Ran the [[Transition Integrity Project]]. > [!info|no-icon flex bg-c-gray]- Wiki Page Introduction <br> _{**Click to Expand ➜**} > \- **Archived URL** > > Protect Democracy is a nonprofit organization based in the United States. A nonpartisan group, Protect Democracy seeks to check what it believes are authoritarian attacks on U. S. democracy. Protect Democracy states that it seeks to use litigation, legislative and communications strategies, technology, research, and analysis to stand up for free and fair elections, the rule of law, fact-based debate, and a better democracy for future generations. The group has released research on "The Authoritarian Playbook," which can be used to distinguish authoritarianism from other forms of politics. This guide catalogs the seven basic tactics that are almost always present in examples of democratic backsliding around the world: > > - Politicizing independent institutions > - Spreading disinformation > - Aggrandizing executive power and undermining checks & balances > - Quashing dissent > - Marginalizing vulnerable communities > - Corrupting elections > - Stoking violence > > Protect Democracy has also issued reports and policy proposals examining the links between anti-democratic extremism and the U. S. electoral system. According to [[Time Magazine]], the group is a "defender of America's system of government against the threat of authoritarianism."[^1] ## People ### Staff[^2] - **[[Ian Bassin]] — Executive Director** - Ian served as Associate White House Counsel to President Obama from 2009-2011. In addition[](Time%20Magazine.md)e President and senior White House staff on administrative and constitutional law, his responsibilities included ensuring that White House and executive branch officials complied with the laws, rules and norms that protect the fundamentally democratic nature of our government. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was an Editor of the Yale Law Journal and President of the American Constitution Society. - **Justin Florence — Legal Director** - Justin most recently served as counsel in Ropes & Gray's business & securities litigation practice group, where his practice focused on appellate and Supreme Court matters. He has represented clients in the Supreme Court and federal courts of appeals, as well as at the trial level. He has previously served in the Office of the White House Counsel as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President. Justin also worked for Senator Sheldon Whitehouse as Senior Counsel on the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee. - **Sarah Armstrong — Operations Associate** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Sarah served as a Naval Intelligence Officer in Norfolk, Virginia. While in the Navy, she had an array of assignments in operations, training, organization and reconnaissance, including posts at the Pentagon and the State Department. She received her B.S. in political science and English from the United States Naval Academy, graduating with honors. - **Aaron Baird — Communications Organizer** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Aaron was Associate Director for Branded Content at Quartz, where he advised Fortune 100 companies on the strategy and production of digitally native media campaigns. Previously, Aaron served as senior policy adviser to Rep. [[Adam Schiff]], managing his economic policy portfolio. He holds a B.A. in political science from UCLA and a M.Sc. from the London School of Economics. - **Jamila Benkato — Counsel** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Jamila served as a law clerk to the Honorable David O. Carter of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. During law school, Jamila worked for the ACLU of Southern California's Immigrants' Rights and National Security Projects, and the Washington Lawyers' Committee. She received her J.D. from the University of California, Irvine, magna cum laude and with Pro Bono High Honors. - **Ben Berwick — Counsel** - Before joining Protect Democracy, he worked for 6.5 years in the U.S. [[DOJ|Department of Justice]] (DOJ) – spending most of the time as a Trial Attorney with the Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch. In that capacity, Ben defended against challenges to federal statutes and actions of the Executive Branch. He litigated cases involving a variety of statutes and agencies, including as the lead attorney in cases challenging the Department of Education's and DOJ's interpretation of Title IX as prohibiting discrimination against transgender students. - **Cameron Bills — Paralegal** - Cameron recently graduated from [[Columbia University]] with a background in education and criminal justice. - **Soren Dayton — Communications & Policy Director** - Soren was most recently a senior vice president at Hill+Knowlton Strategies. Prior to that, Soren worked for communications and digital agencies, Senator John McCain's campaign for President, Rep. Nick Smith (R-MI), and a rule of law development NGO in India. Soren also worked with a number of Republican electoral and party-political campaigns, including for the U.S. Senate and for Chairman of the Republican National Committee. He is on the board of advisors of Tech Congress and was a Penn Kemble Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy. Soren received his A.B. from The University of Chicago. - **Deana El-Mallawany — Counsel** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Deana served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Massachusetts, where she spent four years leading investigations and civil enforcement actions in the areas of healthcare fraud, consumer protection, and civil rights. She previously represented clients in complex commercial litigation and appeals at Bingham McCutchen LLP. After law school, Deana served as a law clerk to the Honorable Jon O. Newman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Honorable Robert P. Patterson, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Deana was also a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Cairo, Egypt. - **Nelson Garcia — Advocate** - Nelson Garcia served as the founder and president of the Washington Intergovernmental Professional Group, LLC (WIPG). In addition to working closely with Congress and the diplomatic community, he previously served in Government Relations for the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, and the Alliance of American Insurers. He also previously served as Legislative Director to Rep. Gary Miller (R-CA) and Legislative Assistant to Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA). He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science/International Relations and has been featured in Forbes Roll Call, Federal Times, and National Journal. - **Aditi Juneja — Communicator** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Aditi Juneja was an Excelsior Service Fellow with New York State Homes and Community Renewal's Fair and Equitable Housing Office. Previously, Aditi co-founded and led the Resistance Manual and OurStates.org. She created and hosts her own podcast focused on radically inclusive self-care called Self Care Sundays. She was named to [[Forbes]] 30 Under 30 for Law and Policy in 2018. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Connecticut College and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. - **Cameron Kistler — Counsel** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Cameron was an appellate associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. He has also served as a clerk to the Honorable Edith Brown Clement of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the Honorable Lance Africk of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School, where he was a Notes Editor of the Yale Law Journal. - **Stephanie Llanes — Counsel** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Stephanie was a Bertha Justice Legal Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR). In that capacity, Stephanie worked on litigation that focused on racial and economic justice and government misconduct. During law school, Stephanie worked as a research assistant at the Haas Institute for a Fair & Inclusive Society; an Ella Baker legal intern at CCR; a clerk for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc.; and an intern at the ACLU of Washington. She received her J.D. from UC Berkeley School of Law, B.A. from Emory University, and A.A. from Gainesville State College (now The University of North Georgia). - **Jessica Marsden — Counsel** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Jess was an Equal Justice Works Fellow at the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she launched the Veterans Legal Assistance Project. She has also served as a clerk to the Honorable Susan L. Carney of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the Honorable Keith P. Ellison of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. She received her J.D. from Yale Law School. - **Allison F. Murphy — Counsel** - Allison spent more than a decade in public service focused on investigative and strategic legal efforts, including at the White House, a federal agency, the Senate, and House of Representatives. Most recently, Allison led complex market manipulation and fraud investigations in the energy markets at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. In 2015, she served in the White House Counsel's Office where she advised on a range of matters within an economic portfolio. - **Nicole Ndumele — Counsel** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Nicole spent more than a decade working as a civil rights and criminal justice litigator and policy advocate. Most recently, she worked for the Department of Justice, where she divided her time between prosecuting civil rights crimes and developing a wide range of civil rights policy initiatives. Before that, she served as a public defender and a Skadden Fellow at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights. She received her J.D. from [[Harvard Law School]]. - **Kristy Parker — Counsel** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Kristy spent 15 years in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, most recently as a Deputy Chief, where she supervised and prosecuted federal criminal civil rights violations, including uses of excessive force by law enforcement officers, hate crimes, violence against reproductive health care providers, and human trafficking offenses. She also worked for 4 years in the DOJ's Civil Division. Kristy has a D.Phil in Modern History from the [[University of Oxford]] and received her J.D. from Harvard Law School. - **Sonya Petri — Paralegal** - Sonya has over a decade of experience working in criminal defense and justice policy, most recently as a paralegal with the