Erik Telford

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Erik Telford

Senior Vice President of Public Affairs

Erik Telford is the Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at the Commonwealth Foundation.

Erik is a senior public affairs and communications executive with more than 15 years of diverse experience across public policy, advocacy, and public affairs institutions. Before joining the Commonwealth Foundation, Erik served as the senior vice president at Stand Together Communications, the Koch network’s marketing and communications capability. Erik has also served as the president of the Franklin Center for Government & Public Integrity, a state-based watchdog journalism organization. And at Americans for Prosperity, he was the executive director of RightOnline (an initiative he founded) and the director of membership and online strategy. He is currently on the board of the American Commitment Foundation.

In 2013, Campaigns & Elections Magazine honored Erik as an “Advocacy Innovator” and in 2011 as a “Rising Star in American Politics.”  Politics Online named him one of the “Top 10 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics.” 

Regulation

Great Communicators: Pension Reform

  • August 30, 2014

Ed. note: These are the remarks given by Dawn Meling, CF’s director of marketing & outreach, at the Great Communicators Tournament in Denver, CO. on September 25, 2014. Thank…

Testimony

Read More: Great Communicators: Pension Reform

Health Care

Healthy PA Approved, but Still Room to Improve

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • August 29, 2014

On Thursday, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced approval of the Healthy PA waiver, including a new private coverage option. But the approved waiver severely limited…

Media

Read More: Healthy PA Approved, but Still Room to Improve

Education

Lies from PSEA Leadership

  • James Paul
  • August 29, 2014

Repeating the same lie over and over does not make it magically come true. Yet this hasn’t stopped the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) leadership from an…

Media

Read More: Lies from PSEA Leadership

Pennsylvania Deserves Flexibility in Medicaid Reform

  • August 28, 2014

For Immediate Release Commonwealth Foundation Contact: 717-671-1901 Without Fed’s Flexibility, Commonwealth Should Walk Away from Healthy PA August 28, 2014, HARRISBURG, Pa.—The Commonwealth Foundation commends Gov. Corbett for…

Press Release

Read More: Pennsylvania Deserves Flexibility in Medicaid Reform

Education

Audio: 73% of PA Voters Underestimate School Spending

  • August 26, 2014

Yesterday, we released a new poll showing just how confused voters are about state education spending levels and the results that money is buying. When 54% of voters say…

Media

Read More: Audio: 73% of PA Voters Underestimate School Spending

Public Union Democracy

Union Lobbying Holds Back Lottery Performance

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • August 26, 2014

Illinois’s decision to terminate its lottery private management agreement with Northstar is being misinterpreted as proof that Pennsylvania dodged a bullet by failing to approve a private lottery management…

Media

Read More: Union Lobbying Holds Back Lottery Performance

Health Care

Falling Through the Cracks in Obamacare

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • August 26, 2014

Mark Ferkler is a Delaware County resident in his mid-thirties. He’s healthy, gainfully employed and now, thanks to Obamacare, is newly uninsured. Yes, you read that right — uninsured. Despite…

Commentary

Read More: Falling Through the Cracks in Obamacare