New America (organization)#Open Technology Institute

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New America was founded in 1999 by Ted Halstead, Sherle Schwenninger, Michael Lind, and Walter Russell Mead as the New America Foundation.{{Cite press release |last=Slaughter |first=Anne-Marie |author-link=Anne-Marie Slaughter |date=2020-09-09 |title=A Tribute to Ted Halstead |url=http://newamerica.org/new-america/press-releases/tribute-ted-halstead/ |access-date=2021-09-23|publisher=New America}} The organization is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and also has offices in Oakland, California and Chicago, Illinois.{{Cite web|title=New America (New America Foundation)|url=https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/new-america-foundation/|access-date=2021-09-23|website=influencewatch.org|publisher=Capital Research Center}}

Ted Halstead served as New America's founding president and CEO from 1999 to 2007.{{Cite news |last1=Morin |first1=Richard |last2=Deane |first2=Claudia |date= 2001-12-10 |title= Big Thinker. Ted Halstead's New America Foundation Has It All: Money, Brains and Buzz |department=Style Section | url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2001/12/10/big-thinker/fd1eb0d8-2cc8-4653-b2c5-d1b0b4e6ebab/| newspaper = The Washington Post | page =1}} Steve Coll served as New America's second president,{{cite news |last1=Weil|first1=Martin|last2=Silverman|first2=Elissa|title=Author, Ex-Post Editor To Head D.C. Think Tank |newspaper=The Washington Post|date=July 23, 2007}} before being succeeded by Anne-Marie Slaughter in 2013.{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=Patricia |date=2013-04-02 |title=New America Foundation Naming Anne-Marie Slaughter as President |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/02/new-america-foundation-close-to-naming-anne-marie-slaughter-as-president/ |access-date=2023-05-22 |website=ArtsBeat |language=en}}

On June 27, 2017, Barry C. Lynn, the director of the anti-monopoly Open Markets program at New America, issued a statement, criticizing Google, one of the organization's main sponsors. On August 30, 2017, it became known that Lynn was fired, and the Open Markets program was closed.{{Cite web |last=Dayen |first=David |authorlink=David Dayen|date=2017-09-01|title=New Think Tank Emails Show 'How Google Wields Its Power' in Washington |url=https://theintercept.com/2017/08/31/new-america-google-open-markets-barry-lynn-anne-marie-slaughter/ |access-date=2021-09-23 |website=The Intercept|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|last1=Biddle|first1=Sam|last2=Dayen|first2=David|authorlink2=David Dayen|date=2017-08-30|title=Google-Funded Think Tank Fired Google Critics After They Dared Criticize Google|url=https://theintercept.com/2017/08/30/google-funded-think-tank-fired-google-critics-after-they-dared-criticize-google/ |access-date=2021-09-23|website=The Intercept|language=en-US}} According to The New York Times, New America did it to please Google.{{cite web|last1=Slaughter|first1=Anne-Marie|author-link=Anne-Marie Slaughter|date=2017-08-30|title=New America's Response to The New York Times |url=https://www.newamerica.org/new-america/press-releases/new-americas-response-new-york-times/ |access-date=30 August 2017 |publisher=New America}} In response to the decision to fire Lynn and his team, 25 former and current employees of the think tank signed a letter expressing concern about the extent to which sponsors are influencing New America's work.{{Cite news|last=Vogel|first=Kenneth P.|date=2017-09-01|title=New America, a Google-Funded Think Tank, Faces Backlash for Firing a Google Critic|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/us/politics/anne-marie-slaughter-new-america-google.html |access-date=2021-09-23|issn=0362-4331}}

File:Anne-Marie_Slaughter_(34586435714)_(cropped).jpg, CEO of New America]]

