Staff and Leadership

Abby Levine, Chief Strategist

Abby Levine is the chief strategist at Levine Nonprofit Solutions, LLC. For more than 20 years, she has worked hand in hand with thousands of nonprofits and foundations across the country, providing customized training, coaching, written resources, and technical assistance—all with the goal of supporting organizations to be strategic, bold, courageous, and legally compliant advocates. Abby’s expertise focuses on lobbying, election-related activities, ballot measures, grantmaking, and other advocacy strategies for 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations.

Most recently, Abby served as Senior Director of the Bolder Advocacy Program at Alliance for Justice (AFJ). At AFJ, she oversaw a growing program with 12 staff in 4 offices. During her more than 18 years at AFJ, she guided the growth of an affiliated 501(c)(4), edited many factsheets and in-depth guides, managed a public policy portfolio that included amicus briefs, regulatory comments, and direct and grassroots lobbying, and conducted thousands of trainings and technical assistance sessions. Before that, she was the Public Policy Analyst at the National Council of Nonprofit Associations and an associate in the tax department at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey in Cleveland, Ohio. She has a law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and a B.A. from American University.

In addition to Nonprofit VOTE, Abby proudly serves on the board of directors of Opportunity Action and The Keegan Theatre.

Cheryl Clyburn Crawford, Executive Director,

Cheryl Clyburn Crawford grew up in Boston and has worked for many years in communities of color advocating for voting and civil rights. She sits on the Executive Board of the NAACP-Boston Branch as 2nd Vice President and is an Executive Board Member and former Board Chair of Emerge Massachusetts. Before joining MassVOTE in 2008, Clyburn Crawford served as Chief of Staff to State Representative Willie Mae Allen. She frequently serves as a poll worker for the City of Boston and is a graduate of Lesley College.

David Heinen, Vice President for Public Policy and Advocacy,

Through his role at the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits, David Heinen advocates for issues affecting North Carolina’s nonprofit sector. He monitors and analyzes federal and state public policy, keeps nonprofits informed about important legal and policy developments, engages in research about the state’s nonprofit sector, provides training on nonprofit advocacy and legal compliance, and convenes nonprofit coalitions.

Prior to joining the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits, Heinen spent seven years as an attorney with a D.C. law firm that serves the nonprofit community, advising nonprofits on a wide range of legal issues. Heinen is a graduate of Duke University and the William and Mary School of Law, as well as a member of the bars in North Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Gary Bass, President, Executive Director Emeritus, and Professor

Gary Bass is the president of GDB Consulting, executive director emeritus of the Bauman Foundation, and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy where he teaches about social change and advocacy.

Dr. Bass ran the Bauman Foundation for roughly a dozen years, where he played a leadership role in philanthropic circles on promoting a fair and accurate census, redistricting reforms, and other civic engagement issues, particularly those related to economic inequality, promoting government accountability, and strengthening our democracy. In 2015, he was asked by a group of funders supporting U.S. democracy projects to develop a plan of action for engaging foundations in the census. That plan resulted in an unprecedented collaboration of funders and grantees working to protect the census and encourage marginalized communities to be counted. He also initiated a similar funder collaborative to promote fair district maps with a focus on engaging communities of color in the process. He continues to chair those two different funder collaboratives: the Census Equity Initiative and Fair Representation in Redistricting.

Jan Masaoka, Chief Executive Officer

Jan Masaoka is CEO of California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), a statewide policy alliance of more than 10,000 nonprofits speaking to government, philanthropy, and the public at large.Through active policy, educational, and research work, CalNonprofits works with legislators and regulators to strengthen the economic and regulatory climate for nonprofits. Prior to CalNonprofits, she served 14 years as executive director of CompassPoint Nonprofit Services in which position she was named Nonprofit Executive of the Year by Nonprofit Times. She is an eight-time designee as one of the “Fifty Most Influential” people in the nonprofit sector nationwide and was named California Community Leader of the Year by Leadership California. Her volunteer work includes having served as chair of Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center and founding chair of Community Initiatives; she currently serves on the National Public Policy Committee of Independent Sector.

