National Office Staff

Rob Richie, Executive Director

rr[at] fairvote.org

An expert on international and domestic elections and electoral reform, Rob Richie has directed FairVote since its founding in 1992. Among his activities at FairVote, Richie has:

• been a frequent source for print, radio and television journalists, including as a guest on C-SPAN, NBC News, CNN, FOX, MSNBC and NPR's Talk of the Nation, All things Considered, To the Point and Fresh Air;

• published commentary in such publications as New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Roll Call, Nation, National Civic Review, Boston Review, Christian Science Monitor and Legal Times;* co-authored two books,Every Vote Equal (2006) and Whose Votes Count (2001) and had his writings appear in seven other books;

• Spoken to scores of organizations, including at the annual conventions of the American Political Science Association, National Association of Counties, National Association of Secretaries of state, Unitarian Universalists and National Conference of State Legislatures and to the Voting Section of the U. S. Department of Justice, the Lincoln Day dinners of the Alaska Republican Party in Juneau and Anchorage and several groups of foreign dignitaries through the United States Information Agency;

• Worked with congressional and state legislative staff in writing numerous pieces of legislation;

• Testified in special sessions before charter commissions in cities in New York, Florida, Ohio, Texas and Michigan and before state legislative committees in Alaska, Vermont, Virginia and Washington;

• Helped organize eight well-attended national conferences on electoral system reform and worked with hundreds of state reformers supporting fair election methods;

• Toured New Zealand at the invitation of electoral reformers during a successful referendum campaign in that country in 1993 to adopt a proportional voting system; and

• edited FairVote's publications, such as its bi-annual analyses of congressional elections that have received prominent news coverage around the nation.

Born in Washington, D.C. in 1962, Richie graduated from Haverford College with a B.A. in philosophy in 1987. Before co-founding FairVote and becoming its director in 1992, he worked for three winning congressional campaigns in Washington state and for non-profit organizations in Washington and the District of Columbia.  He is married to Cynthia Terrell and is the father of three children: Savanna, Lucas and Rebecca.

You can reach Rob Richie at: rr [at] fairvote.org. He regularly publishes content on the FairVote Blog.

---

Cynthia Terrell, Member Relations

 

ct [at] fairvote.org

Cynthia Terrell is a founder of FairVote and has been a board member of several charitable organizations, including the American Friends Service Committee.

 

Terrell has worked in the area of voting system reform in this country and abroad, traveling in 1993 to New Zealand to support that country's successful referendum to adopt a proportional voting system. She also directed the research for several reports produced by FairVote, including analyses of the 1994 and 1996 congressional elections and the 1992 presidential elections.

Before helping to found FairVote, Terrell worked extensively as a political consultant around the country, working as campaign manager and field director for campaigns for the U.S. President, U.S. House and U.S. Senate, for governor and for state and city-wide initiative efforts. Among these campaigns were a proposed equal rights amendment in 1992 to the Iowa state constitution, the 1992 presidential campaign of Sen. Tom Harkin, Douglas Wilder's 1989 gubernatorial victory in Virginia and former Congresswoman Jolene Unsoeld's congressional campaign in 1990. Terrell also researched the state initiative process for the Fund for the Feminist Majority.

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

---

FairVote Staff

Patricia Hart | Hart [at] FairVote.org

Patricia Hart is a media relations and project manager at FairVote, where she has worked since 2012. Focusing primarily on voting rights advocacy, Patricia runs FairVote's Promote Our Vote project. She also developed and coordinates advocacy for FairVote's Representation 2020 project. During her time on these projects, Patricia has appeared on C-SPAN, HuffPost Live, and written op-eds for publications like The Hill.

Before joining the team at FairVote, Patricia served as a congressional intern and participated in several political campaigns in her home-state of Kentucky. While in college, she led and participated in projects aimed at gender equality, LGBT rights, sustainability and social mobility. Patricia studied political science and public relations.

Andrea Levien | ALevien [at] FairVote.org

Andrea Levien is a research associate focused on Electoral College reform and women in politics. She is the lead author of Representation 2020's State of Women's Representation 2013 report and of FairVote's Presidential Election Inequality 2012 report, to be released this winter. While at FairVote, she has published articles in Presidential Studies Quarterly and The Washington Post and has appeared on C-SPAN and WJLA-TV, ABC 7's D.C. news affiliate. 

Andrea graduated from Yale with a B.A. in political science. While at Yale, she researched and advocated for progressive policies such as the Connecticut DREAM Act and the New Haven Promise Program with the Yale College Democrats and the Roosevelt Institute. During her summers, she interned at Human Rights First, LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and the Hotline for Migrant Workers in Tel Aviv. She is from New York City.

 

Andrew Spencer | DSpencer [at] FairVote.org

Drew Spencer is a staff attorney at FairVote, where he has worked since 2012.

