Team

Staff Leadership

Kelly Veney Darnell
Interim CEO
Jason J. Fichtner
Vice President and Chief Economist
Gwen Fortune-Blakely
Vice President of External Affairs and Marketing
Lisel Loy
Senior Vice President
G. William Hoagland
Senior Vice President
Elena Muehlenbeck
Vice President of Finance and Administration
Michele Nellenbach
Vice President of Strategic Initiatives
Steve Scully
Senior Vice President of Communications
Michele Stockwell
Senior Vice President and Executive Director of BPC Action
Tycely Williams
Chief Development Officer

Founders

Howard Baker
Co-Founder; Former Senate Majority Leader
Tom Daschle
Co-Founder; Former Senate Majority Leader
Bob Dole
Co-Founder; Former Senate Majority Leader
George Mitchell
Co-Founder; Former Senate Majority Leader

Board of Directors

Jason Grumet
Board Member; Chief Executive Officer, American Clean Power; Former BPC President and CEO
Doyle N. Beneby, Jr.
Board Member; President and Chief Executive Officer Midland Cogeneration Venture
Robbie Bach
Former President of Entertainment & Devices Division, Microsoft
Julián Castro
Board Member; Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
Ralph Cavanagh
Board Member; Co-Director of NRDC's Energy Program
Henry Cisneros
Board Chair; Former Secretary, Housing and Urban Development
Maria Contreras-Sweet
Board Member; Co-Chair, Task Force on Paid Family Leave; 24th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration
John Delaney
Board Member; Former Representative from Maryland
Thomas J. Falk
Board Member; Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Kimberly-Clark
C. Robert Henrikson
Board Member; Former President and CEO of MetLife, Inc.
Gary Locke
Board Member; Former Governor of Washington, U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Pamela Hughes Patenaude
Former Deputy Secretary, Housing and Urban Development
Olympia Snowe
Board Member and Senior Fellow; Former Senator from Maine
Stacey D. Stewart
CEO, Mothers Against Drunk Driving
Michael S. Steele
Board Member; Former Maryland Lieutenant Governor
Ron Terwilliger
Chairman Emeritus of Trammell Crow Residential Company
Ron Christie
Board Member; CEO of Christie Strategies LLC
Karen Dunn Kelley
Board Member; Former Deputy Secretary, Department of Commerce
Candi Wolff
Chair, BPC Action Board of Directors
Mark Walsh
Board Member; Managing Director, Ruxton Ventures, LLC
Leana Wen
Board Member; Professor of Health Policy and Management, George Washington University
Geisha Williams
Board Member; Former CEO and President of PG&E Corporation

President's Council

Tom Daschle
Co-Founder; Former Senate Majority Leader
Olympia Snowe
Board Member and Senior Fellow; Former Senator from Maine
Frank McCourt
CEO, McCourt Global
Kent Walker
President of Global Affairs, Google and Alphabet
General Chuck Wald
CEO, RG5 LLC
John R. Tyson
CFO, Tyson Foods
Suzanne Shank
President, CEO and Co-founder, Siebert Williams Shank & Co., LLC
Bill Oberndorf
Executive Chairman, Oberndorf Enterprises LLC
Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
Trustee and President Emerita, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Norm Augustine
Former CEO, Lockheed Martin
Esther Aguilera
President and CEO, Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA)
Robert Steven Kaplan
Former President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
President, Augustana University
Mark Heising
Founder, Medley Partners
Elizabeth Dole
Former Senator, Former member of the Federal Trade Commission, and The Elizabeth Dole Foundation Founder
Maggie Cordish
BPC Fellow
Charlie Cook
Founder, Cook Political Report
James Carville
Political Contributor, CNN
Madhu Beriwal
Founder, CEO and President, IEM
Frank Keating
Former Oklahoma Governor; Former President and CEO, American Bankers Association

