served as
Environmental Staff Consultant to California Governor Edmund G. Brown
and on the staff of the California Energy Commission.
He has investigated and reported on the Right's ongoing 
Fight Strategy To Win Back America" (Rodale, 2006). He is a weekly commentator for Air America Radio's "The Sam
Seder Show," and a contributor to The Huffington Post. A graduate of Oberlin College with a BA in Politics, his
professional background is in media strategy. He has served as Deputy Communications Director for the women's
rights organization Legal Momentum (previously known as NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund), and worked for
the crisis and issues management firm Kamer-Singer & Associates.
