ABOUT US

Cristóbal Alex is a senior government, political and advocacy leader and a well-respected voice on MSNBC and other major outlets and publications. Now in a leadership role with Tusk Philanthropies, Cristóbal previously served as the White House Deputy Cabinet Secretary linking the White House and Cabinet.

Cristóbal started his career as a civil rights lawyer with MacDonald Hoague & Bayless. A native of El Paso, Texas, Cristóbal lives with his wife Taí and two brilliant daughters ages five and two.

Niffer Nan is a Silicon Valley-based technology investor who specializes in AI and B2B companies. She was a senior product leader at Asana during its meteoric rise and global expansion. Before joining the startup world, she worked at Microsoft and NASA. She holds 15 patents in product innovations, and serves on Harvard’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Dean’s Cabinet, and the Advisory Council for GiveWell, an international nonprofit allocating over $400M a year to combat global poverty.

Originally from Oklahoma, Niffer lives in San Francisco with her husband and toddler, and frequently visits Taiwan where her extended family lives.

Anna is a nationally-recognized civic strategist with two decades of experience. She serves as a consultant to national civil society groups and funders and as senior democracy fellow with Propel, a New York-based investment and philanthropic venture. She also teaches in the department of political science at Northwestern University.

Anna’s work in national media has included numerous appearances on MSNBC, CNN, and CSPAN. She serves as a member of the boards of the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics; Public Citizen; and the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and as an advisor to a number of other activist efforts and civic start-ups. She lives with her family in the Chicago area.

Congressman Don Beyer is serving his fifth term as the U.S. Representative from Virginia’s 8th District. Previously, Congressman Beyer served as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1998, and later as Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein under President Obama. As Ambassador, he was integral to U.S. Department of Justice efforts to halt the abuses of Swiss bank secrecy by wealthy Americans.

Congressman Beyer has spent four decades building his family business in Northern Virginia after a summer job at a car dealership in 1974. Rep. Beyer has four children and two grandchildren. He and his wife Megan live in Alexandria, Virginia.

Ari is an investor and advisor in the tech industry. He spent 17 years in operating roles in the industry, including as a Director of Engineering at Airbnb and Facebook, and as CEO of Vamo, a travel startup that was sold to Airbnb. He also has a passion for working with non-profit civic-sector organizations, including time with U.S. Digital Response.

Ari holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science from Stanford. He grew up in New Jersey and now lives in Seattle with his wife and three kids.

Sam Novey is Chief Strategist at the University of Maryland Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement. He is a co-founder of the Students Learn Students Vote Coalition, Maryland Civic Education Coalition, and Baltimore Votes Coalition, among other civic initiatives. He also serves as a Secretary of the Baltimore City Board of Elections and is a member of the Baltimore City Fair Election Fund Commission.