Search Experts by Name or Keyword

Click on a link below to find SheSource.org experts in one of the following Election 2008 categories:

• Constituencies
  - African-American
  - Faith Based
  - Latino
  - Unions
  - Women
  - Youth
• Voting
  - Political Participation
  - Polling
  - Voting Rights
• Analysis
  - Campaign
  - Communications
  - Fundraising
  - Polling
  - Strategy

For availability please contact Sarah Bacon or Leah Borkin at Fenton Communications, media@shesource.org, 212 584 5000

  - African-American
  - Faith Based
  - Latino
  - Unions
  - Women
  - Youth

African-American

Keli Goff is an author, blogger and political analyst whose commentary on the 2008 presidential election has been seen on a variety of national and international news outlets. As one of the few “Generation Y” political commentators, she is widely recognized for her ability to discuss the intersections of politics and pop culture, as well as for her expertise in the areas of youth and minority voters. She is the author of the book Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence (March 2008) which explores the cultural and political divide between black Americans of the civil rights generation and their children and grandchildren, known collectively as the hip-hop generation.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=458
LOCATION: New York, NY

Zina C. Pierre is a noted speaker and advocate on women’s issues, policy and politics, who has an extensive background in government relations at the federal, state and local levels of government. She served eight years in the Clinton Administration with her last position as special assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs. Previous to her eight years in government, Pierre worked for more than ten years in the television broadcast industry as a writer, field producer, and production assistant. She currently serves on several national and local boards including: Vice Chair of “The Future PAC” – a national African American women’s political action committee; the Greater Washington Urban League; National Coalition on Black Civic Participation Women’s Round Table; Democratic National Committee (DNC) Women’s Vote Center.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=234
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Dr. Maya Rockeymoore is a respected policy analyst, researcher, and advocate with expertise in an array of public policy issues. She is the founder, President and CEO of Global Policy Solutions (GPS); a comprehensive policy consulting company in Washington, DC, and serves as a Professorial Lecturer at American University where she teaches courses on “The Politics and Policy of Race and Gender” as well as “Women, Politics, and Public Policy.” She is the author of The Political Action Handbook: A How to Guide for the Hip Hop Generation and co-editor of Strengthening Community: Social Insurance in a Diverse America.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=364
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Laura S. Washington is the Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor at DePaul University in Chicago and a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. She is a multi-media journalist specializing in media-related issues, African-American affairs, local and national politics, race and racism, and social justice.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=291
LOCATION: Chicago, IL

Kristal Brent Zook, Ph.D. is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in publications such as Essence, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Village Voice, and many others. Kristal speaks regularly on popular culture and gender, multiracial identity and blackness, as well as social justice issues involving health, the environment and criminal justice. The author of three books, her latest is I See Black People: Interviews with African American Owners of Radio and Television, published by Nation Books in February 2008. Her previous book, Black Women's Lives: Stories of Power and Pain, is a collection of intimate portraits of women across the country.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=577
LOCATION: New York, NY

Faith-Based

Amy Caiazza, Ph.D., is Director of Democracy and Society Programs at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, where she has worked since 1998. An expert on women’s political participation and leadership, Dr. Caiazza is also a specialist in the role of religion in inspiring and holding back women’s activism. Her publications include Called To Speak: Six Strategies That Encourage Women’s Political Activism (IWPR, 2006) and The Ties That Bind: Women’s Public Vision for Politics, Religion, and Civil Society (IWPR, 2005.)
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=470
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Donna Freitas is Assistant Professor of Religion at Boston University. Much of Dr. Freitas’s writing, teaching, and lecturing centers around struggles of belonging and alienation with regard to faith and religion, particularly among young adults and especially with regard to young women.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=640
LOCATION: New York, NY

The Reverend Debra W. Haffner is the director of the Religious Institute on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing. She is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister. She is an endorsed community minister with the Unitarian Church in Westport, CT. Prevention, Her areas of expertise include HIV/AIDS, Sexuality Education, Women in Religious Communities, LGBT issues, Marriage Equality, Abstinence Education, Adolescent Sexuality and Marriage.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=554
LOCATION: Norwalk, CT

