Fellows | Commonweal Institute

	Allison Arieff writes the By Design column for the New York Times and is Editor at Large for Sunset magazine. Previously Senior Content Lead at the global design and innovation firm IDEO, Arieff lectures and consults in the realms of architecture, sustainability and media. She was the Editor in Chief of the National Magazine-award winning magazine Dwell (and was a founding editor). She is author of the books Prefab and Trailer Travel, and has edited numerous books on art and design including Airstream: A History of the Land Yacht and Hatch Show Print: The History of a Great American Poster Shop. She received her BA in History from UCLA; her MA in Art History from UC Davis, and completed her PhD coursework in American Studies at New York University. Arieff lives in San Francisco.
	Chris Bowers is the founder and editor of Open Left, launched in July of 2007. Since March of 2006, he has been the Treasurer of BlogPac. From May 2004 through June 2007, he was the lead writer for MyDD.com. His writing and activist campaigns have appeared multiple times in every major national news outlet. He currently resides in Philadelphia.
	Brad Friedman is an award-winning investigative journalist/blogger, political commentator, broadcaster and the creator/publisher of The BRAD BLOG. He's also producer and co-host of the nationally syndicated radio feature, "Green News Report", and a frequent contributor to Huffington Post, Guardian (UK), ComputerWorld and elsewhere. His investigative coverage and expertise on issues of Election Integrity have earned him invitations to address the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) in D.C. and other governmental and non-governmental organizations. Brad is a frequent guest-host on radio programs such as the Mike Malloy Show, Randi Rhodes Show and a number of Pacifica Radio stations around the nation. He's a sought-after public speaker and often appears on TV and radio to discuss Election Reform, Media Failure, Public Corruption and Accountability. He is also featured in a number of recent documentary films highlighting his work, including: Patty Sharaf's Murder, Spies & Voting Lies: The Clint Curtis Story; David Earnhardt's Uncounted: The New Math of America's Elections; John Ennis' Free For All; Dorothy Fadiman's Stealing America: Vote-by-Vote; and Phil Donahue & Ellen Spiro's Body of War. His chapter on the illegal certification of e-voting machines in Nevada in 2004 (with Michael Richardson) was included in Mark Crispin Miller's 2008 book Loser Take All, and another, on Election 2008, was penned for Project Censored's upcoming 2009 book. Brad is also co-founder of the non-partisan watchdog organization VelvetRevolution.us
	Joanna Guldi, Fellow, is a historian of technology and landscape whose current work focuses on the relationship between infrastructure and society. She writes passionately about how government manages questions of responsibility for transport, trade, and public space, applying the context of state-building since 1650 to contemporary issues of infrastructure, politics, and the market. A graduate of Harvard College, she was a Gates Scholar at Trinity College, Cambridge, and holds a PhD in History from the University of California Berkeley. She has been a fellow at Dumbarton Oaks, the Huntington Library, the Yale Center for British Art, and the Paul Mellon Centre. She is currently the Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Digital History at the University of Chicago.
	Dave Johnson, researches and writes about corporate influence on democracy, and the activities of the “conservative movement” network of foundations and think tanks and the extent of their influence on American society. He has investigated and reported on the Right's ongoing attacks on public education and teacher unions and trial attorneys and the tort legal system. Dave is also a Senior Fellow with the Institute for the Renewal of the California Dream working on progressive messaging. He is a frequent public speaker, talk-radio personality and a leading participant in the progressive blogging community. He is the lead blogger at Seeing the Forest and Speak Out California and writes at other progressive outlets including MyDD, Huffington Post, DailyKos, AlterNet, BuzzFlash, Smirking Chimp, OpEd News and Common Dreams.
	Jill Richardson writes on sustainable food and agriculture policy. Food became an interest of hers after working in health care for several years and realizing that it makes no sense to try and fix our health care system if we are actively making ourselves sick with our food. She's the author of Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix it and she blogs on La Vida Locavore. Jill lives in San Diego with her three cats.
	Nezua Limon, is a filmmaker and a published author/artist who blogs regularly at The Unapologetic Mexican. He was recently employed by MTV News Street Team ‘08 after competing to represent the state of Oregon, and was originally trained in the field of Film and Television at New York University. In 2008, Nezua was selected to be a panel member of Online 100, “the first-ever survey of the top 100 online voices and bloggers tracking trends and attitudes heading toward the 2008 Election Day” (formed by Andrew Rawnsley, the Chief Political Commentator of The Observer). Nezua was also an officially credentialed blogger for both the 2008 DNC and RNC conventions, and has served as a speaker and consultant on New Media as it relates to immigration advocacy. He is a founding editor of The Sanctuary, an award winning site dedicated to human rights and progressive grassroots action.
	Michelle Mustonen is an education and policy consultant who lives in central Michigan. She holds degrees in biology, anthropology, divinity and comparative Semitic philology from the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago, where she did her doctoral work. She mastered seven ancient and modern languages with a focus on ancient Iraqi (Mesopotamian) religion and culture. She has also worked in health care, biological research laboratories, horse ranching, and her family's real estate business. Ms. Mustonen has a long history of progressive activism, with a focus on gay and women's rights. A "blogger" since 1999, she has sustained a strong interest in national politics focused on progressive policy. Her current priorities include the expansion of gay rights, drug legalization policy, and justice for the victims of the Iraq war. She is associated with several blogs, including Correntewire.com, Firedoglake.com, and the Agonist.com, where she has written under the name "Chicago Dyke." She lives in the Midwest.
	Mary Ratcliff is a senior editor and writer at both The Left Coaster and Pacific Views and writes a monthly column for the e-zine, Nebraska Vox-Populi. She is a long time supporter of the Commonweal Institute. Ms. Ratcliff has over 30 years of experience in the software industry and is currently a senior software development manager for a geographically diverse team in a large software company. Ms. Ratcliff has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Santa Clara University and a MS in Computer Science from Stanford. 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.
	Brad Reed has been following right-wing bloggers and media figures since 2003, when he found himself alternately transfixed and appalled by Fox News' coverage of the Iraq war. Since then, he has been writing regularly at Sadly, No!, a weblog that specializes in making satirical critiques of popular (and unpopular) right-wing figures. His work has appeared in AlterNet and the American Prospect Online.