Staff

Meet our team members across our policy areas and departments…

Linda Smith
Director, Early Childhood Initiative
Kelly Veney Darnell
Interim CEO
Victoria Owens
Policy Analyst
Jason J. Fichtner
Vice President and Chief Economist
Shai Akabas
Director of Economic Policy
Gwen Fortune-Blakely
Vice President of External Affairs and Marketing
Sasha Mackler
Executive Director of the Energy Program
Ben Gitis
Associate Director
Danny Broberg
Associate Director
G. William Hoagland
Senior Vice President
Tanya Das
Senior Associate Director
Xan Fishman
Director, Energy Policy and Carbon Management
Pamela Baba
Data Coordinator
Alyssa Fuller
Project Associate
Jacqueline Boothe
Receptionist/Front Desk Administrative Assistant
Dane Stangler
Director of Strategic Initiatives
Anand Parekh, MD
Chief Medical Advisor
Elena Muehlenbeck
Vice President of Finance and Administration
Abbey Richards
Associate Director
Brittany Walsh
Associate Director
Michele Nellenbach
Vice President of Strategic Initiatives
John Jacobs
Policy Analyst
Audrey Cope
Special Assistant to the Interim CEO; Legislative Assistant, BPC Action
Justin Carter
IT Support Specialist
Tom Romanoff
Director of Technology Project
Marilyn Werber Serafini
Executive Director, Health Program
Lesley Jantarasami
Managing Director of the Energy Program
Caroline Normile
Senior Policy Analyst
Steve Scully
Senior Vice President of Communications
Wise Crowder
Office and Facilities Manager
Michelle Kumar
Policy Analyst
Danielle Draper
Project Coordinator
Kyle Huang
Recruitment and Internship Manager
Naleli Askew
Associate Director of Events
Theresa Cardinal Brown
Senior Advisor, Immigration and Border Policy
Garrett Langdon
Associate Director, Financial Planning and Analysis
Phenan Kidane
Human Resources Manager
Babu Jackson
Chief Technology Officer
Michele Stockwell
Senior Vice President and Executive Director of BPC Action
Holly Bensur
Senior Marketing Manager
Jacqueline Pfeffer Merrill
Director, Campus Free Expression Project
Abigail Messier
Financial Analyst
Kimberly Dean
Director, BPC Action
Tycely Williams
Chief Development Officer
Hedayat Niazi
Accounting Manager
Mohamed Ahmed
Digital Media Assistant
Maureen Atkins Vollmer
Senior Director of Individual Giving
Lettie Nocera
Senior Manager
Emily Wielk
Research Analyst
Anna Fridley
Project Assistant
Juliette Berger
Project Assistant
Olivia Rotolo
Project Manager
Damien Lee
End User Support Specialist
Hanna Vohra
Policy Analyst
Sophia Ayaz
Special Assistant
Joshua Joe
Digital Media Manager
Lori J. Pickford
Senior Energy Advisor
Andrew Orbe
Coalition Coordinator
Mikayla Curtis
Project Associate
Gabriel Loud
Project Associate
Shana Christrup
Public Health Director
Arianna Fano
Policy Analyst
Justis Antonioli
Research Analyst
Gabrielle Shea
Senior Policy Analyst
Nate Jo
Project Assistant
Libby Miller
