New Media Policy Working Group Program Coordinator for GFEM

GFEM is pleased to announce that Jeff Perlstein has come on board as our new program coordinator for the Media Policy Working Group. He is replacing Lynn Stern who has taken a full-time position as Program Officer for Arts at the Surdna Foundation.

While we will miss Lynn, Jeff is, in our estimation, the perfect person take on the stewardship of the MPWG. We are thrilled that many of you already know Jeff; for those who don’t, please see his bio below.

Jeff Perlstein is a policy professional working at the intersection of strategic communications, media policy, new media production and human rights. His work has emphasized the development of innovative advocacy and media distribution networks, as well as local/national policy collaborations that center the leadership of historically underserved communities.
Jeff is nationally-recognized for his 5 years of leadership as the Executive Director of Media Alliance in California, the longest-running regional media advocacy organization in the United States. During his tenure he initiated numerous successful initiatives with partners from across the country, addressing media ownership, the rights of journalists, and the technology policies of cities and states.

Under Jeff's leadership, Media Alliance co-founded the non-partisan Media and Democracy Coalition and the Media Action Grassroots Network (MAG-Net), a collaboration of regional hubs that is strengthening field-building activities for the media policy sector.

Prior to his work at Media Alliance, Jeff initiated and co-founded Indymedia.org, the groundbreaking website and global multi-media network that now has more than 150 media centers operating in twelve languages on five continents.

He was also the National Campaign Coordinator of the Social and Economic Human Rights program at Food First/The Institute for Food and Development Policy.

Jeff is the proud father of a beautiful four year old boy, Joaquin. They live together in sunny Oakland, California.

Lynn did a tremendous job in leading the creation of the MPWG to raise awareness and build knowledge about key issues in media policy within the broader philanthropic community and she will be missed. But we welcome Jeff to take us to the next level.