Arkansas. Janine A. Parry is Professor of Political Science at the University of Arkansas and has directed the Diane D. Blair Center’s annual Arkansas Poll since its inception in 1999. The coauthor of Women’s Rights in the USA and nearly 50 other published works on subjects relating to women in politics, gender policy, state politics, and voter behavior. She teaches courses at the introductory through graduate level on topics including American Government, Women and Politics in the Contemporary South, Politics on Film, Arkansas Politics, Gender and Politics, and more. Media includes: The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, BBC, CNN, NPR.

California. Aimee Allison is the Founder of She the People, the national network elevating the political voice and power of women of color. By bringing together the most promising women of color candidates, strategists, and movement leaders, Allison is one of the primary architects for the electoral successes in 2018 that made it the “year of women of color in politics.” In conjunction with her leadership of She the People, Allison is President of Democracy in Color, dedicated to empowering the multiracial progressive electorate through media, public conversations, research, and analysis. Media includes: The New York Times, The Hill, ESSENCE Magazine.

California. Jessica Lavariega Monforti is Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at California Lutheran University. Her research primarily focuses on the differential impact of public policy according to race, gender and ethnicity. She is specifically interested in the political incorporation and representation of Latino/as, immigrants and women. Her latest research examines how major forces such as technology, the military system and immigration policy impact and are impacted by Latina/o youth. Media includes: The New York Times, La Opinión, NPR.

California. Andrea Dew Steele is the Founder of Emerge America. She is also a co-founder of the first Emerge affiliate, Emerge California. Steele is passionate about electing Democratic women to office at every level and is motivated by a life-long commitment to progressive politics and change. She believes strongly that electing more women is a critical part of the progressive solution. Media includes: Huffington Post, ABC News.

California. A social scientist by training, Vanessa Tyson currently teaches in the Department of Politics at Scripps College in Claremont, CA. As an expert on US Congress, policy formulation, race, gender, and social justice, Dr. Tyson has an extensive background in both US and California politics. Having worked on political campaigns since she was a teenager, including three Presidential campaigns, two US Senate campaigns, and numerous state and local campaigns, she carefully considers how political dynamics affect policy formulation and consequent outcomes. Media includes: US News and World Report, The Sacramento Bee, NPR.

Colorado. For nearly 20 years, Alexandra Acker-Lyons has worked for candidates and campaigns, party committees, and progressive organizations, with an emphasis on youth politics. Acker-Lyons, who is now a Colorado resident, is the President and Founder of AL Advising, a philanthropic and non-profit consulting firm. She is a recognized political commentator and also travels internationally as a trainer for the National Democratic Institute. Acker-Lyons is also the author of The Political Ladder: Insider Tips on Getting a Job in Politics. Media includes: The New York Times, Time Magazine, Politico, CNN.

Colorado. Laura Packard is a Colorado resident and serves as co-chair of Health Care Voter, a national campaign to hold elected officials accountable for their votes on health care, and support those who fight to protect our care. Packard is a nationally-known health care advocate and stage 4 cancer survivor. She traveled across the country to 24 states on the Protect Our Care health care bus tour, telling her story for the last six weeks of the 2018 campaign. Packard then did another national 8-state health care tour in the summer of 2019 with Protect Our Care, followed by a statewide Colorado bus tour with Cardboard Cory to hold Senator Cory Gardner accountable for his health care record. She will be back on the road with Protect Our Care and Health Care Voter for 2020. Media includes: US News & World Report, People, Newsweek, The Guardian, MSNBC.

Colorado. Lizzy Stephan is the Executive Director at New Era Colorado, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works to reinvent politics for young people, mobilizing and empowering a new generation to participate in our democracy to move Colorado forward. New Era Colorado is an affiliate of the Bus Federation, and is one of the largest young voter mobilization efforts in the country. Media includes: The Denver Post, The Daily Sentinel, Reporter Herald, The Huffington Post.

Maine. Cynthia Dill has been a practicing attorney and counselor at law in good standing for over 25 years. Dill served in Maine politics from 2006 - 2012 as both a state representative and senator. As a lawmaker, Cynthia was the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and appointed Vice Chair of the National Conference of State Legislature’s Communication, Financial Affairs and Interstate Commerce Committee, and was a member of the Executive Committee Task Force on State and Local Taxation of Telecommunications and Electronic Commerce. Media includes: Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, BBC, CBC News.

Massachusetts. Victoria A. Budson is a founder and the Executive Director of the Women and Public Policy Program (WAPPP) at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. WAPPP is the preeminent institution for advancing interdisciplinary research on approaches to closing gender gaps, educating students and leaders on gender policy, and implementing policy changes at local, state, and national levels. Budson is Chairperson of the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women and has served as a board member or advisor to numerous other organizations. Media includes: The Boston Globe, New York Times Magazine, US News & World Report, USA Today, CNN, NPR.

