Our Staff

Ian Bassin

Ian Bassin

Co-Founder and Executive Director

Justin Florence

Justin Florence

Co-Founder and Legal Director

Shalini Goel Agarwal

Shalini Goel Agarwal

Counsel

Joseph Allen

Joseph Allen

Digital Content Associate

Mojgone Azemun

Mojgone Azemun

General Counsel

Aaron Baird

Communications

Ben Berwick

Ben Berwick

Counsel

Victoria Canavor

Victoria Canavor

Chief Operating Officer

Alexandra Chandler

Alexandra Chandler

Policy Advocate

Sara Chimene-Weiss

Sara Chimene-Weiss

Counsel

Courtenay Cotton

Courtenay Cotton

Senior Engineer

Chris Crawford

Chris Crawford

Policy Advocate

Dagny Crepeau

Dagny Crepeau

Impact Associate/Paralegal

Emerald Cronin

Emerald Cronin

Compensation and Benefits Manager

Orion Danjuma

Orion Danjuma

Counsel

Jared Davidson

Jared Davidson

Counsel

Soren Dayton

Soren Dayton

Policy Advocate

Sohini Desai

Sohini Desai

Impact Associate/Paralegal

Michel-Ange Desruisseaux

Michel-Ange Desruisseaux

Impact Associate

Jennifer Dresden

Jennifer Dresden

Policy Advocate

Corey Dukes

Corey Dukes

Policy Advocate

Deana El-Mallawany

Deana El-Mallawany

Counsel

Farbod Faraji

Counsel

Alanna Foley

Alanna Foley

Partnerships Associate

Aurora Fonseca

Aurora Fonseca

Partnerships

William Ford

William Ford

Impact Associate

Will Gaona

Will Gaona

State Policy Advocate

Isaac Gilles

Isaac Gilles

Partnerships

Louie Goldsmith

Louie Goldsmith

Impact Associate

Laura Goldstein

Laura Goldstein

Finance Manager

Emerson Goldstein

Emerson Goldstein

Impact Associate/Paralegal

Delaney Gomen

Delaney Gomen

Data Analyst

Rachel Goodman

Rachel Goodman

Counsel

Rachel Homer

Rachel Homer

Counsel

Jiamin Huang

Jiamin Huang

Data Analyst

Holly Idelson

Holly Idelson

Policy Advocate

Brad Jacobson

Brad Jacobson

Director of Product

Blake Jelley

Blake Jelley

Communications & Advocacy Strategist

Selma Khalil

Selma Khalil

Impact Associate/Paralegal

Cameron Kistler

Cameron Kistler

Counsel

Christine Kwon

Christine Kwon

Counsel

John Langford

John Langford

Counsel

Juliette Leader

Juliette Leader

Organizational Management Associate

Becca Leviss

Becca Leviss

Partnerships

Edgar Lin

Edgar Lin

State Policy Advocate

Cerin Lindgrensavage

Cerin Lindgrensavage

Counsel

Stephanie Llanes

Stephanie Llanes

Director of Org Management and Counsel

Rebecca Lullo

Rebecca Lullo

Impact Associate

Jillian Lynch

Jillian Lynch

Talent Associate

Jessica Marsden

Jessica Marsden

Counsel

Kyle Miller

Kyle Miller

Impact Associate

Paulina Montañez-Montes

Paulina Montañez-Montes

Communications

Genevieve Nadeau

Genevieve Nadeau

Counsel

Erica Newland

Erica Newland

Counsel

Jessica Nicholson

Jessica Nicholson

Operations Manager

Brenna Olrich

Brenna Olrich

Operations Associate

Alan Palazzolo

Alan Palazzolo

Frontend Developer

John Paredes

John Paredes

Counsel

Kristy Parker

Kristy Parker

Counsel

Chris Parr

Chris Parr

Impact Associate

Sonya Petri

Sonya Petri

Impact Associate/Paralegal

Jacek Pruski

Jacek Pruski

Counsel

Ben Raderstorf

Ben Raderstorf

Policy Advocate

Quinn Raymond

Quinn Raymond

Project Manager

Emily Rodriguez

Emily Rodriguez

Communications

Ariela Rosenberg

Ariela Rosenberg

Policy Advocate

Ahmed Shaaban

Ahmed Shaaban

Director of Partnerships

Hilary Smith

Hilary Smith

Compliance and Security Manager

Erika Smithson

Erika Smithson

Data Analyst

Nanya Springer

Nanya Springer

Communications

Jon Steinman

Jon Steinman

Communications

Clint Swift

Clint Swift

Data Analyst

Anne Tindall

Anne Tindall

Counsel

Beau Tremitiere

Beau Tremitiere

Counsel

Tommi-Ann Tsuruga

Tommi-Ann Tsuruga

Software Engineer

Grant Tudor

Grant Tudor

Policy Advocate

Nicholas Tulach

Nicholas Tulach

DevOps Engineer

Chris Vaeth

Chris Vaeth

Policy Advocate

Scott Welder

Scott Welder

Impact Associate/Paralegal

Helen White

Helen White

Counsel

Brittany Williams

Brittany Williams

Counsel

Board Members

Ian Bassin

Co-Founder and Executive Director

