About Living Liberally

Living Liberally is dedicated to creating communities around progressive politics. Through social networks and events, we promote political engagement, and facilitate collaboration among progressive organizations. In your everyday routine and social life, you can be Living Liberally.

We believe that our political identity should be part of our regular lives. Too often politics is restricted to one day every four years, or to long, uninviting meetings in fluorescent-lit, linoleum-floored rooms.

Instead, we take our politics where we gather, socialize, learn, love and live. We create easy entryways into progressive political involvement, where you can find a community that shares your values.

In-person contact is the key to cultivating this social capital. Living Liberally is built upon networks of local gatherings -- from weekly meetings in bars to groups screenings of progressive films. These projects include:

Drinking Liberally - our national network of social clubs

Laughing Liberally - our political comedy project

Screening Liberally - our politically-conscious film series

Eating Liberally - our gatherings of good gab and great grub

Reading Liberally - our book tours of progressive authors

We have also had special events including: Rocking Liberally (music), Singing Liberally (karaoke), Podcasting Liberally (online radio shows),Loving Liberally (Valentine's Day), Bowling Liberally (better than "Bowling Alone"), Cycling Liberally and more...

And more recently, Crafting Liberally kicked off in New York, and Shooting Liberally invited First Amendment enthusiasts to try their hands at the Second.

Have an idea for an activity you want to do Liberally? Let us know.

Who is behind Living Liberally?

Living Liberally is a New York-based LLC, fueled by the volunteer energy of hundreds of friends and partners around the country.

Its national leadership, headquartered in New York includes Directors Katrina Baker, Justin Krebs and Matthew O'Neill and a Leadership Team of David Alpert, Mary Bruch, Wendy Cohen, Katie Halper, Kombiz Lavasany, Greg Rae, Matt Rosenberg and Kerry Trueman.

Living Liberally formed from a marriage between Cosmopolity and Drinking Liberally, and used to be known simply as Cosmopolity. The previous Cosmopolity -- which created the online calendar and organized social events to create easy access into political egnagement -- was founded by David Alpert and Justin Krebs in 2004. Drinking Liberally began as a gathering in the backyard of a Hell's Kitchen dive bar in 2003, founded by Justin Krebs and Matthew O'Neill.

Justin Krebs is a national director of Living Liberally and creative director of Laughing Liberally. He is a political organizer in New York City, and a founder and Artistic Director of The Tank, a non-profit venue for performance and public affairs. Past projects include managing a parks advocacy campaign and serving as Intern Coordinator for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Justin is a New Jersey native and graduate of Harvard University.

Katrina Baker is a Living Liberally national director and Drinking Liberally's national organizer. She was raised in Western New York and graduated from Ithaca College. She is studying at Fordham University School of Law and interned at the U.S. Attorney's Office (EDNY). She produced international documentaries focusing on youth and coordinated Amnesty International's Women's Human Rights Action Team in New York.

Matthew O'Neill is a Living Liberally national director and Emmy-award-winning journalist and filmmaker. Formerly the programming director of Downtown Community Television Center, he has produced documentaries for PBS and HBO including the acclaimed Baghdad ER in spring 2006. He also produced Turkey's Tigers about the rising capitalist class in Turkey, and Venezuela: Revolution in Progress covering the Chavez recall election.

David Alpert is a member of the Living Liberally National Leadership and built and maintains the online tools for Living Liberally. He uses the power of democracy to foster technological innovation, and the power of innovation to improve democracy. He is also the founder and President of IPac (http://ipaction.org/), a political action committee dedicated to supporting the freedom to create and innovate. He was a Google Product Manager from 2001 to 2007, grew up in Acton, Mass. and is a graduate of Harvard University.

Mary Bruch is leader of Living Liberally's fundraising efforts ("Giving Liberally"). As a student at Barnard College, she chaired Columbia University Dance Marathon, one of the most successful student-run benefits in the country for pediatric AIDS research and treatment. She is now a non-profit development professional. During the last ten years, Mary has worked on political campaigns everywhere from Palm Beach County to Harlem.

