Charles Lewis has been called "the Paul Revere of our time." He founded and for 15 years was the executive director of Center for Public Integrity, the largest nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative reporting organization in the world. In 1997, he initiated its International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the first and biggest working network of investigative reporters across borders-now with 92 reporters and editors in 48 countries. After earning a BA in political science, and a masters in international studies (John Hopkins Univ.), Lewis worked for 11 years (1976-1988) as an investigative reporter at ABC News and as a producer for 60 Minutes, where two of his exposes were Emmy-nominated. Craving long-form investigative reporting and public-service journalism, he founded "the Center" in 1989 and steered it to enormous heights: More than 300 investigative reports (from political influence and corruption to organized crime and arms trafficking), vast computer databases, 14 books, and two dozen national journalism honors. In 2004, the Center received a Polk award for its report on US government contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and it published The Corruption Notebooks -- a hard-hitting collection of essays by top investigative journalists on the status of corruption in 25 countries. Lewis received the PEN USA First Amendment award in 2004 for "exceptional courage" and "selfless commitment" to free expression. He is now professor of journalism at American University and the founder and executive editor of the Investigative Reporting Workshop in Washington. He is also the co-author of five books, including the bestseller, "The Buying of the President 2004."

contact: charlesl (at) american.edu