Demos Welcomes Civil Rights and Labor Activist Si Kahn and Environmental Journalist Heather Rogers as Fellows

New York, NY — Demos, a national research and policy center, is pleased to announce the addition of two new members of its fellows program who are also developing new books under the Demos Books Project:

SI KAHN joins Demos as its ninth Distinguished Senior Fellow. Kahn comes to Demos after 30 years as Executive Director for the social justice organization, Grassroots Leadership-- a national organization that supports grassroots community leadership and works to abolish for-profit private prisons, jails and immigrant detention centers, as a step towards establishing a system of justice that is truly just and humane. With a wealth of experience as a civil rights, labor and community organizer, he is a welcomed new addition to the Demos team.

An author and musician, Si has recently written Creative Community Organizing: A Guide for Rabble-Rousers, Activists & Quiet Lovers of Justice-published this January by Berrett-Koehler. His earlier work includes How People Get Power and Organizing: A Guide for Grassroots Leaders. He served as a co-author of The Fox in the Henhouse: How Privatization Threatens Democracy, with feminist/public philosopher Elizabeth Minnich, his long-time organizing partner and spouse.

"We are delighted that Si is joining Demos as a Distinguished Senior Fellow," said Demos President Miles Rapoport. "He has been a Renaissance Man for the social movements of our generation. He is a troubadour, a poet, and a lyricist; a thoughtful and reflective writer; and a committed organizer and institution-builder. Most of all, he is a passionate believer in social justice and the power of ordinary people to stand up and determine their destinies. Demos is proud to support his tireless work."

HEATHER ROGERS, a journalist and author, joins Demos as a Senior Fellow. Her new book, Green Gone Wrong, (Scribner, April 2010) exposes how the "green" movement is failing to live up to the promise of sustainability and stewardship of the environment. She has written for The New York Times Magazine,Mother Jones, and The Nation. Her first book, Gone Tomorrow: The Hidden Life of Garbage, traces the history and politics of household rubbish in the United States.

"Heather Rogers is an intrepid and creative journalist working on the front lines of the climate crisis and the unfinished environmental revolution we desperately need," said Lew Daly, Director of the Fellows Program at Demos. "Her skillful reporting and writing, apparent on every page of Green Gone Wrong, are a tremendous asset in Demos's Fellows Program and, more importantly, for the reading public."

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