Jessica Haller is the Executive Director of New Majority NYC, an organization focused on building political power for women in NYC. Jessica comes to this work as an entrepreneur, a climate advocate and a former candidate for NYC Council. As someone who always looks ahead 10 years, Jessica has co-founded start ups in the climate and in fin-tech sectors, worked in digital advertising, and on long term policy solutions to improve equity and resilience in NYC.  Since 2007, Jessica has been a Leader with the Climate Reality Project. She holds an MPA in environmental science and policy form Columbia and a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in the Bronx with her husband and four children.

Ellen L. Weintraub has served as a commissioner on the United States Federal Election Commission since 2002 and has chaired the Commission three times.

During her tenure, Commissioner Weintraub has served as a consistent voice for meaningful campaign-finance law enforcement and robust disclosure. She believes that strong and fair regulation of money in politics is important to prevent corruption and maintain the faith of the American people in their democracy. Commissioner Weintraub is proud to have been part of the group of commissioners who approved the highest civil penalties in the agency’s history and has worked across the aisle to issue rules and opinions to provide guidance to those who engage in politics. She has participated in election-observation missions around the world and in the Commission’s public outreach efforts around the country.

Commissioner Weintraub has consistently sounded the alarm about the risk of foreign influence in U.S. elections. She has shined a spotlight on Russia’s direct attack on the 2016 Presidential election as well as more subtle attacks, such as the use of corporate and “dark-money” spending to serve as a vehicle for foreign influence in our elections. Commissioner Weintraub has also focused on the risk that unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud may result in efforts that deter citizens from voting.

Prior to her appointment to the FEC, Commissioner Weintraub was Of Counsel to the Political Law Group of Perkins Coie LLP and served as Counsel to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for the U.S. House of Representatives (the House ethics committee), where she rewrote the House Ethics Manual and often led the Committee’s public education and compliance initiatives. She is a native New Yorker with degrees from Yale College and Harvard Law School.

Commissioner Weintraub (@EllenLWeintraub) has published articles in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and leading law reviews and is a frequent speaker on news shows and at conferences at home and abroad.

Sarah Blahovec is a disability civic engagement subject matter expert and consultant. She works with organizations to address the barriers to voting and running for office for the one in four Americans who have a disability. She is the former Voting Rights and Civic Engagement Director for the National Council on Independent Living, where she advocated for greater accessibility in elections; educated the disability community on voting rights and works to energize a disability voting bloc; and addressed barriers to running for office for people with disabilities.

As part of her work on disability civic engagement, she was the co-creator of Elevate: Campaign Training or People with Disabilities, the first national run for office training program for people with disabilities. Sarah also worked as the Disability Community Engagement Manager for the Democratic National Committee in 2020. She is a graduate of American University with a degree in International Studies.

Jocelyn Bucaro is a respected national election expert with over a decade of experience running elections in Ohio and Colorado. She is currently the Director of Mobile Voting with Tusk Philanthropies, leading a national effort to improve the voting experience for voters with inherent barriers to voting through innovative technology solutions designed to make our elections more transparent and verifiable. She previously served as the Director of Elections in Denver and in Butler County, Ohio. Her work in Denver and Ohio was recognized with multiple awards, including four national awards from the National Association of Election Officials.

Jocelyn also has extensive experience in government and politics, having served as an aide in the White House and U.S. Senate and on various presidential, statewide and congressional campaigns.

Jocelyn Benson is Michigan's 43rd Secretary of State. In this role, she has ensured elections are secure and accessible, and dramatically improved Secretary of State driver and customer experiences for all Michiganders.

Benson oversaw Michigan’s 2020 and 2022 general elections, both of which drew record-breaking turnout and were more secure than any prior election in state history. She also implemented new voting rights for all eligible Michiganders prior to the 2020 election, including the right to vote absentee, and oversaw more than 250 audits after the election, all of which affirmed its integrity and accuracy.

Benson also transformed the customer service operations of the Secretary of State’s office. She doubled the number of services available online, installed more than 160 self-service stations statewide, mostly at grocery stores, and ended the take-a-ticket-and-wait system that had resulted in hours-long lines at offices for years. Now, most transactions are conducted without an office visit at all and when residents do visit an office, they are in and out in an average of 20 minutes or less.

