Ross Chanin

Ross Chanin is a writer and advocate. He is currently in pre-production on his first documentary film, which will explore public education inequality in America and is Co-Director of Public Relations for the Campaign for a National Majority (CNM). CNM, a pragmatic political action committee, searches out, endorses and funds up-and-coming Democrats for Statewide Executive and mayoral races. Ross is also an Associate with the Truman National Security Project.

After graduating summa cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in 2004, Chanin moved to Washington, D.C., to work with the John Kerry for President Campaign’s speechwriting team. He assisted senior writers, including J. Terry Edmonds, Jon Favreau, Sarah Hurwitz and Adam Frankel, composing, editing and researching Senator Kerry’s remarks.

After the campaign, Chanin joined the Center for the Study of the Presidency’s (CSP) NATO/Homeland Security Project Group as a Research Analyst. With CSP, Ross assisted the draft process for the Homeland Security Advisory Council’s Weapons of Mass Effect Task Force Report. The report was presented to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff in October 2005.

At Penn, Chanin earned Honors in Political Science. He represented Big Brother/Big Sister of America as a recruiter and mentor, played Varsity Men’s Soccer, and co-founded the Unity Coalition, an organization of student leaders working to combat racism within the Penn community.

Chanin was recognized as Penn’s Department of Political Science 2004 Distinguished Graduate. He was a 2003-04 CSP Presidential Fellow, and was winner of the 2004 Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs and the 2004 New York City Urban Fellowship. He lives in Washington D.C. He will be attending law school in the fall of 2006. You can reach him at: chanin@nationalmajority.org