During his 16 years with the Boston Herald and the Detroit News, and as a nationally-syndicated columnist, Warren T. Brookes, in the words of Thomas Bray of the Detroit News, "made a virtual career out of questioning the conventional wisdoms of the so-called experts." He "delighted precisely in the unconventional wisdom, not only about economics but also about a wide range of subjects."

Warren Brookes and CEI had a special relationship, sharing information and trading the woeful tales that inevitably arise from working in Washington. After Brookes' death in 1991, CEI established the Warren T. Brookes Fellowship to keep his legacy alive. Through the program, CEI identifies and trains talented young people and experienced journalists who wish to improve their knowledge of environmental issues and free market economics. In this manner, the program seeks to perpetuate Brookes' tradition of reporting from a sound scientific and economic perspective. 

Current Fellow

Matt Patterson is a columnist and commentator whose work has appeared in some of the nation's top newspapers and political sites, including the Washington Post, New York Post, Washington Examiner, American Thinker, and FOXNews.com.  His work has been cited on air by Sean Hannity, quoted in Forbes and The Week magazine, and featured on the Drudge Report, RealClearPolitics, and RushLimbaugh.com, among many others.
 
Currently Matt is the Warren T. Brookes Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute and senior editor at the Capital Research Center, where he oversees the publications Labor Watch and Green Watch.
 
From 2009 to 2010, Matt was a Washington Fellow at the National Review Institute and policy analyst for the National Center for Public Policy Research.  Previously he served as research assistant to Charles Krauthammer and a political coordinator for the Rudy Giuliani 2008 presidential campaign.  
 
In 2007 Matt graduated from Columbia University in New York City, where he studied Greek and Latin.

Former Fellows

2010-2011 - Kathryn Ciano

2009-2010 - Ryan Young

2008-2009 - Silvia Santacruz

2007-2008 - Lene Johansen

2006-2007 - Jeremy Lott

2005-2006 – Timothy Carney

2004-2005 - John Berlau, Director of CEI's Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs.

2003-2004 - Neil Hrab

2002-2003 - Hugo Gurdon

2001-2002 - Eileen Ciesla-Norcross

2000-2001 - Sean Paige

1999 - Brian Doherty

1997-1998 - Jesse Walker

1996 - James Bovard 

1995 - Michelle Malkin

1994 - Michael Fumento 

1993 - Ronald Bailey

Apply for the Fellowship

To apply to become the next Warren T. Brookes fellow, please send cover letter, résumé, and writing samples (such as articles and op-eds) to chall@cei.org.