Speakers at Take Back the American Dream

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	Karen Ackerman Karen Ackerman, former Political Director AFL-CIO, has worked in the Labor and Progressive Movements all her adult life. She began organizing hospital workers in the early 1970's for Local 1199 in Philadelphia. She developed union member political programs to elect progressives (David Dinkins, Mark Green) and became Political Director of Public Employees Federation, SEIU/AFT. In 1996, Ackerman joined the Sweeney team as AFL-CIO Deputy Political Director and in 2003 became Political Director. In 2008, under Ackerman's leadership, the AFL-CIO waged its most aggressive union political program ever, reaching 13 million union members and their families, with 250,000 union volunteers. She now runs the 2012 Progressive Congress Table. .

	Medrick Addison Medrick Addison is a life-long resident of the Glenville community in Cleveland, Ohio. After graduating from high school, he began a family in 1989. He knows first-hand the difficulty of providing for a family with inadequate employment. In 2009 Medrick was hired by the Evergreen Laundry as a supervisor. His passion for the Evergreen Initiative has propelled his growth within the world of cooperative businesses. He is now the Evergreen Employee/Owner Representative, traveling nationally to promote the initiative and communicate the impact it has had on Cleveland. .

	Aniello Alioto Aniello Alioto is a lifelong Catholic, advocate for social justice, and firm believer in all definitions of the word "Catholic." Aniello commands extensive experience in both issue and candidate campaigns; specializing in online advocacy, information management and campaign messaging. He holds a M.A. in Diplomacy from the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, located at the University of Kentucky, as well as a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Louisville. Aniello is currently the National Political Director of Progress Now. .

	Gar Alperovitz Gar Alperovitz is a Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy at the University of Maryland, College Park Department of Government and Politics. He is a former Fellow of King's College, Cambridge; a founding Fellow of Harvard's Institute of Politics; a Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies; and a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution. Alperovitz also served as a Legislative Director in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, and as a Special Assistant in the Department of State. Alperovitz is a founding principal of The Democracy Collaborative at the University of Maryland, and a member of the board of directors for the New Economics Institute.

	Vineeta Anand Vineeta Anand is the Chief Research Analyst in the Office of Investment of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations. Before joining the AFL-CIO in 2007, Ms. Anand spent more than two decades as a financial reporter in Washington, including several years as the Washington Bureau Chief for Pensions & Investments. She received her M.A. in journalism from the University of Syracuse, and a Masters in Management Studies from Bombay University, India. She lives in Alexandria, Va., with her husband. .

	Sulma Arias Sulma Arias is currently the Executive Director of Sunflower Community Action. A 22-year grass roots organization in Kansas. Prior to Sunflower, Sulma was the Campaign Director for National People's Action's Immigrant and Worker Justice program, where she coordinated training and capacity building for 12 grassroots organizations in 10 states. In September of 2011, Sulma was asked to return to work for Sunflower and lead them through their next phase of growth. Sulma migrated from El Salvador to Kansas at the age of twelve. Sulma was also a founding member of the Immigration Organizing Committee (IOC), now known as FIRM. With the IOC, Sulma convened a gathering of grassroots leaders from five mid-west states to draft language that was later used in proposed legislation for comprehensive immigration reform.

	Barbara Arnwine Barbara R. Arnwine, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law since 1989, is internationally renowned for contributions on critical justice issues including the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1991. A graduate of Scripps College and Duke University School of Law, she continues to champion civil rights issues nationally and internationally in the areas of housing, fair lending, community development, employment, voting, education, environmental justice and more. A prominent leader in the civil rights community, Ms. Arnwine also continues to fight for the preservation of affirmative action and diversity programs.

	Nan Aron A leading voice in public interest law for over 30 years, Aron is President of Alliance for Justice (AFJ), a national association of over 100 public interest and civil rights organizations. Nan, who founded AFJ in 1979, guides the organization in its mission to ensure that all Americans have the right and opportunity to secure justice in the courts and to have their voices heard when government makes decisions that affect their lives. Today, AFJ's Judicial Selection Project is the country's premier voice for a fair and independent judiciary and a major player in the often-controversial judicial nominations process.

	Marge Baker Marge Baker oversees People For Policy and Programmatic work, including its campaigns on the courts, nominations, LGBT equality, voting rights and elections. She has worked for more than 35 years in various public service roles. Prior to her current position she was the Staff Director for the late Senator Paul Wellstone on the Senate's Employment, Safety and Training Subcommittee. Ms. Baker is a graduate of Yale Law School, served as Chief Counsel to Senator Howard Metzenbaum on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and directed the Consumer Services Division of the New York Department of Public Service.

	Sindy Benavides Sindy Benavides serves as the Vice President for Field Operations and Political Affairs. She will lead Voto Latino's 2012 voter registration and GOTV efforts in targeted states through grassroots mobilization and direct voter contact. Prior to joining Voto Latino, Sindy served as senior advisor on Latino affairs and Northern Virginia Political Director to Kaine for Virginia U.S. Senatorial campaign, one of the most competitive races in the country. She served as the National Director of Community Outreach and Voting at the Democratic National Committee. Community service is important to Sindy and she serves on numerous local and state non-profit boards. She is a regular speaker on issues related to civic engagement, grassroots organizing, leadership development, and field operations. She graduated from Virginia State University with a B.A. in Political Science and American University with a M.A. in US Foreign Policy.

	Shamar Bibbins As Senior Politcal Associate for Green For All, Shamar develops and executes opportunities to elevate Green For All's agenda by supporting policy priorities of Congressional leaders. She helps manage relationships with external national level partners, and steers a number of special projects. Prior to joining the organization's political team, Shamar was based in Los Angeles and served as project coordinator for The State and Local Initiatives team. Prior to joining Green For All, she worked in the entertainment field for several years and ran a successful business providing support services to non-profits and small businesses.

	Becky Bond Bond is the president of the CREDO SuperPAC and the political director of CREDO Mobile. Becky has been at the forefront of the online to offline organizing movement since she joined CREDO in 2000, combining innovative technology, rapid response, measurable results, volunteer engagement and a passionate commitment to winning progressive victories. Organizing with CREDO, Becky has grown a community of 3.0 million activists who take action on issues ranging from defending choice to protecting net neutrality to fighting climate change and ending unjust wars. She also led CREDO's 2004 campaign to register one million anti-war citizens as well as the "Hell NO on 23" campaign, CREDO's victorious 2010 effort to crush Texas oil and save California's global warming law.

	Robert L. Borosage Borosage is founder and president of the Institute for America's Future and co-director of its sister, Campaign for America's Future. He writes regularly on politics and economics. He is a contributing editor of The Nation and a regular blogger on The Huffington Post. Borosage is founder and board chair of Progressive Majority. He is co-founder and board chair of ProgressiveCongress.org, and a member of the board of Working America. He previously founded and directed the Campaign for New Priorities, a non-profit coalition of over 100 organizations calling for post-Cold War reinvestment in America. He served as director of the Institute for Policy Studies where he remains as a board member. He has also served as an issues advisor to progressive political campaigns, including those of Paul Wellstone, Barbara Boxer and Carol Moseley Braun. He was senior issues advisor for the 1988 Jesse Jackson Campaign. Borosage is a graduate of Yale Law School and holds a master's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

	Jamelle Bouie Jamelle Bouie is a Knobler Fellow at The Nation Institute. He is a blogger and journalist in Washington, DC. Since July 2010, he has been a Writing Fellow for The American Prospect, and his work has appeared at The Washington Independent, CNN.com, The Loop 21, and a number of other blogs and outlets. His writing focuses on political behavior and elections, with particular interests in demographics and campaign finance reform.

	Melissa Bradley Melissa L. Bradley is CEO of Tides. Prior to Tides Melissa founded and served as managing director of New Capitalist, where she facilitated over $20 million in venture capital transactions. She has served as a Senior Adviser to the Center for American Progress, advisor to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Vice President at UBS in the Private Client Group, and as a Financial Regulatory Affairs Fellow with the US Department of Treasury.

	Robert M. Brandon Robert M. Brandon is an attorney with more than 30 years of public policy, legislative, media and campaign experience. He is President of Robert M. Brandon and Associates, a public affairs firm that works to advance public interest and grassroots goals. Mr. Brandon has also served as a senior consultant on health policy for Health Care for America Now and the National Association of Community Health Centers. He is recognized as one of the nation's leading consumer advocates, and works closely with a variety of public interest groups throughout the country.

	Sen. Sherrod Brown U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown — a champion of middle-class families in the Senate — has held more than 200 community roundtables across Ohio's 88 counties to find ways to strengthen our economy. Described as "Congress' leading proponent of American manufacturing," Brown is working on a national manufacturing strategy that would connect workers with emerging industries, and align our trade policies to promote our national interests. Brown authored the biggest bipartisan jobs bill to pass the Senate last year. His Currency Exchange and Oversight Reform Act could create new jobs by leveling the playing field for American manufacturers by stopping China from propping up its currency. Brown is married to Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Connie Schultz.

	Melanie L. Campbell Melanie L. Campbell is the President and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, and Convener of the Black Women's Roundtable lntergenerational Public Policy Network. One of her most rewarding accomplishments at the National Coalition is creating an innovative, youth-focused leadership development program, Black Youth Vote! (BYV), which she received the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Emerging Leaders Legacy Award. She is a contributing writer in the 2008 National Urban League State of Black America, Election Reform: Protecting Our Vote from the Enemy Who Never Sleeps and wrote in the 2006 Harvard University Journal on African Americans in Public Policy, "A Nation Exposed: Rebuilding African American Communities".

	Frances Causey Causey, Director/Producer, a seasoned investigative journalist, has emerged as a citizen-activist, fusing her media skills with a commitment to contribute to the restoration of people-based democracy in the United States. During her 14-year career with CNN, Frances moved up the ranks to become producer, and was a senior member of a team honored with News and Documentary Emmys for team coverage of both the Olympic Park and Oklahoma City bombings in 1995 and 1996. She directed "The Wendell Scott Story," which appeared on The History Channel and the Turner Networks. Frances was recently honored with the Women's International Film and Television Jury Award for her work on Heist: Who Stole the American Dream.

	Dan Cantor Dan Cantor is the founding Executive Director of the Working Families Party, one of the three minor parties with official ballot status in New York State. The WFP is a community-labor-green party dedicated to advancing the interests and values of the middle-class, working-class and poor. The WFP operates as a "party-within-a-party," supporting progressive primary challengers to corporate Democrats as well as helping D-WF candidates defeat right-wing Republicans (almost a redundancy) in general elections.

