Higher Ground Labs today announced that Former Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Deval Patrick will become an Honorary Member of its Advisory Board. Higher Ground Labs is a business accelerator and venture fund that invests in private companies that supply technologies to support campaigns and advance progressive causes. Higher Ground Labs has invested into 36 start-ups, including MobilizeAmerica, Change Research, Swayable, Hustle, and BallotReady. The portfolio collectively sells to over 5,000 Democratic campaigns, progressive causes, and labor organizations. Founded in 2017, Higher Ground Labs has raised $15.0 million to date. 

“Considering the high levels of voter disengagement and the many ways our voting systems (through vote suppression, gerrymandering and limitless dark money) are dysfunctional, it would be easy to conclude that America’s democracy is in peril,” said Governor Patrick. “But innovations in technology are poised to reverse this trend and mobilize civic engagement. Higher Ground Labs is at the center of enabling that, and it is inspiring to be associated with entrepreneurs trying to make our democracy work for everyone.”

Governor Patrick joins Board Chair Ron Klain and other Higher Ground Labs advisory board members including former FTC Commissioner Terrell McSweeney, former FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, and other experts in politics, technology and entrepreneurship. Governor Patrick brings decades of experience in public service as well as private industry. He is currently the founder and co-managing partner of Bain Capital Double Impact, the impact investing fund at Bain Capital. In 1994, he was appointed by President Clinton as Assistant Attorney General overseeing the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.