He has focused on FairVote's work on racial minority vote dilution and the Voting Rights Act as well as ranked choice voting and related issues. In addition, he helped to launch FairVote's podcast, FairVote Voices, with Elizabeth Hudler. He co-authored The Right Choice for Elections: How Choice Voting Will End Gerrymandering and Expand Minority Voting Rights, From City Councils to Congress, which was published in the University of Richmond Law Review's March 2013 issue, with Rob Richie. He has also appeared on RT with Krist Novoselic to discuss FairVote's reforms.

While in law school, Drew specialized in election law and policy and public interest issues. He served as Executive Note Editor for the Arizona Law Review and published an article on public financing of elections both in the Arizona Law Review and in Arizona Attorney Magazine. 

Devin McCarthy | DMccarthy [at] FairVote.org 

Devin McCarthy is a policy analyst at FairVote focusing on U.S. congressional elections, proportional representation, and international elections. While at FairVote, he has been published in The Washington Post, Salon, In These Times, and The Philadelphia Inquirer, among others, and has appeared on HuffPost Live.  He is the lead author and editor of the Monopoly Politics 2014 and the Fair Voting Solution report. 

 

FairVote Fellows

Dania N. Korkor | DKorkor [at] FairVote.org

Dania N. Korkor is a legal fellow at FairVote. In 2013, she graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Public Policy and Management from The Ohio State University John Glenn School of Public Affairs. While in law school, she specialized in Dispute Resolution. Additionally, she took courses regarding election law and disputed elections and served as a research assistant to Professor Edward Foley, the Director of "Election Law @ Moritz." Dania was the Editor-in-Chief of the Ohio State Entrepreneurial Business Law Journal.

Dania has focused her studies and professional experience on promoting democracy and encouraging the use of alternative dispute resolution to address conflict. She has significant experience working with federal, state, and local governments. She served as a policy intern at the State Department in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor in the Office of Near Eastern Affairs and a legal intern at the Ohio Senate. Additionally, she worked for the Ohio Attorney General, a local Ohio mayor, and the Department of Defense. Dania earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Psychology and Arabic language from Case Western Reserve University in 2010.

Rais Akbar | RAkbar [at] FairVote.org

He is a 2011 graduate of Howard University School of Law, and is completing an LL.M. in law and government program at American University Washington College of Law. He has been admitted to the Maryland Bar.

During law school, Rais focused primarily on civil rights law and policy, and was a student attorney in the school's civil rights clinic, where, among other projects and amicus briefs, he co-authored a report on the possibilities for full voting representation in the House of Representatives for the District of Columbia at the request of local activists and civic leaders.

 

Amanda Gaynor | AGaynor [at] FairVote.org

 

Amanda is an advocacy fellow at FairVote. Hailing from Providence, Rhode Island, Amanda graduated from Wellesley College this May where she double majored in Political Science and Spanish. Her political science capstone research focused on the impact of voter identification laws on minority populations in swing states.

During her time at Wellesley, Amanda spent two summers interning for U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and participated in his reelection campaign in November 2012. She also worked as a research assistant at the Wellesley Centers for Women, the largest social science organization in the United States dedicated to gender research.

Amanda was introduced to FairVote and its reforms at the age of sixteen when she testified before the State Senate Judiciary Committee in support of a bill that would allow sixteen year olds to pre-register to vote. Many years later, Amanda is thrilled to be joining the FairVote team and looks forward to working hard over the next year to help it continue to achieve its goals. 

 

Andrew Douglas | ADouglas [at] FairVote.org

 

Andrew Douglas is a research fellow at FairVote, focusing on ranked choice voting and international elections. He has also contributed research to FairVote's Monopoly Politics and State of Women's Representation reports.

Originally from Oklahoma City, Andrew graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009 with a B.A. in political science and a minor in history, and earned an M.A. in international studies in 2012 His master's thesis, Balance of Power Theory and Mexican Drug Cartels, examined political interactions between Mexican drug trafficking organizations.

 

FairVote Interns

 

Angele Cossee | ACossee [at] FairVote.org

 

Angele Cossee is an intern at FairVote, where she focuses on research and advocacy. 

She is currently enrolled in undergraduate studies at Sciences Po Paris where she studies humanities. She studies political science, political philosophy, sociology, law, history, and economics. She will be working in Communications, and assisting with ongoing projects. 

 

 

 

 

Kemi Adekoya | KAdekoya [at] FairVote.org

Kemi is an intern at FairVote, focused on communications and research. She will assist staff on advocacy projects.

Currently a third year student at Sciences Po., Kemi will graduate in 2016. Sciences Po is a multidisciplinary school where she has studied politics, sociology, public law and history.  

 

 

 

 

Volunteers and interns at FairVote support the staff in key areas of project management. If you are interested in joining our talented team, see our internship and employment opportunities.