Mason, C. Nicole: - C. Nicole Mason serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Research and Policy in the Public Interest (CR2PI) and is an inaugural Ascend Fellow at the Aspen Institute. Her writing and commentary has appeared in major newspapers and outlets across the country including MSNBC, CNN, NBC, CBS, Real Clear Politics, the Nation, the Huffington Post, the Progressive, ESSENCE Magazine, the Root, the Griot, the Miami Herald, Democracy Now, and numerous NPR affiliates, among others.