Jatrice Martel Gaiter, Executive Vice President of External Affairs,

As the Executive Vice President of External Affairs, Gaiter works to build national awareness for Volunteers of America and support its mission to provide programs and services for America’s most vulnerable. She is passionate about the nonprofit sector’s strength and relevance, which is reflected in her work as vice chair of the board of the National Human Services Assembly. She is a frequent speaker on nonprofit management, health, social justice and women’s issues.

Prior to her work at Volunteer America, she was the President and CEO Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington D.C. Gaiter’s skills include fundraising, public policy, public speaking on issues related to health, women, families and organizational positioning.

Joan Gustafson, External Affairs Officer

Joan Gustafson is External Affairs Officer for Michigan Nonprofit Association (MNA). She is responsible for the development and execution of a comprehensive public affairs and civic engagement strategy for the organization. Previously, she spearheaded the communication and government affairs efforts for the International Food Protection Training Institute (IFPTI). Prior to joining IFPTI, Joan was the Regional Director of West Michigan for Governor Jennifer M. Granholm and served as the Governor’s liaison and ombudsman for the region. She was also appointed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer to the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Health, and Sports for a term commencing May 22, 2020, and expiring April 30, 2023. Joan holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Minnesota. Outside of work, you’ll find her running, golfing, or reading.

Jeffrey Moore, Chief Strategy Officer,

Jeff Moore currently serves as chief strategy officer, supporting the organization’s critical strategic visioning efforts as it guides the sector to meet the future needs of democratic society. He is a senior leader with broad experience in the nonprofit field, government, and industry. He most recently served in an executive role in the health-systems research field.

Jeff has served as a senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense and as legislative director to Congressman Thomas J. Downey (NY). In each of his positions, he has built critical partnerships and alliances that have accelerated organizational and mission success. His leadership style—he was described by one of his former board members as being “the weaver of the cloth”—and career experiences create a unique foundation for advancing critical thinking, strategic development, and organizational performance.

Kelly LeRoux, Professor, and Associate Dean for Research

Kelly LeRoux is a Professor in the Department of Public Administration and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Urban Planning & Public Affairs at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her work on nonprofits, contracting, local public service delivery, and intergovernmental collaboration has been published in the top public administration, policy, urban/local government, and nonprofit management journals. 

She is the author of Performance and Public Value in the Hollow State: Assessing Government-Nonprofit Partnerships by E-Elgar (with Nathaniel Wright) and Nonprofits Organizations and Civil Society in the U.S. by Routledge (with Mary Feeney), and Service Contracting: A Local Government Guide by ICMA Press. She holds MSW, MPA, and PhD in Political Science degrees from Wayne State University. 

Prior to beginning an academic career, she worked for twelve years in the mental health, child welfare, and housing policy arenas, within a large government-funded nonprofit. Practitioner experience includes both clinical social work practice with children, adults, and families, and several administrative leadership roles. Her current research projects use field experiments to examine nonprofits’ impact on increasing turnout among underrepresented groups, increasing voter turnout in municipal and primary elections, and nonprofits’ role in local service delivery. She is a member of the Networks & Governance Lab at UIC, and co-founder of the GOTVLab, a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote initiative aimed at increasing voter participation in underrepresented communities through evidence-based mobilization strategies.

Laura Walling, Vice President of Government Affairs,

Laura Walling joined Goodwill Industries International (GII) in February 2005 as state affairs manager, and in June 2007 she became the director of member relations. In March 2009, Walling returned to the public policy team as director of advocacy and legislative affairs. In her current role, Walling directs GII’s legislative efforts, implements grassroots advocacy programs, and works to increase visibility and opportunity for GII’s public policy agenda. Prior to joining GII, Walling served as a senior research analyst and staff attorney with MultiState Associates, Inc., a state government affairs firm based in Alexandria, VA.

She has also worked for state and federal legislators. Walling holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rutgers University and a law degree from Pace University School of Law. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association, Women in Government Relations, the Washington Area State Relations Group, the Women’s Information Network and the Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of DC, where she has served as board chair.