Jamillah Karim is an Assistant Professor of Religion at Spelman College. She specializes in Islam and Muslims in the United States (African American, South Asian and Arab), Islamic Feminism, Race and Ethnicity, and Immigration and Transnational Identity. She is currently completing a manuscript on relations between African American and immigrant Muslims. Her most recent research project investigates civic engagement among second-generation American Muslims.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=477
LOCATION: Atlanta, GA

A widely sought speaker on issues of public policy affecting women, professional ethics, and lesbian/gay rights, the Rev. Dr. Katherine Hancock Ragsdale is currently serving as Executive Director of the progressive Political Research Associates. She also serves as Vicar of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Pepperell, MA
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=230
LOCATION: Boston, MA

Frances Kissling is the former president of Catholics for a Free Choice (CFFC), an independent organization of progressive Catholics based in Washington, DC, with sister organizations throughout Latin America and an international network that includes partners in Europe and Africa. She is also one of the three founders of the Global Fund for Women, and was the first executive director and a co-founder of the National Abortion Federation. She is currently a 2007-8 fellow at the Radcliffe Institute at Harvard University
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=275
LOCATION: Cambridge, MA

Laura R. Olson is professor of political science at Clemson University. Her research focuses on contemporary religion, civic engagement, and American politics, with special emphasis on the religious left and the political attitudes and behaviors of clergy. She is currently working on a new book on the Protestant left in American politics.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=605
LOCATION: Clemson, SC

Dr. Renita J. Weems is a nationally renowned theologian whose scholarly insights into biblical text and the role of spirituality in everyday lives have made her a popular author and speaker. An ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Weems recently concluded a two-year appointment as the William and Camille Cosby Professor of Humanities at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to her tenure at Spelman, Weems spent nearly two decades as a Professor of the Hebrew Bible at the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=222
LOCATION: Nashville, TN

Latino

Cathy Areu is the founder of the national magazine, CATALINA, created in 2001 to break stereotypes and show a positive side of the U.S. Hispanic community. Over the years, the national attention Cathy and her magazine have garnered for Hispanic women have helped her rise quickly through the ranks to become one of the most influential and recognizable Latina entrepreneurs in the country. She currently sits on the board of the ¡Adelante! U.S. Education Leadership Fund and the National Association of Latina Leaders. In 2004, she received the business leadership award, from the Association of Young Latino Entrepreneurs (AYLE).
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=328
LOCATION: New York, NY

Maria-Teresa Petersen is the founding Executive Director of Voto Latino, a youth organization seeking to galvanize the fastest growing eligible voting block in America. Named by Hispanic Magazine as among the top Latinas in Government and Politics, Petersen is an expert in the Latino vote and engaging new voters using the latest technology.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=592
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Unions

Anna Burger, International Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, has been hailed by Gannett as "the most influential woman in the U.S. labor movement,” named as one of Washingtonian’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2006, and as one of The Wall Street Journal’s 50 Women to Watch of 2007. Burger is not only a top ranking officer at SEIU, the nation's largest and fastest growing union, but also the first chair of America’s newest labor federation, Change to Win. Founded in September 2005 by SEIU and six other major unions representing six million workers, Change to Win is developing joint industry-based organizing campaigns aimed at ensuring that workers, not just CEOs, benefit from today's global economy.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=505
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Maria Echaveste is co-founder of the Nueva Vista Group, a consulting firm providing strategic guidance on policy issues including immigration, healthcare, telecommunications, labor and finance. Echaveste has built a distinguished career serving as a senior White House official, long-time community leader and corporate attorney. Prior to founding the Nueva Vista Group, Echaveste served as assistant to the President and later deputy chief of staff for President Bill Clinton, a position she held from May 1998 through January 2001. Prior to working in the White House, Echaveste served as the administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s wage and hour division.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=174
LOCATION: Berkeley, CA

Margie Omero is President of Momentum Analysis, LLC, a Democratic public opinion research firm based in Washington, DC. Momentum Analysis provides quantitative and qualitative research for Democratic campaigns and progressive causes. Her clients have included the DNC, the DLCC, EMILY’s List, Gubernatorial races, Congressional campaigns, state parties, labor unions, and nonprofits around the country.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=332
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Women

