Roosevelt Institute Welcomes New Class of Fellows

New York, NY — The Roosevelt Institute is pleased to announce its 2023 class of Think Tank fellows, who will bring diverse voices and expertise into our progressive policy community. Over the course of their two-year fellowship, the 2023 cohort will dive into some of the most pressing issues facing our economy and democracy—from strengthening supply chains to protecting workers from surveillance technologies—and produce original analysis, alternative frameworks, and justice-oriented policy ideas.

“Fellows have always played an essential role in Roosevelt’s work, developing and advocating for new ways of thinking about our economy and governance structures that have shown up in winning policies and mainstream debates,” says Suzanne Kahn, managing director of research and policy. “Following a year of historic headway on progressive ideas, we are excited to build on that momentum alongside this group of innovative thinkers.”

The 2023 Class of Fellows:

Kate Aronoff, Climate and Economic Transformation Program: Aronoff’s work will focus on climate finance and public interventions for a successful transition away from the use of fossil fuels. Aronoff is a staff writer at the New Republic and the co-author of A Planet to Win: Why We Need A Green New Deal as well as We Own the Future: Democratic Socialism, American Style.

Sameera Fazili, Climate and Economic Transformation Program: Fazili’s work will focus on a place-based approach to industrial policy. Fazili is an attorney who most recently served as deputy director of the National Economic Council for the Biden administration. She will bring her experience addressing the supply chain crisis to her work at Roosevelt.

Beth Gutelius (she/her), Worker Power and Economic Security Program: Gutelius’s research will focus on increasing worker power, with special attention to reining in new surveillance technologies. Gutelius is the research director at the Center for Urban Economic Development at the University of Illinois Chicago. She has studied supply chain logistics for over a decade and is a leading expert on employment in the warehousing industry.

Hiba Hafiz (she/her), Worker Power and Economic Security Program: Hafiz’s work will focus on policies that can increase worker power in the labor market. Hafiz is an Assistant Professor of Law at Boston College and brings her legal and regulatory research knowledge to her work at Roosevelt.

Diana Hernandez (She/ella), Climate and Economic Transformation Program: Hernandez’s research will focus on climate justice, and in particular housing and energy justice. A sociologist by training, Hernandez is a tenured associate professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Her work has included foundational research on energy insecurity.

Nathan Lane (he/him), Climate and Economic Transformation Program: Lane will focus on industrial policy, specifically looking at modalities and metrics for industrial policymaking. Lane is an associate professor in economics at Oxford University. His research interests are at the intersection of political economy, industrial development, and big data.

Lev Menand (he/him), Corporate Power Program: Menand’s research and writing will focus on money and banking, financial regulation, and corporate governance. Menand is an associate professor of law at Columbia University. He is the author of numerous books and articles, including The Fed Unbound: Central Banking in a Time of Crisis.

Todd Phillips (he/him/his), Corporate Power Program: Phillips will focus on financial regulation and regulatory policy, especially of digital assets and financial technologies. Phillips is an attorney who previously served on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Market Risk Advisory Committee. His writing has been published by outlets such as the Yale Journal on Regulation and the Duke Law Review.

Sanjay Pinto (he/him/his), Worker Power and Economic Security Program: Pinto will research and write about deepening economic democracy and increasing worker power through the development of new ownership and organizing structures. Pinto is a sociologist and research fellow at Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) Worker Institute.

David Stein (he/him), Macroeconomic Analysis Program: Stein’s work will focus on racial equity and the management of the economy. Stein is a historian and assistant professor at University of California, Santa Barbara. He is currently completing his first book, Fearing Inflation, Inflating Fears: The Civil Rights Struggle for Full Employment and the Rise of the Carceral State, 1929-1986. 

Rich Stolz (he/him/his), Race and Democracy Program: Stolz will continue his work on climate migration. He has extensive experience as an organizer, and has worked in the fields of immigration, economic justice, and climate policy.

This new class of fellows will join Roosevelt’s senior fellows: Deepak Bhargava, William (Sandy) Alexander Darity Jr., Darrick Hamilton, J.W. Mason, Saule Omarova, Lenore Palladino, and Joseph Stiglitz.

“Our work at Roosevelt centers on a ‘paradigms and people’ approach. We recognize that paradigm change requires people to articulate and advance the ideas that will ultimately usher in a new progressive economics, governance and multiracial democracy.” says Felicia Wong, president and CEO at the Roosevelt Institute. “Our fellows program is a foundational part of this strategy.”