In Memory of Sherle Schwenninger

New America is deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Sherle Schwenninger, co-founder and former director of many New America programs, including the Fellows Program, Economic Growth Program, American Strategy Program, Next Social Contract Initiative, and New America NYC’s World Economic Roundtable.

New America was founded by public intellectuals with a commitment to big ideas that would have real impact, and Sherle was a brilliant embodiment of that ethos. As his family said in a statement, “the overarching goal of Sherle’s life was advancing world peace and stability through his policy work and mentoring others to advance his ideals.” Sherle played many different roles at New America, he was a mentor to many, and he knew how to shine the spotlight on others while quietly getting things done.

New America extends sincere condolences to Sherle’s family and friends.

Tribute

Mark Schmitt, Political Reform Program Director

It's too bad that only a few of us at New America today had the chance to work with or know Sherle. He was a remarkable person, and the organization, particularly the spirit of the fellows program, owes a lot to him. If Ted Halstead provided the audacious, entrepreneurial spark that got us started and funded, it was Sherle who quietly turned the vision into something real. An editor once said to me that Sherle should be credited as co-author on dozens of books, and I know many authors who have said something similar. Sometimes it was a short, incisive observation that got someone's project on track; in other cases a more thorough analysis and gentle overhaul. He seemed to have an intuitive understanding of what people needed to achieve their own aspirations, whether writing a book or designing our early policy programs. 

Sherle's own views were fascinating—his obituary credits the influence of Robert Kennedy, but I think of him as more representative of an almost-forgotten Midwestern progressive tradition, one that had a broad international perspective and saw peace and well-being in the world as essential to our own flourishing in the U.S. But as much as he was guided by his own values, what he really cared about was helping every person who passed through New America, or the other organizations he was involved in, figure out what they wanted to express or to achieve, and nudge them toward doing it well.

Sherle was also very much a New Yorker—he would come to D.C. for every single fellows lunch, or if he was needed for a meeting, but not otherwise —but it was common to run into him in New York: on the street, in a bookstore, at a conference.  He really lived in the world of ideas, in an almost old-fashioned way, more than the world of policy. 

As much as the organization has changed and evolved over the years, a lot of Sherle's spirit is still a part of it, which is a very good thing.