A graduate of Harvard Law School and expert on civil rights law, education law and election law, Benson served as dean of Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. When she was appointed dean at age 36, she became the youngest woman in U.S. history to lead a top-100, accredited law school. She continues to serve as vice chair of the advisory board for the Levin Center at Wayne Law, which she founded with former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin. Previously, Benson was an associate professor and associate director of Wayne Law’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights.

Benson is the author of State Secretaries of State: Guardians of the Democratic Process, the first major book on the role of the secretary of state in enforcing election and campaign finance laws. She is also a co-founder and former president of Military Spouses of Michigan, a network dedicated to providing support and services to military spouses and their children.

In 2015, she became one of the youngest women in history to be inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame. She received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award and the Presidential Citizens Medal for her work in protecting democracy.

Maggie Toulouse Oliver is New Mexico’s 26th Secretary of State. She has served the people of New Mexico in this role since first being elected in 2016. She was first appointed to public office in 2007 when she became County Clerk in New Mexico’s largest county, Bernalillo County. Elected to her first full term in 2008, Secretary Toulouse Oliver served 2 1/2 terms as County Clerk. Overseeing elections in the state’s largest county gave Secretary Toulouse Oliver detailed, on-the-ground expertise in election administration that has helped to guide her current work overseeing elections statewide.

Secretary Toulouse Oliver has been involved in politics and public policy for over two decades and has made public service the focus of her career. Her work has focused on increasing voter access, running efficient, secure, and fair elections, and bringing more transparency and increased ethical standards to the government.

Secretary Toulouse Oliver worked her way through college and graduate school. While earning her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Political Science from the University of New Mexico, Secretary Toulouse Oliver worked for U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman in his DC Office and on his re-election campaign in 2000. She also gained activism and organizing experience working with Native American tribes in New Mexico, fighting for reproductive justice, and protecting the Environment as the NM State Director for the League of Conservation Voters.

Since becoming Secretary of State she has implemented increased transparency rules for financial disclosure and campaign finance reporting, modernized the online campaign finance system, helped craft and pass good-government legislation like same-day voter registration, automated voter registration, and the state’s newly-formed Ethics Commission.

In addition to her elected position, Secretary Toulouse Oliver is the immediate Past President of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), and has previously served NASS as President, President-Elect, Treasurer, and chair of the elections committee. She serves as a board member of New Mexico’s Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA), the New Mexico Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, and the state Commission on Records and Archives. She is currently a member of the University of Southern California Annenberg Center’s Voter Communication task force, and an advisory board member for the Election Official Legal Defense Network co-founded by national election law experts Benjamin Ginsburg and Bob Bauer.

She is also a Ph.D. Student in Political Science at the University of New Mexico and is a W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network Fellowship alumna. Most importantly, she is the proud mother of two sons, Christian and Max.

Tahesha Way serves as New Jersey’s 34th Secretary of State. She serves as New Jersey’s top election official, overseeing the state Division of Elections and its work in securing our democracy and ensuring broad, fair access to the right to vote. In addition to this critical work, Ms. Way also oversees the state government offices supporting New Jersey’s vibrant arts, culture, history, and business communities.

Ms. Way spearheads the New Jersey Ballot Bowl student voter registration competition and the Jersey Civic Engage initiative to further civic engagement and voter participation.

Throughout her career, Secretary Way has devoted herself to public service. Prior to becoming Secretary of State, she was an Administrative Law Judge for the State of New Jersey. In 2006, Secretary Way was elected to the Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders and served as the Freeholder Director in 2009. She served as special counsel for the Passaic County Board of Social Services, and as a council member for the New Jersey Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council.

Secretary Way currently serves as the President of the National Association of Secretaries of State. Secretary Way is a graduate of Brown University, where she served as Vice President of the collegiate chapter of the NAACP and President of her Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. Ms. Way holds a juris doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law at Charlottesville.

Layla Zaidane is the President & CEO of the Millennial Action Project, the largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers in the United States. MAP works with over 1,600 Millennial and Gen Z elected leaders in Congress and state legislatures to bridge divides, collaborate on future-oriented policy, and scale a healthy culture of democracy. Layla joined MAP in 2016, and previously also served as Executive Director & COO. A nationally recognized expert on youth engagement, Layla has been featured in outlets including Forbes, Teen Vogue, The New York Times, The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, and Refinery29.

