My summer reading recs!

It’s summer break time!!! Democracy Notes will be on vacation for the next two weeks (we’ll be after 8/10).

But before we go on vacation…summer reading! (And don’t worry, we’ve got all the jobs and philanthropy news you could dream of, below.)

In the spirit of the Harvard Ash Center summer reading lists we shared in last week’s edition, I thought I’d share my own (and some Democracy Notes lore).

Enjoy!

(From democracy land and beyond)

First up, a podcast episode, and a quick story.

In January 2024, I braved the Chicago cold to walk from my apartment to a coffee shop (shoutout to Dollop Coffee in Uptown).

On the walk, I listened to an episode of The Ezra Klein Show. As I remember it, the guest, Kyle Chayka (author of “Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture”), talked about the role of “curators” in shaping taste and culture in our algorithmic age.

After a few years of independent consulting in the democracy space, on that walk I had an “aha” moment. “Curator” could be my ikigai — the right role for me in democracy land, connecting people to information and to each other.

I got to the coffee shop and began writing the first edition of Democracy Notes. (I stand by my recs from that edition!)

• Last night I finished reading “The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America” by John Fabian Witt (link here).

  • I came across the book through HistPhil’s series on it which includes pieces by:

    • The book’s author, Freedom Together Foundation’s Deepak Bhargava, and Marguerite Casey Foundation’s Carmen Rojas.

  • The book is about the Garland Fund which supported:

    • The ACLU’s work on the Scopes Trial, the NAACP’s work that led to Brown v. Board of Education, A. Philip Randolph’s Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, and more.

• I just started reading “The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism” by Matthew Continetti (link here).

  • I’m only on chapter 2, but it’s interesting so far.

• I’m mid-way through “Managing to Change the World: The Nonprofit Manager’s Guide to Getting Results” by Alison Green and Jerry Hauser (link here).

  • It’s excellent. I highly recommend it to any and all nonprofit managers out there!

• Acquired. It’s. Just. So. Good.

  • Yes, the episodes are like 4 hours long, but the storytelling is awesome.

  • I’d recommend their episodes on sports leagues (the Indian Premier League one, in particular) and luxury brands (LVMH, Hermès).

    • I don’t like their interviews with CEOs.

• The Business of Content with Simon Owens. I’m a real nerd for the business of media.

  • I particularly loved the episode, “This print magazine is thriving by treating itself like a collector’s item.”

    • I have a huge crush on the idea that high-quality print products are the coolest place to be in media.

• I also really like The AMO Show from A Media Operator. (Lots of private equity jargon, though.)

• Last but not least, I’ve been getting back into football recently (watching, not playing…I don’t have a death wish).

  • The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny and The Athletic Football Show are both awesome.

Alright, did we like this? Should I do this again down the road?

As promised, jobs! Philanthropy news!

(And check out Aditi Juneja of Democracy 2076’s new piece in Democracy Notes Perspectives, “How firefighters and construction workers should work together.”)

($$$)

• OpenAI is doubling down on the American Journalism Project’s Product & AI Studio with an additional $5M investment and $3M in tech credits (over two years).

  • The initiative “enables nonprofit local news organizations to create AI-powered products and workflows.”

  • LinkedIn post from the AJP’s Sarabeth Berman here!

• Also in local news land, Knight Foundation announced a $5M investment in Village Media to help them launch 15 digital newsrooms in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Pennsylvania.

• Congratulations to:

  • The Pew Charitable Trusts’ new President and CEO William Foster!

    • He’ll assume the role on March 1, 2027, leaving his current role as Managing Partner at The Bridgespan Group.

  • The Ford Foundation’s new chair of its Board of Trustees Ursula Burns!

    • Burns was previously chairman and CEO of the Xerox Corporation and the first African American woman to head a Fortune 500 company.

• Brian Hooks, CEO of Stand Together & President of Charles Koch Foundation sat for an interview with Suffiyan Malik on his “We The Builders” show.

  • LinkedIn post from Brian Hooks here!

• With a $250K MacArthur Foundation grant, Wesleyan University is expanding its national, nonpartisan initiative, Democracy250.

  • The effort prepares “undergraduate students to do the practical work of democracy by supporting the systems that make free and fair elections possible.”

(Jobs, jobs, jobs!)

• Proportional Representation Hub (remote):

  • VP of Communications and Narrative Strategy — $185K-$285K

  • VP of Political Strategy and Outreach — $185K-$285K

  • VP of State and Local Campaigns — $185K-$285K

• Alliance for Higher Education Director of Policy and Stakeholder Organizing — remote, $150K-$180K

• Democracy House National Organizer, Stand for Campus Freedom — remote, $70K-$90K

• Protect Democracy (remote):

  • Payroll Specialist — $72K-$85K

  • IT Associate — $72K-$81K

• The Carter Center Georgia Observer Coordinator — Georgia, $350-$450/day (up to 22 days/month)

• Whistleblower Aid Chief Counsel — DC, $180K-$240K

• TechCongress (DC):

  • Managing Director — $210K-$225K

  • Vice President of Expansion — $165K-$195K

^ These orgs really want to reach great candidates in the Democracy Notes community! If you’d like to promote a role with us, our options are here!

• Center for Constitutional Rights Executive Director — NYC, $262K-$305K

  • LinkedIn post here!

• Civics Unplugged Program Coordinator — NYC or remote, $70K

• Essential Partners Communications Associate — remote, $70K-$75K

• Freedom House Manager, Events & Special Initiatives — DC, $89K-$100K

• The New York Times First Amendment Fellow — NYC, $125K

• Texas Civil Rights Project Legal Fellow (Voting Rights and Democracy) — Texas, $75K-$84K

  • Preference for candidates interested in living in the Rio Grande Valley or Dallas/ Fort Worth.

• Constructive Dialogue Institute VP of Strategic Communications — remote, $175K-$195K

• The Committee for the First Amendment:

  • Senior National Organizer — NY or LA, $95K-$115K

  • Content & Communications Specialist — remote, LA preferred, $80K-$90K

• Omidyar Network Associate, Programs and Policy — DC or SF, $84K-$117K

• When We All Vote Party at the Polls Digital Director — remote, $105K

• The Citizen Service Director of Development — Metuchen, NJ, $85K

• Data & Society Senior Researcher, AI Civics —  remote, $78K-$97K

• The Lenfest Institute for Journalism Central Texas Media Ecosystem Coordinator — Central Texas (Austin preferred), $2,500/month, 5-10 hours/week

(Where the movers are moving and the shakers are shaking)

• The SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University has a new director!

  • Congratulations to sociologist Ruth Braunstein!!

    • She succeeds Hahrie Han, the institute’s inaugural director who will remain on its faculty and that of Johns Hopkins' political science department.

• Mary Bennett Doty has joined ISD (Institute for Strategic Dialogue) as a Senior Threat Analyst!

• Greg Laski is now the Director of the Gallivan Program in Journalism, Ethics and Democracy at the University of Notre Dame!

• Jonathan Kealing is now the Executive Director of Investigative Reporters and Editors!

• Kate Malekoff has joined Work for America as their Chief Operating Officer!

• Daniela Guerrero Rodriguez is now Development and Marketing Manager at Rising Organizers!

• Michael Becker joined American University’s Polarization & Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL) as a Senior Researcher!

Submit your job transitions (or promotions!) here.

See you soon,

Gabe