	Frances Causey Frances Causey, director/producer, a seasoned investigative journalist has emerged as a citizen activist, fusing her media skills with a commitment to contribute to the restoration of people based democracy in the United States. During her 14-year career with CNN, Frances became producer, and was a senior member of a team honored with News and Documentary Emmys for team coverage of both the Olympic Park and Oklahoma City bombings in 1995 and 1996 respectively. She directed "The Wendell Scott Story," which appeared on The History Channel and the Turner Networks. Frances was recently honored with the Women's International Film and Television Jury Award for her work on Heist: Who Stole the American Dream.

	Nita Chaudhary Nita Chaudhary was most recently the National Campaigns and Organizing Director at MoveOn.org Political Action. As a part of that role she oversaw and managed MoveOn's national campaigns department, including the organization's work on Health Care reform, the economy and Social Security as well as supervising MoveOn's Campaign Directors. During her tenure at MoveOn, Nita oversaw the fundraising program for the 2008 election, and led some of the organization's largest campaigns including MoveOn's work to end the Iraq war, protect Constitutional Liberties and address Climate Change. Prior to that she was the Democratic National Committee's first Director of Online during the 2004 cycle. She started her career at People for the American Way where she held several positions, including Media Research Analyst, Web Editor, and Online Organizer.

	Frank Clemente Frank Clemente is the Campaign Manager for Americans for Tax Fairness, a new coalition fighting for progressive federal tax reform. Previously he was Campaign Manager for the Strengthen Social Security Campaign, a coalition of 320 organizations. He managed a health care campaign for the Communications Workers of America in support of passing the Affordable Care Act. He was Issue Campaigns Director at the Change to Win Labor Federation and Director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch. Frank also has been senior policy advisor to the U.S. House Committee on Government Operations and Issues Director for Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential campaign.

	Doug Clopp Doug Clopp joined Common Cause in September 2010 as the Deputy Director for Programs. He is the former Director of Governmental Affairs and Coalition Coordinator of Consumers for Affordable Health Care Foundation. Prior to his work on health policy, Doug was the Democracy Project Coordinator for the Maine Citizen Leadership Fund focusing on protecting and enhancing Maine's landmark Clean Elections program, improving Maine's campaign finance laws, and promoting governmental ethics.

	Chuck Collins Chuck Collins is an expert on U.S. inequality and the author of several books, including (with Bill Gates Sr.) Wealth and Our Commonwealth, a case for taxing inherited fortunes, and (with Mary Wright) The Moral Measure of the Economy. He is co-founder of Wealth for the Common Good, a network of business leaders, high-income households and partners working together to promote shared prosperity and fair taxation.

	Rep. Joe Courtney Joe Courtney was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2006. He is serving his third term representing eastern Connecticut. A member of the Armed Services and Agriculture Committees, Courtney introduced the only bipartisan legislation to permanently cap subsidized Stafford student loan interest rates at 3.4 percent, and has been working with groups like PIRG to ensure that rates do not double on July 1.

	Maura Cowley Maura is the Executive Director of Energy Action Coalition, where she spends her time bringing together organizations and youth leaders to work together for a clean energy future. Previous to coming to Energy Action Coalition, she spent five years at the Sierra Club, where she worked as a Field Organizer, Campaign Director and National Director for the Sierra Student Coalition. She has been with Energy Action Coalition since January of 2011 and has been continually amazed and inspired by young people across the country demanding a clean energy future.

	Bill Daley Bill Daley is the Legislative and Policy Director for the Main Street Alliance, a national network of state and locally-based small business coalitions. MSA creates opportunities for small business owners to speak for themselves on issues that matter to their businesses, their workers, and their local communities, both in state capitals and in Washington, DC. Bill, a California native, received University and post-graduate education in Nevada and Washington State before beginning a career as a policy and legislative expert in Washington State government where he worked for the Legislature, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Governor, and Insurance Commissioner. In addition to his policy work, Bill served for eight years as a municipal elected official, including a term as Mayor of the City of Olympia. He began working in non-profit advocacy in 2005 with the Washington Community Action Network on state level health care issues. He has worked for the Main Street Alliance and the Alliance for a Just Society in Washington, DC since 2010, working to bring small business owners from across the Main Street Alliance network to DC for testimony and events.

	Gov. Howard Dean Governor Howard Dean, former DNC Chairman, presidential candidate and six term Governor and founder of Democracy for America and Physicians. He currently works as a part-time independent consultant focusing on the areas of health care, early childhood development and alternative energy. Dean created and implemented the "50 State Strategy" and the development of 21st century campaign tools. Dean is credited with helping Democrats make historic gains in 2006 and 2008.

	Rep. Peter DeFazio Congressman Peter DeFazio was first elected to the U.S. Congress in 1986. He is the dean of the Oregon House delegation, represents Southwest Oregon, and has developed a reputation as an independent, passionate and effective lawmaker. DeFazio is a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee where he serves as ranking member of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee. He currently also serves on the Aviation Subcommittee and Railroad, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee. In 2005, DeFazio served as the ranking Democrat on the Highways Subcommittee. DeFazio also serves on the House Natural Resources Committee. DeFazio and his wife, Myrnie Daut, live in Springfield, Oregon.

	Edil De Los Reyes Edil De Los Reyes is the Deputy Political Director for PowerPAC, a national advocacy organization that ran the country's largest independent expenditure for then, Senator Obama, in 2008. Before joining PowerPAC, Edil ran the California Democratic Party 2008 campaign operations in San Bernardino County. He developed civic engagen1ent training plans, implemented new media strategies. Her work helped turn the county "blue" for the first time in modem history. Edil works with PowerPAC's Dr. Julie Martinez Ortega analyzing numbers about electoral patterns and trends and their interrelationship with the country's demographic changes. She is a proud alumna of American University, holding a BA from the School of Public Affairs.

	Amanda Devecka-Rinear Amanda Devecka-Rinear has been an organizer and trainer for 13 years. Her efforts have helped build and move city-wide, and federal campaigns on issues that range from access to quality public education to criminalization of youth, foreclosure prevention and economic justice. Since 2009, she has been with National People's Action, a network of metropolitan and statewide membership organizations dedicated to advancing economic and racial justice in all aspects of society. Amanda began her career in New York City where she was the Program Director at New York City PoliceWatch, a project of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and a founding board member of FIERCE. She was the recipient of a Union Square Award in 2003 for her organizing efforts around creating safe and healthy communities. After September 11th she was part of city-wide student organizing to successfully preserve in state tuition, and thus access to public higher education for Immigrant New Yorkers. In 2005 she began to work for an NPA affiliate organization, the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition. Since joining National People's Action staff she is the lead organizer on a campaign to ensure Wall Street corporations and the 1% pay their fair share of taxes so we can invest in America.

	Tamara Draut Tamara Draut is Vice President of Policy and Research at Demos and the author of Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-Somethings Can't Get Ahead published by Doubleday in 2006. Her research focuses on the growing debt burdens facing low- and middle-income households, and more broadly the challenges confronting households trying to work or educate their way into the middle class. Tamara's work has been covered extensively by dozens of newspapers and magazines including the New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Businessweek, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal and USA Today. She is a frequent television commentator and has appeared on the Colbert Report, Today Show, CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.

	Cathy Duvall Duvall is currently the Director of Public Advocacy and Partnerships where she oversees the Club's political work and strategic partnerships. She comes to this position after more than 25 years of environmental and political organizing at the local, state, national and international levels. During her tenure, Cathy has led the organization in its most extensive and victorious political programs, expanding the work at both the national and state levels. She is a recognized leader in the DC progressive political community, consistently named "one of the top 100 most influential people in Washington DC" by Washington Life Magazine.

	Jotaka L. Eaddy Jotaka L. Eaddy is the Special Assistant to the President and CEO and Senior Director for Voting Rights for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Jotaka has coordinated national lobbying efforts, and managed grassroots campaigns in more than 45 states and 28 countries. Additionally, she served as a Senior Field Manager for USAction and USAction Education Fund. In 2004, she directed the national lobby and international advocacy campaign against the juvenile death penalty in the United States which contributed to the 2005 landmark US Supreme Court decision Roper v. Simmons which abolished this death penalty in the United States, a 100 year practice that unfairly discriminated against African-American and Latino youth. Ms. Eaddy was elected Student Body President at the University of South Carolina becoming the first and only black woman to be elected to the position in its 210 year history.

	Rep. Keith Ellison Keith Ellison has represented the Fifth Congressional District of Minnesota in the U.S. House of Representatives since taking office on January 4, 2007. The Fifth Congressional District is the most vibrant and ethnically diverse district in Minnesota with a rich history and traditions. The Fifth District includes the City of Minneapolis and the surrounding suburbs. Keith's philosophy is one of "generosity and inclusiveness." His roots as a community activist and his message of inclusivity through democratic participation resonates throughout the Fifth District. His priorities in Congress are: promoting peace, prosperity for working families, environmental sustainability, and civil and human rights.

	Richard Eskow Richard (RJ) Eskow is a Senior Fellow with the Campaign for America's Future. He is also a former senior executive (on Wall Street, with AIG, and elsewhere) in healthcare and related financial issues. He is currently a consultant in areas such as health policy, finance, communications, and IT. Richard is also is a freelance writer for print and other media and an occasional radio host. He writes for The Huffington Post and is a regular contributor to other publications. He is also an (occasionally) working musician.

	Kendall Fells Kendall Fells is the executive director for Our DC, a not for profit organization that works relentlessly to connect people, communities and organizations to bring good jobs to the District of Columbia.

	Sandra Fluke From the beginning, Sandra Fluke has devoted her career to public interest advocacy. In February, 2012, she testified before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee on the need to provide access to contraception. She has since spoken about this and other issues of concern to women and young people across news outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, and CBS television. Sandra recently graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center as a Public Interest Law Scholar with a Certificate in Refugee and Humanitarian Emergencies. She was awarded the 2012 National Association of Women Lawyers Award and a Dean's Certificate, and was recognized for her extensive pro bono representation of victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. In 2003, Sandra received a BS from Cornell University in Policy Analysis and Management, as well as Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California with her fiancee, Adam, and their dog, Mr. President.

	Natalie Foster Natalie lives at the intersection of organizing, technology and movement-building. Natalie is CEO of Rebuild the Dream, a platform for bottom-up, people-powered innovations to help fix the U.S. economy, that she co-founded with Van Jones and Billy Wimsatt in June of 2011. Previously, Natalie served as New Media Director for President Obama's Organizing for America (OFA) and the Democratic National Committee. She built and ran the New Media team responsible for the digital organizing, web content, social media and fundraising. Prior to joining OFA, Natalie built the first Online Organizing department at the Sierra Club and served as the Deputy Organizing Director for MoveOn.org. Named one of the Top Fifty Women to Watch in Tech, she is often speaking and training at progressive centers like New Organizing Institute, Personal Democracy Forum, and Netroots Nation. Natalie's based in San Francisco, CA with husband Matt Ewing and pup, Pac.

