YOUR PARTNERS IN CREATING IMPACT AND SAVING DEMOCRACY.
OUR TEAM
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Betsy HooverBetsy has spent the past 5 years running Higher Ground Labs. She founded the firm in 2017 and has built the political tech ecosystem through their work. Prior to HGL, she worked throughout the political space including as a founding partner at 270 Strategies and as the National Digital Organizing Director on the Obama Campaign. Her political work sat at the intersection of technology and politics. She has been recognized by Business Insider as “at the forefront of political innovation”and was featured on Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30: Law & Policy” list.Founder and Managing Partner
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Sarah EberhardPrior to joining HGL in 2019, Sarah was the COO and General Counsel at 270 Strategies and the the GC of After School Matters, a large not-for-profit in Chicago. Sarah spent the first 10 years of her legal career at Jones Day, with a focus on fund formation and securities law. Sarah earned her BA from Colgate and her JD from Northwestern School of Law.COO & General Counsel
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Gerard NiemiraGerard has spent 15 years in the social good and political tech space working to scale electoral and social impact organizations by serving as VP of Product and Engineering at Kiva, as Senior Director of Product at Hillary for America, and as a political tech founder and political nonprofit senior exec. Most recently he served as Chief Product Officer at PDI.Managing Director, Fund IV
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Hillary LehrHillary Lehr has served as the VP of Client Success at Hustle, managed partnerships at Brigade and Causes.com, and spent five years innovating digital resources to scale nonprofit organizing campaigns. She earned BA and BS degrees from UC Berkeley where she serves as Board Vice President of the college alumni association.Principal, Partnerships
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Vin MoradaPrior to joining HGL, Vin worked in investing and banking roles at Wells Fargo and Merrill Lynch respectively. He also worked at Microsoft as a product manager early in his career and had a brief experience as the co-founder of a failed startup. He has a degree in electrical engineering from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from NYU.Vice President, Investments
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Katie MoroskiWith a background ranging from campus ministry to sales, Katie has found her niche in the world of executive assistance. She has EA experience working for a large regional healthcare system and a small digital product agency. Katie is a proud resident of the City of Cincinnati and earned a BA in Theology from Xavier University.Executive Assistant
OUR BOARD OF ADVISORS
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Beth BaffordVP of Syndications and Strategy, Calvert Impact Capital
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Jeremy BirdChief Policy Officer, Lyft
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Catherine BracyExecutive Director, TechEquity Collaborative
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Ben BrandzelFounder, The OPEN Network
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Gary BrownPresident, Political Data Inc.
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Ryan Clintonco-Founder & Partner, Ridgeline
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Ron ConwayFounder, SV Angel
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Jiore CraigPrincipal, GQR
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Charlton CunninghamCharlton Cunningham is a community professional, with experiences in program management, ecosystem building, and curriculum development. Previously, he served as the Head of Programs at HBCUvc and as Executive Director at Startup Atlanta.Program Manager - Tulsa, Lightship Foundation
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Addisu DemissiePartner, 50+1 Strategies and Campaign Manager, Cory 2020
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Jon FavreauFounder, Crooked Media
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Natalie FosterPresident, Economic Security Project
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Anthony FoxxFormer U.S. Secretary of Transportation
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Richard FrankelFormer Founder/President, Rocket Fuel
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Kate GageFounding Partner, The Movement Cooperative
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Kathleen GasperineCo-Founder & Principal, Paradigm PM LLP
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Julius GenachowskiFormer FCC Chairman and Managing Director at Carlyle
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Danielle GrayPartner, O'Melveny & Myers
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Josh HendlerPresident, Bacon and Grit Strategies
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Matt HodgesHead of Technology, Zinc Collective
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Ilyse HoguePresident, Purpose
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Allen KramerCo-Founder, Mobilize
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Raffi KrikorianManaging Director, Emerson Collective
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Shrina KuraniManaging Partner, Snocap
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John LeeCTO, NGP VAN
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Rebecca LeventhalFounder, The Helm
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Marlon MarshallPartner, City Fund
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Terrell McSweenyPartner, Covington & Burling LLP
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Caitlin MitchellPartner, NEWCO Strategies
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Tamer MokhtarPartner, InvestinginUs
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Tamim MouradSerial Tech Entrepreneur
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Tatenda MusapatikeCEO, Voter Formation Project
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Scott NathanFounder, Atlantic Neptune Impact
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Jose NunezDeputy Chief Mobilization Officer, Organizing, DNC
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Josh NussbaumFounder, The Movement Cooperative
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Michael O'NeilDirector of Public Policy & Community Engagement, Vivid Seats
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Derek ParhamFormer Deputy CTO, Hillary for America
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Michael PodhorzerPolitical Director, AFL-CIO
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Jeff PotterTechnologist
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Laura QuinnCo-founder and President, Catalist
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James RuckerPartner, Springboard Partners
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Mollie RuskinFounder, Trestle
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Aia SarychevaVenture Capitalist
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Mike SchneiderPartner, Bully Pulpit Interactive
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Sonal ShahExecutive Director, Beeck Center for Social Impact & Innovation at Georgetown University
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Ian SimmonsCo-Founder & Principal, Blue Haven Initiative
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Liesel Pritzker SimmonsCo-Founder & Principal, Blue Haven Initiative
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Steph SpeirsCo-Founder and CEO, Solstice
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Nellwyn ThomasChief Technology Officer/Chief Analytics Officer, DNC
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Stephanie ValenciaCo-founder, EquisLabs
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Colin VernonTechnologist and Product Lead
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Tommy VietorFounder, Crooked Media
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Jonae WartelManaging Director, Arc Initiatives
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Ross WeinerPartner & General Counsel, Qatalyst Partners
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Tom WheelerFormer Chairman, FCC
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Bryan WhitakerChief Innovation Officer, TargetSmart
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Mike YangInvestment Advisor