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.” 

Education

Unions’ Taxpayer-Subsidized Politics

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 14, 2013

How would you feel if you were forced to pay for a political cause that worked against your own beliefs and values? Outraged? Victimized? Just plain angry? Many Pennsylvania teachers,…

Commentary

Read More: Unions’ Taxpayer-Subsidized Politics

Education

Saving Pennsylvania’s Best Teachers

  • Priya Brannick
  • October 11, 2013

This week, Commonwealth Foundation placed billboards in Philadelphia subway stations to highlight the problem of seniority rules in our public schools. Currently, Section 1125…

Media

Read More: Saving Pennsylvania’s Best Teachers

Health Care

Obamacare Glitches or Meaningful Refom

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • October 10, 2013

The federal Obamacare exchanges opened for business more than a week ago, yet users have been unable to log in (much less get affordable insurance) and hit with…

Media

Read More: Obamacare Glitches or Meaningful Refom

Regulation

PA Can’t Afford to Dither on Meaningful Pension Reform

  • Nathan Benefield
  • October 10, 2013

Is your family ready to pay nearly $900 more in property taxes and state taxes per year? Are you prepared to see 33,000 public school teachers in Pennsylvania — nearly…

Commentary

Read More: PA Can’t Afford to Dither on Meaningful Pension Reform

Education

SAT Scores by State 2013

  • Jessica Barnett
  • October 10, 2013

EDITORS NOTE: Click here for the 2014 SAT Scores by state We have compiled each state’s average SAT score into one, easy-access spreadsheet ranking states by their mean…

Media

Read More: SAT Scores by State 2013

Regulation

Liberals and Conservatives Agree: Let Go of Our Liquor

  • Matthew Brouillette
  • October 7, 2013

As the partisan divide plays out in Washington, it's encouraging to see one policy battle in Pennsylvania with support on both sides of the political spectrum. Across the state, voters…

Commentary

Read More: Liberals and Conservatives Agree: Let Go of Our Liquor

Education

How is Your Public School Performing?

  • Jessica Barnett
  • October 4, 2013

The Pennsylvania School Performance Profile launched today, but will it deliver the “accountability system” Acting Secretary of Education Carolyn Dumaresq promised in a briefing earlier this month? Created through a…

Media

Read More: How is Your Public School Performing?

Health Care

Many Pennsylvanians to See Insurance Premiums Skyrocket

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • October 3, 2013

Obamacare’s health insurance exchanges are off to a rough start this week. Millions were welcomed with error screens as they attempted to figure out if their health care costs would rise. Fox…

Media

Read More: Many Pennsylvanians to See Insurance Premiums Skyrocket