ANNUAL REPORT / 2017 / REPORT ANNUAL 1 NEW AMERICA NEW Table of Contents 04 34 54 Letter from the A society that A secure, prosperous President and CEO promotes economic America that lives opportunity for all up to its values and commitments at home and abroad 08 40 Letter from the Chairman Thriving families, individuals, and 58 communities with the Our Fellows time, stability, and opportunity to lead 12 self-directed lives By the Numbers 78 Board of Directors 44 16 Equitable, accessible, high-quality education, New America learning, and training National Network 82 over a lifetime Donors 22 50 Universal access Equal representation to digital technology in politics and and its benefits across participation in all communities accountable governance ANNUAL REPORT / 2017 / REPORT ANNUAL NEW AMERICA NEW Our Mission We are dedicated to renewing America by continuing the quest to realize our nation’s highest ideals, confronting the 3 2 challenges caused by rapid technological and social change, and seizing the opportunities those changes create. NEW AMERICA NEW ANNUAL REPORT / 2017 / REPORT ANNUAL ANNUAL REPORT / 2017 / REPORT ANNUAL ANNUAL REPORT / 2017 / REPORT ANNUAL Letter from the President & CEO— and skills they need to thrive in maximum impact working with this time of rapid change with the new America. We have been government and, particularly, success.” We have big ambitions, NEW AMERICA NEW close partners with Arizona State civic organizations. extraordinarily talented people, University (ASU) since 2010. This generous supporters, and national year, the ASU-New America Center Finally, New America remains and global reach. We are excited to on the Future of War launched a committed to transparency and see what 2018 will bring. Master’s degree program in Global editorial independence. We created Security, developed with New a committee this past Fall to think Thank you for your ongoing interest America’s international security about concrete ways to preserve the in and support of New America. experts, allowing us to draw on the integrity and reputation of our work. experience and insights of a talented After 19 years of growth, we are group of former government bigger now than we’ve ever been, Anne-Marie officials, military officers, and facing new challenges, but also new defense practitioners. Building on opportunities to set high standards. the ASU model, in 2017 we launched ANNE-MARIE SLAUGHTER President & CEO a new partnership between The committee was led by Kevin Florida International University Carey and comprised five staff Slaughter and our Cybersecurity Initiative, members, Board Member Zachary tapping into the extraordinary Karabell, and Ethan Zuckerman, diversity and innovation of a director of the MIT Center for major public research university Civic Media. It recommended, and in one of the nation’s most the board adopted, an industry- dynamic cities. Southern New leading policy not only to be Hampshire University also supports fully transparent about who our several of our national fellows donors are (New America does not accept anonymous donations) iberals embrace progress and New America reaffirmed our own I have had the privilege of studying and brings them to campus. 5 4 love the new; conservatives goals and values in 2017, adopting networks as a scholar for over but also about what programs L hold to tradition and revere a mission and vision statement twenty years. In The Chessboard and New technologies are driving the their funds support. We have also the old. But often the best way to that clarifies what we seek, who the Web: Strategies of Connection in renewal of our economy and society, adopted a very specific process for move forward is not to tear down we are, and how we work. We are a Networked World (Yale: 2017), I even as they help concentrate communicating our expectations but to renew: giving new life to the dedicated to renewing America by wrote about how to design networks economic and political power and of complete independence in best of what is old while rejecting continuing the quest to realize our to cross-fertilize ideas and catalyze contribute to rising inequality. New our research and writing to our and discarding the worst. It’s nation’s highest ideals, confronting action. New America is putting America announced our first class of funders. Equally important, we time to talk about that renewal. the challenges caused by rapid those ideas into practice, building a Public Interest Technology Fellows are implementing several internal technological and social change, network of hubs, research partners, in June 2017. Their work spans changes recommended by the Couples renew their vows to enter and seizing the opportunities those and organizations across the immigration, foster care, criminal committee to ensure that our a new phase in their marriage. changes create. We are pursuing country, including, most recently, justice, financial inclusion, the standards of mutual respect and Nations can renew their ideals to that mission as a new kind of think New America