National Office Staff

FairVote Staff

Rob Richie| RR@FairVote.org 

Executive Director 

urlRob Richie has been the executive director of FairVote since co-founding the organization in 1992. He has played a key role in advancing, winning, and implementing electoral reforms at a local and state level. Rob has been involved in implementing ranked choice voting in more than a dozen cities, cumulative voting in numerous Voting Rights Act cases, the National Popular Vote plan in 11 states, and promoting voter access proposals like voter preregistration and a lower voting age. He is a frequent media source and has been a guest on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal, NPR’s All Things Considered and Fresh Air, CNN, MSNBC, Fox, and NBC. Rob's writings have appeared in every major national publication as well as in nine books, including as the co-author of Every Vote Equal about Electoral College reform and Whose Votes Count about fair representation voting. He has addressed conventions of the American Political Science Association, the National Association of Counties, the National Association of Secretaries of State, and the National Conference of State Legislatures. He serves on the Haverford College Corporation, and he and his wife Cynthia Terrell have three children.

 

Cynthia Terrell | CT@FairVote.org

Chair, Representation 2020

Cynthia Richie Terrell is a founder of FairVote and has served as a board member of several charitable organizations and Quaker institutions including the American Friends Service Committee and Sandy Spring Friends School. Terrell has worked in the area of voting system reform in this country and abroad, traveling in 1993 to New Zealand to support that country's successful referendum to adopt a proportional voting system. She now chairs FairVote’s Representation 2020 project which works to remove the structural barriers to women’s electoral success in the United States.

Before helping to found FairVote, Terrell worked extensively on political campaigns, working as campaign manager and field director for campaigns for the U.S. President, U.S. House and U.S. Senate, for governor and for state and city-wide initiative efforts, including a state equal rights amendment and a city campaign for fair representation voting.

Terrell has three children and is active in the Quaker community and in civic affairs in Takoma Park, Maryland. She graduated with a B.A. in political science from Swarthmore College in 1986.

 

Andrew Spencer | DSpencer@FairVote.org

Senior Staff Attorney, Deputy Director

Drew

Drew Spencer is deputy director at FairVote, where he has worked since 2012. While at FairVote, Drew has had a supervisory role and also contributed to work around ranked choice voting, primary elections, election administration, and the Voting Rights Act. In 2013, he co-authored a law review article with executive director Rob Richie arguing for ranked choice voting in legislative elections to expand minority voting rights. In his role as staff attorney, he helped draft FairVote's amicus curiae briefs in the voting rights cases, Jauregui v. City of Palmdale and Montes v. City of Yakima.
Drew earned a B.A. in Philosophy and a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Arizona in 2006, and a J.D. from the James E. Rogers College of Law in 2012. He is licensed to practice law in Arizona, where he has also published articles on public financing of elections in the Arizona Law Review and Arizona Attorney Magazine.

 

Michelle Whittaker | MWhittaker@FairVote.org 

Communications Director

Michelle

Michelle C. Whittaker is the Communications Director at FairVote. She focuses on strategic messaging, constituency engagement, social media interaction, website development, and audio/visual resource development. Michelle joined the FairVote staff in April 2015. Prior to joining FairVote, Michelle worked as the Communications and New Media Director for the General Board of Church and Society, an international public policy program agency of The United Methodist Church, where she has won several awards for visual design and communications projects. Her experience extends into corporate finance as a technical writer and interface design specialist for Towers Watson, a financial consulting firm. She studied graphic and web design at The Art Institute Online and The Art Institute of Washington. Outside of her work at FairVote, Michelle enjoys sports, art, music and food with her husband, Doogie, and daughter, London.

 

Doug Clopp | DClopp@Fairvote

Outreach Director

Doug Clopp headshot

Doug Clopp came FairVote's outreach director in May of 2015 after more than two decades of national and state reform work. He is the former Director of Strategic Partnership at Common Cause, where he was responsible for developing strategic partnerships with national and state organizations to support Common Cause’s programmatic and campaign goals surrounding campaign finance reform, governmental ethics, and democracy reform. Prior to joining Common Cause in 2010, Doug served as State Communications Director for Repower Maine, the state affiliate of Al Gore’s national Alliance for Climate Protection, and worked for many years on campaign finance reform and other electoral proposals for the Maine Citizens Leaderships.