Massachusetts. Lisa J. Danetz has worked in the voting rights, money in politics, and democracy field as a policy expert, advocate, and lawyer for 20 years. Her work has focused on increasing election- and campaign-based political participation in society through public policy research, litigation, executive and legislative advocacy, and public education, and she has developed a particular expertise on voter registration through government agencies. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg.

Minnesota. At FairVote Minnesota, Liz Johnson works with communities across the state to advance Ranked Choice Voting, a system proven to be more inclusive, participatory, and representative than our current electoral system. Johnson is also a founding board member at Vote Run Lead, the largest and most diverse national organization training women to run for office and win. She has gathered extensive political and organizing experience over the last 20 years and identifies Ranked Choice Voting as the most effective systemic change to decisively increase the number of women in elective office. A leader in the design and implementation of training programs for rural women, she also helped create Plate to Politics to inspire more women in the food and farming sector to run for office. Extensive media experience.

North Carolina. Kristin Goss is a Assistant Professor of Public Policy Studies and Political Science at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Goss focuses on why people do (or don't) participate in political life and how their engagement affects public policymaking. Her current research projects focus on the role of philanthropic billionaires in policy debates and on the evolution of gun-related advocacy over the past decade. Media includes: The Washington Post, Newark Star Ledger, Raleigh News & Observer.

Oklahoma. Amanda Clinton is the vice president of communications for Cherokee Nation and its wholly owned corporate arm, Cherokee Nation Businesses. For more than 10 years, Amanda has directed public relations for everything from tribal health care, housing and education to the Cherokee Nation's business interests in gaming, manufacturing, information technology and more. Media includes: Tulsa World, ABC.

Tennessee. Ruby Bright is the executive director and chief administrative officer of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis (WFGM). Bright shares the mission and passion for the work of the Women’s Foundation with the public by speaking to women’s and business organizations, research and education institutions, and community groups fostering mission shared alliances to improve the quality of life for women and children. Extensive media experience.

Texas. Yvonne Gutierrez is Head of Community Engagement at Supermajority. Previously, she was Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Texas Votes (PPTV), the statewide electoral and advocacy organization working to engage and organize Texans throughout the state, committed to supporting candidates who are willing to fight and protect women's access to health care. Before that Gutierrez served as Vice President of Public Affairs and Government Relations for Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast (PPGC), where her role included lobbying state legislatures in Texas and Louisiana and overseeing grassroots organizing efforts. Media includes: Spectrum News, Chron.

Texas. Sherridan Schwartz is a Visiting Professor in the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University. She does extensive research in the fields of Political Science, Race, Higher Education, Sports, and African American Studies and African diaspora studies. She has worked in higher education for nearly ten years as faculty, staff and administration – and also has significant government and Government Affairs experience. Media includes: Houston Chronicle, Houston Defender Newspaper, TSU eNews.

Utah. Maura Carabello is Founder and President of The Exoro Group, a recognized communications, policy and strategy group based in Salt Lake City, Utah, since 2002. Exoro has led hundreds of campaigns, both issues and candidate, secured close to one billion dollars in public and private funding for clients, been in the center of complex policy discussions and highly controversial projects. Carabello is an advisor and strategist to Utah’s top elected officials, non-profit change agents and business leaders. She is a desired speaker, trainer, sought-after advisor and trusted problem solver. What is unexpected about Maura is that those seeking council are from both sides of the political spectrum, and from many different sectors of advocacy, policy and positions of influence. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, CBS, NBC, ABC.

Vermont. Madeleine May Kunin is a Marsh professor at large at the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT and a regular commentator on Vermont Public Radio. She served as the first female Governor of Vermont for three terms (1985-91) after having served three terms in the state legislature (1973-79) and two terms as Lt. Governor (1979-83). She has also written Pearls, Politics and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead (Chelsea Green 2008), Living a Political Life, (Knopf, 1994,) and The Big Green Book, A Four Season Guide to Vermont (Barre Press, 1974). Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe.

Virginia. Nadia Aziz resides in Virginia and serves as Deputy Director of the Stop Hate Project with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where she works to ensure individuals and organizations targeted by hate have the resources they need to confront hate in their communities. Prior to joining the Lawyers’ Committee in 2017, Nadia worked at the Arab American Institute in Washington, DC as Director of Government Relations where she represented the interests of nearly 3.7 million Arab Americans, and encouraged their direct engagement in civic and political life. Media includes: The Hill, The Huffington Post, The Ed Schultz Show, CNN.

Virginia. Atima Omara is an award winning leader in politics and the progressive movement. An experienced political strategist, Omara is President Emeritus of the Young Democrats of America, Democratic National Commitee (DNC) member from Virginia, and Chair of the Planned Parenthood Metro Washington Action Fund Board of Directors. She has worked for a Governor and as staff on over 8 federal, state, and local Democratic campaigns in Virginia and across the country. Media includes: The Washington Post, American Prospect, BBC, NPR, CNN.