POGO Adds Staff with Expertise on Homeland Security, Surveillance, and Federal Spending

The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) expanded its investigative staff this week with three hires that bring a wealth of experience unearthing stories involving homeland security, government surveillance, and federal spending. POGO conducts original investigations into federal government operations, particularly where powerful interests and policy intersect and where there are abuses that harm the public. POGO’s expansion signals the organization’s continuing commitment to spotlighting problems with the aim of sparking reforms that benefit the public interest.

Peter Tyler has nearly two decades of congressional experience in the US Senate and US House of Representatives. While a senior professional staffer on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Peter conducted oversight on a wide range of government agencies and programs, from the Pentagon to Social Security to Medicare and Medicaid. He has written multiple bills that became law, focusing on government reform and reducing improper payments and fraud in federal spending. Peter also worked in congressional affairs and advocacy, most recently for the Office of the Inspector General of the US Department of Health and Human Services. He graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a bachelor’s degree in Politics.

Laura Peterson has more than 20 years of experience as an oversight watchdog. Most recently, she was a staffer on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee where she examined the federal security clearance system. Previously, she examined wasteful government programs as a senior policy analyst at Taxpayers for Common Sense, edited authors from around the world at Foreign Policy magazine, and worked on award-winning investigations of Pentagon contracting and private military companies as a staff writer for the Center for Public Integrity. Laura holds a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

Andrea Peterson (no relation to Laura) is a journalist with extensive experience reporting on cybersecurity, privacy, and surveillance. From 2013 to 2016, she covered technology policy for The Washington Post. While at the Post, she helped break stories from the cache of National Security Agency documents leaked by former government contractor Edward Snowden, and news about the Obama administration’s internal deliberations about encryption policy. Prior to the Post, Andrea reported for Think Progress. Her work has also been published by Slate, Science Progress, and the Sunlight Foundation. Andrea earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and East Asian languages and cultures from the University of Kansas.

“Each of these hires strategically advances POGO’s capacity to identify systemic wrongdoing in government,” said Danielle Brian, POGO’s executive director. “We are thrilled to have them aboard.”