Gigi Sohn Resigns as Public Knowledge President & CEO Weinberg and Hunter are named Acting Co-Presidents

Gigi B. Sohn, Public Knowledge’s President & CEO and one of its three Co-Founders, is stepping down from her position effective immediately after over 12 years with the organization. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that Sohn will be joining the Office of Chairman Tom Wheeler as Special Counsel for External Affairs. The Public Knowledge Board also announced that effective immediately, two long-time Public Knowledge staffers, Vice President Michael Weinberg & Chief Operating Officer Brooke Hunter, will replace Sohn as Acting Co-Presidents of the organization. Sohn’s last day at Public Knowledge will be Friday, November 8, but effective immediately she will have no involvement in the organization’s substantive work.

Kathleen Wallman, Public Knowledge’s Board Chairman, said: “The Public Knowledge Board thanks Gigi for her extremely hard work and her vision over the past 12 years. She built Public Knowledge into the country’s most effective public interest organization working in communications and technology policy. We wish her well on her new endeavor as Chairman Wheeler’s point person for communications and external affairs. We thank Gigi for her thoughtful transition planning. The Board looks forward to working with Michael and Brooke in their new roles. We are confident that they will manage the transition with an emphasis on the continuity of Public Knowledge’s advocacy leadership in its field.”

“I leave Public Knowledge with a mixture of sadness and great pride,” said Sohn. “In late 2001, I started the organization with a tiny budget and free office space in Dupont Circle. Now Public Knowledge has 17 full time employees and, more importantly, has a reputation as an effective, thoughtful and pragmatic communications and technology policy advocacy organization. In addition, Public Knowledge is known for training and giving opportunities to young public interest advocates, many of whom stay with the organization for years. The PK staff is like family to me, and I will miss our daily interactions. After three years of mentoring, two of PK’s long-time staffers will now take the reins of the organization as Acting Co-Presidents. Michael Weinberg and Brooke Hunter have for all practical purposes been running Public Knowledge for the past two years, and doing a great job of it. I expect that they will demand the same high level of excellence and thoughtfulness as I did. I wish them, and the organization, great success in the future.”