Sarah E. Brewer is the Associate Director of the Women & Politics Institute at American University. She received her Ph.D. in political science from American University where her research focused on gender and political vocation in general, and specifically on the work and experience of women campaign consultants.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=507
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Amy Caiazza, Ph.D., is Director of Democracy and Society Programs at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, where she has worked since 1998. An expert on women’s political participation and leadership, Dr. Caiazza has recently explored how women come to claim political voice and leadership. She is also a specialist in the role of religion in inspiring and holding back women’s activism.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=470
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Lisa Caputo assumed her current role as Chief Marketing Officer for Citigroup in 2007. She has been Chief Marketing and Community Relations Officer, Global Consumer Group since July 2005, and has been Chairman and CEO of the Women and Company business since January 2000. Prior to embarking on a career in business, Lisa spent over a decade in the public sector. She served as Deputy Assistant to the President and as Press Secretary to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton at the White House during President Clinton’s first term where she oversaw the communications and media relations operations for the First Lady and the First Family and served as chief spokesperson. She held the same job through the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign and the presidential transition. Prior to that, Lisa ran Al Gore’s media operations at the 1992 Democratic National Convention and was the Press Secretary to US Senator Tim Wirth and to US Representative Bob Traxler. She also was the National Issues Press Secretary for the 1988 Dukakis-Bentsen presidential campaign
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=249
LOCATION: New York, NY

Susan Estrich’s scholarly interests are in law and politics, criminal law, and gender discrimination. At USC Law, she teaches Criminal Law, Gender Discrimination, and Election Law. She has clerked for The Honorable John Paul Stevens, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, was special assistant to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and staff counsel and special assistant to the chief counsel for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. She has been actively involved in Democratic presidential politics, serving as national campaign manager of the Dukakis-Bentsen campaign in 1988. Her publications include The Case For Hillary Clinton (Reagan Books, 2005.)
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=374
LOCATION: California

Page S. Gardner conceived of and founded Women's Voices. Women Vote. She is an expert in the voting patterns of women voters, with a particular expertise in unmarried voters. She began this project dedicated to increasing the share of unmarried women in the electorate. During her twenty years experience as a political and communications manager and strategist, Ms. Gardner has worked at senior levels for the most competitive presidential, senatorial, gubernatorial, and congressional campaigns in all parts of the country
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=37
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Ilana Goldman is president of Women’s Campaign Forum (WCF). WCF is a nonpartisan 501(c)(4) membership organization dedicated to ensuring that pro-choice women become leaders in politics. WCF proudly recruits women to become active participants in public life, trains women to be more effective political forces and endorses talented women candidates for public office.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=520
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Nichola D. Gutgold is associate professor of speech communication at Penn State University, Lehigh Valley Campus. Dr. Gutgold is author of paving the “Way for Madam President” (Lexington Press, 2006). The book chronicles the lives of Margaret Chase Smith, Shirley Chisholm, Patricia Schroeder, Elizabeth Dole and Carol Moseley Braun. The book considers the prospects of a woman president and examines the bids of the five women who ran for president of the U.S. between the years 1964-2004.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=479
LOCATION: Foglesville, PA

Caroline Heldman specializes in the presidency, media, gender, and race in the American context. Dr. Heldman earned her Ph.D. in Political Science from Rutgers University, and is currently an Assistant Professor at Occidental College in Los Angeles. She has published in the top journals in her field, and has co-authored Rethinking Madame President: Is the US Really Ready for a Woman in the White House.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=471
LOCATION: Los Angeles, CA

Dana Marie Kennedy is a founding Board member of Emerge, Women Leaders for a Democratic Future, in the Bay Area in addition to Arizona. Dana is currently the Executive Director for Emerge Arizona, Women Leaders for a Democratic Future. Her areas of expertise include Aging Issues, Social Security, Medicare, Long Term Carer, Women in Politics, and Women Candidates.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=602
LOCATION: Phoenix, AZ

