Iara Peng
(ipeng)

YP4 Staff Member

» Read Iara's blog

Iara, 31, is the director of Young People For, a project of People For the American Way Foundation (PFAWF) that is committed to identifying, engaging and empowering the next generation of young progressive leaders and activists across the country. Before joining PFAWF, she was the Executive Director of the Youth Justice Funding Collaborative (YJFC), a nonprofit that supports communications strategies that contribute to real change throughout the country's juvenile justice systems. She is the president of the board of YJFC. Iara worked for two years as the vice president of Doble Research Associates, a public interest consulting firm that researches public opinion and presents a detailed map of how and why people think the way they do about complex public issues. Iara was also vice president of Marga, Inc., a consulting firm to nonprofit organizations specializing in strategic planning, board development, fundraising and communications. Iara was a contributing author to A Global Agenda: Issues Before the 57th General Assembly of the United Nations and Education for Civic Engagement in Democracy. She has co-authored several publications, including “Our Nation’s Kids: Is Something Wrong” and “Protecting Our Rights: What Goes on the Internet.” Iara most recently managed the book production for Why Freedom Matters with PFAWF founder Norman Lear, PFAWF board member and book editor, Daniel R. Katz and former Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. Iara holds a Master of Public Administration degree with a concentration in nonprofit management from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and a B.A. in political science and communications from Rollins College, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. Iara is proud of the three future defenders of democracy in her family: her new son, Isaac, and her nephews, Bo and Dante.