Federal Public Defender Office in Boston. She has contributed to local, national, and international research projects with the Harvard Kennedy School and earned her graduate degree from the London School of Economics. - **Ariela Rosenberg — Policy & Communications Associate** - Ariela received her masters from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, where she studied conflict resolution, human security, and democratization. She has experience in the think tank, NGO, and governmental spaces, having worked at Conflict Dynamics International, Search for Common Ground, and the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Prior to Fletcher, she worked in the private sector on U.S. fiscal policy and energy and industrials policy. She received her B.A. in intellectual history and English literature from the University of Pennsylvania. - **Larry Schwartztol — Counsel** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Larry was Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Policy Program at Harvard Law School, a research and advocacy center focused on criminal justice reform. Larry spent nearly eight years as an attorney with the ACLU, where he litigated cases involving race discrimination, economic justice, police practices, educational equity, and a wide array of national security issues. Before that, Larry was a Liman Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice and a law clerk to Judge Harry T. Edwards U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. - **Ahmed Shaaban — Operations Associate** - Ahmed recently graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a master's degree in political science. He has conducted research on democratization, democratic consolidation, electoral system design, and mechanisms for promoting peace and political equality in ethnically divided and post-conflict societies. - **Nanya Springer — Communicator** - Nanya most recently worked as Vice President of Programs at the Center for Political Accountability where she guided S&P 500 companies to adopt transparency & accountability policies and practices for corporate electoral spending. She is the co-creator of TrackYourCompany.org, the first political spending database of its kind. Previously, she served as Associate Director of Communications for the American Constitution Society for Law & Policy. She holds a B.A. from the University of Maryland and a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law. - **Anne Tindall — Counsel** - Anne most recently served as Assistant General Counsel for Litigation and Oversight at the United States Consumer Financial Protection Bureau where, for the last four years, she has led the oversight team at the agency created by President Obama and Elizabeth Warren in the fallout of the financial crisis to protect American families and consumers from unfair financial practices. - **Chris Vaeth — Policy Advocate** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Chris Vaeth was part of the team that opened and built the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and he led the CFPB's Office of Community Affairs. Prior to the CFPB, Chris worked across the nonprofit sector for racial, economic, and social justice. He is also the founder of the How to Help news blog and host of a podcast featuring interviews with people working to protect American multiracial democracy. Chris is a graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Divinity School. - **Justin Vail — Policy Advocate** - Justin has previously served in each of the three branches of the federal government, including as the Deputy Director of Private Sector Engagement at the White House, as a Policy Aide to U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, and as a law clerk to the Honorable Rodney W. Sippel of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the Honorable James F. Holderman of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He has also worked on several advocacy and electoral campaigns at the national, state, and local level. He received his B.A. from Truman State University and his J.D. from Washington University School of Law. - **Beau Wright — Director of Operations** - Before joining Protect Democracy, Beau served 5.5 years in numerous capacities in the White House under President Obama, most recently as Senior Deputy Director of Operations and Director for Finance. In addition to his work at Protect Democracy, Beau currently serves as an at-large member of city council in Lynchburg, VA, his hometown. He received his undergraduate degree in history and government from the College of William & Mary. ### Board Members - **Jeff Berman** - Jeff is currently President of Whalerock Industries, a media and technology company in Los Angeles. He previously served as General Manager for Digital Media at the National Football League and before that held a series of roles at [[Myspace]], culminating as President of Sales and Marketing. From 2001 to 2005, he served as Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer. Jeff has also served as a public defender in the District of Columbia and as an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.A. from Connecticut College. - **Jerry Hauser** - Jerry is the founding Chief Executive Officer of The Management ​Action​ Center. He was previously at McKinsey & Company, and has played leadership roles in a number of nonprofits. At Teach For America, he