Kathy Gill is a former state and federal lobbyist who currently teaches at the University of Washington and researches the impact of social media on political institutions.
Experience:
Kathy teaches at the University of Washington (Seattle) in the Master's in Digital Media program, Department of Communication, where she researches the impact blogging and other forms of social media (eg, wikis, YouTube) is having on political institutions and discourse. For 20 years, she worked as a public affairs executive in the natural resources industry, lobbying at both the state and federal levels. She has served on a variety of state government boards and forums as well as national association policy committees.
Education:
Kathy's formal education is in journalism, a field that produces policy analysts both inside and outside of government. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master of science degree in agricultural economics from Virginia Tech. In the 1980s, Kathy was a participant in and board member of Pennsylvania Rural Leadership (RULE), a Kellogg-funded leadership development program designed to foster civic understanding and involvement.
From Kathy Gill:
I believe politics is the art and science of governance and that democracy (or a republic) rests on an informed and active citizenry. To that end, this site provides resources and commentary on issues of import so that citizens can evaluate campaign claims and media reports. I'm committed to providing balanced viewpoints on divisive issues. You won't find partisan cheerleading here (Go, Democrats! Go, Republicans!), and I try to avoid being dogmatic. I have campaigned for both Democratic and Republican candidates -- evidence of my being non-partisan.
There is one issue where my biases are out front: the federal debt. I firmly subscribe to the views of the nation's Comptroller that our debt (and deficit spending) is unsustainable and that fixing it requires a systemic change in how we "do government." Not that I know how we go about that change, mind you, but we're not even having a national dialog about it!