Jennifer Lawless is currently an assistant professor of political science at Brown University, with a courtesy appointment at the Taubman Center for Public Policy. Her teaching and research focus on gender politics, electoral politics, and public opinion. She is also the lead author of It Takes A Candidate: Why Women Don't Run for Office (Cambridge University Press, 2005) and a public policy report used by EMILY’s List, Emerge, and the Women’s Campaign School at Yale to help promote and recruit women candidates.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=561
LOCATION: Providence, RI

Margie Omero is President of Momentum Analysis, LLC, a Democratic public opinion research firm based in Washington, DC. Momentum Analysis provides quantitative and qualitative research for Democratic campaigns and progressive causes. Her clients have included the DNC, the DLCC, EMILY’s List, Gubernatorial races, Congressional campaigns, state parties, labor unions, and nonprofits around the country. Margie blogs about the intersections of gender & polling at Pollster.com.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=332
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Zina C. Pierre is a noted speaker and advocate on women’s issues, policy and politics, who has an extensive background in government relations at the federal, state and local levels of government. She served eight years in the Clinton Administration with her last position as special assistant to the president for intergovernmental affairs. Previous to her eight years in government, Pierre worked for more than ten years in the television broadcast industry as a writer, field producer, and production assistant. She currently serves on several national and local boards including: Vice Chair of “The Future PAC” – a national African American women’s political action committee; the Greater Washington Urban League; National Coalition on Black Civic Participation Women’s Round Table; Democratic National Committee (DNC) Women’s Vote Center.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=234
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Dr. Maya Rockeymoore is a respected policy analyst, researcher, and advocate with expertise in an array of public policy issues. She is the founder, President and CEO of Global Policy Solutions (GPS); a comprehensive policy consulting company in Washington, DC, and serves as a Professorial Lecturer at American University where she teaches courses on “The Politics and Policy of Race and Gender” as well as “Women, Politics, and Public Policy.” She is the author of The Political Action Handbook: A How to Guide for the Hip Hop Generation and co-editor of Strengthening Community: Social Insurance in a Diverse America.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=364
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Former Congresswoman Patricia Scott Schroeder is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of American Publishers. Mrs. Schroeder left Congress undefeated in 1996 after representing Colorado’s First Congressional District (Denver) in the United States House of Representatives for 24 years. For a brief period of time in 1986, she considered running for President but withdrew for lack of funds despite the fact that she ranked third in a Time magazine poll.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=312
LOCATION: New York, NY

Eleanor Smeal is the President of the Feminist Majority Foundation and publisher of Ms. Magazine. She has led efforts for the economic, political, and social equality and empowerment of women in the U.S. and worldwide for over three decades. Recognized throughout the nation as a women’s rights leader, Smeal is known as a political analyst, strategist, and grassroots organizer. She was also the first to identify the “gender gap” -- the difference in the way women and men vote -- and popularized its usage in election and polling analyses to enhance women’s voting clout.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=493
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Pamela Sutherland is the Executive Director of Arizona List. After serving as legal director for the ACLU of Arizona she took on her current position at Arizona List, a grassroots donor network supporting pro-choice women Democrats running for state and local office in Arizona. Arizona List is modeled after EMILY’s List. It is the goal of Arizona List to increase the number of pro-choice women Democrats elected in Arizona. Arizona List currently has over 1300 members, and 14 of its 15 endorsed candidates for state office won in 2006. She has been the campaign manager of a mayoral race and a Congressional race; she has served on the campaign and finance committees of numerous candidates for federal, state and local election.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=572
LOCATION: Tucson, AZ

Debbie Walsh is the director of the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP) at Rutgers’ Eagleton Institute of Politics. As director, Walsh manages and oversees CAWP’s multi-faceted programs that include national forums for political women and provide vital information and facilitate creative strategy-building. She also manages leadership and campaign training programs designed to empower women of all ages to participate fully in politics and public life. Finally, she tracks and oversees research focused on women as candidates, public officials and voters.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=240
LOCATION: New Brunswick, NJ