served as the second-in-command for seven years. He also served as the CEO of the Advocacy Institute. Before graduating from Yale Law School, where he was active in legal clinics and a senior editor of the Yale Law Journal, Jerry worked as a high school math and history teacher in Compton, California. He is the coauthor of the book Managing to Change the World. - **Emily Loeb** - Emily helped found Protect Democracy, and is a Partner at the law firm Jenner & Block. She brings an extensive background in federal oversight and internal investigations. Previously, she served as an Associate Counsel in the Office of the White House Counsel, where she advised senior White House and Executive Branch Agency officials on responses to congressional and other investigations, risk management issues, and high priority litigation. Before the White House, Emily served in several senior roles in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. - **Cecilia Muñoz** - Cecilia is currently Vice President for Policy and Technology at New America, a Washington-based think tank. She served as Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council under President Obama, and earlier as Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, where she oversaw the Obama Administration's relationships with state and local governments. Before joining the Obama Administration, Cecilia spent 20 years at the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation's largest Latino civil rights organization. In June 2000, she was awarded a MacArthur Foundation fellowship in recognition of her work on immigration and civil rights. She also serves on the Board of the Kresge Foundation and the US Programs Board of the [[Open Society Foundations]]. - **Sabeel Rahman** - Sabeel teaches administrative law and constitutional law at Brooklyn Law School. His research focuses on questions of economic inequality, economic power, and democratic governance. His first book, Democracy Against Domination (Oxford University Press, 2017) examines these issues in context of the financial regulation debate. In addition to his scholarly work, Sabeel served as a Special Advisor in New York City Hall in 2014-15, advising on economic development strategy and policy, and as the Design Director for the Gettysburg Project on Civic Engagement. - **Ricki Seidman** - Ricki is senior principal at TSD Communications, counseling corporate and non-profit clients on a wide range of communications and general strategy matters. A veteran of public service, she held several senior White House positions during the Clinton Administration, also serving as Deputy Associate Attorney General in the Department of Justice. In 2009, she assisted the White House in the confirmation of President Obama's first nominee to the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor. Over the course of her career, Ricki also worked for the late Senator Edward Kennedy and was Executive Director of Rock the Vote. ### Advisors **Anne Applebaum ** Author and Professor of Practice at the London School of Economics **Ruth Ben-Ghiat** Professor of Italian and History, New York University **Sheri Berman** Professor of Political Science, Barnard College, Columbia University **Mona Charen **Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Columnist, and Former Speechwriter to First Lady Nancy Reagan **Linda Chavez **Chairman, Center for Equal Opportunity, Columnist, and Former White House Director of Public Liaison to President Ronald Reagan **John Dean **Former White House Counsel **Matthew Dowd **Author, Political Analyst, and Former Chief Strategist, Bush-Cheney 2004 **Mindy Finn **Co-CEO and Founder, Stand Up Republic **Michael Gottlieb **Former Assistant United States Attorney and Associate White House Counsel **Aziz Huq** Frank and Bernice J. Greenberg Professor of Law, The University of Chicago Law School **Marcos Daniel Jiménez **Former United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida **Khizr Khan **Lawyer, Constitutional Rights Advocate and Author **Rachel Kleinfeld **Senior Fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace **Steven Levitsky** Professor of Government, Harvard University **John McKay** Former United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington **Evan McMullin **Co-CEO and Founder, Stand Up Republic **Michael Miller** Associate Professor of Political Science, The George Washington University **Yascha Mounk** Lecturer on Government, Harvard University **Brendan Nyhan** Professor of Government, Dartmouth College **Thomas Perrelli **Former Associate Attorney General of the United States **Richard Primus **Theodore J. St. Antoine Collegiate Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School **Robert Raben **Former Assistant Attorney General **Kim Lane Scheppele** Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University **Timothy Snyder** Richard C. Levin Professor of History, Yale University **Jerry Taylor** President, Niskanen Center  **Donald Verrilli **Former Solicitor General of the United States **Evan Wolfson **Founder, Freedom to Marry **Daniel Ziblatt** Professor of Government, Harvard University %% FOOTER %% ---  --- ## Keep Digging %%Space%% ### Tags ### Footnotes & References [^1]: Overview of Protect Democracy pulled from **[Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protect_Democracy)** on [[01-17-2024]]. [^2]: Source: <https://archive.is/gxvIH>