Center for Political Accountability

Tell a friend

CPA Staff

Bruce F. Freed

Bruce F. Freed is President and a founder of the Center for Political Accountability. In addition to heading the Center, he is a member of the advisory board of the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Transparency International–USA’s Policy Advisory Council.

Mr. Freed brings over 30 years of experience in politics, strategic public affairs and journalism. As the business and politics columnist from 1998 to 2003 for The Hill, a newspaper that covers Congress, he was the first to explore the implications of the absence of transparency and accountability in corporate soft money giving. Mr. Freed also commented on business and politics on Public Radio International's Marketplace.

He spent a decade on Capitol Hill as chief investigator for the Senate Banking Committee, staff director of a House subcommittee, and a senior aide to two members of the House leadership. Mr. Freed began his career as a journalist with the Baltimore Sun Papers, Congressional Quarterly and Wall Street Journal.

Karl Sandstrom

Karl Sandstrom is the Center's counsel. In addition to being Of Counsel in the political law practice of Perkins Coie, he is an adjunct professor at American University's Washington College of Law and is a member of the advisory board of the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Previously, Mr. Sandstrom was a member of the Federal Election Commission from 1998 to 2002 where he also served as vice chair and was staff director of the U.S. House of Representatives elections subcommittee.

Michael P. Novelli

Michael P. Novelli is the Center's chief financial officer. He has been the chief executive officer of a Washington based non-profit, the chief financial officer of two other Washington-based organizations and served in senior executive positions of four cabinet offices in two presidential administrations.

Sol Kwon

Sol Kwon is the Center’s associate director and plays an integral role working with shareholder partners, engaging the corporate community and overseeing research projects. She has more than 10 years of experience working with corporate governance and responsibility issues. Her work in the field started as an analyst for the Social Issues Service of the Investor Responsibility Research Center; she went on to become the Lead Analyst for Corporate Governance at the UFCW International Union Capital Stewardship Program. Most recently, Sol was a research consultant at the Finance and Strategy Practice of the Corporate Executive Board. She earned her B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University and her M.B.A. from the Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland.

Sharon Samber

Sharon Samber is a writer and editor for the Center. She has worked for newspapers, magazines, and newsletters, and managed daily content of a Web site. Ms. Samber was a Washington correspondent at a wire service where she covered Congress and the White House and her stories appeared in more than 100 community newspapers and Web sites. As a freelance writer and editor she has written op-eds and edited educational curricula.

Peter Hardin

Peter Hardin is a writer and editor for the Center. He previously worked as a journalist for more than 30 years, including 15 years as Washington correspondent for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, covering Congress and the executive branch. Hardin was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his investigative series on eugenics and its history in Virginia. He has written for a range of non-profit groups including the Center and several health advocacy organizations.

Mark Harper

Mark Harper is the staff associate for the Center. He received his M.A. in Government, with a concentration in Democracy and Governance, from Georgetown University in May 2012. He also received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Delaware.