COMMUNITY. STRATEGY. INVESTMENT. IMPACT.
We are a first-of-its-kind partnership of changemakers who are committed to a stronger democracy and a more progressive America.
Launched in 2005, the Democracy Alliance (DA) was created to build progressive infrastructure that could help counter the well-funded and sophisticated conservative apparatus in the areas of civic engagement, leadership, media, and ideas.
Today the DA provides an innovative opportunity for individuals to leverage their progressive philanthropy by connecting their own efforts with those of other investors/donors, high-impact organizations, and visionary political strategists and leaders.
We play a leadership role in building the movement infrastructure needed to execute and advance a progressive agenda. Our network helps form a more integrated and cohesive progressive community creating greater impact as a result of our collaborative giving strategy.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
John is the executive director of the National Education Association. Previously, John served as assistant executive director for public affairs at the Wisconsin Education Association Council. He also served as executive director of Idaho Fair Share, a grassroots citizen action organization dedicated to keeping utility rates affordable for working families, and spearheaded legislation on behalf of low and moderate income utility ratepayers. He currently sits on several boards, including Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and Learning First Alliance.
In 1988, John ran successfully for State Senate in Idaho. His legislative record includes successfully shepherding a bill to improve protections for people facing foreclosure on their homes due to family medical crises. He established his bona fides in political strategy as chief architect of the Idaho Senate Democrats’ re-election plans, securing seven new Senate seats and protecting all incumbents over three election cycles.
A native of New Orleans, John is a graduate of Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. He and his wife, Connie, have two children.
Patricia is President of the Bauman Foundation. In recent years, the foundation has supported civic participation through general support of organizations engaged in voter registration, outreach and election protection. She shaped the foundation’s activities at the intersection of human health and environment and policies to foster access to government information.
Patricia is Co-Chair of the Brennan Center, Co-Chair of Catalist LLC and a Vice-Chair of the Natural Resources Defense Council. She also serves on the board of Public Interest Projects/Neo Philanthropy and Montefiore Medical Center in New York. She is a longstanding active Democratic political donor.
Patricia is a graduate of Radcliffe/Harvard College, Columbia University School of Public Health, and Georgetown University Law Center.
Paul is a retired software entrepreneur who previously founded two successful health information technology companies: eScription, a company that provides dictation and transcription management and automatic speech recognition for the healthcare industry and IDX Systems Corporation, a worldwide supplier of administrative and financial solutions for healthcare organizations.
Paul is involved in several progressive political campaigns, recently serving as finance chair for Elizabeth Warren. He also cares deeply about Israel and is affiliated with progressive Israel policy groups as a member of the J Street Advisory Council and Board of Directors for the New Israel Fund.
Paul holds a B.S. in Mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Farhad Ebrahimi is the founder and trustee chair of the Chorus Foundation, which works for a just transition to a regenerative economy in the United States. The Chorus Foundation supports communities on the front lines of the old, extractive economy to build new bases of political, economic, and cultural power for systemic change.
Farhad is also a founding member of the Boston-based organizing collective Simorgh, and he serves on the boards of the New Economy Coalition and Citizen Engagement Lab. When not wrestling with the implications of such titles as “organizer” and “philanthropist,” he is a musician, lover of film and literature, and bicycle snob.
Farhad graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2002 with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics with Computer Science. He lives in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.
Josh Fryday is currently the Chief Operating Officer (COO) for NextGen Climate, founded by Tom Steyer.
Prior to this role, Fryday served as a Lieutenant in the United States Navy (‘09-‘13) as a member of the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG). He served overseas in Yokosuka, Japan, where in addition to his legal duties, he augmented the Navy’s 7th Fleet’s Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief efforts during ‘Operation Tomodachi’ following the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. He was also stationed in the Office of Military Commissions, working on the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba detainee cases, and testified before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the closing of Guantanamo.
Before serving in the Armed Services, Fryday worked as a political advisor and organizer on local, state and national campaigns, including the 2004 and 2008 Presidential elections.
Josh received his law degree from the UC Berkeley School of Law, and clerked in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California as well as the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office.
He also received his undergraduate degree in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with highest honors. He later served on the UC Berkeley Alumni Board of Directors (06-09), where he cofounded the Equity Scholarship to increase diversity on the UC Berkeley Campus. He is a fellow with the Truman National Security Project, a Term-Member of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and currently sits on the Board of Directors for Demos and Tech4America.org.
Josh is married to Mollye Fryday, an educator, and they have two energetic young boys, Shay and Calvin.
Nick is chairman of Pacific Coast Feather Company and vice chairman of Marchex, Inc. In 2000, he became a founding partner of the venture capital firm, Second Avenue Partners, where he serves on the boards of both MarketLeader, and Qliance Medical Group. Nick is also the former chairman of the board of aQuantive, a digital marketing services and technology company that sold to Microsoft for $6 billion.
Nick is actively involved in the Seattle community. In 2000, he co-founded the League of Education voters and set out to help transform the educational system and increase student achievement. He is a current board member of the University of Washington Foundation.
A Seattle-area native, Nick is an avid adventure traveler who has visited more than 60 countries, a fly fisherman, and an amateur astronomer. He and his wife, Leslie, reside in the Seattle area with their two children.