Lindsay Torrico, Senior Vice President and Executive Director

*Lindsay is also on the Advisory Board

Lindsay Torrico serves as Senior Vice President of Bank Community Engagement for the American Bankers Association and Executive Director of the ABA Foundation. She is responsible for building initiatives that help banks be a positive force for good in their communities.

She is a purpose-driven, strategic, and creative visionary who has spent over 15 years in community development, grassroots mobilization, government relations, public affairs, social impact. She recently served as a strategic advisor and consultant, helping organizations and companies authentically engage the communities they serve in co-creating community strategies and driving social change.

During her twelve-year tenure at United Way Worldwide, where she rose to the position of Vice President of Policy and Advocacy, she worked to galvanize, activate and mobilize local United Ways, corporate partners and caring citizens towards building stronger, healthier and more equitable communities. She expanded the nonpartisan civic engagement and community empowerment efforts of the organization and spearheaded dozens of successful grassroots campaigns on education, workforce development, tax credits for working families, COVID recovery, and other critically important issues.

Previously, she served in social policy roles for Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA) and community outreach positions at City Year and the office of Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Lindsay serves on the Board of Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy and the Convergence Center for Policy Resolution. Lindsay holds a B.A. in Government from the University of Virginia, and a Master’s in Public Policy with a concentration in Urban and Social Policy from the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA).

Maggie Osborn, Senior Consultant,

Maggie Gunther Osborn is a seasoned social sector practitioner with more than twenty-five years of experience holding positions across the entire continuum of philanthropy and leadership. She is known for her presentation skills, direct and sharp thinking, generosity, and sense of humor. Ms. Osborn currently serves as a  Senior Consultant at MGO Partners.

Prior to this, Osborn served as president and CEO for the Maryland Philanthropy Network, Vice President of the Florida Philanthropic Network, Grant Director for the Conn Memorial Foundation, Vice President of the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay, and Chief Development Officer for The Florida Aquarium among other posts following an early career in the designer fashion industry.

Maggie holds a master’s degree in leadership & philanthropy from Antioch University and a BA from Notre Dame of Maryland University, where she was a Morrissy Scholar. She is a member of the National Cathedral Racial Justice Task Force, Leadership Council of Non-Profit VOTE, Co-Chair of the Horizons Project Advisory Board, Census Legacies Advisory Committee, Racial Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee of the Baltimore Women’s Giving Circle and serves as a mentor and resource to many.

Matthew L. Evans, Senior Director of Public Policy,

Matthew L. Evans is the Senior Director of Public Policy for United Philanthropy Forum (the Forum). The Forum is the largest, most diverse network in American philanthropy. Matthew brings to the Forum over 15 years of public policy and government relations experience and has been instrumental in the Forum’s expansion of its public policy work. Specifically, Matthew has led the push toward incorporating the idea of philanthropy using its collective voice and influence to address issues that impact communities and promote systems change via active engagement in the advocacy and public policy process.

Prior to joining the Forum, Matthew was Director of Public Policy & Special Projects for the Southeastern Council of Foundations (now Philanthropy Southeast), where he worked to ensure the legislative and regulatory success of the philanthropic sector in the South.

Before he began leading advocacy efforts on behalf of the philanthropic sector, most of Matthew’s professional career was shaped in Washington, D.C., having held multiple positions that gave him direct experience in working with elected officials, corporations, and associations, leading advocacy efforts for several national organizations.

Throughout his time in philanthropy, Matthew has served on the public policy committees of the Forum, Independent Sector and the Council on Foundations. Currently, he serves as the Vice Chair of the Nonprofit VOTE Board of Directors and is a member of the organization’s National Leadership Council. He is also a member of FCCP’s Funders Census Initiative Leadership Team. Matthew holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Tennessee State University, an HBCU, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Michael Weekes, President & CEO,

Michael Weekes is the President and CEO of the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers, the state’s largest statewide human services association. He previously served as the deputy commissioner for the Massachusetts Department of Social Services and was a founder of Massachusetts Families for Kids. Weekes has served on numerous commissions and task forces focused on the human service, government and nonprofit sectors, including as a former Board Chair of the National Council of Nonprofits.

