Center of the American Experiment

Center of the American Experiment
Basic facts
Location:	Minnetonka, Minnesota
Type:	501(c)(3)
Top official:	John Hinderaker, President
Founder(s):	Mitch Pearlstein
Year founded:	1990
Website:	Official website

The Center of the American Experiment is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Minnesota. As of September 2025, the organization's website described it as "more than a think tank. It not only researches and produces papers on Minnesota’s economy, education, health care, the family, employee freedom and state and local governance. It also crafts and proposes creative solutions that emphasize free enterprise, limited government, personal responsibility and government accountability."

Background

Mitch Pearlstein founded the Center of the American Experiment in 1990. Pearlstein was a journalist and policy advisor who worked in the U.S. Department of Education under Presidents Ronald Reagan (R) and George H.W. Bush (R). He graduated from Binghamton University with a bachelor's degree in political science in 1970 and obtained a doctorate in education administration from the University of Minnesota in 1980.

As of September 2025, the organization's full mission statement was:

“

Center of the American Experiment is more than a think tank. It not only researches and produces papers on Minnesota’s economy, education, health care, the family, employee freedom and state and local governance. It also crafts and proposes creative solutions that emphasize free enterprise, limited government, personal responsibility and government accountability. American Experiment’s staff advances those solutions by drafting legislation, testifying before legislative committees, placing op-eds in newspapers and magazines across the State of Minnesota and nationally, appearing on radio and television news programs, holding town meetings, and lobbying. Further, American Experiment conducts grassroots advertising campaigns on radio and on the internet, which bring the key findings of American Experiment’s research papers to millions of Minnesotans. And American Experiment carries out investigative reporting, uncovering waste, abuse of power and ineptitude in Minnesota’s state and local governments, schools and unions. For more than 30 years, Center of the American Experiment has been the most impactful and effective public policy organization in Minnesota. It leads the way in creating and advocating policies that make Minnesota a freer, more prosperous and better-governed state.

”

Leadership

As of September 2025, the following individuals held leadership positions at the Center of the American Experiment:

• John Hinderaker, president
• Charles Nickoloff, finance director
• Jennifer Benson, executive director for North Dakota
• Kathryn Johnson, development director
• Mike Amery, director of Greater Minnesota outreach
• Bill Walsh, marketing & communications director
• Peter Zeller, director of operations

As of September 2025, the following individuals sat on the Center of the American Experiment's board of directors:

• Ron Eibensteiner, chairman
• John Hinderaker, president
• Molly Corrigan Cronin, vice chairwoman
• Scott Rile, treasurer
• Edward C. Anderson
• Elam Baer
• Nataly Baig
• Michael E. Barry
• Robert Breckner
• Wendy Dankey
• Mitchell Davis
• Jerry Dettinger
• Barbara Dovolis
• Greg Frandsen
• Ben Golnik
• Sharon Hawkins
• Michael Hayden
• Lowell W. Hellervik
• Carol Hockert
• Robin Norgaard Kelleher
• Russell S. King
• Mark Kroll
• Robert Kukuljan
• Jeremy LaBeau
• Kenneth W. Morris
• Charles Nickoloff
• Mike O'Shaughnessy
• Rick Penn
• Ted Risdall
• Kevin Roche
• Kent Roers
• Thomas J. Rosen
• Ronald Schutz
• Daniel J. Spiegel
• Ross Strehlow
• Barb Sutter
• Ben Wilmoth
• Ronald Youngdahl
• Nick Zerwas'

Work and activities

Legislative and policy work

As of September 2025, the Center of the American Experiment published news articles and longer reports outlining the results of its research. It also hosted in-person events and produced a podcast. The organization conducted research in the following seven issue areas: The three most recently-published articles in each issue area, as of September 26, 2025, are linked as a sample of the organization's work.

• Economy
  • Gov. Walz's record: Number of Minnesotans employed is lower than in 2018
  • New data show poverty in Minnesota still at pandemic levels
  • Gov. Walz's record: Since 2018, job growth in Minnesota is less than half the national rate
• Education
  • Parents, save your receipts for the K-12 Education Subtraction or Credit!
  • 7k for Kids Fun Run a huge success
  • Inside the dizzying world of false student achievement
• Energy & Environment
  • Idaho antimony project gets approval
  • WSJ letter: The recipe for reasonable U.S. electric bills
  • A ratepayer's guide to rate cases
• Governance
  • DOJ sues Steve Simon over voter list access
  • Poll: Fraud top of mind as voters consider third term for Gov. Tim Walz
  • THIRD-TERM TIM?! Breaking Poll Raises Questions
• Health Care
  • Tylenol advisory makes more sense than the apoplectic response to it
  • Trump, Kennedy link Tylenol to autism, approve treatment
  • Why Medicaid money is paying for people to not look for a house
• Public Safety
  • 7 counties help ICE, 80 don't
  • Sowing and reaping
  • Banning assault-style rifles: information to guide the debate
• Spending & Taxes
  • Another day, another fraud
  • First defendant charged in autism-clinic fraud
  • Fraud warnings ignored

Notable endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

This section displays endorsements this organization made in elections within Ballotpedia's coverage scope. Know of one we missed? Click here to let us know.

Affiliations

As of September 2025, the Center of the American Experiment was one of five Minnesota-based organizations affiliated with the State Policy Network.

Finances

The following is a breakdown of the Center of the American Experiment's revenues and expenses from 2001 to 2024. The information comes from ProPublica.

Center of the American Experiment financial data 2001-2024

Year	Revenue	Expenses
2001	$0.9 million	$1.0 million
2002	$0.9 million	$0.9 million
2003	$1.0 million	$1.0 million
2004	$0.8 million	$1.0 million
2005	$1.0 million	$1.0 million
2006	$0.6 million	$0.7 million
2007	$0.9 million	$0.8 million
2008	$0.8 million	$0.7 million
2009	$0.7 million	$0.7 million
2010	$0.7 million	$0.7 million
2011	$0.8 million	$0.8 million
2012	$1.1 million	$1.0 million
2013	$1.1 million	$0.9 million
2014	$1.2 million	$1.1 million
2015	$1.2 million	$1.1 million
2016	$1.8 million	$1.6 million
2017	$2.3 million	$2.2 million
2018	$3.7 million	$3.1 million
2019	$4.1 million	$3.2 million
2020	$3.6 million	$4.0 million
2021	$5.4 million	$4.5 million
2022	$3.4 million	$5.0 million
2023	$4.7 million	$4.9 million
2024	$4.3 million	$4.2 million

See also

• What is an influencer?
• 501(c)(3)
• State Policy Network

External links

• Center of the American Experiment official website
• Center of the American Experiment North Dakota official website
• Center of the American Experiment on X
• Center of the American Experiment on Facebook
• Center of the American Experiment on Instagram
• Center of the American Experiment on LinkedIn
• Center of the American Experiment on YouTube
• Center of the American Experiment on TikTok