Click on the photo to download a larger, print-quality image. As a California-based Fellow at the New America Foundation, T.A. Frank focused his writing on law, criminal justice, and labor. With a robust technology sector, busy ports, and a changing economy, California is faced with new sorts of crime, such as terrorism, cybercrime, and financial fraud. Mr. Frank explored issues such as how prosecutors set their priorities, how police are approaching crime, which crimes are occurring, and what sort of rehabilitation works. Developments in California's labor market are equally far-reaching. As the state makes the transition to a postindustrial economy, with information technology propelling growth, trade increasing, and manufacturing steadily declining, the nature of work in California is changing rapidly. Mr. Frank also looked at how Californians are adapting to the evolving economic landscape. His Irvine fellowship concluded in early 2010.

Mr. Frank has written for The New Republic, The American Prospect, The Weekly Standard, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Washington Monthly, where he is an editor. Before becoming a journalist, he worked in Los Angeles in the field of corporate social responsibility monitoring, visiting factories in California and around the world to assess their labor conditions. He holds a B.A. in East Asian studies from Columbia University. In the 1990s, he played bass for the rock band Jonathan Fire-Eater, and he's always happy to meet the odd soul who's heard of it.