Board of Directors
Lan Nguyen
Chair
Lan K. Nguyen is a seasoned HR and operations executive with over 20 years of experience in workforce strategy, leadership development, and organizational transformation. As Board Chair of Expand Democracy, Lan brings a deep commitment to advancing equity and electoral reform, leveraging expertise in nonprofit governance, financial stewardship, and strategic planning to strengthen democratic engagement.
Throughout a career dedicated to mission-driven organizations, Lan has guided teams through periods of growth and transition, ensuring alignment between strategy, people, and systems. With extensive experience overseeing 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) operations, compliance, and governance, Lan is uniquely positioned to support Expand Democracy’s mission.
Beyond professional work, Lan has served in voluntary board officer roles across various nonprofits, leading succession planning, board development, and advocacy initiatives. Passionate about building inclusive, resilient institutions, Lan is dedicated to empowering communities and ensuring sustainable, impactful civic engagement.
Rob Richie
President
Rob Richie is a Senior Advisor at FairVote, an organization he co-founded in 1992 and led as CEO until 2023. Throughout his career, he has played a key role in advancing significant electoral reforms, such as the Fair Representation Act in Congress, the National Popular Vote plan, and ranked choice voting in Alaska, Maine, and over 50 cities. He has also championed initiatives to expand voter access, including voter preregistration, automatic voter registration, and legal remedies in voting rights cases. His thought leadership includes co-developing the partisan voting index for forecasting federal elections and designing Alaska’s Top Four Primary system, which integrates all-candidate primaries with ranked choice voting.
Ann Ravel
Ann has an impressive resume focused on tackling complicated regulatory matters for government agencies. Former chair of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and the California Fair Political Practices Commission, she has taken on regulatory issues like campaign finance, lobbyist registration and reporting, and ethics and conflicts of interest related to officeholders and public employees. Ann has experience at every level of government, and she knows how to help clients navigate its many layers and functions.
Ann’s combined experiences with the Department of Justice and as County Counsel for Santa Clara County underscore her experience in the courtroom, where she has tried issues relating to criminal law, ethics, campaign finance and Constitutional law. A fierce and savvy advocate, Ann has additional experience handling tort and consumer litigation matters.
In addition, Ann was the Chair of the Federal Election Commission, appointed by President Obama, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the US Department of Justice with AG Eric Holder, and the Chair of the California Fair Political Practices Commission. She is currently working with the Supreme Electoral Tribunal in Mexico and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on matters concerning democracy in the country. Tribunal in Mexico, and the Supreme Court Chief Justice, on issues regarding democracy in Mexico.
Laura Lisawood
Laura Liswood’s work focuses on leadership. She journeyed around the world to meet all of the women presidents and prime ministers to learn about leaders. Her interviews are chronicled in her book and PBS video documentary, Women World Leader; 15 Great Politicians Tell Their Stories. Laura co-founded the Council of Women World Leaders with President Vigdis Finnbogadottir of Iceland and President Mary Robinson of Ireland and is the Secretary General.
Laura’s experience includes consulting for the Boston Consulting Group, and management at TWA and Goldman Sachs. After the events of September 11, 2001, she became a reserve police officer for the Washington DC Metropolitan Police Department and a mountain bike officer. She retired as a sergeant.
She holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from California State University, San Diego. She earned a J.D. degree from the University of California, Davis, School of Law, and is admitted to practice law in California and Massachusetts.
Ra Joy
Ra Joy is an executive leader and strategist with extensive experience in public policy, cross-sector collaboration, and community-driven change. On day one of the Biden-Harris Administration, Ra was appointed to serve as Chief of Staff at the
National Endowment for the Arts. Prior to his appointment at the NEA, Ra served as executive director for CHANGE Illinois, a nonpartisan coalition leading systemic political and government reform. From 2007 to 2015, Ra served as executive director of Arts Alliance Illinois, one of the nation’s most prominent statewide arts advocacy and service organizations. From 2001 to 2007, he served as a senior aide to U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky specializing in appropriations and community development initiatives. Ra is a frequent writer and speaker on the policy ideas and the cultural and civic practices needed to support a healthy
democracy.
Susannah Wellford
Over the last two decades, Susannah Wellford has founded two organizations to raise the political voice of young women in America. In 2007, Susannah founded Running Start to inspire young women and girls to pursue political leadership. Running Start furthers the work begun by the Women Under Forty Political Action Committee, which Susannah co-founded in 1999 and led for five years.
Susannah is a globally recognized expert on women in politics and the importance of inspiring young women to run for office. She has extensive international experience training for the U.S. Department of State and international NGOs, and has been on speaking tours in the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Israel, Belgium, Ukraine, Algeria, England, Russia, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Austria, as well as dozens of other countries by Zoom.
In addition to her leadership at Running Start, she teaches Women and Political Leadership at American University in Washington, DC and she served as an opinion contributor at US News and World Report on gender and politics. She has won multiple awards for her work, including in 2023 being named a “50 over 50” recipient by Forbes.
Susannah lives in Washington, D.C. and Brooklyn, NY, with her husband Aaron and has twins, Bea and James.
Myeisha Boyd
Myeisha Boyd is an Assistant Vice President at Numisma Bank, where she manages client relationships and ensures seamless financial transactions. She specializes in providing strategic solutions and fostering strong partnerships to enhance client engagement.
Prior to Numisma Bank, Myeisha Boyd worked in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, holding roles across Financial Sponsors, Management & Strategy, and Risk. She also has experience in economic development at Bloomberg Associates, where she managed client relationships and led small business project initiatives. Myeisha has a background in local, state, and national politics, contributing to policy and governance efforts.
Myeisha earned her Master’s in Public Administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service, focusing on Management and Social Impact. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Politics and Government from the University of Hartford in Connecticut.
Bill Redpath
Bill Redpath is a long time ballot access, minor party, and electoral reform activist. He is currently an Editor of Ballot Access News and ballot-access.org.
He is known for his work in ballot access for the Libertarian Party. Since Bill became the LP’s National Ballot Access Coordinator in 1990, the LP has had a presidential ticket on the ballot in all 50 states and DC in five of the last nine presidential elections. He is the current Treasurer and a former Chair of the Libertarian National Committee. He has been an LNC member for a total of over 23 years.
He has been a Libertarian Party candidate for federal and state offices eight times in Virginia and Illinois. Bill was a Treasurer of FairVote for nearly 25 years. He is retired from his career doing Business Valuation work in Media & Telecommunications. He has an active CPA license in Illinois and is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Diane Randall
Diane Randall is a lifelong advocate for civic engagement in advocacy for peace, justice, and democracy. She is the General Secretary Emeritus of the Friends Committee on National Legislation, a national, non-partisan Quaker organization that lobbies Congress to advance peace, justice, and environmental stewardship. She served as Executive Director of the Partnership for Strong Communities, a CT-based non-profit that advocates for affordable housing and solutions to homelessness. In 1995, during a time of conflict about racial diversity in the local public schools, Diane was motivated to run for the board of education to promote the educational and social benefits or racial and cultural diversity for all children; she was elected and served a 4 year term. Diane resides in Washington, DC, where she values and enjoys the public spaces supported by our government - Smithsonian museums, Rock Creek Park, and the DC Public Library.
Lucas Richie
Lucas Richie is a researcher and advocate working at the intersection of urban forestry, participatory research, and environmental justice. As an MSc student in the Urban Natures Lab at the University of British Columbia, his research focuses on recognition justice—exploring how underrepresented stewardship practices of urban green spaces can contribute to more equitable neighborhood outcomes.
Prior to his graduate studies, Lucas spent five years in Philadelphia’s nonprofit sector, supporting grassroots-led grantmaking and community organizing initiatives. His work has centered on democratizing decision-making processes in philanthropy and empowering local communities to shape policies that impact their lives.
Lucas comes from a family deeply engaged in democracy reform—his parents, Robert Richie and Cynthia Terrell, are lifelong advocates for election reform. In addition to his research and advocacy, he has been actively involved in organizational development and governance processes as both a staff member and a volunteer in the Quaker community. He holds a BA in History from Haverford College.
Dana Dudley
Dana is a long-serving finance and operations professional and a licensed social worker with over 15 years of experience in policy-oriented organizations.
Dana’s career has spanned roles in finance, operations and executive leadership. She holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Hampton University. More recently, she earned a Master of Social Work in Macro/Policy, Families & Children from the University of Maryland where the focus of her research was on creating a more inclusive economy and utilizing educational policy solutions to improve academic outcomes.
Dana is currently working in the field of school social work where she can leverage her social policy experience by empowering families to use policy, in addition to education. She believes that students and their families should be actively engaged in shaping the policies that affect their lives.
When she’s not advocating for families, you can find her volunteering with students, reading, and traveling.
Melinda Mann
Melinda Mann is a passionate fundraising professional with over 25 years of experience collaborating with mission-driven leaders, elected officials, and community members in the Pacific Northwest. Her political and nonprofit fundraising focuses on women's rights, education reform, economic mobility, and civil justice issues.
Melinda served on the Founding Board of the Community Center for Education Results, an innovative collective impact project to boost post secondary success and currently coaches a group of young adult students in service of closing the opportunity divide. She is dedicated to understanding both historical and contemporary racial inequities that hinder our progress.
She believes that expanding democracy is crucial for advancing electoral reform and inclusive voting rights, enabling full participation in civic life and shaping the America we aspire to live in. She resides in Seattle, which recently adopted Rank Choice Voting, and where three of her passions, coffee culture, hiking and moon snails abound.