Marie C. Wilson, an advocate of women’s issues for more than 30 years, is founder and President of The White House Project, co-creator of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work ® Day and author of Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World (Viking 2004). Since its inception, The White House Project has been a leading advocate and voice on women’s leadership. Under her stewardship, innovative research and initiatives have been hallmarks of the organization. Highlights of the last ten years include groundbreaking research on young women’s political participation, an analysis of women’s appearances as guests on the influential Sunday political talk shows, the convening of women CEOs and executives for two national leadership summits, a bi-coastal conference of international women leaders, a partnership with Girl Scouts to launch the Ms. President patch and initiatives to influence popular culture.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=221
LOCATION: New York, NY

Youth

Since 2002, Andrea Batista Schlesinger has applied her background in public policy, politics and communications to lead the effort to turn the Drum Major Institute, originally founded by an advisor to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, into a progressive policy institute with national impact. An expert in youth and politics and civic engagement, Andrea oversaw the launch of a national program to connect college students from under-represented communities to careers in policy.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=360
LOCATION: New York, NY

Dana R. Fisher is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Columbia University. Her research focuses on politics and activism, aiming to understand how political decisions happen and why. An expert of youth and politics, she has published extensively on issues related to civil society, activism, protest, and environmental policy-making.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=588
LOCATION: New York, NY

Keli Goff is an author, blogger and political analyst whose commentary on the 2008 presidential election has been seen on a variety of national and international news outlets. As one of the few “Generation Y” political commentators, she is widely recognized for her ability to discuss the intersections of politics and pop culture, as well as for her expertise in the areas of youth and minority voters. She is the author of the book Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence (March 2008) which explores the cultural and political divide between black Americans of the civil rights generation and their children and grandchildren, known collectively as the hip-hop generation.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=458
LOCATION: New York, NY

Maria-Teresa Petersen is the founding Executive Director of Voto Latino, a youth organization seeking to galvanize the fastest growing eligible voting block in America. Named by Hispanic Magazine as among the top Latinas in Government and Politics, Petersen is an expert in the Latino vote and engaging new voters using the latest technology.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=592
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Dr. Maya Rockeymoore is a respected policy analyst, researcher, and advocate with expertise in an array of public policy issues. She is the founder, President and CEO of Global Policy Solutions (GPS); a comprehensive policy consulting company in Washington, DC, and serves as a Professorial Lecturer at American University where she teaches courses on "The Politics and Policy of Race and Gender" as well as "Women, Politics, and Public Policy." She is the author of The Political Action Handbook: A How to Guide for the Hip Hop Generation, co-editor of Strengthening Community: Social Insurance in a Diverse America and Fountain of Youth: Strategies and Tactics for Mobilizing America’s Young Voters.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=364
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Hilary B. Rosen is a prominent figure in the world of entertainment and technology convergence. She is an advisor to various companies on digital distribution, consumer, licensing and branding strategies for entertainment products. Rosen is a founder and a current board member of Rock the Vote, the organization that promotes youth political involvement.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=459
LOCATION: Washington, DC

For availability please contact Sarah Bacon or Leah Borkin at Fenton Communications, media@shesource.org, 212 584 5000

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- Political Participation
- Polling
- Voting Rights

Political Participation

Andrea Batista Schlesinger applies her background in public policy, politics and communications to lead the effort to turn the Drum Major Institute, originally founded by an advisor to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, into a progressive policy institute with national impact. During her tenure as Executive Director, DMI has released several important policy papers to national audiences; produced the only progressive analysis of the immigration debate addressing the concerns of the squeezed middle-class, and, among other efforts, launched a national program to connect college students from under-represented communities to careers in policy.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=360
LOCATION: New York, NY

Anna Burger, International Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, has been hailed by Gannett as "the most influential woman in the U.S. labor movement,” named as one of Washingtonian’s 100 Most Powerful Women in 2006, and as one of The Wall Street Journal’s 50 Women to Watch of 2007. Burger is not only a top ranking officer at SEIU, the nation's largest and fastest growing union, but also the first chair of America’s newest labor federation, Change to Win. Founded in September 2005 by SEIU and six other major unions representing six million workers, Change to Win is developing joint industry-based organizing campaigns aimed at ensuring that workers, not just CEOs, benefit from today's global economy.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=505
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Allison Fine is a Senior Fellow at Demos, where her work focuses on unleashing broad participation in our democracy. Allison is a successful social entrepreneur and writer dedicated to helping grassroots organizations and activists implement and sustain social change efforts. Her first book, Momentum: Igniting Social Change in the Connected Age, was released in September 2006. In 2008, Fine created the blog www.voicesforhillary.wordpress.com to try to balance the biased media coverage of Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=337
LOCATION: New York, NY

