Michelson Center for Public Policy

 

We at the Michelson Center for Public Policy believe that government is the great lever of change to catalyze sustainable, scalable, and replicable solutions. And so, we leverage our passion and resources to uplift disadvantaged communities by ensuring that important topics of conversation arrive and stay at the forefront of local, state, and national policy.

 
 

Issues We Support

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Education & Equity

A history of systemic and financial barriers has stunted college students' abilities to stay enrolled, graduate, and utilize their degrees to improve their quality of life. Students face obstacles including publishing cartels limiting their ability to access education resources, internet service providers' limitations to broadband access, and the increasing burden on all students - regardless of their history - to be housed and healthy.

The Michelson Center for Public Policy will utilize its influence and leverage to work with government agencies and pass legislation to combat this inequities.

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Medical Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical need to invest in medical research, healthcare, and treatment reforms that encourage scientific collaboration, fuel disruptive thinking, and accelerate the translation of innovative ideas from the laboratory into real vaccines and treatments that can be accessed by patients.

The Michelson Center for Public Policy works with policymakers to meet these goals by advocating for policies that expand the National Institutes for Health, support early career researchers, and modernize the Food and Drug Administration.

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Animal Welfare

Animals are a truly voiceless population. They intersect with communities at every sector - companion animals, wildlife, farm animals - and their well-being is largely predicated on the rules, regulations, and norms set forth by humans. It is our responsibility to consider animal welfare and protection at every intersection in our lives.

The Michelson Center for Public Policy champions lifesaving efforts, prevention of cruelty, and protection of our animal communities by supporting elected offices who craft lifesaving animal welfare legislation and working with government agencies to enact responsible public policy.

 
 
 

News

Education and Equity
We Must Champion Our Student Parents
We Must Champion Our Student Parents

As we honor the dedication and love of father figures this June, it’s critical to spotlight a demographic in urgent need of support: student parents.

MCPP Expresses Strong Support for Assembly Bill 2458 (Berman)
MCPP Expresses Strong Support for Assembly Bill 2458 (Berman)

AB 2458 would improve college affordability, access, and success for student parents in California.

Request for Budget Action to Address CDCR Release Allowance Issues
Request for Budget Action to Address CDCR Release Allowance Issues

MCPP urges budget leaders to take action to address the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) unfair practice of deducting release allowance funds for returning citizens.

Michelson Center for Public Policy Applauds Los Angeles County and WeLink for Bringing High-Speed, Low-Cost Internet Options to Areas Impacted by the Digital Divide
Michelson Center for Public Policy Applauds Los Angeles County and WeLink for Bringing High-Speed, Low-Cost Internet Options to Areas Impacted by the Digital Divide

This Partnership Will Provide New Internet Options for Up to 275,000 Households and Small Businesses in East and South Los Angeles.

Michelson Center for Public Policy Advocates for Digital Equity in California
Michelson Center for Public Policy Advocates for Digital Equity in California

Member organizations of the California Alliance for Digital Equity (CADE) gathered in Sacramento last week to advocate for the passage of AB 2239.

Landmark Legislation to End Digital Discrimination in California Passes the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee 
Landmark Legislation to End Digital Discrimination in California Passes the Assembly Communications and Conveyance Committee 

AB 2239 by Assemblymember Mia Bonta would make California the first state in the nation to legally define “digital discrimination”

Legislation to Enhance College Affordability, Access, and Success for Student Parents Passes the Assembly Higher Education Committee
Legislation to Enhance College Affordability, Access, and Success for Student Parents Passes the Assembly Higher Education Committee

AB 2458 by Assemblymember Marc Berman would help the 400,000 student parents in California better access the financial aid they need

Request for Signature - AB 1887 (Cervantes) 
Request for Signature - AB 1887 (Cervantes) 

Assembly Bill 1887 will extend the application deadline for state financial aid programs from April 2 to May 2 to help ensure that more California students are able to complete the FAFSA and gain access to the financial resources they need to begin their college educations in earnest.

Michelson Center for Public Policy Expresses Strong Support for AB 2458 (Berman): GAINS for Student Parents Act
Michelson Center for Public Policy Expresses Strong Support for AB 2458 (Berman): GAINS for Student Parents Act

Assembly Bill 2458 would improve college affordability, access, and success for student parents in California.

Fall 2023 Newsletter
Fall 2023 Newsletter

Welcome to the Fall 2023 edition of our Michelson Center for Public Policy (MCPP) newsletter. Government is the great lever of change to catalyze sustainable, scalable, and replicable solutions.

Medical Research
MCPP is proud to join 100+ organizations in support of Dr. Monica Bertagnolli as the next director of the National Institutes of Health
MCPP is proud to join 100+ organizations in support of Dr. Monica Bertagnolli as the next director of the National Institutes of Health

We have full confidence in Dr. Bertagnolli and respectfully ask the Senate HELP Committee and members of the Senate to swiftly confirm her as the next director of the NIH.