Michelle Bishop, Voter Access & Engagement Manager

Michelle joined the National Disability Rights Network staff in July 2013 where she provides training and technical assistance to the P&A network regarding voting rights and access for voters with disabilities, coordinates the Voting Working Group, and manages the voting lists. She also works in coalition with the civil rights community in Washington, DC to ensure strong federal policy regarding voting rights and election administration from a voter-centric and intersectional perspective. She earned her MSW in Social and Economic Development from Washington University in St. Louis and BA in Sociology and English Literature from the State University of New York at Geneseo.

Terry Ao Minnis, Senior Director of Census and Voting Programs,

Terry co-chairs the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights’ Census Task Force and sat on the U.S Department of Commerce’s 2010 Census Advisory Committee from 2002 through 2011, when the committee’s charter ran out. She has published several articles, including “When the Voting Rights Act Became Un-American: The Misguided Vilification of Section 203” (Alabama Law Review). Terry has been counsel on numerous amicus briefs filed before the Supreme Court, including Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, Arizona v. The InterTribal Council of Arizona, Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Holder and Crawford v. Marion County Election Board.

She was also counsel on a joint amicus brief with MALDEF in Bartlett vs. Strickland. She was one of the key leaders in campaigns on reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act in 2006 and Census 2010 and is actively engaged in addressing the Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby County v. Holder.

Thao Nguyen, Vice President of Advocacy,

Thao is the Vice President of Advocacy at Feeding America, the largest anti-hunger relief and food rescue organization in the country. She oversees the organization’s advocacy strategies and programs that helps the food bank network and the people we serve leverage their voices with lawmakers. She has more than 15 years of experience advocating for working families who are low-income. Most recently, she oversaw advocacy campaigns that impact the lives of women and their families at the National Women’s Law Center and previous to that oversaw the policy and advocacy work at The Women’s Collective, an organization dedicated to empowering women of color living with HIV/AIDS.

Thao received her undergraduate degree in English from the University of California, Irvine and a graduate degree in International and Comparative Legal Studies with an emphasis on Human Rights Law from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.

Tiffany Gourley Carter, Policy Counsel,

Tiffany Gourley Carter joined the Council of Nonprofits’ Team as State Policy Counsel in 2016. She moved to DC from Honolulu, where she served as a legislative attorney for the Hawaii Legislature, supporting legislators on a wide range of issues. Previously, she externed at the Hawai`i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, tracking legislation of interest to nonprofit organizations, and at the Hawaii Attorney General’s Office, working in the Tax and Charities Division researching nonprofit compliance.

Earlier, Tiffany started a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on raising and disbursing funds for educational scholarships and volunteer grants and has since helped create and consult on several 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.

Allen Blackwell, Program Director,

Allen Blackwell is a passionate voter participation and engagement advocate with a career spanning over two decades in public and nonprofit sectors dedicated to promoting a more just and equitable society. As the Project Director for National Voter Registration Day, Allen brings a wealth of expertise and an unwavering commitment to empowering communities through the democratic process. Throughout his career, Allen has demonstrated a tireless dedication to promoting voter registration and engagement. He has served as a chief election judge and manager for voter registration drives, in addition to working on numerous civic projects. Allen is committed to forging partnerships and alliances between corporations, government, and citizens to advance National Voter Registration Day’s mission of promoting a more inclusive and vibrant democracy. Before joining Nonprofit VOTE, Allen served as the Homeless and Foster Care Operations Director for Baltimore City Public Schools.

