Meet the Speakers
EXPERT DISCUSSION 1: DEEP DIVE ON ALASKA
Senator Lisa Murkowski
Lisa Murkowski, Alaska’s senior U.S. Senator, is a third generation Alaskan proudly serving as the first Alaskan born senator. Murkowski was born in Ketchikan and raised in towns across the state, including Wrangell, Juneau, Fairbanks, and Anchorage.
Representative Mary Peltola
Mary Sattler Peltola is a Yup’ik Eskimo, salmon advocate, and Democrat who represented the Bethel region in the Alaska House of Representatives for 10 years. As a lawmaker, Mary helped rebuild the Bush Caucus that improved lives in rural Alaska under her tenure as Chair.
State Senator Cathy Giessel
AK State Senator Cathy Giessel was born & raised in the community of Fairbanks, and in the Territory of Alaska. She has served in the State Senate from 2011 through 2020, and again from 2023 to present. She served as Senate president from 2019 through 2020, and her focus has been on state resource development, health topics, arctic issues, and budget.
Amy Walter
Amy Walter is the Publisher and Editor-In-Chief of The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. For more than 25 years, Amy Walter has built a reputation as an accurate, objective, and insightful political analyst with unparalleled access to campaign insiders and decision-makers.
EXPERT DISCUSSION 2: THE WOMEN FUNDING THE MOVEMENT
Winny Chen
Associate Director for the Governance program at Democracy Fund
Winny Chen is the Associate Director for the Governance program at Democracy Fund, an independent foundation working to ensure that our political system is able to withstand new challenges and deliver on its promise to the American people.
Laura Arnold
Philanthropist and co-founder of Arnold Ventures
Laura Arnold, born Laura Munoz, is an American philanthropist and activist. Together with her husband, the retired hedge fund manager John D. Arnold, she is the co-founder of the Laura and John Arnold Foundation and the grantmaking organization Arnold Ventures.
Kathryn Murdoch
Co-Founder and President of the Quadrivium Foundation
Kathryn Murdoch is co-founder and president of Quadrivium, which supports practical, evidence-based solutions for critical societal problems. Kathryn currently serves on the boards of Unite America, the Climate Leadership Council and Climate Central. She is a founding board member of SciLine and co-chairs the Oceans and Communications committees as a trustee of the Environmental Defense Fund.
TAKE ACTION PANEL: 2024 RANKED CHOICE VOTING BALLOT MEASURES
Diane Silver
Advocacy Manager at FairVote
Diane Silver is FairVote's Advocacy Manager, working to expand support for national ranked choice voting legislation as well as capacity building for state and local RCV efforts.
Sol Mora
Political Director at Oregon Ranked Choice Voting Advocates
Sol Mora was born in Tijuana, Mexico, and grew up in Salem, Oregon. Sol is the Political Director at Oregon Ranked Choice Voting Advocates, working to pass RCV statewide this year.
Lisa Rice
Make All Votes Count (Washington, DC)
Lisa is a political strategist, passionate about reform and political innovation. She is active in bringing productive change to U.S. politics.
Alliana Salanguit
Deputy Director for Alaskans for Better Elections
Alliana Salanguit is the Deputy Director for Alaskans for Better Elections. Alaskans for Better Elections is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to providing public education and research about how Alaska-style elections work. The 501(c)(3) foundation and 501(c)(4) corporation are governed by directors that include Alaskans with diverse political views from every corner of the state.