Leadership
Jake Schwitzer
Executive Director
Jake Schwitzer has spent over a decade researching, creating, enacting, and defending public policies that improve the lives of working Minnesotans. He has been a grassroots organizer, communicator, and senior staffer to Senators Al Franken and Tina Smith. When he’s not thinking about how to improve government programs, you can find him biking with his wife and kids in the summer, or cheering for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the winter.
Aaron Rosenthal
Research Director
Aaron Rosenthal is the Research Director for North Star Policy Action. Prior to joining North Star, Aaron received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, was an Assistant Professor at Simmons University, and served as the Senior Research Specialist at the Council on Criminal Justice. He has published a book and several articles on public policy and inequality, with his writing appearing in outlets ranging from The Washington Post to MinnPost.
Emma Piorier
Communications Director
Emma Poirier is the Communications Director at North Star Policy Action, where she leads strategic communications to advance progressive policy solutions across Minnesota. Previously, she served as Communications Director at Alliance for a Better Minnesota, where she led high-impact earned, paid, and digital media campaigns that delivered key victories for progressives in the 2022 and 2024 elections. She has worked at every level of the political campaign space, from city council to the U.S. Congress, where she served as a Congressional Fellow in the office of Representative Sharice Davids. Her work has secured media placements across the country, including in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC, Bloomberg, and many more.
Research Advisory Council
The Research Advisory Council is a group of local research experts who provide their insight to support North Star’s mission of improving working Minnesotans’ lives.
Research Advisory Council members volunteer their time to lend their expertise to North Star Policy Action’s work. Their involvement does not imply endorsement of all NSPA publications or positions.
Aaron Sojourner
Senior Economist and Deputy Director of Research
W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Adam Moskowitz
Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of Iowa Healthier Workforce Center of the Midwest
Alisha Volante
Strategic Research Director
Tending the Soil
Amy Livingston
Director, Labor Education Service
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Ashley Baber
Assistant Professor, Sociology
Augsburg University
Charlotte Garden
Gray, Plant, Mooty, & Bennett Professor of Law
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Dave Kamper
Senior State Policy Strategist
Economic Policy Institute
Jennifer Schultz
Professor of Economics
University of Minnesota Duluth
John Budd
Industrial Relations Land Grant Chair
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Kim Vu Dinh
Professor of Law, Louis L. Ainsworth Distinguished Professorship in Business and Law, Director of the Economic Inclusion Clinic
Mitchell Hamline School of Law
Lucas Franco
Research Manager of Great Lakes Regional Organizing Committee
Laborers International Union of North America
Mauri Systo
Assistant Professor, Anthropology
University of Minnesota Morris
Morris Kleiner
AFL-CIO Chair in Labor Policy
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Nichola Lowe
Professor and Director of the Urban and Regional Planning Program
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Noah Wexler
Field Organizer
United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America
Shenika Chambers
Ph.D. Student, Public Affairs
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
William Jones
Professor, History
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
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