Lance Bennett received his Ph.D. in political science from Yale University in 1974, and has taught since then at the University of Washington. He is the Director of the Center for Communication and Civic Engagement, Professor of Political Science and Ruddick C. Lawrence Professor of Communication. Bennett has lectured internationally on the importance of media and information systems in civic life. His current research interests include: press-government relations and the quality of public information; communication and the organization of social movements; transnational activism; citizenship and youth civic engagement, digital media and political participation, and modeling the organization of technology enabled crowds.

Deric Gruen (MPA University of Washington) joined the team in 2014 as a Center for Communication & Civic Engagement Fellow.  He is the Rethinking Prosperity Project Manager.  Deric is a Fellow at the Sightline Institute and the Emerging Leaders in Energy and Environmental Policy network (ELEEP) a transatlantic program of Ecologic Institute and Atlantic Council. Deric was the Director of Sustainability for Bellevue College, winner of the national 2013 Climate Leadership Award, where he led campus, curricular, and community leadership initiatives.

Caterina Rost (M.A. University of Leipzig, M.A. University of Washington) is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science at the University of Washington. Her dissertation compares the trajectory of the idea of sustainable development in the German and American policy discourse. In addition to having assisted Prof. Bennett in teaching the undergraduate lecture “Media, Society, and Political Identity” multiple times, she is centrally involved in organizing Rethinking Prosperity events and conducting research.

Author, filmmaker and Executive Director of Take Back Your Time (www.timeday.org). Fifteen of his documentaries, including the popular special, AFFLUENZA, have been broadcast nationally on PBS. His books include the best-seller AFFLUENZA: THE ALL-CONSUMING EPIDEMIC, now in its third edition, and WHAT’S THE ECONOMY FOR, ANYWAY? His work and speaking engagements involve exploration of the intersection of happiness, work-life balance, consumerism, health and sustainability. He has taught at The Evergreen State College and helped develop the UW Summer School Class “What’s the Economy for, Anyway?” in 2007.He is a co-founder of The Happiness Initiative (www.happycounts.org) and recently served as an advisor to the government of Bhutan as it development its Gross National Happiness project proposal for the United Nations.