 

Nathan Nicholson | NNicholson@FairVote.org

Development Director

Nathan

Nathan Nicholson is FairVote's Director of Development. Nathan's work focuses on strengthening FairVote's internal capacity to serve as a leading institutional voice for innovative electoral systems reform  Prior to joining FairVote, Nathan worked as an immigration staffer at a law firm in Ithaca, NY and worked on campaigns for U.S. Congress and the New York State legislature. He is a 2012 graduate of Cornell University.

 

 

 

 

Sarah John | SJohn@FairVote.org

Research Director

Sarah

Sarah John is the Research Director at FairVote. Her interests center on electoral system reforms—such as ranked choice voting and fair representation—with a particular emphasis on historical reform movements in the United States. Originally from Australia, Sarah has a PhD in political science from Flinders University. Her dissertation explored the development of campaign finance regulation in the US, Canada and Australia in the 1970s. She has presented papers on her work to many international conferences and has published in the Australian Journal of Political Science and the Australian Journal of Politics and History.

From 2012 to 2014, Sarah taught undergraduate students in American politics and civics at California State University, Fullerton. Into the future, Sarah is interested in developing a wider understanding of reform and political change and looks forward to pursuing those perspectives in her work with FairVote.

 

Dania N. Korkor | DKorkor@FairVote.org 

Staff Attorney and Congressional Liaison

DaniaDania N. Korkor is the Staff Attorney at FairVote. She has focused her studies and professional experience on promoting democracy and encouraging the use of alternative dispute resolution to address conflict. Dania has significant experience working with federal, state, and local governments. She served as a policy intern at the State Department in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the Office of Near Eastern Affairs and also served as a legal intern at the Ohio Senate. Additionally, she worked for the Ohio Attorney General, a local Ohio mayor, and the Department of Defense.

Dania earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Psychology and Arabic language from Case Western Reserve University in 2010. In 2013, she graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Public Policy and Management from The Ohio State University John Glenn School of Public Affairs. While in law school, she specialized in Dispute Resolution. Additionally, Dania took courses regarding election law and disputed elections as well as serving as a research assistant to Professor Edward Foley, the Director of "Election Law @ Moritz." Dania was the Editor-in-Chief of the Ohio State Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal.

 

Andrew Douglas | ADouglas@FairVote.org 

Senior Policy Analyst

Andrew

Originally from Oklahoma City, Andrew graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009 with a B.A. in political science and a minor in history. He earned an M.A. in international studies in 2012. His master's thesis, Balance of Power Theory and Mexican Drug Cartels, examined political interactions between Mexican drug trafficking organizations.Andrew Douglas is a policy analyst at FairVote, focusing on ranked choice voting and international elections. He has also contributed research to FairVote's Monopoly Politics and State of Women's Representation reports.

 

Grace Ramsey | GRamsey@FairVote.org 

Outreach Specialist

GraceGrace Ramsey is an Outreach Specialist at FairVote. Grace graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in political science. Before coming to FairVote, Grace was a communications intern with University of Minnesota College of Design, as well as a constituent affairs intern at the office of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold. More recently, Grace was an organizer with FairVote Minnesota, serving as Deputy Field Director for FairVote Minnesota’s 2013 Rank Your Vote campaign. The campaign focused on educating voters, candidates, and the media about ranked choice voting in Minneapolis’ 2013 municipal elections. Through her work at FairVote Minnesota, Grace honed her passion for voter education and community building.

 

Austin Plier | APlier@FairVote.org

Communications and Outreach Specialist

Austin

Austin Plier is a Communications and Outreach Specialist at FairVote, where he assists in developing and implementing FairVote’s overall communications strategy. In his outreach role, Austin works to advance FairVote’s reforms by developing advocacy strategies for policymakers and stakeholders, while organizing community support at the local level. Before coming to FairVote, Austin spent a semester in Durban, South Africa, studying the nation’s social and political transformation through the lens of youth political participation. In 2013, he was a fellow with Organizing for Action. Originally from Wisconsin, Austin graduated from St. Norbert College in 2014 with a B.A. in political science and economics.

