Washington, DC — Sean Vitka has been named as the new executive director of Demand Progress and Demand Progress Education Fund. Vitka has been serving as the organizations’ policy director since October 2023 and has helped lead efforts to fight corporate influence in government, militarism and mass surveillance for nearly a decade.
Demand Progress, which was founded in 2010 by David Segal and the late technologist Aaron Swartz, was at the forefront of a coalition that mobilized millions of people to defeat the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), a notorious internet censorship bill. Since then, the organization has become known for combining mass mobilization with policy and lobbying savvy, as well as for its ability to build broad and varied coalitions from across ideological lines. It has played a leading role in efforts to protect online privacy, advance net neutrality, curb corporate monopoly power, promote diplomacy over militarism and fight oppressive surveillance. Since 2015, Vitka has been in the thick of all these fights, identifying and building strategic interventions, leading coalitions, advising lawmakers and reaching across ideological aisles to bring together unlikely allies. He has previously worked for CREDO Action, Fight for the Future and the Sunlight Foundation.
“It’s an honor to lead these storied organizations, which have earned strong reputations for punching above their weight,” said Demand Progress and Demand Progress Education Fund Executive Director Sean Vitka. “We can do that thanks to our nearly one million affiliated activists, who have never been more active than in this critical moment for our country, and thanks to the reputation we’ve built over fifteen years of fighting ferociously for the public good and for the power of the people.”
“It can be extremely daunting to go up against the power of billionaires, Wall Street, Big Tech and other special interests. Yet, time and time again, we’ve watched Sean identify ways to break through with the right strategy and the right people at the right moment,” stated the boards of Demand Progress and Demand Progress Education Fund. “As political tides turn and it becomes ever more clear that the staid way of doing things won’t get the job done, Demand Progress’s work is more necessary than ever. The only way to fight back is by harnessing the power of the people — and we have full faith that Sean, his team and their network of advocates will keep rising to meet this crucial moment.”