John Morton

John E. Morton directs Pew’s recently established Economic Policy department, which is anchored by the Economic Mobility Project, a broad and bipartisan initiative seeking to broaden the current national debate on income inequality to include a more substantive focus on economic mobility and the American Dream.  In addition to the project’s groundbreaking work, the department has launched timely new efforts such as Subsidyscope, the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform, and the Federal Budget Responsibility Initiative.

Prior to joining Pew in 2005, John served as director of national security policy for the John Kerry presidential campaign, coordinating the development of campaign policy on Afghanistan, Russia and the former Soviet states, Africa, and issues relating to democracy, human rights and economic development. He played an early role with the Obama campaign, helping to establish the campaign’s network of outside foreign policy advisors.  Previously, John was a private equity investor with Global Environment Fund, where he oversaw investments in sustainable forestry and the natural gas sector and developed the firm’s clean energy practice. Earlier in his career, John worked as a strategy consultant with Mercer Management Consulting and with the World Bank, where he managed infrastructure investments in the former Soviet Union.

John received an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s in international affairs from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University. He graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor’s in Russian history and literature. He serves on the board of the National Security Network, was named one of twenty young global environmental leaders as an Aspen Institute Catto Fellow in 2007, and is a U.S-Japan Leadership fellow.

John has appeared often on major media outlets, including ABC, CBS, CNN and C-SPAN, is a frequent voice on National Public Radio and has been interviewed and quoted in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and The Economist.