Indianapolis, which opioid epidemic, and more. These collegiality are enforced and risks to enter a new phase in their history. and action tank: a civic platform that launched in October 2017 under fellows are applying not only their reputation are duly considered. George W. Bush made this point brings thinkers and doers together, the able leadership of Molly technological expertise, but also in 2017: “To renew our country, combining our traditional policy G. Martin. Our goal in each a broader “engineer’s mindset” to New America has never been we only need to remember our expertise with the insights and community is to surface, share, law, economics, and politics. Our stronger nor more influential. As values.” Barack Obama captured solutions provided by technologists, and scale solutions: to tap into and goal is to develop public interest Lenny Mendonca, who became this same dynamic in his famous data scientists, and local problem- broadcast the processes of renewal technology as a tool of social change our new board chair last November, speech at the 2004 Democratic solvers. And we continue to attract already taking place from the just as public interest law is one has said, “By focusing on the Convention, telling his audience: and nurture the best storytellers ground up and the heartland out. tool in the toolbox available for biggest, most important ideas and “We are called to reaffirm our anywhere, across multiple media. solving public problems. Together ensuring that the impact of those values and commitments, to hold Our network includes relationships with the Ford Foundation, Code ideas resonates nationally, policy them against a hard reality and 2017 was a year in which we took with a number of America’s public for America, Mozilla, and Civic entrepreneurs at New America— see how we are measuring up to important steps to realize our universities, many of which are Hall, we are experimenting with and in its extended network—can AMERICA NEW the legacy of our forebears and the aspirations, beginning with the growing and innovating to provide how technologists can have ensure that the United States meets promise of future generations.” expansion of our national network. their students with the knowledge ANNUAL REPORT / 2017 / REPORT ANNUAL ANNUAL REPORT / 2017 / REPORT ANNUAL ANNUAL REPORT / 2017 / REPORT ANNUAL NEW AMERICA NEW 7 6 ● Anne-Marie Slaughter interviews acclaimed writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie at New America’s 2017 Annual Conference. (Photo: Gabriella Demczuk) NEW AMERICA NEW ANNUAL REPORT / 2017 / REPORT ANNUAL ANNUAL REPORT / 2017 / REPORT ANNUAL Letter from the Chairman— NEW AMERICA NEW Lenny Mendonca ↑ Lenny Mendonca speaks at RiseLocal, New America CA’s convening of local leaders and California mayors. (Photo: Todd Parsons) Stop me if you’ve Trust in both political parties is at at the federal level, while wage heard this before: new lows. Amid all the dismay and and hour regulation, and most more akin to purple: where people the last 20 years. Three powerful biggest, most important ideas and 9 8 dysfunction, new plutocrats have other social programs, originated “worship an awesome God in the forces—technology, a very diverse ensuring that the impact of those Markets are soaring, and wealth had to step up as philanthropists from the states. This approach to blue states” and where people citizenry, and a globally connected ideas spreads nationally, policy is growing—but most of the gains to underwrite social reform. federalism need not be stubbornly have even “got some gay friends economy—have forced the state, entrepreneurs at New America—and flow to the people at the top. conservative or progressive; yet in the red states.” New America and its government, to wrestle with in its extended network—can ensure Rapid technological advances My guess is that these conditions this alchemy of federal and state played an essential role then in the challenges facing the country that the United States meets this are transforming daily life and sound familiar to you. More policy-making may be exactly carving out a space for scholars sooner than other states have had time of rapid change with success. creating new industries, but they than that, if you were to skim what’s needed, regardless of and journalists to think outside to do. On top of that, California have also fostered enormous through news headlines, I bet that political bent, to renew our country traditional partisan boxes, and put has adapted its governing to reflect The task is huge, but it’s not anxiety about the loss of jobs and they’d even sound exhaustingly today. The promise that an era of forward big, new policy ideas. Those those changes. From pursuing any more daunting than the entire occupations. People are also contemporary. But they actually Progressive Federalism holds is the ideas are even more essential today, an aggressive carbon-reduction challenges faced by reformers in increasingly angry at what they describe conditions that also very reason I’m so excited about but the venue has changed.