Prior to joining MAP, Layla served as the Managing Director for Generation Progress, where she led integrated communications, policy, and advocacy efforts around solutions to the challenges facing today's youth, as well as spearheaded innovative new global youth engagement efforts. She helped launch and manage the It's On Us campaign in partnership with the White House in 2014, and launched the Higher Ed, Not Debt campaign in 2013, a coalition group of dozens of organizations working to make higher education accessible and affordable for all.

Yael Bromberg is the Special Counsel and Strategic Advisor for The Andrew Goodman Foundation (outside counsel), and Principal of Bromberg Law LLC. Bromberg has litigated in state and federal courts across the country on a range of democracy cases.

She serves as a Lecturer at Rutgers Law School, where she teaches Election Law & the Political Process and supervises litigation in the Rutgers International Human Rights Clinic, and is a Visiting Associate with the Eagleton Institute of Politics. She currently works with the Harvard Kennedy School's William Trotter Collaborative for Social Justice on a youth voting rights project, and serves on the advisory council for American Promise, an organization dedicated to ending big money in our political system. She previously worked in the Washington, D.C. headquarters of Common Cause, and taught and supervised litigation in Georgetown University Law Center’s Civil Rights Clinic and Voting Rights Institute.

Her prior experiences include a clerkship with the Honorable Dickinson R. Debevoise in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Bromberg is a graduate of Douglass College and Rutgers School of Law-Newark, where she served as a Kinoy/Stavis Fellow in the Rutgers Constitutional Rights Clinic and received upon graduation the Eli Jarmel Memorial Award for greatest interest and proficiency in public interest law. In 2015, she received the Eric Neisser Public Service Alumni Award in recognition of her work in democracy law, and is the youngest recipient of the award.

Bromberg’s scholarship, “Youth Voting Rights and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment,” published in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law in 2018, has been heralded as a groundbreaking study. As faculty advisor with the Rutgers University Law Review, she facilitated the recent publication of the first-ever legal volume dedicated to the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, and authored the Introductory article, "The Future Is Unwritten: Reclaiming the Twenty-Sixth Amendment."

Bromberg is barred in New Jersey, New York, and the District of Columbia.

Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, Director of Harvard’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, and President of Partners in Democracy. She is a political theorist who has published broadly in democratic theory, political sociology, and the history of political thought. Widely known for her work on justice and citizenship in both ancient Athens and modern America, Allen is the author of Justice by Means of Democracy (2023), The World of Prometheus: The Politics of Punishing in Democratic Athens (2000), Talking to Strangers: Anxieties of Citizenship since Brown vs. the Board of Education (2004), Why Plato Wrote (2010), Our Declaration: A Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Defense of Equality (2014), Education and Equality (2016), and Cuz: The Life and Times of Michael A. (2017). She is the co-editor of the award-winning Education, Justice, and Democracy (2013, with Rob Reich) and From Voice to Influence: Understanding Citizenship in the Digital Age (2015, with Jennifer Light). She is a former Chair of the Mellon Foundation Board, past Chair of the Pulitzer Prize Board, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

She has chaired numerous commission processes and is a lead author on influential policy roadmaps, including Pursuing Excellence on a Foundation of Inclusion; Roadmap to Pandemic Resilience; Pandemic Resilience: Getting it Done; Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century; and Education for American Democracy: Excellence in History and Civics for all Learners K-12.  She was for many years a contributing columnist for the Washington Post and writes for the Atlantic.

Allen is the founding director for the Democratic Knowledge Project Design Studio, which emerged from the Democratic Knowledge Project, a distributed research and action lab at Harvard University.  Allen's lab, the Democratic Knowledge Project, worked to identify, strengthen, and disseminate the bodies of knowledge, skills, and capacities that democratic citizens need in order to succeed at operating their democracy.  The Design Studio now supports the Democratic Knowledge Project K-12 civic education work, for which Allen is a faculty advisor.

Leigh M. Chapman served as Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 2022-2023. In this role, Chapman served as the Chief Election Official for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Previously, Chapman served as executive director of Deliver My Vote. She also held senior leadership positions at the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and other non-partisan, non-profit election reform and advocacy organizations.

Chapman earned a bachelor’s degree in American studies and history from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the Howard University School of Law.

