You are here

Home >

About Us

STANDING UP FOR CONSUMERS—For more than 20 years, Consumer Program Director Ed Mierzwinski has helped us stand up against big banks and credit card companies.

Independent Research and Education

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund conducts research and public education on behalf of Arizona’s consumers and the public interest. Our research, analysis, reports and outreach serve as counterweights to the influence of powerful special interests that threaten our health, safety or well-being.

With public debate around important issues often dominated by special interests pursuing their own narrow agendas, the Arizona PIRG Education Fund offers an independent voice that works on behalf of the public interest. The Arizona PIRG Education Fund works to protect consumers and promote good government. We investigate problems, craft solutions, educate the public, and offer citizens meaningful opportunities for civic participation.

For information about a specific report, please contact the author. If you are a foundation interested in supporting the Arizona PIRG Education Fund's work, or if you have general inquiries, please contact us here.

Our Top Priorities

 

Using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation, the Arizona PIRG Education Fund stands up to powerful interests and delivers concrete results. 


 

CONNECTING ARIZONA WITH RAIL

Arizonans drive more miles, experience more congestion and produce more pollution than they did two decades ago. It’s clear that we need to update and expand our transit system to meet our needs in the 21st century.
 


 

SAVING ENERGY AND MONEY, CUTTING POLLUTION

Energy efficiency is the quickest, cheapest and cleanest way for Arizona to meet its growing energy needs. Arizona PIRG Education Fund is working to educate Arizonans on this clean and healthy alterntative to dirty energy.
 


 

ENSURING SPENDING TRANSPARENCY IN ARIZONA

Seeing how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy. Spending transparency checks corruption, bolsters public confidence, and promotes fiscal responsibility.

 
 

For information about a specific report, please contact the author. If you are a foundation interested in supporting the Arizona PIRG Education Fund's work, or if you have general inquiries, please contact us here.

Arizona PIRG Education Fund Staff - A Partial List

Arizona PIRG Education Fund is an advocate for the public interest. When consumers are cheated, or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, Arizona PIRG Education Fund speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight for the public interest.

white-line.jpg


 

DIANE E. BROWN

Executive Director

(602) 252-9227

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

white-line.jpg


 

SERENA UNREIN

Public Interest Advocate

(602) 252-1184

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

white-line.jpg


 

PHINEAS BAXANDALL

Senior Analyst for Tax & Budget Policy

(617) 747-4351

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

 

THE FEDERATION OF STATE PUBLIC INTEREST RESEARCH GROUP EDUCATION FUNDS

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund is an independent, state-based organization that conducts research and educates for the public interest. 

 

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund is a member of the U.S. PIRG Education Fund.  Together in our state and across the country, we have delivered results-oriented policies, stood up to powerful special interests, and used the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, and litigation to win real results on issues that matter.

 

Across the country, state PIRG Education Funds employ close to 400 policy analysts, scientists and attorneys, and organizers and are active in 47 states, with a federal office in Washington, D.C. On national issues, we also coordinate our efforts, pool resources, and share expertise so that we can have the biggest impact.

 

What's New

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Americans need stronger consumer protections during COVID-19 crisis

U.S. PIRG Education Fund has released a report with the Student Borrower Protection Center and Consumer Action. The report makes recommendations to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to upgrade its consumer complaint tool, including the public consumer complaint database, so COVID19-related complaints can be handled more quickly and tracked better.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | COVID-19

Factory farms: A pandemic in the making. | Matt Wellington

The emergence and spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic is a symptom of how we raise food animals across the world. 

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | COVID-19

Statement: SBA data breach puts business owners at risk of ID theft and other fraud

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced Tuesday that the personal information of nearly 8,000 business owners applying for federal disaster loans had been exposed. The breach affects applicants to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (EIDL), and may have included names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates, email addresses, phone numbers, citizenship statuses and insurance information.

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Tips, COVID-19

Consumer complaints of COVID-19 fraud surpass 15,000

Scammers and other bad actors are trying to take advantage of Americans’ heightened fears around the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and fraud complaints are soaring. Consumer complaints to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) related to the virus surpassed 15,000 Thursday.

> Keep Reading

Pages

News Release | Public Health

Statement on Unilever’s Decision to Disclose Fragrance Ingredients in Personal Care Products

Arizona PIRG Education Fund applauds personal care product giant Unilever US, the maker of popular brands like Dove and Axe, for its announcement today that it will increase fragrance ingredient transparency in its personal care brands.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Public Health, Consumer Protection

Statement on Procter & Gamble’s New Preservative Tracker in Personal Care Products

Personal care product giant Procter & Gamble (P&G) recently unveiled a new preservative tracker, which lets consumers know which preservatives are included in various categories of P&G’s products, such as baby wipes, skin care, and hair care products. Consumers can search the tracker by ingredient or by product type.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Analysis of Predatory Lending Complaints Reveals Need for Stronger Federal Protections

Consumer complaints about predatory lending to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) show a critical need for strengthening the agency’s proposed rule to rein in payday loans and other high-cost lending, according to a report by the Arizona PIRG Education Fund.

> Keep Reading
News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Consumer Groups Outraged by Utility Rate Increase

Consumer groups are severely concerned about the impact on UniSource Electric residential electric customers, particularly low- and fixed-income customers, from an Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC)-approved rate increase and a 50 percent increase in the mandatory monthly fee or “basic service charge.”

