Meet Our Staff
Beth McConnell, Executive Director
Ms. McConnell joined the Coalition staff in May 2007, and works to link together local, state and national organizations around media reform campaigns and provide strategic back-up support to those efforts. Ms. McConnell has fourteen years of public interest advocacy experience, most recently as the Director of the Pennsylvania Public Interest Research Group (PennPIRG) from 2002 through 2007. During her tenure as Director of PennPIRG, Ms. McConnell led the organization to victories including winning the release of patient safety data from hospitals that can save lives, giving consumers tools to protect their personal information from would-be identity thieves, defeating a plan by the IRS that would have allowed the sale of consumers' tax returns, and expanding health care access to tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians. Ms. McConnell began her public interest career in 1993 as a Citizen Outreach Director with the Fund for Public Interest Research, and has extensive experience working with the media, developing strategic campaign plans, training emerging leaders, policy development and analysis, fundraising, crafting effective messages and coalition building.
Nathaniel James, Campaign Coordinator
Nathan James has run field campaigns, trained and managed field staff, and managed detailed budgets and reporting databases with FieldWorks, MoveOn.org, Grassroots Campaigns, Inc. and the Fund for Public Interest Research. Nathan has been an active volunteer with the Seattle Independent Media Center, Studio X Community Internet Radio, Reclaim the Media, and has provided strategic consultation at Microsoft and for Greenpeace International. Nathan earned a masters degree in Media and Communication Regulation and Policy from the London School of Economics and Political Science in December 2006. As the Campaign Coordinator, Nathan is responsible for managing the Coalition's internal communication, project plans and budgets and providing back-up and technical support to state and local partners.