DemocracyInAction has a kick-ass team of experts in several areas including online campaigning, nonprofit program work, management, web development, software and database development, systems and network maintenance, and online marketing.
April Pedersen, Executive Director
Chris Lundberg, Chief Technology Officer
Jason Zanon, Director of Outreach and Development
Mara Veraar, Online Communications Manager
Jeanette Russell, Western Field Director
Andy Tomasello, Director of Network Operations
Yonathan Haregot, Application Developer
Chelsea Bassett, Client Support Specialist
Christian Norton, Node Manager
Erin Nichols, Developer
Tyler Gregg, Application Developer
Sarah Osmer DiMattina, Associate Director of Member Services
Christy Spoo, Online Projects Coordinator
Charles Lenchner, New York Outreach and Support Manager
Kip Williams, West Coast Outreach and Support Manager
Sarah Owocki, Systems Administrator Assistant
Tyler McMorrow, Software Developer
Jon Wheeler, Managing Director
David Selsky, West Coast Outreach and Support Manager
Dennis Powell, Director of Marketing and Outreach
Taylor Keenan, Director of Finance and Administration
Paxton
April Pedersen, Executive Director
April Pedersen is the Executive Director of DemocracyInAction, an organization she co-founded in 2003 with the belief that technology has a critical role to play in building a progressive infrastructure both in the U.S. and abroad. Since its inception, DIA has grown to be a key player in the online engagement service industry and is confirming in practice that the resources leveraged in its operations are capable of bringing decisive force to the myriad social movements they support. April is also a Founder and Principle of Wired For Change, a mission-oriented company providing online engagement tools to political campaigns, PACs, the DSCC and State Democratic parties. For the past 10 years, April has worked in the nonprofit sector as an online campaign strategist, writer, organizer and now social entreprenuer. She launched several new innovative projects for organizing online, created vibrant online communities and managed online communications and grassroots lobbying for a coalition of 20 national environmental advocacy organizations. April is a devoted human rights & social justice advocate and organizer and also served as the Acting Executive Director of CIVIC, an organization that seeks to mitigate the impact of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and its aftermath by ensuring that timely and effective assistance is provided to unintended victims of conflict. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of CIVIC. April is a graduate Friends World College of Long Island University and has lived and worked in several countries in Latin America and Morocco.
Chris Lundberg, Chief Technology Officer
Chris is co-founder and CTO of DemocracyInAction. He is responsible for the technical direction, software development and administration - bringing 10 years of software development and management in the software industry to the organization. He now focuses on developing "mission technology" and making sophisticated communication technologies accessible to nonprofits. Chris has managed teams developing software for the Library of Congress, worked with the Department of the Navy to develop satellite communications software, and consulted for Accenture developing telecom internet solutions. Prior to that, he produced internet solutions for the financial and entertainment sectors as Director of Applications at Opion, Inc. A strong open source advocate, Chris strongly supports the online growth of nonprofits using readily available open source tools. He holds degrees in both Mathematics and Aerospace Engineering, and is a (Virginia Tech) Hokie and aspiring rock star.
Jason Zanon, Director of Outreach and Development
Jason comes to DemocracyInAction with, in his words, "the zeal of the converted." Working with the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty - a DIA client - he was able to see firsthand how much our services can mean to a nonprofit organization. He spent over five years with NCADP as Director of Development (with a five-month turn as Interim Executive Director), securing the largest grants in the organization's history while more than doubling its grassroots membership. He also created the Coalition's email newsletter and online advocacy programs. Jason is one of the lead writers for DemocracyInAction's blog, DIAtribe and also owns the historical blog Executed Today. He holds a Political Science degree from Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR.
Mara Veraar, Online Communications Manager
Mara joined DemocracyinAction to manage our online communications and marketing efforts. She is responsible for our grants and referral programs, daily communications with both potential and current members of our community, the email newsletter you receive each month, and planning fulfilling events for our progressive community. Mara comes to us with an M.A. from American University's Anthropology department, where she studied emerging trends in online communication and advocacy. Her professional experience includes over 6 years within the nonprofit sector using e-activism for causes such as public health, electoral campaigns and the environment. Mara was recently included in IPDI's Person-to-Person-to-Person: Harnessing the Political Power of Social Networks and User-Generated Content.
Jeanette Russell, Western Field Director
Jeanette (Jnet) provides strategic and technical support for clients and organizations from our Missoula, Montana field office. We are thrilled to offer her valuable expertise in rural areas, where online communication support is sparse.
Prior to DIA, Jeanette coordinated hundreds of forest organizations and activists for the National Forest Protection Alliance. She brings 15 years of experience as an environmental leader and offers extensive knowledge in grassroots organizing, non-profit management and fundraising. Jeanette graduated from Western Washington University in 1997 with major in Environmental Advocacy. Upon graduation, she was accepted to Green Corps: Field School for Environmental Organizing. Jeanette currently resides in Missoula, Montana with her husband and cat, Mr. Furry Pants. You can reach her at 406-880-5638, jnet(at)democracyinaction.org
Andy Tomasello, Director of Network Operations
Andy has worked in the IT industry since 1997 where he has specialized in systems and network administration. He has worked for Western Digital and LucasArts as well as a couple of small, local companies. With his background in supporting all types of networks, he plans to use his expertise in not only supporting the current DiA network, but will also be planning for the future. Andy holds a degree in Classical Studies from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Yonathan Haregot, Application Developer
Yonathan has 7+ year of experience building tools for non-profits. Most recently he has been working with GreenpeaceUS as the lead application/web developer. He has worked with Greenpeace International as part of the system development team that has underscored todays globally distributed working environment. Prior to that he worked with Essential Information building affordable database driven tools for non-profits.
Chelsea Bassett, Client Support Specialist
After serving as an intern in the Summer of 2005 at DIA, Chelsea discovered that all other job opportunities paled in comparison. She returns to DIA as Client Support Specialist after graduating with degrees in Music and Sociology from Viterbo University of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Interested in conveying technological concepts to fellow non-techies while also developing her writing and research skills, Chelsea looks forward to becoming less useless as she learns to better serve this diverse community of progressive clients.
Christian Norton, Node Manager
Christian Norton is bringing "Midwestern sensibility" back to Washington, DC. Starting as an intern at the Campaign for America's Future and then rising to the position of Web Developer / Web 2.0 Specialist, Christian was instrumental in planning, developing, and implementing two highly successful blogs: commonsense.ourfuture.org and The Big Con. Being an expert in XHTML/CSS, Christian is rapidly expanding his knowledge to MySQL and Javascript. He has a B.A. from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln in Philosophy and Political Science. In his free time, Christian likes to play video games and consume burritos.
Erin Nichols, Developer
Erin comes to DemocracyInAction from the Friends Committee on National Legislation, where she did programming, database administration, systems administration, and user support. She is happy to make the transition to software development at DIA.
Tyler Gregg, Application Developer
Tyler began his software development career in 1999 during the heady days of dot-com madness, but tries not to be too bitter about it. He honed his legendary Java skills at a number of small DC tech companies, some of which are even still in business today. DIA is his first experience on the non-profit side of things. A Birmingham, AL native, Tyler has a B.S. in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University and no discernible Southern accent. He doesn't like it when you confuse him with that other Tyler.
Sarah Osmer DiMattina, Associate Director of Member Services
Sarah Osmer DiMattina has 7+ years experience in the non profit and web technology sectors. She made her start as a Political Organizer for NARAL Ohio where she first fell in love with online advocacy. Sarah has also worked as a Community Outreach manager for a literacy organization as well as the Assistant Director of a domestic violence agency, where she oversaw fundraising, event planning and outreach. Also passionate about writing/design/web technology, Sarah has worked in graphic design and web management, and prior to DIA was a web manager in the interactive division of a publishing company.
Sarah holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan. She lives in Baltimore with her husband and two cats.
Christy Spoo, Online Projects Coordinator
Christy spent four long months as an intern in the DC office, where she learned all about the business side of DIA; among other things. Originally from Wisconsin, she is now living and working in Florida, handling special projects and also some not-so-special projects. (Yes, that was her, making sure your bills were paid on time!) She loves being a part DemocracyInAction and hopes to grow with them as she continues her education.
Charles Lenchner, New York Outreach and Support Manager
Charles Lenchner is the New York Outreach and Support Manager. He comes to us with 15 years of experience in the non-profit and political worlds. Charles has managed and consulted for organizations in the US and the Middle East, supporting important work in the environmental, human rights, peace and social justice fields. In the past few years, much of his work as been with progressive Democratic and liberal Jewish organizations, supporting Israeli-Palestinian peace, opposing global scorching and helping pro-peace candidates. Most recently he was a rabbi's assistant at Congregation B'nai Jeshurun in Manhattan. Charles lives and works in New York.
Kip Williams, West Coast Outreach and Support Manager
Kip Williams is proud of the road he's taken to get to DIA - from the confused, Bush-voting 18-year-old he was in 2000 to the progressive online organizing circus monkey he is today. After several post-9/11 years of community organizing against nuclear weapons and the death penalty in East Tennessee, Kip realized that all of his organizing was severely lacking two things: technology and humor. Through several grassroots projects he learned a lot about both, and in early 2006 was selected for the first class of the New Organizing Institute, where he got schooled in online organizing. Soon after, he joined with the League of Young Voters as their Online Organizer, where he used DIA and other online tools for a year before joining with DIA to support other organizations trying to figure these tools out. Kip is also an accordion player with a penchant for gypsy waltzes and street performing, a contributor to the underground circus scene in San Francisco, and a resident artist of the Million Fishes Arts Collective in San Francisco's Mission District.
Sarah Owocki, Systems Administrator Assistant
Sarah Owocki - "Sowocki" to friends - is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, MA with a major in international relations and minors in economics and German studies. Previously, she worked as a sysadmin in her school's computer science department and as a technician on stage crew, stringing up lights and indulging in techie gossip behind the scenes. She has interests in Monty Python, Shakespearean comedy, science fiction, and puns, and is excited to indulge them all at DIA.
Tyler McMorrow, Software Developer
In 2007, Tyler McMorrow, Software Developer, graduated from The George Washington University with a B.S. in Computer Science and a concentration in Security and Information Assurance. Not content with the dry future of being a code monkey in a cubicle at a multinational corporation, he sought out a younger and more vibrant place of employment and found that at DIA. Tyler is currently working on adding new CRM features to the Salsa platform and finding cool new ways to leverage a network of hundreds of nonprofit organizations.
Jon Wheeler, Managing Director
After being a regular at DIA happy hours for years, Jon Wheeler decided to make the plunge this summer and come on staff as Associate Director of Outreach. Previously, he was a co-founder of the Center for Progressive Leadership, one of DIA's early adopters. At CPL Jon helped design and implement their innovative leadership development programs for future candidates, organizers and activists, as well as being the all-around tech guru and DIA-wrangler. He also has a background in tech management on Capitol Hill, the IMF, and teaching technology, leadership and entrepreneurial skills to high school students. Jon will be based in the DC office and will focus primarily on outreach as well as working with select organizations to help them successfully use the Salsa platform to accomplish their advocacy and organizational development goals. In his spare time he plans to continue mixing good cocktails, finding new uses for wood paneling, and traveling to exotic locales.
David Selsky, West Coast Outreach and Support Manager
David is happy to be back amongst the palm trees after spending a few years in Washington, DC. He has previously worked for the Environmental Working Group, where he used DIA as the Development Associate, as well as Search for Common Ground and a variety of other nonprofits. David has an MA in International Peace & Conflict Resolution from American University and a BA in Film from UC Berkeley. He is an avid photographer (mostly Polaroids), plays guitar, practices yoga and meditation, enjoys searching for yummy raw & vegan food, and still follows baseball for some reason.
Dennis Powell, Director of Marketing and Outreach
Dennis Powell is an energetic marketing communications professional and fearless public relations "guru" with over ten years experience in promoting and growing nonprofit, commercial and information technology organizations. Prior to making the jump back to nonprofits, Dennis was vice president of marketing and communications as Filnet Inc., an award-winning information technology company. In that role, he also spearheaded a successful public relations program, which resulted in numerous corporate accolades, press interviews and media coverage. Throughout his career, Dennis has worked on communications campaigns such as the former Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF), the National Black Child Development Institute (NBCDI), Howard University, DHL Smart & Global Mail, and Thomson Scientific. He has secured positive press coverage for his clients in media outlets such as /The New York Times/, /Reuters,/ /The Associated Press/, /Forbes/, /The Washington Post/, /Boston Globe/, /Washington Business Journal/, /Dallas Morning News, as well as on FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS affiliate news programs. With a strong commitment to volunteerism, he offers his time annually to the NBCDI conference-the largest convention of educators, health care professionals and social workers. In his spare time, Dennis loves swimming, hiking, cycling and eating heart-healthy gourmet vegetarian and vegan cuisine. He also forces himself to take an annual retreat to his home island of Jamaica.
Taylor Keenan, Director of Finance and Administration
Taylor Kennan comes to DIA to lead the operations and finances of the organization. Prior to joining DIA Taylor worked in the finance department of Chemonics International, monitoring accounting and finance activities for a global portfolio of development projects. Before Chemonics, Taylor did a stint as a Peace Corps volunteer in Bolivia working on sustainable forestry. He holds a M.S in Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University and a Finance degree from Texas A&M University-College Station.
Paxton, Dog
Paxton is the youngest member of the DIA Crew. He enjoys chewing on office plants and going on long breaks.