The internet can be a noisy place. Sometimes just logging into social media feels like stepping onto a battlefield, except nobody knows who’s on which team and what the teams even mean anymore.

Maybe it shouldn’t be that surprising. After all, there really are pressing social problems that deserve attention. But the endless stream of rants, complaints, and calls for government to step in and solve this or that can get exhausting. Solutions are rarely offered, and when they are, it is often just a call to join a protest or sign onto a specific political agenda.

But people are not helpless. Individuals, whether on their own or with others in their community, are actually quite capable, and can meet society’s challenges when empowered to do so. That’s where Catalyst comes in.

As a new generation enters the workforce for the first time, issues of student debt, educational choices, job prospects, and personal privacy suddenly become vitally important. Whether it’s re-thinking the way our healthcare system works or figuring out how to make housing affordable, Catalyst offers a positive, solutions-oriented alternative source of commentary on the issues that matter most.

As Catalyst grows, we will continuously strive to present readers with new ideas, independent thinking, and real-world stories of those individuals and communities quietly working hard to address the very issues that we are so often told can only be solved through external intervention. Every individual has the potential to change things for the better, to be a catalyst.

Catalyst is a project of the Independent Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan, public-policy research and educational organization, with the mission to boldly advance peaceful, prosperous, and free societies grounded in a commitment to human worth and dignity.

Editor-in-Chief

Gavin Hanson is Editor-in-Chief of Catalyst. He has served as Managing Editor of The Libertarian Republic, co-founded an SEO start-up, and been published in the Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, the Foundation for Economic Education, Lone Conservative and, of course, The Libertarian Republic. He has experience growing readership and reaching younger demographics with powerful ideas. Gavin graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in History. Follow him on Twitter: @gavinphanson.

Jonathan Fuentes is a Catalyst Policy Fellow and a legal assistant for a national employment law firm in Washington, D.C. His academic interests include methods of constitutional interpretation, the separation of powers, and the history of the U.S. Supreme Court. He earned his B.A. in political science and history from the University of California, Berkeley.
Catalyst posts by Jonathan Fuentes

Denny Han is a Catalyst Policy Fellow and a researcher based in Oakland, CA. His work is focused on common ground policy solutions for domestic wealth and poverty issues, as well as American foreign policy. He earned his BA in political science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Catalyst posts by Denny Han

Luka Ladan is the President and CEO of Zenica Public Relations and a Catalyst Policy Fellow. Prior to founding Zenica, Ladan served as Communications Director at a leading public affairs firm in Washington, D.C.
Catalyst posts by Luka Ladan

Paige Lambermont is a Catalyst Policy Fellow and Policy Associate at the Institute for Energy Research. In her role, she writes about the impacts of government policy on energy markets. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from American University and is from Butler, Pennsylvania.
Catalyst posts by Paige Lambermont

Ross Marchand is a Catalyst Policy Fellow and the director of policy for the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. He focuses on a range of issues, ranging from health-care reform to internet regulation to Postal Service-related issues. Ross is an alumnus of the Mercatus Center MA Fellowship at George Mason University, where he received his MA in economics in 2016. He has interned for the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the American Legislative Exchange Council, analyzing and blogging on a variety of public policy issues.
Catalyst posts by Ross Marchand

Conor Norris is a Catalyst Policy Fellow and a Research Analyst with the Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation (CSOR) at Saint Francis University. His areas of interest include occupational licensing and health care scope of practice laws, monetary policy, and long-run growth. Conor is an alumnus of the Mercatus Center MA Fellowship at George Mason University, where he received his MA in economics in 2018. He interned at the Cato Institute in 2017 in the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives.
Catalyst posts by Connor Norris

Spenser Stenmark is a Catalyst Policy Fellow and covers natural resource management, forestry, fire ecology, and other critical policy issues affecting the Pacific Northwest.
Catalyst posts by Spenser Stenmark