Adam Kretz ‘08
Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute
Yearlong Fellow

Why did you want to become a PIFP Fellow?

Until February of this year, I was positive I would be attending graduate school this coming fall, most likely in international relations or public policy. PIFP, however, gave me the opportunity to work with a phenomenal organization that was actually DOING public policy rather than just studying it. The chance to work in financial policy, which I had never studied, was particularly appealing in order to broaden my knowledge of the public arena.

I eventually want to be involved in law and public policy on the state and national level, and PIFP is giving me the chance to learn the intricacies of this system sooner than I could have imagined.

Please give a brief description of your job/role in your host organization:

I am working with the Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, which is a research-based organization that studies the ways in which financial policies in Colorado affect at-risk and middle-income populations. We advocate for a fairer system of financial policy in Colorado, most notably in ways to help families reach a level of self-sufficiency in their daily needs.

While also taking part in research and advocacy work with the organization, I will be assisting with presentations to lawmakers and the legislature and doing grassroots community outreach, in order to build partnerships with like-minded organizations to pass particular policies (such as an Earned-Income Tax Credit, or EITC, to help provide additional income to struggling families in Colorado). I will also be expanding COFPI’s web presence, through development of their website, blog outreach and digital communication.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned about your host organization so far?  

COFPI’s research and analysis were in the main body of the New York Times just a couple of weeks ago, discussing Colorado’s rates of children in poverty. I have been floored by how respected COFPI and the women and men who work there are throughout both Colorado and the rest of the United States.