Wendy Cohen co-founded the monthly film series Screening Liberally. Before joining the Huffington Post family in November 2006, Wendy was Outreach Coordinator at Arts Engine and programmer of the Media That Matters Film Festival. She was a Creative and Research assistant on the book The Art of the Documentary (Peachpit Press), guest curator at the IMPACT festival, and co-chair of Urban Pathways Young Professionals Board.

Katie Halper, a Laughing Liberally co-founder, performs in Laughing Liberally and in comedy shows across the country. Born and raised in New York, Katie is also an Artistic Director and Comedy Curator at The Tank. Her award-winning documentary La memoria es vaga, based on her undergraduate thesis at Wesleyan University, premiered at the Amnesty International Firefly Festival and has been screened in Spain and the U.S.

Greg Rae first imbibed at a Drinking Liberally in the summer leading up to the 2004 election. He is currently one of the leaders of Drinking Liberally Steps Out, the gay and lesbian themed chapter in Manhattan. In early 2005, he founded 22 by 7 Labs, an internet technology company. He is also a member of the Harvey Mudd College Board of Trustees and Alumni Association Board of Governors. He is a native of Napa, California.

Kerry Trueman co-founded Eating Liberally to extend her professional work as a food writer into activism after she got sick of getting chastised for being "too political" as the food editor for Lime, a "healthy living" website launched by AOL founder Steve Case. A San Fernando Valley childhood in a Christian Science household left her an agnostic with an aversion to cars. Kerry was educated liberally at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville.

Matt Rosenberg runs a technology consulting business and is co-founder/co-chef of Eating Liberally as well as Hudson River Valley community preservation site rhinecliff.org. A lifelong foodie, he ran a charcuterie business while studying journalism at NYU; his clients include Annie Leibovitz and Mario Batali. Matt and Kerry constructed a garden on the roof of their West Village apartment which was featured in Garden Design magazine.

Josh Bolotsky is National Programs Associate for Living Liberally, as well as a Leadership Academy Fellow with Young People For. Josh took a leadership role in progressive youth politics throughout his college years, serving as President of College Democrats of New York State, Public Affairs Director of Columbia University College Democrats and co-founder of Boston University For Dean. He just received his BA in Political Science, History and Creative Writing from Columbia University, and is a native of Toms River, NJ.

John Erhardt coordinates the Colorado Living Liberally chapters and co-hosts the Denver chapters of Drinking Liberally and Shooting Liberally. When he's not working to surpass California's number of Living Liberally chapters, or at his day job, he's writing and editing at the state political blog SquareState.net. He's also a weekly contributor on Colorado politics to the Mario Solis-Marich progressive radio show.

Amanda Mittlestadt was born and raised in Iowa, and is now happy to call Des Moines her home. She has worked at newspapers, non-profits and ad agencies. Amanda also volunteers for several worthy causes, including hospice and her local animal rescue league. She is the founder and one of four co-hosts of the Des Moines chapter of Drinking Liberally.

Jesse Rubin lives with his wife and two sons in San Diego, CA. He became interested in politics after the birth of his first son and realized he needed to be more involved in the world his son was inheriting. He runs one of the San Diego Drinking Liberally chapters and visits as many chapters as he can while on the road selling software. Jesse has done some work for local congressional campaigns and when he grows up he wants to be Justin Krebs.

Amie Loyer started DL Nashville in the summer of 2005, after reading about DL on a liberal blog and discovering Tennessee was without a chapter. Her sneaking suspicion that there were other lefties in the Southeast having been confirmed, she now helps out as a DL field organizer.

Marcus Williams is the field organizer for North and South Carolina, and the host of the Charlotte, NC chapter. He works as a financial consultant with AXA Advisors. In addition, Marcus holds office on the Mecklenburg County Soil and Water Board, serves as his precinct Chair, and sits on several non profit boards and councils.