Media Relations Manager
Francis Torres
Senior Policy Analyst
Caroline Osborn
Project Assistant
Sabah Bhatnagar
Senior Policy Analyst
Katherine Mercado
Project Assistant
Lauren Hopple
Director of Events
Alyssa Lennon
Foundation Relations Associate
Alex Varisco
Associate Director of Digital Media
Allison Buffett
Policy Analyst
Rebecca Orbach
Project Coordinator, Housing and Infrastructure
Richard Jones
Financial Analyst
Andrew Nason
Associate Director for Editorial Content
Natalie Tham
Policy Analyst
Emma Sheffert
Research Analyst
Natalie Butler
Research Analyst
Faruk Lania
‪Senior Digital Media Manager UX/UI Designer
Emily Burns
Communications and Events Assistant
Morgan Atkins
Individual Giving Associate
Uzo Obele
Controller
Michele Gilbert
Senior Policy Analyst
Lisa Harootunian
Associate Director
Faye Powers
Senior Executive Assistant
Laura Hall
Managing Director, BPC Action
Wynton Henderson
Design and Digital Media Manager
Andrew Hu
Director, BPC Action
Peter Steinmuller
Director of Financial Planning and Analysis
Blake Johnson
Senior Media Relations Manager
Loren Long
Senior Manager of Communications, BPC Action
Michael Kelley
Director, BPC Action
Hanadi Jordan
Communications Associate
Julia Harris
Associate Director
Tara Hartnett
Research Analyst
Luci Manning
Director of Media Relations
Erin Meade
Senior Associate Director of Media Relations
Sabine Neschke
Policy Analyst
Agustina Pardal
Operations Coordinator
Owen Minott
Senior Policy Analyst, Housing and Infrastructure
Lauren Floro
Associate Director, Donor Relations
John Soroushian
Senior Associate Director
John Richter
Director of the Congress Project
Tiffany Jones
Chief of Staff, Development
Michael Lovegrove
Project Assistant
Matthew Weil
Executive Director, Democracy Program
Collier Fernekes
Research Analyst
Niña Ledonio
Corporate Relations Manager
Elise Scott
Special Assistant to Lisel Loy and Kelly Darnell
Landon Li
Corporate Relations Associate
Grace Gordon
Senior Policy Analyst
Rachel Snyderman
Senior Associate Director
Pamela Larkin
Senior Manager of Strategy
Lia Martin
Development Coordinator
Alejandro Marquez
Project Coordinator
Emerson Sprick
Senior Economic Analyst
Kurt Redenbo
Senior Director of Foundation Relations
Tim Wahlers
Senior Director of Corporate Relations
Michael Vavala
Managing Director of Human Resources
Dennis C. Shea
Executive Director, J. Ronald Terwilliger Center for Housing Policy
Brady Newell
Senior Project Manager
Erin White
Senior Manager of Foundation Relations
Rachel Orey
Associate Director
Michael Thorning
Director of Structural Democracy
Meron Tesfaye, Ph.D.
Senior Policy Analyst
Brian O’Gara
Policy Analyst
Franz Wuerfmannsdobler
Senior Advisor
Kamryn Perry
Project Associate
Jennifer Ruff
Senior Media Relations Manager
Andy Winkler
Director, Housing and Infrastructure Project
Kendall Strong
Senior Policy Analyst

