Center for New Politics and Policy

CHARLES D. ELLISON (Director)
cdellison [at] newpolicycenter.org

Charles D. Ellison is author of the critically-acclaimed political thriller TANTRUM, Huffington Post and Politico.com Arena contributor, and Host of "The New School" on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio Channels 130 (POTUS) and 169 (The Power). Based in Washington, D.C., he is Director of the Center for New Politics and Policy and Visiting Fellow for the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University. California-born and Philadelphia-raised, Charles is a former Congressional speechwriter, noted public policy analyst, media expert and writer. Charles regularly lectures for the Close Up Foundation and is a Youth Radio board member. As a commentator, he has been featured in numerous television, radio and publishing venues, including: Sirius/XM Radio; CNN; C-SPAN; WEAA-FM; WVON-AM; WPFW-FM; BlackAmericaWeb.com; SkyTV; The Philadelphia Tribune; RealClearPolitics; BET; ABC News; The Los Angeles Times; The Washington Times; The Boston Globe; Washington Business Journal; Roll Call, National Journal; Salon.com; The Hill; and National Public Radio, among others.

WEBSTER BROOKS III (Senior Fellow)
wbrooks [at] newpolicycenter.org

Webster Brooks III is a CNPP Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy. He serves as Editor of the U.S./ Iran Peace Project website. His articles and analysis on Iran, the Middle East and Eurasia appear in newspapers , on websites and blogs in the U.S. and internationally. He is a prominent foreign policy lecturer and founder of the Brooks Foreign Policy Review.

MARVIN KING, PhD (Senior Fellow)
mking [at] newpolicycenter.org

Marvin King is a CNPP Senior Fellow in public policy and politics. He is an Asst. Professor of Political Science at the University of Mississippi. He is founder and contributor of the King Politics Blog, as he disseminates useful, pertinent and hopefully entertaining news about black politics and other major issues. Included on the site are interviews with Juan Williams, Marc Morial and others.

RICKIE KEYS, PhD, MPH (Senior Fellow)
rkeys [at] newpolicycenter.org

Rickie Keys, PhD, MPH is a CNPP Senior Fellow. He is Founder and CEO of Renewal Financial Services, LLC, an organization specifically focused on building networks that improve the availability and accessibility of a comprehensive portfolio of financial services to unbanked, underbanked and thin-file consumers. Dr. Keys is also Founder & President of the National Institute to Combat Health Disparities, receiving his MPH in 1994 and his PhD in Health Policy Marketing in 2000 from Tulane University. The National Institute to Combat Health Disparities was established to create entrepreneurial opportunities for impoverished youth.

DANIELLE BELTON (Visiting Fellow)
dbelton [at] newpolicycenter.org
Danielle Belton is a CNPP Visiting Fellow. Born and raised St. Louis, Mo. on a healthy diet of news programming, pop culture, black history and “snark,” Belton is best known as the woman behind THE BLACK SNOB. A pop culture-meets-politics blog, THE BLACK SNOB takes a look at irreverent side of life, finding the funny, freaky center of every issue. In a previous life, she was an entertainment reporter and newspaper columnist for The Bakersfield Californian. She was the writer and creator of the popular “Word on the Street” column (back when the residents of Kern County, Calif. knew her as “WOTS”) as well as a pop culture/humor column for the “Eye Street,” Lifestyle section. She also regularly appeared on television giving a live, morning show entertainment report at KBAK-TV, a CBS affiliate.

COLLIN A. SPEARS (Visiting Fellow)
caspears [at] newpolicycenter.org

Collin A. Spears is a CNPP Visiting Fellow in Foreign Policy. He completed a Master of Liberal Arts in International Studies at the University of St. Thomas, Houston in May 2006 after living and working in Tokyo, Japan as an English teacher and IT contractor from 2001-2002. Previously, he completed Bachelors' of Science in International Business and Information Technology at Old Dominion University. His overseas experience also includes a semester studying Mandarin Chinese at the Shanghai International Studies University in the spring of 1999. Mr. Spears is currently the Chief Foreign Policy Correspondent for Brooks Foreign Policy Review.

PRINCELLA SMITH (Visiting Fellow)
psmith [at] newpolicycenter.org

Princella Smith serves as National Spokesperson for American Solutions, an organization founded by former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. She is a guest lecturer on the topics of “New Media” and “Grassroots Activism” at The Leadership Institute and a frequent guest speaker for various groups and organizations and is a Visiting Fellow for the Independent Women's Forum. She was propelled into the national spotlight in 2004 when she won MTV's "Stand Up and Holla” essay/speech contest and became a prime time speaker at the Republican National Convention in New York City. During the 2006 election cycle, Princella served as the E-Campaign Director for then Lt. Gov Michael Steele's senate race in Maryland.

LENNY MCALLISTER (Visiting Fellow)
lmcallister [at] newpolicycenter.org
Lenny McAllister is a CNPP Visiting Fellow and founder of HipHopRepublican.com. He appears as a political commentator featured regularly on Fox Television in Charlotte, NC. He is a syndicated writer nationally for online magazines including The Root, Rushmore Drive, and AOL. He was featured as a political commentator during the Republican National Convention in 2008 for several outlets including CNN, CNN International, BBC World News, and Black Entertainment Television. In addition, McAllister was a guest host on the Fox News primetime webcast with Shepard Smith and a featured guest on “ABC News NOW” with Sam Donaldson. He gives regular commentary to outlets ranging from Chicago to Columbia, South Carolina and from Canada to Australia, including National Public Radio, Sirius/XM Radio, and ABC Radio Australia.

D.L. CHANDLER (Visiting Fellow)
dlchandler [at] newpolicycenter.org

D.L. Chandler is a CNPP Visiting Fellow. He is a widely recognized commentator and writer on the intersection of politics and pop-culture trends. Chandler is a frequent analyst and guest co-host for "The New School" on Sirius/XM Satellite Radio.