Google reportedly made New America take this action because the researchers, including prominent young competition law scholar Lina Khan,{{cite news |last1=Meyer |first1=Robinson |title=How to Fight Amazon (Before You Turn 29) |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/07/lina-khan-antitrust/561743/ |access-date=8 September 2018 |work=The Atlantic |date=12 June 2018}} had lauded the EU's antitrust ruling against Google.{{cite web |last=Rushe |first=Dominic|title=Google-funded thinktank fired scholar over criticism of tech firm |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/30/new-america-foundation-google-funding-firings |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=August 30, 2017|date=August 30, 2017}} New America's president Anne-Marie Slaughter denied the allegations of improper influence by Google.{{cite web|last=Vogel|first=Kenneth|title=Google Critic Ousted From Think Tank Funded by the Tech Giant|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/30/us/politics/eric-schmidt-google-new-america.html |newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=August 30, 2017|date=August 30, 2017}}

The foundation's Economic Growth Program, directed by New America co-founders Sherle Schwenninger and Michael Lind, aims to take a policy look at America and the world's economic problems. In 2011, the program commissioned a paper "The Way Forward: Moving From the Post-Bubble, Post-Bust Economy to Renewed Growth and Competitiveness".{{cite news |last=Nocera|first=Joe|title=This Time, It Really Is Different |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/opinion/this-time-it-really-is-different.html|access-date=18 December 2014|newspaper=New York Times|date=2011-10-10}}

Maya MacGuineas, who has worked at the Brookings Institution as well as on Wall Street, led the committee and now leads Fix the Debt. After advising politicians from both parties, she serves as a trusted mediator on budget talks between Democrats and Republicans.{{cite news|last=Brady|first=Jessica|title=Maya MacGuineas in High Demand During Fiscal Debate|url=http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_59/Maya-MacGuineas-in-High-Demand-During-Fiscal-Debate-210293-1.html|access-date=18 December 2014|newspaper=Roll Call|date=2011-11-15}} In addition, in 2010, the committee's policy director, Marc Goldwein, joined President Obama's bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/05/obamas-fiscal-commission_n_565121.html | title=Obama's Fiscal Commission: What's Going On In There? | last=Froomkin | first=Dan | date=6 December 2017 | website=HuffPost | access-date=2 August 2018 }}

In 2002, Newsweek{{'}}s Howard Fineman called New America a "hive of state-of-the-art policy entrepreneurship".{{cite web|last=Fineman|first=Howard|date=12 November 2002|title=Living Politics: Election Gave '04 Brokers More Clout|url=https://www.newsweek.com/living-politics-election-gave-04-brokers-more-clout-142057|access-date=2 August 2018|website=Newsweek}} New America has been characterized as "liberal" by the Pacific Standard online magazine,{{Cite web|last=Gunn|first=Dwyer|title=Betsy DeVos Is Right, the U.S. Should Rethink Higher Ed—Just Not the Way She Wants To|url=https://psmag.com/education/betsy-devos-is-right-the-us-should-rethink-higher-ed-just-not-the-way-she-wants-to|access-date=2019-01-31|website=Pacific Standard|date=January 31, 2019 |language=en}} "left-leaning" by The Washington Post,{{Cite news|last=Nakamura|first=David|date=10 January 2019|title='The story keeps changing': Trump falsely asserts he never promised Mexico would directly pay for the border wall|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-story-keeps-changing-trump-falsely-asserts-he-never-promised-mexico-would-directly-pay-for-the-border-wall/2019/01/10/92ffee8e-14f5-11e9-90a8-136fa44b80ba_story.html|newspaper=The Washington Post}} and "left-of-center" by the Capital Research Center organization.

{{Distinguish|Open Technology Fund|section=TRUE}}The Open Technology Institute (OTI) is the technology program of the New America Foundation. OTI formulates policy and regulatory reforms to support open architectures and open-source innovations and facilitates the development and implementation of open technologies and communications networks.{{Cite web |title=New America Foundation Launches Open Technology Institute |url=https://sctdv.net/new-america-foundation-launches-open-technology-institute/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=SCTDV |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Comments of Public Knowledge and Open Technology Institute at New America |url=https://publicknowledge.org/policy/comments-of-public-knowledge-and-open-technology-institute-at-new-america/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Public Knowledge |language=en-US}}

