Contributors
Lise Clavel is the executive director of The States Forum. She previously served in the Biden and Obama administrations and held positions as a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and as a fellow at the Karsh Institute of Democracy at the University of Virginia.
Andrew Doty is a Washington, D.C.–based consultant focused on civic reform and democratic governance. He advises the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation & Institute’s Center on Civility and Democracy and has worked with numerous democracy-focused nonprofits, including Democracy Notes and Protect Democracy.
Arkadi Gerney is a strategist who advises state leaders on democracy resilience. He founded and led The Hub Project, managed the advocacy arm of the Center for American Progress, and served under New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg managing the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition.
David Greenberg is distinguished professor of history at Rutgers University. He is the author or editor of several books on American history and politics. His latest book, John Lewis: A Life, was a 2025 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Biography.
Sarah Knight helps state leaders and organizations develop strategies for democratic resilience. She previously directed the U.S. Democracy Program at Open Society Foundations and led the field program at the American Constitution Society.
Marshall Kosloff is the Niskanen Center’s director of special projects. He hosts The Realignment, a podcast covering post-2016 America. He executive-produces Endless Frontiers and Abundance conferences. Based in Austin, he is a senior fellow at the UT Austin Strauss Center and sits on the Recoding America Fund’s advisory council.
Matt Lackey is the founder of Tavern Research, a technology company focused on democracy. For decades, he has been a leader and practitioner at the intersection of politics and technology.
Michael Laskawy is the editor in chief of the The States Forum. He has served as a senior policy advisor at the federal, state, and local levels, as well as serving as the executive director of the Congressional Joint Economic Committee during the 110th Congress.
Tom Moore is a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. Previously, he served as chief of staff to former FEC Chair Ellen L. Weintraub, was elected to the Rockville, Md., city council, and wrote and edited for Congressional Quarterly and CNN.
Suzanne Nossel is the author of Dare to Speak: Defending Free Speech for All (2020) and co-author of Is Free Speech Under Threat? (2024). For nearly 12 years until the end of 2024 she served as CEO of PEN America, building the organization into a national and global force for free speech and open discourse.
Blas Nuñez-Neto has been working on border and immigration issues for more than 20 years and has served in senior roles at the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Senate.
Ryan O’Toole is co–executive director of Freedom Virginia, an affordability-focused advocacy organization. He got his start in Virginia politics, and he also served in the administration of Governor Terry McAuliffe.
Adam Pritzker is an investor and entrepreneur interested in business, civics, and politics who co-founded General Assembly, Khaite, The States Project, and The States Forum. He serves on the board of directors for the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and as lead director at Artium AI. Adam is a trustee of Columbia University and a board member of the Columbia University Investment Management Company.
Ambassador Susan Rice is the only person ever to have served in the White House as both U.S. national security advisor and U.S. domestic policy advisor. She served as President Biden’s domestic policy advisor from 2021–2023, as President Obama’s national security advisor from 2013–2017, as the U.S. permanent representative to the United Nations and a member of President Obama’s cabinet from 2009–2013, and as assistant secretary of state for African affairs under President Clinton from 1997–2001.
Eric Scorsone is an expert in public finance who has worked in government in Colorado and Michigan, including serving as Michigan deputy state treasurer and in academic outreach roles working with state and local government to build financial capacity and analysis. He has published widely on state and local government finance, and is the co-editor of the Handbook of Local Government Fiscal Health.
Daniel Squadron was elected the youngest member of the New York State Senate in 2008, where he served for nearly a decade. He co-founded The States Project and The States Forum, initiatives of Future Now, where he is president. A graduate of Yale College, Daniel co-wrote Chuck Schumer’s book Positively American. His book, The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union, is being released in June.
Harrison Stark is senior counsel, director of special projects at the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he focuses on civil rights and remedies, state and federal relations, and democratic rights.