	Rep. Barney Frank Barney Frank represents the Fourth Congressional District of Massachusetts, and he is also the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee. Last year, he helped pass the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a new law that the Washington Post has called "the most sweeping overhaul of the nation's financial regulatory system since the Great Depression." Frank began his career in the Massachusetts State House, where he served for eight years before winning a seat in the U.S. Congress in 1980. Although he is widely-recognized for his work on national issues, Frank has also fought to help New Bedford fishermen, to bring commuter rail to the Southcoast, to provide affordable rental housing, and to support many local organizations and businesses.

	Jason Franklin Jason Franklin serves as Executive Director of Bolder Giving (www.boldergiving.org), working to encourage donors to "Give More, Risk More, Inspire More." He brings to his work a background in philanthropy, education, nonprofit strategy & leadership, and policy advocacy. He is also an award-winning Lecturer at New York University where his research focuses on the role of charitable foundations in policymaking and he teaches courses on nonprofit management, public policy, and philanthropy. He is author of Outrageous Generosity (forthcoming Winter 2012, Sutton Hart Press) and serves on the boards of the North Star Fund, Proteus Fund, and 21st Century School Fund.

	Judith Freeman Judith Freeman is the co-founder and Executive Director of the New Organizing Institute. In 2008 Judith worked on the Obama campaign. Previously, she was the senior political strategist at the AFL-CIO, where she also co-founded the Analyst Institute. During the 2004 presidential election, she worked on the Kerry campaign. She works with political campaigns, unions and non-profit organizations on organizing, targeting, strategy and technology infrastructure. She worked for 5 years in technology at the University of Chicago where she also organized with social justice organizations.

	Rep. John Garamendi John Garamendi, joined the U.S. House of Representatives on November 5, 2009. He brings nearly four decades of public service to the House Armed Services and Natural Resources committees. He has been a tireless proponent of job creation, quality and affordable health care, education, environmental protection, and scientific research.

	Dr. Lieutenant General Robert G. Gard, Jr. Lt. General Robert G. Gard, Jr. is Chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation where his policy work focuses on nuclear nonproliferation, missile defense, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, military policy, nuclear terrorism, and other national security issues. During his military career, Gard saw combat in both the Korea and Vietnam wars, and served a three year tour in Germany. After retiring from the U.S. Army in 1981, after 31 years of distinguished service, Gard served for five years as director of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies Center in Bologna, Italy, and then as President of the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Since 1998, he has been an active consultant in Washington, D.C., on national security issues, including the international campaign to ban anti-personnel land mines. Gard has written for well-known journals and periodicals that focus on military and international affairs. Gard holds a B.A. from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and both an M.P.A. and Ph.D in Political Economy & Government from Harvard University.

	Page S. Gardner Page S. Gardner is the founder and president of the Women's Voices. Women Vote Action Fund and the Voter Participation Center, formerly known as Women's Voices. Women Vote (WVWV). 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 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. Ms. Gardner also has managed some of the most hotly debated national public policy issue campaigns, including those related to reproductive rights, civil rights, national budget priorities, technology and trade. She is regarded as one of the top strategists in the country.

	Garlin Gilchrist II Garlin Gilchrist II is the Director of New Media at the Center for Community Change, where his task is building a base of online supporters that will advocate for public policies that are in the best interests of low-income people, especially low-income people of color, and reflect strong community values in ways that ensure that their authentic voices are heard, amplified, and respected. During the 2008 Presidential Election season, Gilchrist served as the Social Media Manager for the Barack Obama campaign in Washington. Garlin works as a Fellow and Senior Policy Analyst for Technology with the Northwest Progressive Institute, a netroots powered strategy center working to advance the common good through ideas and action. Garlin graduated with degrees in Computer Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Michigan in 2005. When not working, Garlin enjoys basketball, reading on & offline, and spending time with his wife Ellen.

	Alexis Goldstein Alexis Goldstein is an Occupy Wall Street activist involved in working for financial reform and accountability for the 2008 crisis. She was a co-author of the 325-page comment letter that Occupy the SEC wrote about the Volcker Rule. She is also a member of the Foreclose the Banks OWS group, who have been working to call attention to the lack of prosecutions from and resources to the RMBS Working Group. Before Alexis Occupied Wall Street, Wall Street occupied Alexis. She spent seven years working in technology on Wall Street in both the cash equity and equity derivatives spaces.

	Gabe Gonzalez Gabe Gonzalez is the National Director for the Campaign for Community Values at the Center for Community Change. The Campaign for Community Values brings together hundreds of diverse grassroots groups to win real victories for low-income communities, challenge the "on your own" mentality of the right and build a new politics for the common good. Before working at the Center, Gonzalez served as the Director of Organizing at the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights where he developed the Coalition's New Americans Vote Project. Gabe has worked as a community organizer, lobbyist, and electoral strategist for over 15 years, locally, state-wide, and nationally on such diverse issues as immigration, housing, and education policy. Gonzalez is a graduate of Drew University and lives in Chicago, IL.

	Daniel Gotoff Daniel Gotoff heads Lake Research Partners' New York office. Daniel has worked for candidates at all levels of the electoral process and on a wide range of issues, including the economy, national security, and government accountability. Daniel's tenure at LRP has included extensive research for clients, including Presidential, Senatorial, Congressional, Gubernatorial, and Mayoral candidates, as well as the DNC, DCCC and the NAACP National Voter Fund. He also led the firm's overseas consulting on campaigns in Mexico and the Caribbean. Daniel's analyses of the American political landscape are regularly published and he is a contributor on The Leon Charney Report and other political and public affairs news shows. In 2009, Daniel was named a Rising Star by Campaigns and Elections magazine.

	Lisa Graves Lisa Graves is the Executive Director of the watchdog group Center for Media and Democracy, the publisher of PRWatch, SourceWatch, BanksterUSA, the Food Rights Network, and The SPIN. She previously served as a senior advisor in all three branches of the federal government, as a leading strategist on civil liberties advocacy, and as an adjunct law professor at one of the top law schools in the country, after joining the U.S. Department of Justice through the Attorney General's Honor Program following a clerkship with a federal judge. Graves has testified as an expert witness on national security issues before both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. She has also appeared as an expert on various television shows, radio, in print and on blogs.

	Richard Graves Richard Graves, is the Executive Director of Fired Up Media and VP of Business Development for Ethical Electric. He served as the Family Philanthropy Organizer for Resource Generation and Online Organizer for the 17 million person TckTckTck campaign. A NextGen Fellow in Mission Related Investment, Richard works with university endowments and foundations on coal divestment, clean energy finance and as an investor, board member, and advisor to sustainable startups, such as Skyline Innovations, Techchange.org, and SumofUs.org.

	Adam Green Adam Green is co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a 675,000-member grassroots online organization that helps elect bold progressive members of Congress and advocate on progressive policy issues. Previously, Adam served as the Democratic National Committee's press secretary in Oregon for the 2004 presidential campaign, communications director for the New Jersey Democratic Party in 2003 and 2004, and press secretary for Sen. Tim Johnson's reelection campaign in South Dakota in 2002. Between 2005 and 2008, he worked as director of strategic campaigns and civic communications director for MoveOn.org. Adam is a graduate of George Washington University's political communication program -- where he teaches a course on Internet & Politics -- and received his law degree from the University of Virginia. He blogs on sites such as HuffingtonPost.com, DailyKos.com, and OpenLeft.com.

	Joe Green Joe Green is dedicated to empowering individuals through the power of grassroots organizing. Joe is the co-founder and president of Nationbuilder, the essential toolkit for leaders. Joe is also the Founder and Executive Board Member of Causes, the largest online platform for activism. Joe's approach to building online tools is rooted in his offline experience as a grassroots political organizer for federal, state, and local campaigns. Born and raised in Santa Monica, CA, he first become engaged in the political process while serving on the local public school board. Joe graduated from Harvard College in 2006 with a degree in Social Studies.

	Rep. Raul Grijalva Since his election to Congress in 2002, education, job creation, employee rights and the environment have been among Raul's top policy concerns. As a member of The Committee on Education and The Workforce, Congressman Grijalva makes the reform and full funding of No Child Left Behind his top educational priority. Raul is also a member of the Committee on Natural Resources, where he is Ranking Member of the National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), Raul has championed affordable health care for every American and has pushed for job creation measures that focus on improving America's infrastructure and economic base.

	Sarita Gupta Sarita Gupta is the Executive Director of Jobs with Justice (JwJ). JwJ is building a strong, progressive labor movement that works in coalition with community, faith, and student organizations to build a broader global movement for economic and social justice. In over 45 communities in 25 states, JwJ local coalitions are organizing to address issues impacting working families. Sarita began organizing as a student on campus and was elected President of the U.S. Student Association (1997-1998). Sarita has 13 years of local, national, and global coalition-building experience.

	Ben de Guzman Ben de Guzman has been a leading voice for over a dozen years both locally and nationally on a range of issues in the AAPI and LGBT communities He currently serves as the Co-Director for Programs at the National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA). As the National Coordinator for the National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity (NAFVE), he ran the successful legislative campaign to achieve payments for and recognize the military service of Filipinos who fought under the United States during World War II. As a non-profit consultant, he has worked with clients such as OCA, APIAVote and the National Federation of Filipino American Associations. He has been quoted in a variety of local, national, and international media. He was published in the current edition of the Encyclopedia of Asian American Issues Today, and wrote a chapter in Dr. Kevin Nadal's book, Filipino American Psychology: A Collection of Personal Narratives.

	Morna Ha From 2004 to 2007, Morna served as NAKASEC�s Program Associate and then as the National Organizing Coordinator executing campaigns and developing community leadership around the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform. Most recently, she was the 2010-2011 Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies Legislative Fellow in the Office of Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-32). She also has broad-based experience in local city government, most notably with the New York City Mayor's Office of Operations, as well as with local communities in the Mississippi Delta and New Orleans, Louisiana. Ms. Ha received a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a Bachelor's Degree from Dartmouth College. She is originally from Queens, New York.