Mary Kay serves as International President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the fastest-growing union in North America with 2.2 million workers in healthcare, public, and property services.
Mary Kay joined SEIU’s staff in 1979, rising to become chief healthcare strategist and International Executive Vice President in 2004. She led the union’s efforts to win a stronger voice for healthcare workers and enact historic healthcare reforms. In 2010, Henry was unanimously elected International President.
Mary Kay sits on the boards of the Economic Policy Institute, American Income Life, Fresh Thinking, and is an advisory member of the National Catholic Scholars for Worker Justice. She also serves on the Change to Win Leadership Council and is a founding member of SEIU’s gay and lesbian Lavender Caucus. Mary Kay previously served on the executive board of Families USA and was a labor adviser to the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops.
David is a private investor, an active philanthropist, and a supporter of many progressive groups and organizations. David and his wife Nancy Blachman are founders of the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival, a program of math education and enrichment for middle and high school students.
A mathematician and software engineer, David was among the first 20 employees at Google, where he worked from 1999 to 2005. Since leaving Google, David continues to engage with mathematical research. David is a trustee of the University of California Berkeley Foundation, and a member of two visiting committees at MIT.
David has degrees from MIT and the University of California at Berkeley. His dissertation involved the analysis of a mathematical game, with applications to information theory.
Keith Mestrich is the President and CEO of the Amalgamated Bank – the nation's only union-owned bank and the leading financial institution for the nation's progressive community. Keith's background includes over 25 years of experience working with the bank's core constituencies in the labor movement and non-profit organizations. Keith first joined Amalgamated in June of 2012 initially directing the bank's Washington Region where he coordinated the bank's operation's in the nation's capital.
Prior to joining Amalgamated Bank, Keith served as the Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief of Staff for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). In his capacity at SEIU, Keith also served as a trustee on three separate Taft-Hartley funds and on the Investment Committee for the SEIU Master Trust.
Keith is a 25-year veteran of the labor movement, beginning his career as a researcher at the AFL-CIO where he gained experience assisting unions on hundreds of organizing, bargaining and political campaigns. In 2002, Keith went to work for UNITE, the bank's majority shareholder, where he served in various capacities including Director of Corporate Affairs, President of one of the union's locals and Executive Assistant to the International President. Following the formation of Worker's United, Keith was named the new union's first Chief of Staff.
Keith is currently on the Board of Directors and serves as Treasurer of the Union Health Center in New York City, the Public Utility Law Project, and the DC Employment Justice Center. He is also on the Board of Directors of the National Consumers League and serves as an Advisor to The Workers Lab.
Keith received a degree in Political Science and Public Policy from Kalamazoo College where he graduated magna cum laude and was inducted as a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
Fran Rodgers was the founder and CEO of WFD. Established in 1983 to assist employers in responding to the changing work force, the organization pioneered the development of a new generation of employee benefits and consulting and research services, especially addressing the needs of women. More than 3 million employees were covered by the services. Fran has served on many corporate and not-for-profit Boards including NARAL, Progressive Majority and Harvard related hospitals and health services. Fran has served as a Trustee of Barnard College, as well as a board member of Bank of Boston and Fleet Financial. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources, and a national winner of the Ernst & Young/Merrill Lynch Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Fran has received the alumna of achievement award at Barnard College, and has been honored by International Women’s Forum, American Society of Aging, and Big Sisters.
Fran is a graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University and Tufts University/MGH professional training program in Clinical Psychology. She is married to Charles Rodgers. They have two daughters.
Susan Sandler continues a philanthropic family tradition at the Sandler Foundation, where the Foundation had made charitable grants exceeding $650 million as of December 31, 2013. The Sandler Foundation’s mission is to be a catalyst to strengthen the progressive infrastructure, expose corruption and abuse, advocate for vulnerable and exploited people and environments, and advance scientific research in neglected areas. In addition, Susan is the President of the “Progressive Era Project,” a donor collaborative that builds infrastructure in California to move forward a bold, social justice policy agenda through investing in voter turnout, the candidate pipeline, and other strategies.
Prior to transitioning to full time work as a funder in 2008, Susan spent her career advancing racial justice in education as an executive director, policy advocate, writer, researcher, professional development provider, school therapist, teacher, and activist.
Susan holds a B.A. from Stanford University and a Masters in Clinical Social Work from San Francisco State University. She is the Chairperson of the Board for the Center for Community Change Action and sits on the Board of Directors for Center for American Progress.
Rob Stein is Founder of the Democracy Alliance and Co-Founder of the Committee on States. An attorney by training, Rob has founded and run several non-profit organizations (1979-1988); was Strategic Advisor to the Chairman, Democratic National Committee (1989-1992); was Chief of Staff of the Washington Office of the Clinton-Gore Transition (1992); served as chief of Staff of the United States Department of Commerce (1993-1995), and was a private equity investor working with dozens of early-stage companies (1996-2002).
Rob’s original, comprehensive research (2003-2004) about the funding, management and overall infrastructure of the conservative movement over the last three decades led to the formation of the Democracy Alliance.
