Luke Swarthout works in Washington, DC on higher education access and
affordability issues on behalf of college students across the country. He
develops policy, lobbies and writes on federal student aid issues, student loan
policy and federal higher education policy.
Mr. Swarthout is the author
of several reports on student debt and federal aid including Paying Back, Not
Giving Back: Student Debt’s Negative Impact on Public Service Career
Opportunities. He has been widely quoted as an advocate for students and an
expert on student aid policy in newspapers across the country including The New
York Times, Washington Post, Wall St. Journal, and USA Today.
Before
coming onto staff with the PIRGs, Mr. Swarthout spent four years working with
MASSPIRG as a student at Amherst College. He worked on state and federal energy
policy, wilderness issues and youth voting. In addition, Mr. Swarthout served
for two years as the chair of the MASSPIRG student board of directors, one year
as the chair of the National Student Forum, vice-chair of the U.S. PIRG Board of
Directors, and as a member of the advisory board to the New Voters
Project.