Ian Bassin is co-founder and Executive Director of Protect Democracy. He previously served as Associate White House Counsel, where in addition to counseling the President and senior White House staff on administrative and constitutional law, his responsibilities included ensuring that White House and executive branch officials complied with the laws, rules and norms that protect the fundamentally democratic nature of our government. His writing on democracy, authoritarianism, and American law and politics has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic, Slate, Salon and other publications. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, and a B.A. from Wesleyan University. *

Jeff Berman

Board Member

Jeff Berman is a founding partner of Magnet Companies. He previously served as President of Whalerock Industries, a media and technology company based in West Hollywood, and General Manager of Digital Media at the NFL after holding a series of positions at MySpace. Jeff was the independent director on the board of Buddy Media (acquired by Salesforce) and has advised companies across a broad range of industries. From 2001-2005, he was Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer. Jeff has also served as a public defender in the District of Columbia and as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from Connecticut College. *^

Justin Florence

Co-Founder and Legal Director

Justin Florence has overseen the organization’s work to advance its mission, including legal, policy, advocacy and communications strategies, as Protect Democracy’s Co-Founder and Legal Director. Justin previously served in the Office of the White House Counsel as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President; as Senior Counsel on the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee; and in the Supreme Court and Appellate practices of two leading national law firms. Justin is a Lecturer in Law at Harvard Law School, where he co-teaches the Democracy and Rule of Law Clinic. His writings on democracy and rule of law issues have appeared in publications including The New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School. ^

Jerry Hauser

Board Member

Jerry Hauser is the founding Chief Executive Officer of The Management Action Center. He was previously at McKinsey & Company, and has played leadership roles in a number of nonprofits. At Teach For America, he served as the second-in-command for seven years. He also served as the CEO of the Advocacy Institute. Before graduating from Yale Law School, where he was active in legal clinics and a senior editor of the Yale Law Journal, Jerry worked as a high school math and history teacher in Compton, California. He is the coauthor of the book Managing to Change the World. ^

Richard R. Buery, Jr.

Board Member

Richard R. Buery, Jr. is the Chief Executive Officer of the Robin Hood foundation, New York City’s largest anti-poverty organization. From 2014-2018, he served as Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives for the City of New York, in which capacity he implemented Pre-K for All, supported women- and minority-owned businesses, and oversaw a number of mayoral offices. In addition to Robin Hood, he has served as Chief Executive Officer at Achievement First, Chief of Policy and Public Affairs at the KIPP Foundation, and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Children’s Aid Society. Richard is a graduate of Yale Law School and Harvard College. Richard founded his first nonprofit at a Roxbury housing development while still in college. He was a teacher in Zimbabwe, a campaign manager to former Cambridge Mayor Ken Reeves, and clerked at the Federal Court of Appeals in New York. Richard is a Public Service Fellow at the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where he served as Distinguished Visiting Urbanist during the Spring of 2019. He is also a visiting lecturer at Yale Law School, a Senior Fellow at the GovLab at NYU, a partner at the Perception Institute. He serves on the boards of the Kresge Foundation, iMentor, United to Protect Democracy, Atria Health Collaborative, the Grace Church School, and on the Alumni Advisory Council of the Tsai Leadership Program at Yale Law School. ^