	Darrick Hamilton Darrick Hamilton is an Associate Professor at Milano School of International Affairs, Management, and Urban Policy, an affiliated faculty member in the Department of Economics at The New School for Social Research, a faculty research fellow at the Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis, an affiliate scholar at the Center for American Progress, and a former Associate Director of the American Economic Association Summer Research and Minority Training Program. He earned a Ph.D. from the Department of Economics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 1999, and upon graduation received the National Economic Association's 2001 Rhonda M. Williams Dissertation Award. Professor Hamilton was a Ford Foundation Fellow on Poverty, the Underclass and Public Policy at the Poverty Research and Training Center, and the Program for Research on Black Americans both at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor from 1999-2001, and a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Scholar in Health Policy Research at the Institution for Policy Studies, Yale University from 2001-2003.

	Rev. Barry K. Hargrove Hargrove is the pastor of the Prince of Peace Baptist Church of Baltimore, Maryland. Pastor Hargrove is an alumnus of Georgetown University and the Wesley Theological Seminary. He has served on the ministry teams at the Shiloh Baptist Church, the East Friendship Baptist Church, and the Galilee Baptist Church. Pastor Hargrove's career path has also included positions in the Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia, the National Black Child Development Institute, the NAACP, and the American Civil Liberties Union, where he most recently served as the National Director of Religious Outreach.

	Sen. Tom Harkin Senator Tom Harkin was born in Cumming, the son of an Iowa coal miner father and a Slovenian immigrant mother. To this day, he still lives in the house in Cumming where he was born. Tom went to Washington in 1969 to join the staff of Iowa Congressman Neal Smith. In 1974, Tom was elected to Congress from Iowa's Fifth Congressional District. His energetic, person-to-person campaign carried the day against an incumbent in a long-standing Republican district. In 1984, after serving 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Tom challenged an incumbent Senator and won. In November 2008, Tom made history by becoming the first Iowa Democrat to win a fifth term in the U.S. Senate. As a young senator, Tom was tapped by Senator Ted Kennedy to craft legislation to protect the civil rights of millions of Americans with physical and mental disabilities. What emerged from that process would later become Tom's signature legislative achievement — The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). In September 2009, following the death of Senator Ted Kennedy, Tom became chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Tom graduated from the Catholic University of America Law School in Washington, D.C in 1972. Tom and his wife Ruth have two daughters, Amy and Jenny, and three grandchildren.

	Jennifer Haro Jennifer Haro is the Director of Partnerships at Upworthy, a media site for viral meaningful content. She is a former investment banker turned political, organizing and digital media nut. She was the youngest female member of Obama's National Finance Committee in 2008, and also served on staff as the Missouri Deputy GOTV Director. In 2010, she was the finance director for Tommy Sowers, a former Green Beret running for Congress, where she oversaw a groundbreaking digital fundraising program that raised nearly $1.6 million, half online. Haro grew up in Honolulu and resides in St. Louis.

	Melissa Harris-Perry Harris-Perry is host of MSNBC's "Melissa Harris-Perry." The show airs on Saturdays and Sundays from 10AM to noon ET. Harris-Perry is professor of political science at Tulane University, where she is founding director of the Anna Julia Cooper Project on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South. Harris-Perry is author of the well received new book, Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America (Yale 2011) and the award winning text Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought (Princeton 2004). Professor Harris-Perry is a columnist for The Nation magazine where she is also write a monthly column also titled "Sister Citizen." She lives in New Orleans with her husband, James Perry, and is the mother of a terrific daughter, Parker.

	Steven Hawkins Steve Hawkins began his career as an attorney with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where for nearly six years he represented African American men facing the death penalty throughout the Deep South. During this period, Steve investigated and brought litigation that led to the successful release of three Black teens who were wrongfully convicted in Tennessee. Steve left the Legal Defense Fund to become executive director of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty based in Washington, DC. In this role, he developed several initiatives that addressed racial disparities in capital sentencing, including a campaign that ultimately led to eradication of the death penalty for juvenile crimes. After eight years at the NCADP, Steve moved into philanthropy, first serving as a senior program manager at the JEHT Foundation, and then as a program executive at Atlantic Philanthropies. Steve obtained his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and his law degree from New York University School of Law. He served as law clerk to the late Honorable A. Leon Higginbotham of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

	Chris Hayes Hayes is Editor at Large of The Nation and host of Up w/ Chris Hayes on MSNBC. From 2010 to 2011, he was a fellow at Harvard University's Edmond J Safra Foundation Center for Ethics. His essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Time, The American Prospect, The New Republic, The Washington Monthly, and The Guardian. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Kate and daughter Ryan.

	Terrence Heath Terrance Heath writes at OurFuture.org, the blog for Campaign for America's Future. He started his own blog, The Republic of T. (www.republicoft.com) in October 2003. His blog has been featured on CNN. Terrance has been interviewed by NPR, the Advocate, Newsday, and BBC Radio. His blog has been nominated three times for a Koufax Award for progressive blogging, and was a finalist for Best LGBT Blog in the 2006 and 2007 Weblog Awards. He also writes for The Bilerico Project. Terrance lives in Montgomery County, Maryland with his husband and their two sons.

	Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund. Mr. Henderson is also the Joseph L. Rauh, Jr., Professor of Public Interest Law at the David A. Clarke School of Law, University of the District of Columbia. Mr. Henderson is well known for his expertise on a wide range of civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights issues, and is the author of numerous articles on civil rights and public policy issues. As a tireless civil rights leader and advocate, Mr. Henderson has received countless awards and honors, including the prestigious Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights. He holds an honorary Doctorate in Law from Queens College School of Law, City University of New York.

	Roger Hickey Hickey is Co-Director of the Campaign for America's Future. He was also one of the founders of Health Care for America Now!, a coalition of over 1,000 national and local organizations united to achieve quality affordable health care for all. He was also one of the leaders of the successful campaign to stop the privatization of Social Security, called Americans United to Protect Social Security. Hickey was a founder and Communications Director of the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank that looks at economics from the point of view of working Americans. He was also a founder of the Public Media Center in San Francisco. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Hickey began his career in the 1960s as an organizer for the Virginia Civil Rights Committee.

	Gerry Hudson Gerry Hudson's outstanding commitment to labor, confronting the realities of long term care, and environmental justice spans decades. Recently honored by Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations for his extraordinary leadership, Hudson continues to have wide-ranging impact on the fight to improve the lives of working families and their communities. His dedication to addressing urban sprawl and the disproportionate impacts of environmental degradation on low-income and minority communities informed his participation in the first-ever U.S. labor delegation to the United Nations' climate change meeting in Bali in 2007. He has served on the advisory board of the Apollo Alliance and on the board for Redefining Progress. Hudson, who has served as Executive Vice President of SEIU since June 2004, leads the union's political program--ensuring that SEIU members and all workers have a strong voice to hold politicians accountable and elect candidates at all levels who stand with working families. He lives with his wife, Carol Joyner, and their two children, Camara and Amilcar, in Washington, DC.

	Dave Johnson Dave Johnson is a Fellow with Campaign for America's Future and a Senior Fellow with Renew California. Dave is founder and principal author at Seeing the Forest, and a blogger at Speak Out California. He is a frequent public speaker, talk-radio personality and a leading participant in the progressive blogging community. Before starting Seeing the Forest, Dave had over 20 years of technology industry experience. Recently he helped co-found Carbon Tracing, Inc., the company developing the desktop systems to validate carbon trading in the US. He previously held senior industry positions including CEO and VP of Sales and Marketing. His earlier career included technical positions, including video game design at Atari and Imagic, and he was a pioneer in design and development of productivity and educational applications of personal computers.

	Van Jones Van Jones is founding president of Rebuild the Dream, a pioneering initiative to restore good jobs and economic opportunity. He is the co-founder of three thriving organizations: the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Color of Change, and Green For All. Jones is the author of the New York Times best seller, The Green Collar Economy. A Yale-educated attorney, Van worked as the green jobs advisor to the Obama White House in 2009 where he helped run the interagency process that oversaw $80 billion in green recovery spending. Time Magazine has named Jones one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

	Peter Judge Prior to joining AAM, Peter served on the staffs of Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy and Congressman Bill Foster. In his three years on the Hill, Peter's portfolio included Homeland Security, Labor, Judiciary, Energy and Environment, Transportation, Foreign Affairs, and Defense issues. He also has extensive political campaign experience in the Midwest, including Presidential and Congressional races in Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio. Peter received a B.A. in Political Science from American University in Washington, D.C.

	Molly Katchpole Molly Katchpole is a 23-year-old activist from Rhode Island. Last fall, Molly started a petition on Change.org protesting Bank of America's proposed $5/month debit card fee. Her campaign lasted five weeks, resulting in extensive media coverage and a victory. She appeared in TIME magazine's "Person of the Year 2011: The Protester" issue. Molly is now on the campaigns team at Rebuild the Dream, a non-profit that focuses on economic issues that impact America's middle and working classes, where she primarily focuses on student loan debt. She loves reading, baking cakes, and being a Rhode Islander.

	Earl Katz Earl Katz is an activist and film producer. Earl is Executive Producer of HEIST. He is President of Public Interest Pictures. Earl has produced award winning political documentaries since 1972. He is executive producing a feature dramatization of Legacy of Secrecy starring Leonardo DiCaprio for Warner Brothers.

	Greg Kaufmann Greg Kaufmann is a Nation contributor living in his disenfranchised hometown of Washington, DC. His work has also appeared on Common Dreams, AlterNet, Tikkun.org, NPR.org, CBS News.com, and MichaelMoore.com. He previously worked as a staffer for the Kerry campaign, a copywriter and speechwriter for various Democrats in national and local politics, and as a screenwriter.

	Michael Kieschnick Michael Kieschnick is the co-founder and CEO of CREDO Mobile, and senior advisor to the CREDO SuperPAC. Among other activities, he was a co-founder of the pioneering Secretary of State Project and serves on the board of the League of Conservation Voters. He brings to his activism and electoral activity a blend of quantitative analysis and Texas high school football aggression (be hostile, mobile, and agile).

	Ian Kim Ian Kim is Director of Campaigns at Rebuild the Dream. He is a coalition builder and policy advocate. Previously, while at the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, he advocated for policy solutions to build a strong, equitable and green economy in California. In 2010, he successfully led a coalition (Communities United Against the Dirty Energy Proposition) to mobilize people of color to vote against a major polluter ballot proposition in California. Ian was part of the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute Catto Fellowship Program on environmental leadership in 2006-2007. He holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

	Lawrence Korb Lawrence Korb is a Senior Fellow on the National Security and International Policy team at the Center for American Progress and a former Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan Administration.

	Paul Krugman The author of several books, Professor Krugman's most recent, End This Depression Now!, is a call for action. In it, Paul has a powerful message for anyone who has suffered during the Great Recession — a quick, strong recovery is just one step away, if our leaders can find the "intellectual clarity and political will" to end this depression now. His previous books include, The Conscience of a Liberal, The Great Unraveling, a bestseller, and The Return of Depression Economics and the Crisis of 2008, a response to the financial crisis, an updated edition of his1999 book, The Return of Depression Economics. In addition to the Nobel Prize, Krugman's work in economics has earned him broad acclaim from the economic press and several prestigious awards, including the John Bates Clark medal from the American Economic Association for his work in international trade and finance. Paul is professor of economics at Princeton University.

	Alex Lawson Alex Lawson was the first employee of Social Security Works. As the organization grew he became the Communications Director and began last month as the organization's Executive Director. He received his Master of Public Policy degree from the George Washington University. Previously, Lawson led a team at Media Matters. Lawson also worked with the Campaign for America's Future on Social Security and health care as an advocate and communications specialist. He worked on the Health Care for America Now campaign. Lawson started his work in policy in the field of public health with a focus on HIV/AIDS. He finished a 2-year research project as a Health Educator at Whitman-Walker Clinic in October 2007. In 2005, Alex founded DC Fights Back, a grassroots advocacy group that focuses on the HIV epidemic in Washington, DC.

	David Levine David is the co-founder and CEO of the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC). ASBC is a growing coalition of business networks and businesses committed to advancing a new vision, framework and policies that support a vibrant, equitable and sustainable economy. Today, the organizations that have joined in this partnership represent over 145,000 businesses and social enterprises and more than 2300,000 entrepreneurs, owners, executives, investors and business professionals. These diverse business organizations cover the gamut of local and state chambers of commerce, microenterprise, social enterprise, green and sustainable business groups, local living economy groups, women business leaders, economic development organizations and investor and business incubators.

	Tiffany Loftin Tiffany Dena Loftin was born in Los Angeles and raised the oldest of three in a single parent household. Going through Upward Board, a federally funded TRIO program, and receiving the pell grant were her main resources into the University of California, Santa Cruz. She rallied against tuition increases, cutting academic majors, hate crimes, and registering students to vote in state and national elections. After Tiffany graduated in 2011, she ran for Vice President of the United States Student Association. She currently owns $28,000 in federal student loans. Now she trains and organizes students from around the country to defend public education for everyone. We imagine and work for a world as it should be and not a world as it is.

	Stacey Long Stacey is the Director of Public Policy and Government Affairs at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the country's premier social justice organization fighting to improve the lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people (LGBT). The Task Force is committed to establishing legal protections, economic stability for LGBT individuals and families across the nation and creating positive, lasting change and opportunity for all Stacey engages the LGBT movement beyond its traditional boundaries of sexual orientation and gender identity to include issues such as pay equity, reproductive rights, racial profiling and immigration reform. Stacey serves on the boards of several nonprofit organizations and is actively engaged with her local community. She received a bachelor's degree in Africana Studies from Vassar College and a J.D. from the University of Wisconsin Law School.

	Rev. Barry Lynn Rev. Barry Lynn, an ordained minister, constitutional lawyer, noted activist, and longstanding civil libertarian, is the executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Lynn authored Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault On Religious Freedom, coauthored (with C. Welton Gaddy) First Freedom First: A Citizen's Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State. He writes frequently on religious liberty issues, and has had essays published widely. Lynn is the host of "Culture Shocks," a daily look at various issues affecting society and the culture. Lynn is a member of the Washington, D.C. and U.S. Supreme Court bar.

	Bob Master Bob Master is the Director of Legislative/Political and Mobilization Activities for District One of the Communications Workers of America, which represents 160,000 workers in New York, New Jersey and New England. He began his career at CWA in 1986, and his responsibilities now include overseeing membership mobilization activities during contract campaigns, as well as all aspects of legislative and political action for the union. As CWA's Political Director, Bob played a central role in bringing together the coalition of unions, community organizations, and progressive activists that founded the New York State Working Families Party in June, 1998. In New Jersey, he helped to found the New Jersey Fairness Alliance, a coalition that led the fight for passage of the so-called "millionaires tax" in 2003 and 2004. Since 2005, he has been a leader of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance, a coalition of unions and community organizations that organizes in support of progressive electoral candidates and a progressive legislative agenda in the Garden State. Bob also serves as the Vice President of Citizen Action of New York. Bob is married to Nancy Goldhill, Director of Legal Services of New York's Staten Island office and they have two children — Ben and Ilana.

	Tom Mattzie Tom Matzzie is a veteran progressive campaigner and political strategist, and now Founder of Ethical Electric, a startup working to expand clean energy and progressive change. Prior to Ethical Electric, Tom was a leader with top progressive organizations including MoveOn.org, the AFL-C10 and the Campaign for America's Future. His campaigns with MoveOn.org helped propel progressive political victories in 2006 and 2008. Among his proudest accomplishments: Tea Party Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas cites Tom's work on page 181 of the infamous Citizens United ruling as a reason not to disclose the names of wealthy political donors to the public. In 2005 he had his boss, MoveOn's Eli Pariser, subpoened in the Tom DeLay criminal trial as a witness for the prosecution.

	Carol McDonald Carol McDonald is the Director of Strategic Partnerships for Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) and Planned Parenthood Action Fund. She has served as staff lobbyist in Georgia and run national advocacy and electoral campaigns for Planned Parenthood. Last year, she directed the documentary "A Vital Service: African American Stories of Reproductive Health Care." Carol has served on the Boards of Directors for Georgians for Choice (now SPARK Reproductive Justice Now) and the Georgia chapter of Women's Action for New Directions. During the 2008 Presidential primary she served as Deputy Political Director for Hillary Clinton's campaign in Iowa. Carol has been a guest lecturer on organizing and social media at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and has presented at Campaign for America's Future, People for the American Way, New Organizing Institute, National Action Network, and the Arcus Foundation among others.

	Heather McGhee Heather C. McGhee is the Director of the Washington office of Demos, a non-partisan policy center. Previously, she was the Deputy Policy Director, Domestic and Economic Policy for the John Edwards for President 2008 campaign. Her writing and research on debt, financial services regulation, tax and budget policy, retirement and inequality have appeared in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, the Detroit Free-Press and CNN. She served as the Chair of the Systemic Risk and Resolution Authority Policy Task Force for Americans for Financial Reform during the Dodd-Frank legislative debate. She holds a B.A. in American Studies from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley School of Law.

	Alexis McGill-Johnson Alexis is a political strategist, writer, and organizer. She is currently the Executive Director for American Values Institute, a consortium of researchers, educators, and social-justice advocates who believe that race in this country is as much an experience of emotions as it is an understanding of our nation's history and a lack of structural opportunities. Prior to leading AVI, she was Political Director for Russell Simmons and ED of Citizen Change which ran the Vote or Die! campaign for Sean 'Diddy' Combs.

	Eliseo Medina Eliseo Medina is described by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the most successful labor organizers in the country" and was named one of the "Top 50 Most Powerful Latino Leaders" in Poder Magazine. The International Secretary-Treasurer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Medina also leads the union's efforts to achieve comprehensive immigration reform that rebuilds the nation's economy, secures equal labor- and civil-rights protections for workers to improve their wages and work conditions and provides legal channels and a path to citizenship. Medina's career as a labor activist began in 1965 when, as a 19-year-old grape-picker, he participated in the historic United Farm Workers' strike in Delano, Calif. His interests in strategic organizing brought him to SEIU in 1986, where he helped revive a local union in San Diego--building its membership from 1,700 to over 10,000 in five years. In 2010, Medina was unanimously elected to serve as International Secretary-Treasurer of the 2.1 million-member union. Medina lives in Washington, D.C. He is married and the proud father of four children and one grandchild.

	Ari Melber Ari Melber is an attorney, television commentator and a correspondent for The Nation magazine. As a commentator on public affairs, Melber frequently appears on national television, including NBC, CNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, MSNBC, FOX News and Bloomberg News; his views have been quoted by publications such as The Washington Post, The New York Times and Time. During the 2008 presidential election, Melber traveled with the Obama Campaign on special assignment for The Washington Independent. He has served as a Legislative Aide in the U.S. Senate and as a national staff member of the 2004 John Kerry Presidential Campaign.

	Jen Mishory Jen is the deputy director and founding staff member of Young Invincibles, directing the policy, communications and outreach staff. Jen graduated from UCLA in 2007, and received her J.D. from Georgetown in 2010. She is a member of the California bar. Jen served as the consumer advocacy negotiator for the Department of Education's 2012 negotiated rulemaking around student loans. She has authored numerous reports on health, higher education and student debt, and economic issues facing the millennial generation, and has appeared numerous major media outlets. Jen hails from Los Angeles, and is an avid fan of UCLA sports.

	Shannon Minter Shannon Price Minter is the Legal Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, one of the nation's leading legal advocacy organizations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Minter was lead counsel for same-sex couples in the 2008 California marriage equality case and has litigated many other impact cases across the country. He has been honored for his advocacy by the Ford Foundation, the National LGBT Bar Association, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the San Francisco Bar Association, and other organizations. He was named one of six lawyers of the year by Lawyers USA in 2008 and as a California Lawyer of the Year in 2009. Minter is the co-author of Family Law for LGBT People and the co-editor of Transgender Rights. He serves on the boards of Faith in America and Gender Spectrum and formerly served on the ABA Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. Minter is originally from Texas and currently lives in DC with his wife Robin Minter.

	Julian Mocine-McQueen Julian works with people around the country who are building the green economy. He trains local leaders to build the green economy from the ground up by serving as a lead trainer for the Green For All Fellowship program and College Ambassador program. He trains leaders with the tools they need to communicate the promise of the green economy and to engage disadvantaged communities in support of green jobs and climate protection strategies. He recently took a leave of absence from Green For All to take these trainings to Vietnam, South Africa and Uganda through the Million Person Project.

	Rocio Molina Rocio Molina is Associate Director for National Immigrant Women's Advocacy Project at American University's Washington College of Law. As an advocate for immigrant survivors, Rocio has provided legal counsel, technical assistance, training and conducted research. She regularly works with government partners to draft laws, policies and practices that enhance legal options for immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. Prior to this position, Rocio worked with the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, where she represented hundreds of immigrants victims in both immigration and family court proceedings. Rocio received her J.D. from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and her B.A. from the University of Texas at El Paso.

	Guy D. Molyneux Guy Molyneux is a partner with Hart Research. He has carried out survey and focus group research projects for a wide variety of nonprofit organizations, government agencies, political candidates, labor unions, and media organizations. His clients have included NBC News, the Council for Excellence in Government, The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Nasdaq Stock Market, U.S. Senator Richard Durbin, the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), and the Children's Defense Fund. Mr. Molyneux previously served as director of polling for Cable News Network (CNN) and as executive director of the Commonwealth Institute. He has written about politics and public opinion for The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, Dissent, The American Prospect, and the Los Angeles Times' Sunday "Opinion" section, and is a contributing editor to The Public Perspective. He has commented on politics for National Public Radio, NBC News, C-SPAN, the Fox News Channel, CNBC, and CNN. Mr. Molyneux is a graduate of Harvard College and has undertaken graduate study in public opinion research and electoral politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

	Cathy Montoya Catherine Han Montoya is the Director Field Immigration and Capacity Building Initiatives at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Catherine leads the Immigration Field Project and other public education campaigns at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Education Fund. The Immigration Field Project seeks to build leadership and multiethnic coalitions to effectively move the country toward comprehensive immigration reform while at the same time build a multi-issue civil and human rights agenda for the future. LCCR's public education campaigns focus on building multi-faceted coalitions that can proactively impact an issue for the betterment of low-income and communities of color. These initiatives leverage Ms. Montoya's expertise in grassroots organizing, advocacy, communications and organizational development to build proactive civil and human rights coalitions across the country that have the tools they need to make progressive change in their communities. Prior to her work at the Leadership Conference Ms. Montoya managed the Emerging Latino Communities Initiative at the National Council of Raza.

	Eddy Morales Eddy Morales is currently the director of the Latino Engagement Fund at The Democracy Alliance. Prior to this, Eddy was the National Field Director for Voto Latino. Eddy broke onto the national stage as the elected President of the U.S. Student Association, the largest, university organization representing millions of students. During his tenure as President, Eddy tripled USSA's budget, expanded its membership, and led successful issue and voter registration campaigns which resulted in over 198,000 new registered voters. He also served as the Electoral Field Manager for the Center for Community Change. He was charged with managing its $3 million campaign for voter registration. Eddy has also consulted NCLR and managed the organization's Community Based Organization affiliate outreach for new citizens.

	Janet Murguia Janet Murguia is President and CEO of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. Since 2005, Murguia has sought to strengthen NCLR's work and enhance its record of impact as a vital American institution. One of her first priorities was to harness the power of the nation's 50 million Hispanics and improve opportunities for Latino families by strengthening the partnership between NCLR and its network of nearly 300 community-based Affiliates which serve millions of people in 41 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. She began her career in Washington, DC as legislative counsel to former Kansas Congressman Jim Slattery. She then worked at the White House from 1994 to 2000, ultimately serving as deputy assistant to President Clinton, providing strategic and legislative advice to the president on key issues. Janet Murguia grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. She received three degrees from KU: a BS degree in journalism (1982), a BA degree in Spanish (1982), and a JD degree (1985) from the School of Law. In 2011 she received an honorary degree — Doctor of Humane Letters — from California State University, Dominguez Hills.

	Rep. Chris Murphy Congressman Christopher S. Murphy is currently serving his third term representing Connecticut's Fifth District. He serves on the Foreign Affairs Committee and its Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee. He also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and its Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform and Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives Subcommittees. Prior to his service in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Murphy served for eight years in the Connecticut General Assembly. Congressman Murphy grew up in Connecticut, and attended Williams College in Massachusetts, graduating with honors and a double major in history and political science. In 2002, he graduated from UConn Law School in Hartford, Connecticut. He practiced real estate and banking law from 2002-2006 with the firm of Ruben, Johnson & Morgan in Hartford. Chris, his wife Cathy Holahan, and their son Owen reside in Cheshire.

	Caroline Murray Caroline Murray is the organizing director for Rebuild the Dream. An organizer and strategist for 25 years, she is a visionary and results-focused leader who is in the vanguard of the new economy movement. She was the founder and eighteen year Executive Director of the Alliance to Develop Power / ADP, Massachusetts, known for its aspirational and strategic vision, winning campaigns, and pioneering creation of a sustainable community-controlled economy valued at over $80 million. Caroline's work to advance economic justice has resulted in real victories locally, statewide, and nationally while empowering everyday people to make their vision of a more just and equitable society a reality.

	Christine Neumann-Ortiz Christine Neumann-Ortiz is the founding Executive Director of Voces de la Frontera, a low-wage and immigrant workers center with chapters in Milwaukee and Racine, Wisconsin, including a student chapter called Students United for Immigrant Rights with members from 3 high schools. Voces de la Frontera is increasingly recognized as Wisconsin's leading voice for immigration reform. Prior to directing Voces de la Frontera, Ms. Neumann-Ortiz served as the Coordinator of the High School Equivalency Program at Milwaukee Area Technical College, advancing migrant education in Wisconsin. Ms. Neumann-Ortiz also previously worked as Director of the Wisconsin Committee on Occupational Safety and Health and as Coordinator for of an Economic Development Project in the Printing Industry, supported by the Center for Community Change. Ms. Neumann-Ortiz earned her Master's Degree in US/ Chicano History at the University of Texas- Austin and her Bachelor of Art degree in English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

	Ellen Nissenbaum In her twenty-sixth year as Senior Vice President for Government Affairs for the Center on Budget & Policy Priorities, Ellen directs the Center's work with federal policymakers and with other national, state, and local organizations on a broad range of policy issues. These include federal budget and tax issues, Social Security, federal policies concerning Medicaid and health care, federal nutrition programs, federal low-income housing programs, unemployment insurance, and welfare reform policies. She is regarded as one of the leading legislative directors among non-profit organizations in Washington and frequently is asked to provide support to a number of organizations coalitions. Ellen is frequently sought out by many journalists at respected news outlets covering legislative and budget developments for her analyses and commentary on congressional developments.

	Karen Nussbaum Karen Nussbaum has been fighting for the rights of working men and women for nearly four decades. She was a founder and director of 9to5, National Association of Working Women; president of District 925, SEIU; and the director of the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau, the highest seat in the federal government devoted to women's issues, during the first Clinton Administration. She is the executive director of Working America, Community Affiliate of the AFL-CIO. Richard Trumka has called her "the best organizer in the country." Working America has 3 million members and is the fastest growing organization for working people in the country.

	Terry O'Neill Terry O'Neill was elected president of NOW in June 2009. O'Neill oversees NOW's multi-issue agenda, which includes: advancing reproductive freedom, ending racism, stopping violence against women, winning lesbian rights, ensuring economic justice, ending sex discrimination and achieving constitutional equality for women. A former law professor, O'Neil taught at Tulane and the University of California at Davis, where her courses included feminist legal theory and international women's rights law. She has testified before committees in the Maryland House of Delegates and has written federal amicus briefs on abortion rights for Louisiana NOW, Planned Parenthood and the ACLU. O'Neill is a skilled political organizer. She worked on Hillary Clinton's campaign for the Democratic nomination, Barack Obama's presidential campaign, and the campaign that elected Louisiana's first woman senator, Mary Landrieu. O'Neill holds a bachelor's degree in French with distinction from Northwestern University and a law degree magna cum laude from Tulane University. She has one child, a daughter who is a proud feminist.

	Sen. Nan Orrock Orrock, president of the Women Legislators' Lobby of WAND, has served in the Georgia General Assembly since 1987, and was the first female House Majority Whip. Her lifetime activism began with the 1963 March on Washington. Joining the movement for civil rights, women's rights, and peace, she helped launch an alternative newspaper, a women's center, the legislative women's caucus, a progressive legislator caucus, the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, and the National Labor Caucus of State Legislators. Orrock is a board member of both Women in Government and the Progressive States Network, and a trustee of the Sapelo Foundation.

	Gaby Pacheco Gaby Pacheco is an undocumented student leader from Miami, Florida who aspires to be a musical therapist for people with autism and Down syndrome. She holds an AA in Music Education, an AS in Early Childhood Education, and a BA in Special Education K-12. In 2010, she and three other students walked 1,500 miles to bring to light the plight of immigrants in this country, and to urge President Obama to stop the separation of families and the deportation of DREAM Act-eligible youth. This walk was dubbed the Trail of DREAMs. She is currently the Education Not Deportation (END) Project National Coordinator for the United We Dream network. END is a project that seeks to stop the deportation of DREAM Act eligible youth by sharing their stories and galvanizing support from their communities!

	DJ Paradise DJ Paradise serves as a guest on air mixer and personality for several radio stations around the world. Paradise is a local, national, and worldwide DJ with an impressive collection of music and flavor for all ages, styles and genders. His list of clients include Wells Fargo, Radio-One Inc., Warner Bros., Westwood One, Time Warner, MTA, ESPN, Fox, Clear Channel, NBA, NFL, MLB and many other major companies. He has also worked for some of the biggest names in the sports and entertainment industry such as Ginuwine, Jaime Foxx, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Tucker, Guy Torre, Michael Baisden, Jerome Bettis, Tom Joyner, Cedric The Entertainer, Eric Davis, Steve Harvey, Shaun Robinson, Michael Clark Duncan, Bobby Bonds and the one and only Stevie Wonder.

	Yvette Pena Lopes Yvette Pena Lopes serves as Director of Legislation and Intergovernmental Affairs at Blue Green Alliance. Ms. Lopes came to BGA after working as Legislative Representative for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, where she represented the union's 1.4 million members on Capitol Hill on trade, workers' rights and green-jobs-related issues, including the Clean Trucks campaign. Prior to joining the Teamsters, she worked as a Legislative Assistant for U.S. Senator ... Chris Dodd of Connecticut on issues related to taxes, trade and pensions and as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Congressman Silvestre Reyes of Texas. She served as a Director of Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). She serves as a Member of Advisory Council at Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. She graduated from The University of Maryland School of Law in 1999 with a concentration in Environmental Law.

	Ai-jen Poo Ai-jen Poo, Director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA), has been organizing immigrant women workers since 1996. In 2000 she co-founded Domestic Workers United, the New York based organization that spearheaded the successful passage of the state's historic Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in 2010. In 2007, DWU helped organize the first national domestic workers convening, out of which the NDWA was formed. Ai-jen serves on the Board of Directors of Momsrising, National Jobs with Justice, Working America, and the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. Among Ai-jen's numerous accolades are the Ms. Foundation Woman of Vision Award, the Independent Sector American Express NGen Leadership Award, Newsweek's 150 Fearless Women list, and the Time 100 list.

	Isaiah J. Poole Isaiah J. Poole has been the editor of OurFuture.org since 2007 and also directs the Campaign for America's Future's online communications. Previously he had worked for 25 years as a journalist, most recently at Congressional Quarterly, where he covered congressional leadership and tracked major bills through Congress. Most of his work as a reporter and editor has been in Washington, working on topics ranging from presidential politics to pop culture. His work has put him at the front lines of ideological battles between progressives and conservatives. He also served as a founding member of the Washington Association of Black Journalists and the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.

	Sen. Jamie Raskin Jamie Raskin is a Democratic State Senator in Maryland (Silver Spring and Takoma Park) and a professor of constitutional law at American University Washington College of Law. In the Senate he serves on the Judicial Proceedings Committee, chairs the Special Committee on Ethics Reform and is the Majority Whip. He has sponsored numerous landmark bills, including the first National Popular Vote law in the country, the first Benefit Corporation law, Maryland's Farm-to Schools Act, the Green Maryland Act, the 2012 Ethics On-Line Disclosure Act of 2012, and numerous campaign reform measures. He is the author of several books, including Overruling Democracy: The Supreme Court versus the American People, and We the Students: Supreme Court Cases for and about America's Students. He is also a Senior Fellow at People for the American Way.

	Malik Rhassan Malik Rhasaan is the founder of Occupy The Hood. Malik understands the ramifications of poverty, as well as lack of resources within urban communities Nationwide. What drives him is his ability to organize efforts towards empowering the community. This grassroots effort has taken flight across the globe with many enthusiastic young activist aligning daily.

	Maya Rockeymoore Dr. Rockeymoore leads Global Policy Solutions, a Washington, DC-based social change strategy firm whose motto is, "Making Policy Work for People." Prior to founding Global Policy Solutions in 2005, Dr. Rockeymoore served as the Vice President of Research and Programs at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF), Senior Resident Scholar for Health and Income Security at the National Urban League, Chief Of Staff to Congressman Charles Rangel (D-NY), and as Professional Staff on the House Ways and Means Committee among other positions. The recipient of many honors and awards, Dr. Rockeymoore was named an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow in 2004 and received Running Start's 2007 Young Women to Watch Award. A regular guest on radio and television shows, Dr. Rockeymoore has appeared on NPR, CNN, Black Entertainment Television, ABC World News Tonight, Fox News, Al Jazeera and C-SPAN. Her opinions have also been quoted by the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, LA Times, Boston Globe, Black America Web, and Houston Chronicle among other prominent national news sources.

	Rashad Robinson Rashad Robinson serves as Executive Director of ColorOfChange, joining the organization in May 2011. For over a decade, Robinson has helped to mobilize communities across the country to create more inclusive cultural and political institutions.. He has appeared in hundreds of news stories, interviews, and political discussions through outlets such as ABC, BET, CNN, MSNBC, OWN, The New York Times, Fast Company and NPR. In 2010 and 2011 Robinson was selected as one of "The Root 100", a list of emerging and influential African Americans under the age of 45..

	Jeffrey Rosen Jeffrey Rosen is the legal affairs editor of The New Republic. He is also a law professor at George Washington University and a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. Rosen's book, The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries that Defined America, is the bestselling companion book to the PBS series on the Supreme Court. He is also the author of The Most Democratic Branch, The Naked Crowd, and The Unwanted Gaze. The Chicago Tribune named him one of the ten best magazine journalists in America and the L.A. Times called him "the nation's most widely read and influential legal commentator."

	Victor Sanchez Born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, Victor is a first-generation Chicano/Latino of Mexican and Costa Rican descent. A recent graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, Victor began his involvement in 2006 by signing a postcard for the Federal Dream Act on campus. Actively engaged around educational equity, access and affordability issues, Victor served as the President of the University of California Student Association (UCSA), representing the over 210,000 UC students, helping to register over 40,000 students in the 2008 election and assisting in leading the organizing of more than 20,000 students who mobilized against proposed tuition increases in 2009. Elected to represent the over 4 million students in the United States Student Association (USSA), Victor has committed himself to the leadership development of others and the capacity/infrastructure building of the student-youth movement. Victor also sits on the Board of Directors of Jobs with Justice and the Steering Committee of the Generational Alliance.

	Sen. Bernie Sanders Sanders was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 after serving 16 years in the House of Representatives. He is the longest serving independent member of Congress in American history. Sanders has focused on the shrinking middle class and widening income gap in America that is greater than at any time since the Great Depression. Other priorities include reversing global warming, universal health care, fair trade policies, supporting veterans and preserving family farms. He serves on five Senate committees: Budget; Veterans; Energy; Environment; and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

	Rep. Jan Schakowsky Jan Schakowsky has been a lifelong consumer advocate and a champion for, what she sees as, the disappearing middle class. From her days as a young housewife who led the campaign to put expiration dates on food products to the 2008 passage of legislation she helped write making children's products and toys safe, Jan has worked to make life better for working and middle class Americans. Jan was elected to represent Illinois' 9th Congressional District in 1998, after serving for 8 years in the Illinois General Assembly. She is in her 7th term, serving in the House Democratic leadership as a Chief Deputy Whip and as a member of the Steering and Policy Committee. She is member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence where she is Ranking Democrat on the Oversight Subcommittee.

	Eric T. Schneiderman Eric T. Schneiderman was elected the 65th Attorney General of New York State on November 2, 2010. He is the highest ranking law enforcement officer for the State, responsible for representing New York and its residents in legal matters. Eric has worked to restore the public's faith in its public and private sector institutions by focusing on areas including public integrity, economic justice, social justice and environmental protection. In his first weeks in office, he launched a new "Taxpayer Protection Bureau" to root out fraud and return money illegally stolen from New York taxpayers. He has also bolstered the Attorney General's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, which has already recovered tens of millions of dollars for taxpayers on his watch. The AG has taken a leading role in the national fight for a comprehensive investigation of misconduct in the mortgage market, and for a fair settlement for homeowners that holds banks accountable for their role in the foreclosure crisis, provides meaningful relief to homeowners and investors, and allows a full airing out of the facts to ensure that abuses of this scale never happen again. Eric also filed a legal challenge to the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to compel the federal government to treat all New York State marriages equally. He graduated from Amherst College in 1977 and Harvard Law School in 1982. He is the proud father of a daughter, Catherine.

	Judy Scott Judy Scott is General Counsel of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Judy Scott has practiced labor law for over 37 years, including representation of the United Mine Workers, the United Auto Workers and the Teamsters. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Alliance for Justice, the American Constitution Society and the National Partnership for Woman and Families. She co-authored a handbook for union organizers, Organizing and the Law. She recently served as the Union Co-Chair of the ABA International Labor and Employment Law Committee and she is a member of the labor law firm of James & Hoffman in Washington, D.C.

	Tony Shaffer Lt Col Tony Shaffer is highly experienced intelligence officer, and recipient of the Bronze Star, with 25 years of field experience. Tony has commanded and directed several key operational intelligence organizations. In addition, he was in charge of Field Operating Base (FOB) Alpha, a joint DIA/CIA unit conducting classified collection and special operations support regarding terrorists just after the 9/11 attacks. During the 1980s, Tony was a counterintelligence officer. In 2001, just after the 9/11 attacks, he was returned to active duty for a 30 month period, during which he commanded a DIA operating base (OB Alpha) and had two successful combat tours to Afghanistan. As a senior fellow he has conducted multiple courses of instruction, to include the Psychology of Terrorism, Leadership and Effects Based Operations. Tony is a frequent guest on national electronic media (TV and radio) and is frequently quoted in print media as an analyst regarding defense issues. Lt. Col. Shaffer currently serves as the Reserve G6 Assistant Chief of Staff, Communications and Technology of an Army Reserve division.

	Kate Sheppard Kate Sheppard is a staff reporter in Mother Jones' Washington bureau. She was previously the political reporter for Grist and a writing fellow at The American Prospect. Her work has also been featured in the New York Times' Room for Debate blog, the Guardian's Comment Is Free, High Country News, The Center for Public Integrity, the Washington Independent, ForeignPolicy.com, Washington Spectator, Who Runs Gov, In These Times, and Bitch. She was raised on a vegetable farm in southern New Jersey (yes, they do exist), but has adapted well to life in the nation's capitol. She misses trees and having a congressional representative with voting power, but thinks DC is pretty great anyway.

	Peggy Shorey Peggy Shorey is the executive director of Pride At Work, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) constituency group of organized labor. Shorey, a long time LGBT and labor activist, has been a union member since 1993 and has worked for both the UAW and SEIU. Previously, she served as executive officer with the Greater Hartford Central Labor Council, and also served as an at-large Executive Board member for the Connecticut AFL-CIO. As Co-President of the Connecticut Chapter of Pride at Work, Peggy led in organizing the state's first-ever labor fundraisers in support of marriage equality. In 2007, Shorey traveled to Guatemala with a union women's organization, STITCH. The visit included meeting with women union leaders at local textile factories, a banana plantation, and discussions with human rights leaders. Shorey also was an active member of the United Church on the Green, UCC, helping to organize "radically inclusive" events building relationship at the intersections of people of faith, the LGBT community and communities of color.

	Damon Silvers Damon A. Silvers is the Director of Policy and Special Counsel for the AFL-CIO. Mr. Silvers serves on a pro bono basis as a Special Assistant Attorney General for the state of New York. Mr. Silvers is also a member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's Standing Advisory Group and Investor Advisory Group. Mr. Silvers received his J.D. with honors from Harvard Law School. He received his M.B.A. with high honors from Harvard Business School and is a Baker Scholar. Mr. Silvers is a graduate of Harvard College, summa cum laude, and has studied history at Kings College, Cambridge University.

	Holly Sklar Holly Sklar is Executive Director of Business for Shared Prosperity, which mobilizes business support in vital areas such as fair taxes and, through Business for a Fair Minimum Wage, plays a leading role in raising the minimum wage at the state and federal level. Sklar is also director of the national Let Justice Roll Living Wage Coalition and serves on the board of the American Sustainable Business Council. Sklar's op-eds for McClatchy-Tribune News Service and other outlets have appeared in hundreds of newspapers and online publications. Her books include Streets of Hope: The Fall and Rise of an Urban Neighborhood, the widely taught story of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and its groundbreaking approach to community revitalization (a Japanese edition was released in 2011) and Raise the Floor: Wages and Policies That Work for All of Us. Sklar is a contributor to numerous high school and college anthologies, a frequent guest on talk radio and one of the interviewees featured in the book, Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues.

