Todd Main
Todd Main is a community organizer with an International Relations and Business degree from James Madison College at Michigan State University in 1987. He has spent most of the past two decades working with citizens to strengthen consumer protections, clean up the environment, and preserve public spaces. In 1997, Main became the executive director of the Texas Campaign for the Environment and founded Public Research Works in Austin, Texas. He now serves on the board of directors for both organizations.
In 2000, Main served as the national field director for Nader for President, a campaign that produced the highest vote count for a third-party progressive candidate in the last 85 years. He then spent several years working as a consultant for national environmental advocacy groups and Fortune 500 clients in Washington D.C. In 2005, he relocated to Chicago to become the Director of Policy and Planning at the Friends of the Chicago River. In 2007, he served as the national campaign director for Physicians for a National Health Program and now works as a senior policy advisor at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Main specializes in working at the intersection of public interest policy and politics. On the political side, he has organized dozens of local electoral campaigns in Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Illinois. In addition to the Nader 2000 campaign he also worked on the national presidential campaigns of Michael Dukakis in 1988, and the re-election of Bill Clinton and Al Gore in 1996.
Over the years he has organized dozens of issue campaigns on a variety of public interest policy issues including:
- The “First Response Coalition” to highlight the national lack of radio interoperability for our police, fire, and emergency responders.
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The Restore Access Mobility Partnership (RAMP), a successful national campaign to reverse a restrictive wheelchair and durable medical equipment coverage determination by the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services (CMS).
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“Close the Grandfather Loopholes”, a statewide campaign to strengthen Texas clean air laws and clean up the dirtiest power plants.
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Grassroots support for the national premiere of Michael Moore’s movie SICKO,
Main’s groundbreaking policy research has been published by Public Citizen, Consumers Union, the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition, the Caddo-Lake Foundation, the Texas Campaign for the Environment, and the Lone Star Sierra Club.
Main’s work has been featured in the Austin American Statesman, BBC, Chicago Sun Times, Chicago Tribune, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dallas Morning News, Des Moines Register, Houston Chronicle, Fort Worth Star Telegram, National Journal, New York Times, San Antonio Express News and Washington Post. He now lives in Oak Park Illinois with his spouse Theresa Amato and their two daughters.