Our network of trainers, consultants, and policy experts are talented leaders from the civic and nonprofit world, all of whom have extensive student government or student organizing experience. Here are just a few of the members of our network:
Dan Xie directs the national political strategy and grant fundraising for the Student PIRGs. Dan has managed successful campaigns from coast to coast to cap global warming pollution, fight the high cost of higher education, and make voting more accessible for students. She has recruited and trained hundreds of students and staff on public interest campaigns and got her start as an intern with CALPIRG Students. Dan lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she is an avid cyclist and climber.
Leigh-Anne Cole is Deputy Director of the Student PIRGs. She coordinated the Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project from 2008 to 2012, which registered more than 300,000 people to vote and made more than 1 million “get-out-the-vote” contacts. As Director of Recruitment for The Public Interest Network, she recruited thousands of candidates to apply to join our network, hundreds of whom have found jobs or careers here, while others have gone on to pursue other public interest positions. Leigh-Anne lives in Somerville, Massachusetts, where she loves to go hiking with her dog, Aspen, and her daughter, Rosie.
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Kaitlyn Vitez directs U.S. PIRG’s campaign to make higher education more affordable by advocating for student aid, protecting students from predatory financial practices, and making textbooks affordable. Based in Washington, D.C., Kaitlyn enjoys yoga, traveling, and the never-ending search for the perfect cup of coffee.
Cailyn Nagle serves as U.S. PIRG’s Affordable Textbooks campaign director, working to expand the use of open textbooks by empowering students and building a diverse coalition of students, staff and faculty. In their past role with the Student PIRGs the at UCLA and UC Riverside campuses, Cailyn organized on issues ranging from renewable energy to fighting hunger on campus. Cailyn likes bad sci-fi television and good horror films.