Keesha Gaskins-Nathan is the director for the Democratic Practice–United States program and the Racial Justice Initiative at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Ms. Gaskins-Nathan is dedicated to advancing measures and ideas that improve democratic systems and engage democratic culture in the United States to support full and fair democratic and economic opportunity for all residents.

Ms. Gaskins-Nathan is a long-time organizer, lobbyist, and trial attorney. Prior to joining the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, she was senior counsel with the Brennan Center for Justice, serving as the director of the Redistricting and Representation program. Her portfolio included redistricting reform, voting rights, and elections, with a focus on voter suppression issues. Ms. Gaskins-Nathan is a frequent lecturer and writer on issues related to women and politics, movement building, and democratic transformation.

Ms. Gaskins-Nathan served as executive director for the League of Women Voters Minnesota and the executive director for the Minnesota Women’s Political Caucus. She worked for several years as a civil trial attorney and served as a special assistant appellate public defender for the State of Minnesota.

She is the 2021-2022 Daynard Public Interest Fellow at Northeastern University School of Law, Adjunct Professor at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, 2019 Aspen Ideas Scholar, and 2008 Feminist Leadership Fellow with the University of Minnesota, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs – Center on Women and Public Policy. She is a frequent commentator on voting rights and redistricting reform and regularly appears on numerous news and public affairs programming, including past appearances on Background Briefing, The Great Battlefield, PBS’s NewsHour, MSNBC, and Bill Moyers.

Talisha Searcy is the mayor of Takoma Park, Maryland. She has been an active member of the Takoma Park community since 2013. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Talisha has used her passion for civic engagement to serve the city and its residents for almost a decade. She served as the President of the New Hampshire Gardens Community Association from 2015 to 2017. From 2017 to 2022, Talisha served as Ward 6 City Councilmember. 

As Ward 6 City Councilmember, Talisha advocated for residents and businesses alike. During her tenure, she helped establish the city's COVID-19 pandemic response, led redevelopment of critical infrastructure in Ward 6, and supported local businesses impacted by the Purple Line construction to secure grant funding.  

Additional Accomplishments 

• Secured resources to renovate both of Ward 6’s Montgomery County playgrounds - Becca Lilly and Hillwood Manor
• Led the City’s Reimagining Public Safety initiative
• Obtained City funding in support of the full renovation of the former Hillwood Manor Apartments - a low- to moderate-income multi-family apartment complex in Takoma Park
• Lobbied State officials in support of the Takoma Langley Crossroads resulting in state funds for facade improvements and a new mural along New Hampshire Avenue
• Advocated for redevelopment of the Takoma Park Recreation Center resulting in greater community engagement to ensure all residents had a voice in the process 

When not working hard for her community, Talisha is the Director of the Office of Performance Analysis and Management at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). She has a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Georgia State University and Master’s degrees in Economics and Public Administration from Syracuse University. Talisha is a "Mom-ti" to her six nephews and one niece, and you can find her most days walking the neighborhood with her dog, Duke. 

Jillian Gilchrest was elected to represent the 18th District of West Hartford in the Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) in 2018. She serves as House Chair of the Human Services Committee and member of the Appropriations, Public Health, and Judiciary Committees.

Jillian Chairs MAPOC, the Trafficking in Persons Council, and the Endometriosis Working Group.

Prior to becoming a state representative, Jillian served as the Director of Health Professional Outreach for the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Executive Director of NARAL Pro-Choice Connecticut, and Director of Policy & Communications for the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence. She has extensive experience advocating for women’s health and safety, in particular influencing public policy at the CGA.

Jillian was elected to the West Hartford Board of Education in 2013. She holds a Masters Degree in Social Work with a focus in Policy Practice from the University of Connecticut School of Social Work, where she has taught Political Advocacy.

Jillian currently teaches for the University of Saint Joseph and University of Hartford. Jillian serves on the Board of Girls on the Run of Greater Hartford. She resides with her two children in West Hartford.

INTRODUCTION

A'shanti Gholar

President of Emerge

A’shanti F. Gholar serves as the president of Emerge, the only organization dedicated to recruiting and training Democratic women to run for office. In this role, she leads the organization and steers its overall strategy and direction, overseeing a national staff as well as affiliates across the country. For over 15 years, A’shanti has been a grassroots organizer and activist for women, communities of color and progressive causes. 