Dana R. Fisher is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Columbia University. Her research focuses on politics and activism, aiming to understand how political decisions happen and why. She has published extensively on issues related to civil society, activism, protest, and environmental policy-making.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=588
LOCATION: New York, NY

Page S. Gardner conceived of and founded Women's Voices. Women Vote. She is an expert in the voting patterns of women voters, with a particular expertise in unmarried voters. She began this project dedicated to increasing the share of unmarried women in the electorate. During her twenty years experience as a political and communications manager and strategist, Ms. Gardner has worked at senior levels for the most competitive presidential, senatorial, gubernatorial, and congressional campaigns in all parts of the country.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=375
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Deborah Goldberg is the Democracy Program Director at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. The Program seeks to bring the ideal of representative self-government closer to reality, by working to eliminate barriers to full and equal political participation and to ensure that public policy and institutions reflect the diverse voices and interests that make for a rich and energetic democracy. Now in her tenth year at the Brennan Center, Ms. Goldberg oversees all the Center’s scholarship, public education, advocacy, and litigation related to campaign finance reform, government accountability, voting rights & elections, and fair courts.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=530
LOCATION: New York, NY

Kristin A. Goss is an assistant professor of public policy studies and political science at Duke University. Her research focuses on why people do (or don’t) participate in political life and how their participation or non-participation affects public policymaking. She worked for four years on the research team for Robert Putnam's seminal work, Bowling Alone (Simon & Schuster, 2000), and contributed substantially to the six chapters on social capital's effects on society and democracy.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=585
LOCATION: Durham, NC

Donna R. Hoffman is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa. Professor Hoffman is a frequent commentator on the Iowa Caucuses, electoral politics in Iowa, and the State of the Union Address. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma, where her research focused on partisan changes in the American electorate. Her current research focuses on both electoral politics and presidential rhetoric. Professor Hoffman’s research on presidential rhetoric examines the way that presidents communicate their policy agendas with both Congress and the public, especially through State of the Union addresses. Her work on electoral politics examines changes in the partisan composition of the American electorate.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=613
LOCATION: Cedar Falls, IA

Farhana Khera is currently the Executive Director of Muslim Advocates, having left her position as Counsel to the United States Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights. She is an expert in the civic and political participation of Muslim Americans.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=460
LOCATION: San Francisco, CA

Megan Matson is the Executive Director of The Mainstreet Moms (MMOB), which features strategic campaigns built on bite-size, self-serve resources that let moms (and honorary moms!) take action within the bustle of their already-busy lives. MMOB's "Democracy or Bust" commitment for 2006/2007 includes letter-writing to leverage electronic voting machines lawsuits, building election engagement through Moms Work the Polls; increasing voter registration among moms and high school seniors through Vote@18: Moms Sign Up the Senior Class, and Clean Money Moms supporting clean money public finance campaigns.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=283

Maria Theresa Petersen is the founding Executive Director of Voto Latino, a youth organization seeking to galvanize the fastest growing eligible voting block in America. Named by Hispanic Magazine as among the top Latinas in Government and Politics, Petersen is an expert in the Latino vote and engaging new voters using the latest technology.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=592
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Melanie Sloan serves as the Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a non-profit that targets government officials who sacrifice the common good to special interests. Prior to accepting this position, Ms. Sloan served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia from 1998 to early 2003.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=259
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Lisa Witter has more than a decade of experience in politics, policy, organizational development, marketing and media relations. As Chief Operating Officer of Fenton Communications, Ms. Witter oversees the largest public interest communications strategy firm in the country. Ms. Witter’s “on the ground” political advocacy work includes, among numerous initiatives, designing and executing a national public education and voter mobilization campaign against the privatization of Social Security during the 2000 presidential election.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=220
LOCATION: New York, NY