> Keep Reading
News Release | U.S.PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection, Make VW Pay, Transportation

Framework for VW Settlement Announced

Statement by Mike Litt, Consumer Program Advocate at U.S. PIRG Education Fund, on todays announced VW settlement. For more details on what a strong settlement agreement ought to look like, please see the open letter that we released earlier this week with other consumer and environmental groups.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Greasing the Wheels

In the wake of the Minnesota I-35 bridge collapse, there was enormous public outcry and recognition of the need to repair our crumbling infrastructure. Americans expected public officials to respond to the tragedy with a large scale effort to address the nearly 73,000 structurally deficient bridges in this country. The findings in this report suggest that did not happen.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Safe Energy

Pioneers for Clean Energy in Arizona

Energy efficiency is the quickest, cheapest and cleanest way for Arizona to meet its growing energy needs. Although the magnitude of the economic situation in Arizona and across the nation is daunting, increasing energy efficiency offers an immediate, proven and important step consumers, businesses and government can take to save money, stimulate the local economy, create jobs and other services, and protect public health.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Budget

Transparency 2.0

The Arizona PIRG Education Fund reviewed how current Arizona policy compares to best practices among Transparency 2.0 states that have upgraded their budget transparency systems. This report makes the case that Arizona must seize the opportunity to become a leader of the nationwide movement of state governments enhancing budget transparency in order to increase efficiency, accountability, and public trust.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

A Public Interest Internet Agenda

Connecting our entire nation via high-speed broadband will bring remarkable economic, social, cultural, personal, and other benefits. Robust economic development, job creation, improved health care at lower costs, enhanced educational opportunities, increased homeland security and public safety, reduced energy consumption and pollution, a reinvigorated democracy and more open government – these are just a few of the benefits that will flow from our nation linking its entire population to the Internet at broadband speed.

> Keep Reading
Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

The Facts About Comparative Effectiveness Research

As Congressional and public debate over health care reform grows more intense, comparative effectiveness research (CER) has emerged as an unlikely flashpoint of controversy. Opponents’ claims that CER results in the rationing of health care or a government takeover are belied by the true nature of such research: it is simply fundamental scientific research of medical treatments aimed at determining the most effective ways to treat sickness and injury.

> Keep Reading

Pages

Blog Post | Financial Reform

CFPB announces major investigation of bank overdraft fee practices | Diane E. Brown

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will announce overdraft fee investigation, unveil "penalty box" disclosure, and possibly end $39 lattes.

> Keep Reading

Pages

News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund

Holiday cooking safety guide offers tips on avoiding indoor air pollution from gas stoves

The holiday season often entails spending a lot of hours in the kitchen cooking. As millions of Americans prepare holiday meals to share with their families, a guide by the Arizona PIRG Education Fund offers tips on how to minimize unhealthy air pollution from cooking with gas in your home. Without proper precautions, too much exposure to a gas stove can lead to an unnecessary and invisible health risk, since gas stoves can cause elevated levels of indoor pollution that would exceed legal limits for outdoor air.

Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund

Healthier Holiday: Minimizing the health risks of cooking with gas

Many of our holiday traditions revolve around food. Whatever the tradition, there’s nothing like sharing a meal with family and friends over the holidays. But in millions of homes, there’s a hidden danger lurking in the kitchen. Common across the country, gas stoves can produce levels of indoor air pollution that would be illegal outdoors. This guide describes the potential health risks of cooking with gas and provides tips on how to mitigate those risks and keep your family safe during the holidays. 

News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund

ACC’s Transportation Electrification Plan Approval Will Protect Ratepayers, Help Arizona Act on Climate, & Improve Air Quality

Conservation and public interest groups today welcomed the Arizona Corporation Commission’s (ACC’s) vote to approve the final phase of a comprehensive Transportation Electrification Plan that aims to foster electric vehicle use, charging infrastructure development, and innovative rate designs for electric vehicle (EV) charging. The vote also requires regulated utilities to provide ongoing comprehensive plans at least every three years and report annually on their progress.

News Release | Arizona PIRG Education Fund

New Report: Airlines’ Refund Policies & Scheduling Problems Irk Consumers

When the COVID-19 pandemic turned life upside down in early 2020 and commercial flights came to a near-halt, the U.S. government gave the airline industry $50 billion. Since then, despite surviving because of tax dollars, the airlines repeatedly have canceled and delayed flights, denied refunds and failed at customer service, according to complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund

Not First Class: Flyer complaints soar as airlines cancel flights, deny refunds, ruin plans

Not First Class: Flyer complaints soar as airlines cancel flights, deny refunds, ruin plans, a new report released by the Arizona PIRG Education Fund, analyzed more than 200,000 DOT complaints going back to 2016 and found the airline industry is failing its customers.

Support Us

Your tax-deductible donation supports Arizona PIRG Education Fund's work to educate consumers on the issues that matter, and to stand up to the powerful interests that are blocking progress.

Donate Today

Learn More

You can also support Arizona PIRG Education Fund’s work through bequests, contributions from life insurance or retirement plans, securities contributions and vehicle donations. 

Find out more



Arizona PIRG Education Fund is part of The Public Interest Network, which operates and supports organizations committed to a shared vision of a better world and a strategic approach to social change.