{{main|Commotion Wireless}}

Commotion Wireless is an open source "device-as-infrastructure" communication platform that integrates users' existing cell phones, Wi-Fi-enabled computers, and other wireless-capable devices to create community- and metro-scale, peer-to-peer communications networks.{{Cite news |last=Burkeman |first=Oliver |date=2012-04-15 |title=Inside Washington's high risk mission to beat web censors |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/apr/15/commotion-wireless-new-america-foundation |access-date=2025-02-28 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} The project has been described as the "Internet in a Suitcase" by The New York Times.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/world/12internet.html |title=U.S. Underwrites Internet Detour Around Censors|author=James Glanz and John Markoff|date=June 12, 2011|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=August 8, 2011}}

{{main|Red Hook Wi-Fi}}

Founded in 2011 through a collaboration with OTI and Commotion Wireless, Red Hook Wi-Fi is a mesh network which services residents of Red Hook, Brooklyn, in New York City. The Wi-Fi network reached prominence in 2012, when Hurricane Sandy shut down many internet and communication systems throughout the city, but Red Hook remained connected through its mesh network.{{cite web |title=United States of America Global Information Society Watch |url=https://www.giswatch.org/en/country-report/infrastructure/united-states-america |website=www.giswatch.org |access-date=15 April 2019}}{{cite web |title=Rising to the Challenge: Red Hook Initiative |url=https://www.nycedc.com/blog-entry/rising-challenge-red-hook-initiative |website=NYCEDC |language=en}}

As of 2024, the New America had net assets of $56,424,720. Top donors to the organization have included the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation.{{cite web |title=Our Funding |url=https://www.newamerica.org/our-funding/ |website=New America |access-date=25 December 2024}}{{Cite web |title=New America Foundation - MacArthur Foundation |url=https://www.macfound.org/grantee/new-america-foundation-23754/ |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=www.macfound.org}}{{Cite web |last=Carnegie Corporation of New York |title=New America Foundation {{!}} Carnegie Corporation of New York |url=https://www.carnegie.org/grants/grants-database/grantee/new-america-foundation/#!/grants/grants-database/grant/741575344.0/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20210926062533/https://www.carnegie.org/grants/grants-database/grantee/new-america-foundation/ |archive-date=2021-09-26 |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Carnegie Corporation of New York |language=en}}

As of 2020:{{cite web |url=https://www.newamerica.org/board/ |title=Board of Directors |publisher=New America |access-date=13 February 2020}}

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• Helene D. Gayle; Chicago Community Trust, President and Chief Executive Officer
• William W. Gerrity, Treasurer; Gerrity Group, Chief Executive Officer
• Anne-Marie Slaughter, Chief Executive Officer
• Robert J. Abernethy; American Standard Development Company, Chairman
• David G. Bradley, Secretary; Atlantic Media, Chairman
• David Brooks; The New York Times, op-ed columnist
• Maxine Clark; Build-A-Bear Workshop, Founder
• Michael M. Crow; Arizona State University, President
• R. Boykin Curry; Eagle Capital, Partner
• James Fallows; The Atlantic, National Correspondent
• Tom Freston; Firefly3 LLC, Principal
• Atul Gawande; Harvard Medical School and School of Public Health, Professor
• Katherine Gehl; Venn Innovations, Founder
• Reid Hoffman; LinkedIn, Co-Founder
• Zachary Karabell; River Twice Research, President
• Ashton Kutcher; A-Grade Investments, Co-Founder
• Walter Russell Mead; Foreign Affairs & Humanities, Bard College, James Clarke Chace Professor
• Mona Mourshed; Global Social Responsibility and McKinsey & Company, Senior Partner & Head
• Sally R. Osberg; Camfed USA, Chair
• Ashley Swearengin; Central Valley Community Foundation, President and Chief Executive Officer
• Fareed Zakaria; Fareed Zakaria GPS and CNN, Host; The Washington Post, columnist

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{{Commons category|New America}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|522096845}}

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Category:1999 establishments in the United States

Category:Centrist political advocacy groups in the United States

Category:Foreign policy and strategy think tanks in the United States

Category:Think tanks based in Washington, D.C.

Category:Think tanks established in 1999