	Cindy Smalls Cindy Smalls is the National Voter Protection Manager for the AFL-CIO working in the Political Department overseeing the 2012 My Vote, My Right Voter Protection Campaign. Prior to coming to the AFL-CIO, Cindy worked for SEIU from 2007- to 2012 in various capacities as the Mid-Atlantic Area Political Director, Senior Legislative Advocate and Coordinating Manager overseeing SEIU's Retiree Program. In 2003 Cindy also worked as Regional Coordinator for EMILY's List, focusing on the East Coast where her job was to recruit, trains and supports pro-choice Democratic women candidates seeking state and local office. Cindy began her political career early, volunteering for a variety of candidates before serving as field director for the South Carolina Democratic Party. Working closely with party leaders and allies, Cindy recruited and provided technical assistance to candidates for city council, mayor, and school board. Cindy was also responsible for planning and implementing the 1996 and 2000 Democratic state conventions. Cindy received B.A. in political science from the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

	Steve Spaulding Steve Spaulding joined Common Cause as staff counsel in September 2011. Previously, Stephen was a litigation associate at Goodwin Procter LLP. He also served as a law fellow at Common Cause between 2009 and 2010, and as a law clerk in the Office of Legal Counsel to Governor Martin O�Malley (Maryland). Prior to law school, Stephen was a trial preparation assistant in the Rackets Bureau of the Manhattan District Attorney�s Office, where he worked on corruption and racketeering investigations. Stephen has also worked in the offices of Senator Paul Sarbanes, Congressman Steny Hoyer, and the Foreign Press Center of the United States Department of State. Stephen received his B.A. in political science from Haverford College. He earned his J.D. cum laude from Boston College Law School, where he served as Editor-in-Chief of the Boston College Third World Law Journal, now published as the Boston College Journal of Law and Social Justice. He is a member of the bars of the District of Columbia and Massachusetts.

	Greg Speed Greg Speed currently serves as executive director of America Votes. He has a broad range of experience advancing progressive causes by leading grassroots advocacy programs, strategic communications efforts and political campaigns, and as a senior staffer on Capitol Hill. Greg previously directed communications for Communities for Quality Education, the DCCC and IMPAC 2000. He has held senior positions on congressional and legislative campaigns in numerous states, including Florida, Kentucky, Texas and Wisconsin. Greg was raised in "Chicagoland" and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and his wife, Lona, reside on Capitol Hill with their son Andrew and daughter Julia.

	Nelini Stamp Nelini Stamp has been a political organizer for the Working Families Party since 2008. She has worked on a numerous amount of electoral campaigns across New York State for middle and working class families. Since occupying Wall Street, Nelini has tried to bridge the gap between formal institutions and movement work.

	Adele Stan Adele M. Stan is the Washington bureau chief for AlterNet, the progressive news and culture Web site. Stan has served as a columnist and blogger for The American Prospect Online and as a featured essayist for The Guardian's Comment Is Free site, Stan's work has also appeared in The New Republic, the Village Voice, The Nation, The Advocate, Salon.com, the Washington Blade and Mother Jones magazine, as well as on the op-ed pages of the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Daily News. She began her media career at Ms. magazine, where she served both on staff and as a contributing editor. Along the way, Stan developed expertise in covering the intersection of religion and politics, in addition to lifelong specialties in women's issues and pop culture. Her Mother Jones cover story on the religious right is considered by many to be a definitive primer on the movement; a special 10,000-copy reprint sold out its print run. Stan wrote, Debating Sexual Correctness, in which the author details the porn wars, date rape controversy and theory on sexual harassment that helped define the modern feminist movement.

	Tracy Sturdivant Tracy Sturdivant serves as the Executive Director of State Voices, a national network — built from the states up — that helps grassroots organizations win shared policy and civic engagement victories and build long-term power. Before joining State Voices, Sturdivant served as the Vice President for External Affairs at the Center for Progressive Leadership. Prior to her tenure at CPL, she worked as an Advisor to a philanthropist in Michigan to help to build the capacity of the progressive community. Sturdivant also previously served as Deputy Director of National Programs and Outreach for People for the American Way/Foundation, Vice President of the White House Project, and Program Manager at the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. She is currently a Board Member of the Proteus Fund, Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, ProgressNow, and the Center for Progressive Leadership.

	Fran Teplitz Fran Teplitz is Green America's Director of Social Investing Programs & Strategic Outreach. She joined the Green America staff in 2000 and has held several positions focused on socially and environmentally responsible investing and banking. She also manages Green America's role in coalitions related to sustainable business and economics, climate change, and other policy issues. Fran worked with Peace Action and the Peace Action Education Fund before joining Green America, working on nuclear disarmament and non-profileration. Prior to Peace Action, she worked on U.S. policy toward Central America. She holds a Master's Degree from the Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and earned her undergraduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis in Political Science. She currently serves on the board of the American Sustainable Business Council.

	Amanda Terkel Amanda Terkel is Senior Political Reporter at Huffington Post. Previously, she served as Deputy Research Director at the Center for American Progress and the Managing Editor for The Progress Report and ThinkProgress.org, the award-winning top political blog. Amanda has also served as the Center's Special Assistant for Strategic Planning and has experience on various national and state-level political campaigns and in government offices. While at ThinkProgress, Amanda helped guide the site from a start-up nonprofit blog to an award-winning progressive site that focuses on rapid-response research, reporting, and analysis. Amanda's writings have been published by The New York Times, Politico, Salon, The Daily Beast, the Columbia Journalism Review, the Guardian, The American Prospect, and In These Times. She has appeared as a guest on various television and radio networks, including MSNBC, Fox News, and Amanda graduated from Colgate University magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in political science. She originally hails from Western New York.

	Gloria Totten Gloria A. Totten is the president of Progressive Majority, which recruits and elects progressive champions at the state and local levels. Since 2004, Progressive Majority has elected 411 progressives to office, and helped flip control of six state legislative chambers, 40 local governments, four statewide positions and one statewide government. Under Gloria's leadership, Progressive Majority has recruited and elected progressives in Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. Gloria served as Political Director for NARAL from 1996-2001, Executive Director for Maryland NARAL from 1993-1996 and has worked as a political and community organizer for many campaigns and organizations in her home state of Minnesota.

	Tracy Van Slyke Tracy Van Slyke is the co-director of The New Bottom Line-a growing alignment fueled by a coalition of community organizations, congregations, and individuals working together to challenge established big bank interests on behalf of struggling and middle-class communities. Van Slyke is the former director of The Media Consortium, a network of the leading progressive, independent media outlets in the country. She is also the co-author of the book, Beyond the Echo Chamber: Reshaping Politics Through Networked Progressive Media (January 2010, The New Press).

	Alex Wagner Wagner is the host of MSNBC's "NOW with Alex Wagner." Wagner had been an MSNBC analyst and a frequent MSNBC guest since 2010. Most recently, Wagner was a reporter with Huffington Post, where she covered innovation in the American economy, investigating the intersection of business, politics and new technology. Prior to this, Wagner served as the White House correspondent for Politics Daily. Wagner was the Executive Director of Not On Our Watch, an advocacy and grant making non-profit founded by actors George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Don Cheadle, from 2007 to 2009. From 2004 to 2007, she was the Editor in Chief of the Fader Magazine, covering cultural movements around the globe from Brazil to China to South Africa. Prior to this, she served as the Cultural Correspondent for the Washington, DC-based think tank Center for American Progress. Wagner is a native of Washington, DC and attended Brown University.

	Drew Westen Drew Westen, Ph.D. is a clinical, personality, and political psychologist and neuroscientist, and Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry at Emory University. He is also the founder of Westen Strategies, a strategic messaging firm. He formerly taught at the University of Michigan and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Westen is the author of three books and over 150 articles, including The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation. He frequently comments on political and psychological issues on radio, television, and in print, including appearances on Anderson Cooper 360, The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, Hardball, among others, and articles in the Washington Post, Adweek, and the Huffington Post. He has advised a range of candidates and organizations, from presidential campaigns to major nonprofit organizations and Fortune 500 companies to the Democratic Caucuses of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

	Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse Rhode Islanders elected Sen. Whitehouse to the U.S. Senate in 2006, where he is a member of the Budget Committee; the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee; the Judiciary Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; and the Special Committee on Aging. He chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism and the EPW Subcommittee on Oversight. In the Senate, and before that as Rhode Island's Attorney General and U.S. Attorney, Sen. Whitehouse has focused on the well-being of families, children, and seniors; protecting consumers; helping small businesses grow and create jobs; and assisting the unemployed and all those hit by the recession, a changing economy and hard times. Sen. Whitehouse is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Virginia School of Law. He served as a policy advisor and counsel to the Governor of Rhode Island and as the state's Director of Business Regulation before being nominated by President Bill Clinton to be Rhode Island's United States Attorney in 1994. He was elected State Attorney General in 1998, a position in which he served from 1999-2003.

	Ben Wikler Wikler is Executive Vice President of Change.org, the world's fastest-growing social action platform. Previously, he served as Campaign Director at Avaaz.org, the global online advocacy group, and worked for Al Franken, Arianna Huffington, Sherrod Brown, Russ Feingold, Jeffrey Sachs, and The Onion. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son Mac.

	Rich Williams Rich Williams is the Higher Education Advocate for U.S. PIRG, working with a network of statewide student organizations on college campuses across the country with more than 100 full-time organizers who facilitate student engagement with local, state and national decision-makers on concerns such as access and affordability in higher education. Mr. Williams represents college students before the White House, Congress, and the Department of Education. His expertise is federal higher education policy, including affordable textbooks, student aid, grants, and loans. His views and opinions have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today and other major publications.

	Cynthia Wolken Wolken is a city councilmember from Missoula, Montana. She works with several non-profits and for the Montana Women Pipeline Project, an organization that helps recruit and elect progressive women to public office. Cynthia was recently appointed by Governor Schweitzer to the five-member Montana Human Rights Commission. She serves as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Montana Human Rights Network and is on the Board of Directors of Working Toward Equality and Economic Liberation. In 2011, she sponsored a Citizens United-related ballot referendum that passed by a three-to-one margin.

	Jasiri X Emcee and community activist Jasiri X is the creative force and artist behind the ground breaking internet news series, This Week with Jasiri X, which has garnered critical acclaim, thousands of subscribers, and millions of internet views. His videos have been featured on websites as diverse as Allhiphop.com and The Huffington Post and Jasiri has been a guest on BET Rap City, The Michael Baisden Show, Free Speech TV, Left of Black, and Russia Today. A six time Pittsburgh Hip-Hop Award winner, Jasiri recently became the first Hip-Hop artist to receive the coveted August Wilson Center for African American Culture Fellowship. A founding member of the anti-violence group One Hood, Jasiri started the New Media Academy to teach young African-American boys how to analyze and create media for themselves. Jasiri X signed a record deal with Wandering Worx Entertainment and is currently working on his album, Ascension with acclaimed producer Rel!g!on.

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