New America Appoints Brigid Schulte as New Breadwinning and Caregiving Director

New America is delighted to announce the appointment of Brigid Schulte as the new director of our Breadwinning and Caregiving program. She will succeed Liza Mundy who will become a senior fellow in order to research and write a new book over the next year.

Schulte is an award-winning journalist for the Washington Post and has been a New America fellow since 2011. While a New America fellow, she authored Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When Nobody Has the Time, which hit the New York Times bestseller list in both hardback and paperback, and was named a Washington Post and NPR notable nonfiction book of the year in 2014.

The Breadwinning and Caregiving program fosters engaged community dialogue and highlights transformative solutions around issues including work-life integration, the disconnect between outdated policies and cultural attitudes and modern life, improved access to high quality child care, the changing definition of family, gender gaps and conscious discrimination and unconscious bias in education and the workplace, expanded opportunities for diverse female leadership, and the global context. Through powerful writing, influential research, informed debate and inspiring events, the program champions elevated public dialogue about workers, caregivers and families’ strengths and needs in today’s changing world.

Schulte will also lead the launch of The Good Life Initiative within Breadwinning and Caregiving, which will explore redesigning the overwork culture, re-imagining gender roles for a fairer division of labor and opportunity at work and at home, and instead of promoting status in busyness, recapturing the value of leisure. In short, how addressing work-life issues in a fresh way all up and down the socio-economic scale are key to excellence, productivity and innovation, full, authentic, healthy and meaningful lives, a new definition of success and true American prosperity.

The following statement can be attributed to Brigid Schulte, Director of Breadwinning and Caregiving at New America:

“I am so honored and beyond excited to be joining New America and the amazing team that my friend and colleague, Liza Mundy, has put together under the visionary leadership of Anne-Marie Slaughter. I look forward to leading the effort to elevate the conversation about how we work and live, highlight transformative solutions and change the narrative of what’s possible.”

The following statement can be attributed to Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America:

“Brigid helped catalyze a national conversation about the toll that overwork and outdated policies are taking on all of our lives, and we are thrilled to have her lead in this new role.

“She will take over from the immensely talented Liza Mundy, who has both defined and built Breadwinning and Caregiving over the past two years. Liza will stay in our orbit as a senior fellow as she devotes more of her time to write what we know will be a fabulous book about female codebreakers during World War II.

“It's clear that the Breadwinning and Caregiving program would not be where it is today without Liza's leadership, vision, fresh ideas, and collaborative spirit. We're delighted that she will continue to be an integral part of the New America network.”