Daniel G. Newman

Daniel G. Newman is the Co-Founder and President of MapLight, an organization whose groundbreaking database connects data on campaign contributions, politicians, legislative votes, industries, companies, and more to show patterns of influence never before possible to see. Newman has led MapLight from a 2005 startup to an established national resource for citizens and journalists.

Newman’s innovative use of technology to reveal influence in government earned him a position on Fast Company’s list of the 100 Most Creative People in Business in 2010 and recognition as a World Affairs Council Civic Innovator in 2014. He has led MapLight to several awards including a Knight-Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism; a James Madison Freedom of Information Award; a Library Journal Best Reference Award; and a Webby Award nomination for Best Politics Website.

A national expert on money and politics issues, Newman regularly discusses MapLight’s research findings and his views on the broader trends of money in politics in documentary films and on national news outlets including NPR, PBS, CBS, MSNBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, FOX Business News, and more. He is the author of the innovative graphic novel Unrig: How to Fix Our Broken Democracy from Macmillan/First Second Books.

Prior to starting MapLight, Newman was an entrepreneur and political organizer. He authored three books on speech recognition software and founded Say I Can, a speech recognition firm. He has served as a consultant to various political and nonprofit groups, including the Center for Voting and Democracy, Israel Venture Network, and the Mental Health Association of San Francisco.

Newman received an MA degree in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley, where he attended on a National Science Foundation Fellowship and researched how people think about political and ethical issues. He holds a BA degree in biomedical ethics from Brown University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa. Newman was a 2011-2013 Edmond J. Safra Network Fellow at the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University, addressing the issue of institutional corruption.

Contact Daniel at dnewman@maplight.org.