Statement on Governor Newsom’s Proposed Budget Allocation to Support the Establishment of the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy
Statement on Governor Newsom’s Proposed Budget Allocation to Support the Establishment of the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy

Gary K. Michelson, M.D., issued a statement following the announcement of Governor Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal to invest $500 million towards the establishment of the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy.

To Support Future Medical Advances, Revamp the Rules for Funding Research
To Support Future Medical Advances, Revamp the Rules for Funding Research

Dr. Gary Michelson shares his commentary on why bold, young scientists have the potential to revolutionize scientific research and accelerate the pace of innovation.

To Vaccinate Our Economy, Boost Support for the NIH
To Vaccinate Our Economy, Boost Support for the NIH

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the world’s single largest funder of medical research, the very fuel that feeds the American engine of medical discovery and the linchpin to our country’s post-COVID economic recovery.

Increasing NIH Funding is Critical to Advancing Medical Research
Increasing NIH Funding is Critical to Advancing Medical Research

The Michelson Center for Public Policy joins nearly 400 organizations and institutions across the NIH stakeholder community to recommend an appropriation of $46.1 billion for the NIH in FY 2022, a $3.2 billion increase over the NIH’s program level funding in FY 2021.

Philanthropy Should Help Fund Exceptional Young Scientists
Philanthropy Should Help Fund Exceptional Young Scientists

This venture joins other philanthropies, like the partnership between the Blavatnik Family Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences, and the Pershing Square Foundation, which award prizes to young scientists who have the potential to transform the future of human health.

Animal Welfare
Support for SB 1233: Advancing Animal Welfare and Veterinary Training
Support for SB 1233: Advancing Animal Welfare and Veterinary Training

SB 1233 aims to address the veterinary shortage and reduce pet overpopulation in California, ensuring more timely and accessible spay/neuter services.

Michelson Center for Public Policy Expresses Strong Support for AB 2012 (Lee): Rabies Control Data
Michelson Center for Public Policy Expresses Strong Support for AB 2012 (Lee): Rabies Control Data

Assembly Bill 2012 would require the Department of Public Health to resume collecting specified data, including in-take figures and categories of outcomes such as adoptions and euthanasia, from public animal shelters as part of their annual rabies control activities reporting.

Low-cost solution to L.A.’s animal shelter crisis
Low-cost solution to L.A.’s animal shelter crisis

Last week, individuals and organizations advocating for animals rallied at Los Angeles City Hall and asked our city leaders to do more to fix the overcrowding crisis afflicting our local shelters. As the largest private animal welfare foundation in Los Angeles for the past two decades, we feel compelled to weigh in.

Fall 2023 Newsletter
Fall 2023 Newsletter

Welcome to the Fall 2023 edition of our Michelson Center for Public Policy (MCPP) newsletter. Government is the great lever of change to catalyze sustainable, scalable, and replicable solutions.

Progress Made in 2023 Towards Creating a More Equitable California
Progress Made in 2023 Towards Creating a More Equitable California

Michelson Center for Public Policy applauds Governor Gavin Newsom and California State Legislature for enacting legislation to improve the lives of Californians and their pets

Pets and People Belong Together, No Matter Where they Live
Pets and People Belong Together, No Matter Where they Live

A Key Component to Addressing California’s Homelessness Crisis is Pet-Inclusive Affordable and Temporary Housing. The following is an opinion piece published in Capitol Weekly and authored by Brett Yates, CEO of Michelson Found Animals.

Michelson Found Animals Commends the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Unanimous Motion for a Plan to Reduce Euthanasia Rates at County Animal Shelters 
Michelson Found Animals Commends the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Unanimous Motion for a Plan to Reduce Euthanasia Rates at County Animal Shelters 

Michelson Found Animals Foundation lauded the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for passing a motion to significantly reduce animal shelter euthanasia

Request to Top Democrats to put the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 on the House suspension calendar, send it to the President this year
Request to Top Democrats to put the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 on the House suspension calendar, send it to the President this year

Because it helps people and animals, the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 has received over 200 endorsements, including 21 biotech companies, 34 medical associations and patient advocacy groups, and 135 animal welfare organizations.

Welcome Alternatives to Animal Testing
Welcome Alternatives to Animal Testing

New legislation will allow more innovative and human-relevant testing platforms to expedite the development of promising drugs, write Dr. Gary Michelson and Dr. Aysha Akhtar.

Congressional Leaders Introduce Legislation to Keep Families and Pets Together in Public Housing
Congressional Leaders Introduce Legislation to Keep Families and Pets Together in Public Housing

Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Lauren Underwood (D-IL), and Cori Bush (D-MO) cited Michelson Found Animals Foundation’s (MFA) recent Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative (PIHI) report when introducing a new bill that will allow families to keep their beloved pets in the home by prohibiting vague and sweeping restrictions against dogs based on breed or size.

  • “It is our responsibility to leave the world a better place than we found it—to make life a little less unfair for those less fortunate.”

    Dr. Gary K. Michelson and Alya Michelson, Co-Chairs