 

Chris Hughes | CHughes@FairVote.org 

Legal Fellow

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Chris Hughes is a legal fellow at FairVote. Chris has focused his study and work on voting rights, electoral reform, and civil rights. working for structural reforms to electoral systems and on litigation to enforce voting and other civil rights. His work at FairVote is focused on ranked choice voting on the local and state levels, with an eye towards national implementation. 


He graduated with a B.A. in International Studies from the University of Miami in May 2012 and received his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2015. He interned at the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO) and the ACLU Voting Rights Project while in law school. Chris also served as an Executive Articles Editor on NYU's Annual Survey of American Law and represented two refugee clients through the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP).

 

Molly Rockett | MRockett@FairVote.org 

Communications Fellow

IMG 1499 2 3Molly completed a BA in Political Science from the University of Connecticut, earning University Scholar and Honors distinction for her research in judicial politics and judicial campaigning. During her time at UConn, Molly worked to promote women’s political empowerment and encourage young women to run for office by hosting campaign-training and political skills building conferences. Molly ran a successful campaign for public office in her hometown of Somers Connecticut, and is currently serving a two year term on the Somers Board of Education. She looks forward to attending Law School and using her law degree in public interest or campaign law. In her free time, Molly enjoys re-reading Harry Potter books at random, knitting really poorly made scarves, and going to see all superhero movies that come out in theaters.

 

Demarquin Johnson | DJohnson@FairVote.org 

Advocacy Fellow

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Demarquin Johnson serves as a Democracy Fellow for the Advocacy and Outreach Team. He graduated from Howard University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He focused his academic research on democratic governance and inclusion. After studying social movements at the University of Amsterdam, Demarquin wrote his honors thesis on the role of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He complemented his studies by interning in the U.S. House of Representatives, Department of Justice, and various policy positions around D.C. On campus, he served as co-captain of the Howard Debate Team and chairman of the Student Advocacy Committee for the Howard University Student Association Senate. In his free time, Demarquin volunteers to combat hunger and illiteracy in the nation's capital.

 

Haley Smith | HSmith@FairVote.org 

Research Fellow

IMG 5510 2Haley Smith is a 2015 Research Fellow with FairVote. Haley is an expert in democratic theory, and is applying that expertise to our studies of RCV’s impacts on civility and descriptive representation. Haley grew up in Pittsburgh and received her BA in Political Science and Economics from St. Mary's College of Maryland. She is currently finishing up her M.A. in Political Science at the University of British Columbia. 

 

 

 

 

 

Elliot Louthen | ELouthen@FairVote.org 

Advocacy Fellow

Elliot profile

Elliot Louthen joined FairVote as an Advocacy Fellow after graduating from Washington University in St. Louis in 2015. As a political science major, his senior honors thesis researched the backlash effect--a phenomenon where citizens disproportionately impacted by voting restrictions end up voting at higher rates in response. He also organized Washington University’s first TEDx conference and was active as a Civic Scholar with the Gephardt Institute for Civic Engagement. Professionally, Elliot has a range of experiences in politics and pubic service. He has interned on Capitol Hill for Illinois Senator Mark Kirk, organized for Francis Slay during the 2012 St. Louis mayoral campaign, and worked in the government relations office of the major Missouri hospital system, BJC HealthCare. Elliot is originally from Chicago and an avid sports fan as he supports the Cubs and Blackhawks. 

 

Ethan Fitzgerald | EFitzgerald@FairVote.org 

Advocacy Fellow

Ethan Fitzgerald Profile

Ethan Fitzgerald is a native New Yorker and joined Fairvote as an Advocacy Fellow after graduating from the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan in 2015. He has previously held internships at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the NYC Campaign Finance Board. He has also done organizing work with the Fund for the Public Interest and Barack Obama's 2012 campaign. He enjoys pizza, concerts, and the New York Yankees.