Network

Julie Anderson
Senior Advisor
Katharine G. Abraham
Co-Chair, BPC’s Evidence-Based Policymaking Initiative
Haley Barbour
Co-Chair, Immigration Task Force; Former Governor of Mississippi
Dan Blair
Senior Counselor
Michael Chertoff
Co-Chair, Immigration Task Force; Former Secretary of Homeland Security
Henry Cisneros
Board Chair; Former Secretary, Housing and Urban Development
Kent Conrad
Co-Chair, Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings; Former Senator from North Dakota
Dominique Baker
Fellow
Rick Dearborn
Senior Fellow for BPC's Campus Free Expression
Tom Daschle
Co-Founder; Former Senate Majority Leader
Maria Contreras-Sweet
Board Member; Co-Chair, Task Force on Paid Family Leave; 24th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration
George David Banks
Fellow
Karen DeSalvo
Senior Fellow
Byron L. Dorgan
Senior Fellow; Former Senator from North Dakota
Tim Doyle
Senior Policy Advisor
Eric S. Edelman
Co-Chair, Task Force on Managing Disorder in the Middle East; Former U.S. Ambassador to Finland and Turkey
Richard Fischer
Co-Chair, Consumer Protection Task Force
Bill Frist
Senior Fellow, Former Senate Majority Leader
Dan Glickman
Senior Fellow; Former Secretary of Agriculture
Lee H. Hamilton
Co-Chair, Task Force on Terrorism and Ideology; Former Representative from Indiana
Ron Haskins
Co-Chair, BPC’s Evidence-Based Policymaking Initiative
Capri S. Cafaro
Fellow
Colette D. Honorable
Senior Fellow; Former Commissioner, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
Maggie Cordish
Fellow
Thomas H. Kean
Co-Chair, Task Force on Terrorism and Ideology; Former Governor of New Jersey
Dirk Kempthorne
Co-Chair, Commission on Political Reform; Former Governor of Idaho and Secretary of the Interior
Katie Harbath
Fellow
Nick Hart
Fellow
Mike Leavitt
Co-Chair, Prevention Initiative; Former Governor of Utah and Secretary of HHS
Steven F. Hayward
Fellow; Advisor, Campus Free Expression
Katherine Hayes
Fellow
Casey Higgins
Fellow
James B. Lockhart, III
Senior Fellow; Co-Chair, Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings; Former Director of FHFA
Chris Jennings
Fellow; President, Jennings Policy Strategies
Beverly G. Hudnut
Fellow
Trent Lott
Senior Fellow; Former Senate Majority Leader
Mel Martinez
Co-Chair, Housing Commission; Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and Senator from Florida
Robert Kelchen
Fellow
James Peake
Senior Fellow; Former Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Janet M. Marchibroda
Fellow
George Miller
Former U.S. representative from California; Co-Chair, BPC's Early Childhood Initiative
George Mitchell
Co-Founder; Former Senate Majority Leader
Ted McCann
Fellow
Mike Beebe
Governors' Council Member; Former Governor of Arkansas
Edward G. Rendell
Co-Chair, Immigration Task Force; Former Governor of Pennsylvania
Charles Robb
Co-Chair, National Security Program; Former Governor of Virginia and Senator
Suzann Morris
Fellow, Early Childhood Initiative
Steven Beshear
Governors' Council Member; Former Governor of Kentucky
Kathy Roth-Douquet
Co-Chair, Task Force on Defense Personnel; CEO of Blue Star Families
Jim Douglas
Governors' Council Member; Former Governor of Vermont
Adrienne Schweer
Fellow
Avik Roy
Senior Advisor; President, Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity
Eric Rodriguez
Co-Chair, Consumer Protection Task Force
Chris Gregoire
Governors' Council Member; Former Governor of Washington
Rick Santorum
Former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania; Co-Chair, BPC's Early Childhood Initiative
David Heineman
Governors' Council Member; Former Governor of Nebraska
Christopher Thomas
Fellow
Allyson Y. Schwartz
Health Program Senior Fellow; Co-Chair, Senior Health and Housing Task Force; Former Representative from Pennsylvania
John Kasich
Senior Fellow; Former Governor and Representative from Ohio
Olympia Snowe
Board Member and Senior Fellow; Former Senator from Maine
Roger Wallace
Fellow; Former Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Ruth Wasem
Fellow, Immigration Project
Jim Talent
Former US Senator from Missouri; Senior Fellow
Tommy G. Thompson
Senior Fellow; Former Governor of Wisconsin and Secretary of Health and Human Services
Douglas Webber
Fellow
Robert Blendon
Fellow
Zachary Courser
Fellow
Jarrett Lewis
Fellow
Warren S. Payne
Fellow
Tevi Troy
Senior Fellow; Former Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
John J. Kalamarides
Fellow; Former President Prudential Group Insurance, Head of Retirement Solutions, CEO of Prudential Bank & Trust, FSB
Donald R. Wolfensberger
Fellow
Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D.
Senior Advisor; President of Samaritan Health Initiatives, Inc.
Vin Weber
Co-Chair, Senior Health and Housing Task Force; Former Representative from Minnesota