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EXPERT DISCUSSION 1

Rebecca Chavez-Houck

Former UT legislator, Leadership Coach, and Ranked Choice Voting Expert

Rebecca Chavez-Houck holds a BA in Journalism and Mass Communication and a Master of Public Administration (MPA), both from the University of Utah (U of U). She represented Salt Lake City’s District 24 in the Utah House of Representatives from 2008-18, focusing on public policy related to health and human services as well as voter engagement and access.

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Nelsie Yang

Councilmember for the City of St. Paul, MN

Nelsie Yang serves as the elected Councilmember for the City of Saint Paul’s 6th Ward. At 27 years old and a daughter of Hmong refugees, she is the youngest and first Hmong American woman to be elected to St Paul’s City Council.

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Deb Otis

Director of Research and Policy at FairVote

Deb Otis is the Director of Research and Policy at FairVote. With a decade of experience in research and analytics, Deb is passionate about sharing the data-driven case for why our country needs election reform.

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EXPERT DISCUSSION 2

Charlotte Clymer

Charlotte Clymer is a writer, LGBTQ activist, communications consultant, and military veteran. She writes "Charlotte's Web Thoughts," a Substack blog/newsletter that was nominated for the 2023 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Blog.

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Charlotte Hill

Director of the Democracy Policy Initiative at UC Berkeley

Charlotte is the director of the Democracy Policy Initiative at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. A trained political scientist, Charlotte researches how to expand democratic access and equity through public policy. She regularly advises organizations focused on improving election and voting laws and increasing civic participation.

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Sol Mora

Advocacy Director at Coalition of Communities of Color

Sol Mora was born in Tijuana, Mexico, and grew up in Salem, Oregon. Currently, Sol is the Advocacy Director at the Coalition of Communities of Color. 

[Read More]

TAKE ACTION PANEL

Daniella Ballou-Aaers

CEO and Co-Founder, Leadership Now Project

Daniella Ballou-Aares is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Leadership Now Project, a national membership organization of business and thought leaders committed to renewing American democracy.

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Jackie Hope Glass

Delegate for the VA State Legislature

Certified Doer – Partnership Grower – Civic Connector

Jackie Glass is a self-proclaimed Certified Doer, Mama and Veteran from the Chicagoland area. She served in the United States Navy for eleven years as a cryptologist where she deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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Jeanne Massey

Executive Director of FairVote Minnesota

Bio coming soon!

Kenia Peregrino

Statewide Coordinator at Washington for Equitable Representation

Kenia is the statewide coordinator for Washington for Equitable Representation (WER), a project of the Washington Community Alliance. WER is a statewide, multi-racial coalition fighting to achieve equitable representation through proportional ranked-choice voting and other democracy reforms.

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April England-Albright

Legal Director of Black Voters Matter

For more than 24 years, April England-Albright has worked in the area of civil rights law, first as a partner at Chestnut, Sanders, Sanders, Pettaway, Campbell and Albright and institutions then through her own law firm, where her experiences  included serving as an attorney in the “Black Farmers Lawsuit”, which to date is the largest discrimination lawsuit against the United States, and litigating cases, which addressed race discrimination in the workplace, voting disenfranchisement caused by gerrymandering and other voter suppression tactics, and criminal defense.

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INTRODUCTION

Letitia James

NY Attorney General

Letitia “Tish” James is the 67th Attorney General for the State of New York. With decades of experience and a long record of achievements, she is a powerful, effective attorney and lifelong public servant.

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Erin Vilardi

Founder & CEO of Vote Run Lead

Erin Vilardi is the Founder and CEO of Vote Run Lead, the nation’s largest and most diverse training program for women to run for office and win.

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Rina Shah

Political Consultant & CEO of Rilax Strategies

Rina Shah is a strategic consultant, media commentator, & millennial entrepreneur based in Washington, DC. Prior to launching Rilax Strategies – a government and public affairs firm - Rina served as a senior staffer to Rep. Scott Garrett (NJ-5) and Rep. Jeff B. Miller (FL-1).  Her expertise includes building winning strategies for political campaigns as well as coordinating public affairs efforts for Fortune 500 companies.

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EXPERT DISCUSSION 1

Amber McReynolds

National Elections Expert and USPS Board of Governors

Amber McReynolds was appointed to the Postal Service Board of Governors by President Biden and was confirmed by the Senate on May 13, 2021. McReynolds is a leading expert on election administration and policy. Her professional career has been focused on strengthening democratic institutions with the goal of improving the voting experience for all.

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Jena Griswold

Secretary of State (Colorado)

Jena Griswold is Colorado’s 39th Secretary of State. She was first elected in 2018 as the youngest elected Secretary of State in the United States. She was reelected to the office in 2022. Griswold grew up in a working-class family in rural Colorado and was the first person in her family to attend a four-year college and then law school. She knows first-hand how important it is for every vote to count and for every Coloradan's voice to be heard, no matter their background or income. 

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Erynn Fernandez

Executive Director of the Democratic Party (Hawaii)

Erynn Fernandez has been the Executive Director for the Democratic Party of Hawaiʻi (DPH) since June of 2019, completing the first all mail ballot Party-run Presidential Primary, the first State eConvention in 2020, and part of the team that brought about the first hybrid State Convention in 2022.

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EXPERT DISCUSSION 2

Ann Ravel

Former Chair of the Federal Election Commission

Ann Ravel was nominated to the Federal Election Commission by President Obama on June 21, 2013 and joined the Commission on October 25, 2013. She served as Chair of the Commission for 2015 and Vice-Chair for 2014 before leaving in 2017.

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Ellen Weintraub

Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission

Ellen L. Weintraub has served as a commissioner on the United States Federal Election Commission since 2002 and has chaired the Commission three times. During her tenure, Commissioner Weintraub has served as a consistent voice for meaningful campaign-finance law enforcement and robust disclosure.

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Christina Henderson

At-Large member of the Council of the District of Columbia

Christina Henderson is an At-Large member of the Council of the District of Columbia. Christina’s career has been guided by the principle that one’s zip code should not determine your opportunity for success. 

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TAKE ACTION PANEL

Jessica Haller

Executive Director of New Majority NYC

Jessica Haller is the Executive Director of New Majority NYC, an organization focused on building political power for women in NYC. Jessica comes to this work as an entrepreneur, a climate advocate and a former candidate for NYC Council. As someone who always looks ahead 10 years, Jessica has co-founded start ups in the climate and in fin-tech sectors, worked in digital advertising, and on long term policy solutions to improve equity and resilience in NYC.

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Brittany Buford

Managing Partner for Partnerships at Partners in Democracy

Brittany Buford is a New England native who specializes in data-driven relational organizing, door-to-door canvassing programs and public affairs. Her teams have previously focused on progressive movement campaigns to create structures of persuasion, advocacy, accountability and issue education.

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Liuba Grechen Shirley

CEO & Founder of Vote Momma Foundation

Liuba is the Founder and CEO of Vote Mama, the nation’s first Political Action Committee dedicated to electing progressive moms up and down the ballot, as well as the Founder and CEO of Vote Mama Foundation, the leading source of research and analysis about the political participation of mothers in the United States.

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Laurie-Anne Sayles

Montgomery County, MD Councilwoman

Laurie-Anne Sayles is a first-generation Jamaican American born and raised in Maryland. She is an experienced leader, change agent, policymaker, and advocate who believes that you can achieve any goal you set for yourself if you work smart. This motto has afforded her many opportunities to overcome challenging situations and use her life experiences to fuel a steadfast commitment to helping others who are underserved, underrepresented, and less fortunate.

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INTRODUCTION

Kristen Clarke

U.S. Assistant Attorney General

Kristen Clarke is the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice. In this role, she leads the Justice Department’s broad federal civil rights enforcement efforts and works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all who live in America. Assistant Attorney General Clarke is a lifelong civil rights lawyer who has spent her entire career in public service.

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Maggie Toulouse Oliver

Secretary of State of New Mexico

Secretary Maggie Toulouse Oliver is New Mexico’s 26th Secretary of State. She has served the people of New Mexico in this role since first being elected in 2016. She was first appointed to public office in 2007 when she became County Clerk in New Mexico’s largest county, Bernalillo County. Elected to her first full term in 2008, Secretary Toulouse Oliver served 2 1/2 terms as County Clerk. Overseeing elections in the state’s largest county gave Secretary Toulouse Oliver detailed, on-the-ground expertise in election administration that has helped to guide her current work overseeing elections statewide.