polling

Celinda Lake is president of Lake, Snell, Perry, Mermin & Associates (LSPMA), one of the nation’s leading public opinion and political strategy firms. A leading Democratic Party strategist, Lake has served as a tactician and senior advisor to the national party committees, and dozens of Democratic incumbents and challengers at all levels of the electoral process. Lake oversaw focus group research for the Clinton/Gore campaign and served as a general consultant throughout the campaign. She is also credited with identifying key voter groups, including Reagan seniors, NASCAR dads, waitress moms, the marriage gap and generation D. She is also regarded as one of the nation's foremost experts on electing women candidates and on framing issues for women voters.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=183
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Margie Omero is President of Momentum Analysis, LLC, a Democratic public opinion research firm based in Washington, DC. Momentum Analysis provides quantitative and qualitative research for Democratic campaigns and progressive causes. Her clients have included the DNC, the DLCC, EMILY’s List, Gubernatorial races, Congressional campaigns, state parties, labor unions, and nonprofits around the country. Margie blogs about the intersections of gender and polling at Pollster.com
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=332
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Voting rights

Donna Brazile is founder and managing director of Brazile and Associates, LLC, a political consulting and grassroots-organizing firm based in Washington D.C. Brazile also serves as chair of the Democratic National Committee's Voting Rights Institute and is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. Brazile’s wealth of experience as a senior political strategist includes serving as campaign manager for Gore-Lieberman 2000. Brazile is the first African-American to lead a major presidential campaign. Prior to joining the Gore campaign, Brazile was chief of staff and press secretary for Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia where she helped guide the District's budget and local legislation on Capitol Hill.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=166
LOCATION: Washington, DC

Regina Eaton is Deputy Director of the Democracy Program at Demos. She focuses on policy issues aimed at increasing voter registration and turn out, including Election Day Registration.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=336
LOCATION: New York, NY

Bev Harris is the Director of Black Box Voting. She has been referred to as "the godmother" of the election reform movement by The Boston Globe and Vanity Fair magazine credits her with founding the movement to reform electronic voting. Her articles were the first to reveal that modern-day voting systems are run by private for-profit corporations, relying on a few cronies for oversight, using a certification system so fundamentally flawed that it allows machines to miscount and lose votes, with hidden back doors that enable "end runs."
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=303
LOCATION: Renton, WA

Holly Jacobson is Co-Founder and Co-Director of Voter Action, a national not-for-profit organization, providing expert legal research and organizing support to ensure election integrity in the United States. Voter Action recently led successful litigation to block the use of electronic voting machines in New Mexico and is supporting similar efforts in California, Arizona, Colorado and other states. The majority of Jacobson's time now is spent on voting rights advocacy focusing on electronic voting issues and the privatization of elections.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=286
LOCATION: Berkeley, CA

Brenda Wright is the Managing Attorney for Demos' partner organization National Voting Rights Institute (NVRI.) Brenda directs NVRI's nationwide litigation program and engages in public education in furtherance of NVRI's mission to vindicate the constitutional right of all citizens, regardless of their economic status, to full and meaningful participation in the electoral process. Before joining NVRI in 1997, Brenda served as Director of the Voting Rights Project at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in Washington, D.C., litigating cases throughout the country to protect the voting rights of citizens of color.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=343
LOCATION: Boston, MA

Kathleen Wynne is an Associate Director at BlackBox Voting. As part of her duties at Black Box Voting, Kathleen Wynne listens to citizens, mentors them, stands up for individual people who need help, teaches, and encourages ordinary citizens with concerns about their elections. Wynne does not believe elections should ever be entrusted to an elite group—experts, scientists, statisticians or public officials. She advocates citizen oversight of every aspect of the elections process.
BIO: http://www.shesource.org/shesource/expert.php?source_id=304
LOCATION: Renton, WA

For availability please contact Sarah Bacon or Leah Borkin at Fenton Communications, media@shesource.org, 212 584 5000

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