Choosing the Public Interest 
Essays From the First Public Interest Research Group

They blazed new trails for people seeking a better world. These are their stories.

In 1970, a group of young people chose to take their values to work at a new sort of profession. They formed the Public Interest Research Group, a nonpartisan, nonprofit voice for consumers, taxpayers, open and honest government, and the environment.

Working under the renowned consumer advocate Ralph Nader, they helped prove it’s possible to make real and lasting improvements in the lives of millions of Americans-and make an honest, and modest, living doing it. Now they are sharing their stories to challenge young people today and tomorrow to make the pursuit of positive social change their life’s work too.