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EXPERT DISCUSSION 1

Tahesha Way

Secretary of State of New Jersey and President of National Association of Secretaries of State

Tahesha Way serves as New Jersey’s 34th Secretary of State. She serves as New Jersey’s top election official, overseeing the state Division of Elections and its work in securing our democracy and ensuring broad, fair access to the right to vote. 

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Leigh Chapman

Former Acting Secretary of State of Pennsylvania

Leigh M. Chapman served as Acting Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from 2022-2023. In this role, Chapman served as the Chief Election Official for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

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Jocelyn Benson

Secretary of State of Michigan

Jocelyn Benson is Michigan's 43rd Secretary of State. In this role, she has ensured elections are secure and accessible, and dramatically improved Secretary of State driver and customer experiences for all Michiganders.

[Read More]

EXPERT DISCUSSION 2

Layla Zaidane

President & CEO of Millennial Action Project

Layla Zaidane is the President & CEO of the Millennial Action Project, the largest nonpartisan organization of young lawmakers in the United States. MAP works with over 1,600 Millennial and Gen Z elected leaders in Congress and state legislatures to bridge divides, collaborate on future-oriented policy, and scale a healthy culture of democracy.

[Read More]

Danielle Allen

Director of Harvard’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics and Executive Board Chair of Partners in Democracy

Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University, Director of Harvard’s Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics, and President of Partners in Democracy. She is a political theorist who has published broadly in democratic theory, political sociology, and the history of political thought.

[Read More]

Jillian Gilchrest

CT State Representative

Jillian Gilchrest was elected to represent the 18th District of West Hartford in the Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) in 2018. She serves as House Chair of the Human Services Committee and member of the Appropriations, Public Health, and Judiciary Committees.

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TAKE ACTION PANEL

Keesha Gaskins-Nathan

Program Director, Democratic Practice–United States at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Keesha Gaskins-Nathan is the director for the Democratic Practice–United States program and the Racial Justice Initiative at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Ms. Gaskins-Nathan is dedicated to advancing measures and ideas that improve democratic systems and engage democratic culture in the United States to support full and fair democratic and economic opportunity for all residents.

[Read More]

Sarah Blahovec

Disability Civic Engagement Expert

Sarah Blahovec is a disability civic engagement subject matter expert and consultant. She works with organizations to address the barriers to voting and running for office for the one in four Americans who have a disability. She is the former Voting Rights and Civic Engagement Director for the National Council on Independent Living, where she advocated for greater accessibility in elections; educated the disability community on voting rights and works to energize a disability voting bloc; and addressed barriers to running for office for people with disabilities. 

[Read More]

Jocelyn Bucaro

Director of Mobile Voting at Tusk Philanthropies

Jocelyn Bucaro is a respected national election expert with over a decade of experience running elections in Ohio and Colorado. She is currently the Director of Mobile Voting with Tusk Philanthropies, leading a national effort to improve the voting experience for voters with inherent barriers to voting through innovative technology solutions designed to make our elections more transparent and verifiable.

[Read More]

Talisha Searcy

Mayor of Takoma Park, MD

Talisha Searcy is the mayor of Takoma Park, Maryland. She has been an active member of the Takoma Park community since 2013. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Talisha has used her passion for civic engagement to serve the city and its residents for almost a decade.

[Read More]

Yael Bromberg, Esq.

Chief Counsel & Strategic Advisor, The Andrew Goodman Foundation, & Principal, Bromberg Law LLC

Yael Bromberg is the Special Counsel and Strategic Advisor for The Andrew Goodman Foundation (outside counsel), and Principal of Bromberg Law LLC. Bromberg has litigated in state and federal courts across the country on a range of democracy cases.

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Michelle Meza

Public Servant in Government

Michelle is a mid-career, hands-on public servant passionate about working at the nexus of politics and policy to get things done in government to improve people’s lives. She started her career as an intern at the U.S. Embassy-Lima a decade ago, and since then, has built a trajectory of over seven years from frontline positions of implementation, congressional and intergovernmental relations, stakeholder outreach, and the execution of short and long-term agendas for principals in Capitol Hill, a U.S. Embassy abroad, and the Environmental Protection Agency, where she currently serves as a political appointee and scheduler to the EPA Administrator.

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