Mari Frank Interviews Ed Mierzwinski, Director of U.S. PIRG

Ed Mierzwinski is the Consumer Program Director with the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups (U.S. PIRG) since 1989. State PIRGs are non-profit, non-partisan consumer, environmental and good government watchdog groups around the country. He often testifies before Congress and state legislatures and has authored or co-authored numerous reports on consumer issues ranging from the failure of cable television deregulation to privacy, identity theft, bank fees, predatory lending and unfair practices and product safety. He is often quoted in the national press and has appeared on network news shows including NBC Today, CNN Crossfire and ABC Nightline. He has been profiled in the New York Times. He is a 2003 recipient of Privacy International's "Brandeis Award" for privacy protection efforts. He is a past member of the boards of several large consumer-owned businesses, and the University of Connecticut Cooperative Corporation, a student-owned bookstore. From 1981 through 1988, he was Executive Director of Connecticut PIRG. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut (BA, MS). Contact Information: web: www.uspirg.org E-mail: [email protected] Phone: (202) 546-9707