2025 Distinguished Practitioners

Frank Barry is a Bloomberg Opinion Columnist and Editorial Board Member covering national affairs, with a special focus on polarization. He served as Chief Speechwriter on the Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign after having been Director of Speechwriting and Public Affairs for New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, where he also helped design and implement a variety of government reform initiatives. He is the author of two books: Back Roads and Better Angels: A Journey Into the Heart of American Democracy (2024), and The Scandal of Reform: The Grand Failures of New York's Political Crusaders and the Death of Nonpartisanship (2009). 

Joseph Dorman is a documentary filmmaker whose work explores historical and political ideas. He is currently working on a film about the 1873 Colfax Massacre. His film Arguing the World, about four eminent New York intellectuals, won a Peabody Award. Other films include Moynihan (2019) on the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Colliding Dreams (2016) about the history of the Zionist idea, and Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness (2011). He wrote the script for The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Journey, which was named the best documentary of 2001 by the National Board of Review.

Joseph has written for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and published two books: Arguing the World (2001) and When Ideas Mattered: The Nathan Glazer Reader (2017). He is an adjunct professor of film at New York University and a practicing therapist in New York City.

Ron Kassimir has worked for over 30 years at the intersection of social science research, philanthropy, higher education, and knowledge utilization, assuming increasing levels of leadership and responsibility throughout his career. He dedicated a decade to the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), serving as a Program Director for its initiatives in Africa and a dissertation fellowship program. Following that, he transitioned to senior higher education administration at The New School, where he held the positions of Associate Dean and later Associate Provost for Research.

Kassimir was subsequently invited back to SSRC in a senior role at the organization-wide level, ultimately becoming Vice-President for Programs. His career has encompassed a blend of intellectual leadership, cross-disciplinary collaboration, organizational strategy, and fundraising. Most recently, he served as a Senior Advisor at Columbia World Projects and held the position of Interim Director of its Center for Political Economy. He has consulted for foundations and non-profits, and he is currently engaged in writing on the impact of research on policy decisions.