BPC Experts
Governance
Olympia Snowe
Board Member and Senior Fellow; Former Senator from Maine
Olympia Snowe is a member of BPC’s board of directors, a BPC senior fellow, and a co-chair of BPC’s Commission on Political Reform. She was the first woman in U.S. history to serve in both houses of a state legislature and both houses of Congress.
Mike Beebe
Governors' Council Member; Former Governor of Arkansas
Mike Beebe is a member of BPC’s Governors’ Council. He served as governor of Arkansas from 2007 to 2015. Beebe’s education policies and initiatives garnered nationwide attention, and during his tenure, Arkansas ranked fifth in overall K-12 education.
Trent Lott
Senior Fellow; Former Senate Majority Leader
Trent Lott is a BPC senior fellow and co-chairs its Commission on Political Reform and Energy Project. He represented the state of Mississippi in the Senate from 1989 to 2007, serving as majority leader from 1996 to 2001.
Chris Gregoire
Governors' Council Member; Former Governor of Washington
Chris Gregoire is a member of BPC’s Governors’ Council. She served as the governor of Washington from 2005 to 2013. During her two terms as governor, Gregoire proposed significant reforms to the state’s education system which went on to receive national recognition.
Steven Beshear
Governors' Council Member; Former Governor of Kentucky
Steven Beshear is a member of BPC’s Governors’ Council. He served as governor of Kentucky from 2007-2015.
Dan Blair
Senior Counselor
Dan G. Blair is a BPC senior counselor. He is an internationally-recognized expert and leader in public policy and administration, with more than 30-years of experience in top leadership positions in the nonprofit, governmental—including executive and legislative branches—and regulatory sectors.
Tom Daschle
Co-Founder; Former Senate Majority Leader
Tom Daschle, a BPC co-founder, co-chairs its Commission on Political Reform and Health Project. He served as Senate minority leader from 1995 to 2001 and from 2003 to 2005, and as the majority leader from 2001 to 2003.
Jim Douglas
Governors' Council Member; Former Governor of Vermont
Jim Douglas is a member of BPC’s Governors’ Council and Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings. He served as governor of Vermont from 2003 to 2011.
Dan Glickman
Senior Fellow; Former Secretary of Agriculture
Dan Glickman is a BPC senior fellow and co-chairs its Commission on Political Reform, Democracy Project, Prevention Initiative, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Task Force. He served as the secretary of agriculture from March 1995 until January 2001.
David Heineman
Governors' Council Member; Former Governor of Nebraska
David Heineman is a member of BPC's Governors' Council. He is the longest serving governor in Nebraska history, serving from 2005-2015. He is a former chair of the National Governors Association.
Dirk Kempthorne
Co-Chair, Commission on Political Reform; Former Governor of Idaho and Secretary of the Interior
Dirk Kempthorne co-chairs BPC’s Commission on Political Reform. He served as a senator from Idaho from 1993 to 1998 and as the governor of Idaho from 1999 to 2006. He also served as the secretary of the interior from 2006 to 2009.
Beverly G. Hudnut
Fellow
Beverly G. Hudnut is a BPC fellow with the Democracy Project. Hudnut works on several initiatives—including the Commission on Political Reform and the Presidential Commission on Election Administration—to facilitate outreach and collaboration with peer organizations.
Donald Palmer
Fellow
Donald Palmer is a BPC fellow focusing on the recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. He was appointed secretary of the Virginia Board of Elections by former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell in 2011 and served as the commonwealth’s chief election official until July 2014.
Christopher Thomas
Fellow
Christopher Thomas is a fellow with BPC’s Democracy Project. Thomas is retired from the Michigan Department of State on June 30, 2017 after 40 years of election administration service, which included 36 years as Michigan’s Director of Elections.
Donald R. Wolfensberger
Fellow
Donald R. Wolfensberger is a BPC fellow, and congressional scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. He served as a staff member in the U.S. House of Representatives for 28 years, beginning as legislative director for his home district Representative John B. Anderson.
John C. Fortier
Director of the Democracy Project
John C. Fortier is the director of BPC’s Democracy Project. Prior to joining BPC, he was a research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he served as the principal contributor to the AEI-Brookings Election Reform Project and the executive director of the Continuity of Government Commission.
Michele Nellenbach
Director of Strategic Initiatives
Michele Nellenbach is director of BPC’s strategic initiatives. Prior to joining BPC, Nellenbach was the director of the National Governors Association’s (NGA) Natural Resources Committee where she directed and oversaw NGA’s federal legislative agenda.
John Richter
Senior Advisor
John Richter is a BPC senior advisor. He worked for former Senator Olympia Snowe, serving in numerous capacities in her office, including as speechwriter, deputy legislative director, and most recently as chief of staff.
Matthew Weil
Senior Associate Director of the Democracy Project
Matthew Weil is senior associate director of BPC’s Democracy Project. Prior to joining BPC in February 2013, he worked at the Department of the Treasury on domestic finance issues in the office of public affairs.
Tim Harper
Policy Analyst
Tim Harper is a policy analyst for BPC’s Democracy Project. Prior to joining BPC in November 2015, Harper worked for the International Foundation for Electoral Systems on projects in Iraq and Libya.
Michael Thorning
Senior Policy Analyst
Michael Thorning is a senior policy analyst for BPC’s Democracy Project. Prior to joining BPC, Thorning worked on Capitol Hill for Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall.