Providing information and ideas to build a healthier, more sustainable America.

- August 2021 -

We’re celebrating Frontier Group’s 25th anniversary!

To commemorate a quarter-century of research and analysis in pursuit of solutions to pressing problems of our time, we’ve posted a series of short essays looking back at some of our most impactful work – as well as some personal favorites among our reports, blog posts, and even our charts and graphs.

Frontier Group at 25

Susan Rakov, Frontier Group’s director, shares our origin story, reveals the threads that connect our work across many issue areas, and unpacks the five attributes that make us unique.

Looking back at the impact of our work

Every Frontier Group report is designed to make a difference, and some of them go above and beyond. In 2005, our research helped kickstart California’s journey toward global leadership on solar energy… Since the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, we have used data collected by the agency to shine a spotlight on the bad actors harming Americans in the financial marketplace… In the early 2010s, we sparked a national discussion about changes in generational driving habits and got the Department of Transportation to stop ignoring the truth about American driving trends… With our reports about wasteful and ill-considered highway projects, we brought the word "boondoggle" into the infrastructure lexicon – and helped prevent destruction of communities and the natural environment… And our work has helped popularize the idea that the U.S. can be powered entirely by renewable energy, building public support for commitments to a cleaner future in states and cities across the country.

The highlight reel

All of our work to make change that benefits the public interest happens piece by piece, and we couldn’t resist highlighting some of our favorites. We compiled a few of the maps, charts and graphics we’re most proud of (do check them out; each is, after all, worth 1,000 words). We also picked out favorite blog posts that have provided food for thought, a necessary reality check, or a sense of hope.

Thank you for your interest in Frontier Group, and your help and support over the years. We’re looking forward to the next 25.

Frontier Group staff

Susan Rakov, Director

Tony Dutzik and Elizabeth Ridlington, Associate Directors and Senior Policy Analysts

R.J. Cross, James Horrox and Adrian Pforzheimer, Policy Analysts

Jamie Friedman, Bryn Huxley-Reicher, Lauren Phillips-Jackson and Sarah Nick, Policy Associates

Frontier Group is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.

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