Cecilia Muñoz

Board Member

Cecilia Muñoz is currently Vice President for Policy and Technology at New America, a Washington-based think tank. She served as Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council under President Obama, and earlier as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs where she oversaw the Obama Administration’s relationships with state and local governments. Before joining the Obama Administration, Cecilia spent 20 years at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest Latino civil rights organization. In June 2000, she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship in recognition of her work on immigration and civil rights. She also serves on the Board of the Kresge Foundation and the US Programs Board of the Open Society Foundations. *

Kori Schake

Board Member

Kori Schake is a senior fellow and the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Before joining AEI, Dr. Schake was the deputy director-general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. She has had a distinguished career in government, working at the US State Department, the US Department of Defense, and the National Security Council at the White House. She has also taught at Stanford, West Point, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, National Defense University, and the University of Maryland. Dr. Schake is the author of five books, among them “America vs the West: Can the Liberal World Order Be Preserved?” (Penguin Random House Australia, Lowy Institute, 2018); “Safe Passage: The Transition from British to American Hegemony” (Harvard University Press, 2017); “State of Disrepair: Fixing the Culture and Practices of the State Department” (Hoover Institution Press, 2012); and “Managing American Hegemony: Essays on Power in a Time of Dominance” (Hoover Institution Press, 2009). *

Advisors

The work of protecting our democracy is one that transcends party and ideology. We are proud to have a diverse array of experts who share our commitment to this mission and have offered their advice on this work. Some engage in specific projects, others at a more general level, and none bear responsibility for — nor even endorse — everything we do, but they believe, as we do, that all Americans must stand together in defense of our democratic institutions.

Anne Applebaum

Author and Professor of Practice at the London School of Economics

Ruth Ben-Ghiat

Professor of Italian and History, New York University

Sheri Berman

Professor of Political Science, Barnard College, Columbia University

Mona Charen

Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Columnist, and Former Speechwriter to First Lady Nancy Reagan

Linda Chavez

Chairman, Center for Equal Opportunity, Columnist, and Former White House Director of Public Liaison to President Ronald Reagan

Erica Chenoweth

Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

Tom Coleman

Former U.S. Representative (R-MO)

John Dean

Former White House Counsel

Matthew Dowd

Author, Political Analyst, and Former Chief Strategist, Bush-Cheney 2004

Mickey Edwards

Former U.S. Representative (R-OK)

Mindy Finn

Co-CEO and Founder, Stand Up Republic

Michael Gottlieb

Former Assistant United States Attorney and Associate White House Counsel

Aziz Huq

Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law, The University of Chicago Law School

Marcos Daniel Jiménez

Former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida

Khizr Khan

Lawyer, Constitutional Rights Advocate and Author

Rachel Kleinfeld

Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Steven Levitsky

Professor of Government, Harvard University

John McKay

Former United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington

Michael Miller

Associate Professor of Political Science, The George Washington University

Yascha Mounk

Associate Professor of the Practice of International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University

Brendan Nyhan

Professor of Government, Dartmouth College

Spencer Overton

Professor of Law, The George Washington University School of Law

Thomas Perrelli

Former Associate Attorney General of the United States

Richard Primus

Theodore J. St. Antoine Collegiate Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School

Robert Raben

Former Assistant Attorney General

Jennifer Richeson

Philip R. Allen Professor of Psychology, Yale University

Kim Lane Scheppele

Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University

Timothy Snyder

Richard C. Levin Professor of History, Yale University

Donald Verrilli

Former Solicitor General of the United States

Kimberly Wehle

Professor of Law, University of Baltimore and Former Associate Independent Counsel in the Whitewater Investigation

Evan Wolfson

Founder, Freedom to Marry

Daniel Ziblatt

Professor of Government, Harvard University

The Protect Democracy Project* is a 501(c)(3), United to Protect Democracy^ is a 501(c)(4). Learn more about the difference.

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