Brian Miller, Executive Director

Brian joined Nonprofit VOTE as its new Executive Director in 2014, bringing 20 years of nonprofit management experience with him. Since then, he has worked successfully to raise the visibility of Nonprofit VOTE’s work on the national stage while bringing the voter engagement strategies of Nonprofit VOTE to scale, leveraging new resources, documenting the impact of its work, and forging new partnerships. He has also played a key role in leading Nonprofit VOTE’s management of National Voter Registration Day. Prior to his tenure at Nonprofit VOTE, Brian served as Executive Director of two other organizations, including United for a Fair Economy (UFE), an organization recognized for its sentinel work to raise the veil of growing economic inequality, and Tennesseans for Fair Taxation, a statewide coalition working to pass comprehensive tax reform. A south Louisiana native with Cajun roots, Brian started his career as a community organizer before moving on to organize in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Caitlin Donnelly, Senior Program Director

Caitlin is the Senior Program Director at Nonprofit VOTE. She has over eight years of experience designing and leading workshops and presentations for nonprofits and grassroots organizers across the country. Prior to coming to Nonprofit VOTE, Caitlin worked at Youth on Board where she supported high school students leaders in Boston to shape school policy and foster civic engagement. Based in Cambridge, MA, Caitlin manages the monthly webinar series and builds the capacity of organizational partners to expand their approaches to voter engagement.

Caroline Mak, Evaluations and Learning Manager

Caroline (she/her) is the Evaluations and Learning Manager at Nonprofit VOTE where she supports and evaluates nonprofits doing in-person and digital voter engagement across multiple states. Her involvement in this space began a few years ago as a student at MIT where she registered to vote for the first time and encouraged her peers to do the same. Working to increase participation among ‘unlikely’ voters with little political knowledge like herself, her work culminated in a fast-growing nonpartisan campus group that worked across departments, administrative offices, and student groups. From this education and mobilization, she was awarded the MIT institute award for “Bridge Builder”. As a 2nd generation Asian-American, she is proud to continue supporting the power nonprofit voter engagement has to build community.

JunXian Xie, Design and Content Coordinator

JunXian (He/They) is a first-generation Asian American and was born in Taishan, China. In 2021, they graduated from Mercer University with a Graphic Design degree and a minor in Mathematics. While at Mercer, JunXian assisted in setting up three art exhibitions for Mercer University’s McEachern Art Center. They were also a mathematics tutor for the university’s Academic Resource Center. After graduating, JunXian worked as a mathematics and science teacher at Brightmont Academy. JunXian is now living in Georgia and works as Nonprofit VOTE’s Design and Content Coordinator.

Kimberley Carroll-Cox, Development Manager

Kimberley is the Development Manager at Nonprofit VOTE. Originally from the U.K, Kimberley is a graduate of Goldsmiths, University of London, and holds a BA in Media and Communications with First-Class Honors. Combining her love of communications and development, she has worked previously for small to medium-sized nonprofits in both the U.K and U.S. Prior to joining the team at Nonprofit VOTE, Kimberley worked at Northeast Legal Aid (NLA), a nonprofit law firm that works to provide free legal assistance to low-income and elderly people in Northern Massachusetts. During her time at NLA, she assisted with the firm’s development and communications needs, particularly through the organization community listening sessions, created to bring together organizations in Essex and Northern Middlesex County to better identify the needs in their communities.

Pradeep Gyawali, Finance and Operations Manager

Pradeep is a Nepalese-born first-generation immigrant who graduated from Northeastern University in 2012, majoring in Management in Finance and Accounts. Since graduating, Pradeep has worked in multiple finance roles. Before working at Nonprofit VOTE, he worked as a General Manager, responsible for supporting critical areas of the Financial-data Analysis & Planning, including providing solid financial support to Senior Management. Pradeep joined Nonprofit VOTE with the thought, “I want to give back.” and “I want to work on a cause with deep meaning.”

Travis Morin, Communications Specialist

Originally from Connecticut, Travis made a political pilgrimage to the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire in 2009 for college and hasn’t left since. After an internship with WMUR-TV during the 2012 presidential primary, Travis got a taste for media and went on to do internal communications work for Southern New Hampshire University between 2013 and 2015. After that, he jumped back into the world of civic engagement as a press and media specialist with NextGen America and later AARP during the 2016 election cycle.

Over the last two and half years, Travis has worked as a print journalist for the “New Hampshire Union Leader” (the state’s largest daily paper,) during which he covered everything from local town meetings to 2020 presidential primary happenings.