Citizen Works volunteers have fueled the public interest movement for nearly two decades.

During the last two decades Citizen Works' many progressive and innovative initiatives have included: Big Business Day; The Fair Contracts Project; The Association for Integrity in Accounting; Emerging Progressive Artists Program; First Thursdays for DC Area Nonprofit Leaders; Summer Speakers Series for Nonprofit Interns; The Corporate Reform Weekly; The Campaign for Corporate Reform; The Progressive Community Directory; The Progressive Reading List; The People's Business, a book with a blueprint for controlling corporations and restoring democracy; The Unity Platform; The Organizer's Toolbox; The Student Organizing Manual; advocacy for an independent Financial Consumers Association, a strong Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a Securities Speculation Tax and strong Sarbanes-Oxley legislation; corporate power scandal sheets; corporate power fact sheets; corporate tax traitors; corporate power readings; campaign to stop corporate CEO greed; A Handbook on Challenging Corporate Power for grassroots discussions; Citizens Working newsletter; Activist Abby and the Commission on Corporate Reform.

Board of Directors


Brian F. Conlon
Dr. Claire Nader
Terry Pastika
Founder, Ralph Nader

We help train the next generation of public advocates

Citizen Works alumni include:

  • A senior fellow at a prestigious think tank;
  • A CEO and President of a nonprofit organization;
  • Two Fulbright Scholars;
  • A public policy analyst;
  • An Equal Justice Works Fellow and co-founder of the Student Hurricane Network;
  • A research specialist and director of a corporate policy organization;
  • An assistant Attorney General in a State Antitrust division;
  • A disaster relief worker and immigration lawyer;
  • An employee of a local regulatory agency;
  • A legal intern in a national regulatory agency;
  • A lawyer at a health and research Institute;
  • A law clerk at a State Court of Appeals;
  • A lawyer at a government agency;
  • A pastor;
  • A small business entrepreneur providing staffing for nonprofits & advocacy groups;
  • An immigration lawyer;
  • A senior researcher at the Rockridge Institute;
  • An electoral and political analyst;
  • A candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives; and
  • Many more.

People-Powered Democracy, Not Corporate Rule, Will Create A Sustainable And Just Society

Citizen Works is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization founded by Ralph Nader in April 2001 to advance justice by strengthening citizen participation in power.
Citizen Works gives people the tools and opportunities to build democracy. We develop innovative and systemic means to advance the progressive citizen movement. We do this in three ways: