Staff

Zye Allen
Content Development Manager More Zye Allen
Zye Allen
Content Development ManagerZye is an Atlanta, GA native and a graduate from Spelman College. After college, she found herself truly enthralled in the work of content creation and seeing goals come together as a result of creative and purposeful work. Zye joined American Promise because she believes in a government by the people and not big money corporations. She knows the importance of a strong digital presence and as an advocate for social justice, wants to use her skills to provide insight on the 28th Amendment as an institute for change.

Brian Boyle
General Counsel More Brian Boyle
Brian Boyle
General CounselBrian lives in central Massachusetts where he oversees his family-owned insurance brokerage and serves on his town’s finance committee. Before becoming a small business owner, Brian was a litigator in a national law firm and clerked on the Massachusetts Appeals Court. He earned his BA from Harvard College and his JD from Cornell Law School. Brian is passionate about cross-partisan efforts to improve our constitutional democracy and is excited to contribute to American Promise’s mission.

Julie Brogan
Senior Legal Fellow More Julie Brogan
Julie Brogan
Senior Legal FellowJulie is a Massachusetts lawyer and member of the American Promise Finance Committee. She previously served as the Program Administrator for the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School and prior to that the MIT/CALTECH Voting Technology Project based at MIT. She began her legal career as an Associate at Hill & Barlow before moving on to other large law firms in Boston. She holds a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and an A.B. from Georgetown University. Julie is passionate in her belief that the survival of American democracy depends on keeping big money out of our politics.

Jacob Brown
IS Specialist More Jacob Brown
Jacob Brown
IS SpecialistJacob Brown hails from Rockville, MD outside of Washington, DC, and is a graduate of the University of Maryland. Jacob’s interests include astronomy; political theory; international relations; environmental, racial and indigenous justice; as well as geographic information systems. Currently, his passion lies with helping others which drives him to work in the non-profit world. After trying a few positions around DC, he moved to Denver and worked for the Anti-Defamation League. Jacob joins the team after over a year of fundraising for ADL and looks forward to bringing his skills and acumen to American Promise to support the passage of the For Our Freedom Amendment and to empower individuals and communities around the nation.

Chris Cayer
National Field Director More Chris Cayer
Chris Cayer
National Field DirectorChris Cayer is the Field Manager for American Promise. He is a grassroots organizer from Maine where he has worked on a number of campaign finance and electoral reform campaigns. He is a person in recovery from Substance Use Disorder and he is passionate about harm reduction and recovery advocacy. Chris believes in the value of community building and direct engagement with the public. He brings his organizing experience to the American Promise political team where he will help build out the national field program. He believes the 28th amendment is the most important reform of our time and is hopeful for a government that prioritizes people over profit.

Jeff Clements
President and Board Member, American Promise and American Promise Education Fund More Jeff Clements
Jeff Clements
President and Board Member, American Promise and American Promise Education FundJeff serves as President of American Promise. He has practiced law for three decades in public service and private practice, and is the author of Corporations Are Not People: Reclaiming Democracy From Big Money & Global Corporations. He is also the founder of Whaleback Partners LLC, which provides sustainable financing to businesses in the local agriculture economy. Previously, Jeff has been a partner in a major Boston law firm and served as Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the public law enforcement bureau in the Attorney General’s Office in Massachusetts. Jeff has helped to start and been a board member of many non-profit organizations and businesses.
Twitter: @ClementsJeff

Kenny Colston
Senior Digital Marketing Manager More Kenny Colston
Kenny Colston
Senior Digital Marketing ManagerKenny Colston is the new Senior Digital Marketing Manager for American Promise. For the last few years, Kenny has worked as a digital fundraising and communications expert, directing messaging and online fundraising for his clients. Kenny has worked with clients all over the U.S., including his home state of Kentucky, Arizona, Georgia, Ohio, California, Wisconsin and New Mexico, helping them win campaigns, ballot initatives, and raising millions of dollars from small dollar donors collectively in the process. He’s excited to take his experience and help American Promise achieve it’s mission of passing the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution! When Kenny isn’t working, he enjoys time with his wife, son, and dog, and obsessing over his alma mater — the University of Kentucky — basketball and football teams.

Randi Feinberg
Chief Operating Officer More Randi Feinberg
Randi Feinberg
Chief Operating OfficerRandi Feinberg is the Chief Operating Officer of American Promise. She has worked with mission-driven organizations in both line and consulting roles for over two decades. Most recently Randi was the Chief Operating Officer at the Higher Ambition Leadership Alliance, an organization that supports corporate executives who believe in a new kind of capitalism – one where business is used as a force for good. Prior to that, Randi was a consultant at Education Resource Strategies, a non-profit dedicated to helping urban school systems organize people, time, and money to create great schools at scale. Earlier in her career, Randi was a consultant with the firms Bain & Company and Booz Allen Hamilton. Randi received her BS from Tufts University and her MBA from Yale University.

Devra Feshbach-Meriney
Finance and Administration Manager More Devra Feshbach-Meriney
Devra Feshbach-Meriney
Finance and Administration Manager- Devra Feshbach-Meriney came to American Promise as the Finance and Administration Manager, with over 20 years of non-profit finance and human resources experience. Originally from New Jersey, she has lived in Massachusetts since the 1980’s. Devra received her MBA in nonprofit management from Boston University and was most recently the Human Resources Administrator at Nashoba Brooks School. She is happy that she gets to support the vital work that American Promise is doing.

Connor Flotten
Research Associate More Connor Flotten
Connor Flotten
Research Associate
Jere Halligan
Digital Director More Jere Halligan
Jere Halligan
Digital Director- Jere Halligan serves as Digital Director for American Promise. First inspired by the graphics and messaging developed during the fight for resources and respect for people with AIDS in the early 1990s, Jere has become a recognized expert in digital marketing and developing transformative communication strategies. Previously, he was the founder of Avenir Thinking and LeaseLabs, two successful digital marketing agencies. Jere has served on the board of and advises many small businesses and nonprofit organizations.

Dr. Jessica Hare
Vice-President, Outreach More Dr. Jessica Hare
Dr. Jessica Hare
Vice-President, OutreachDr. Jessica Hare serves as the Vice President of Outreach at American Promise. Dr. Hare is a native of Manning, SC, and attended public schools in Clarendon County District 2. Dr. Hare received her Doctor of Social Work degree from the University of Southern California. She is also an Alumna of the University of South Carolina where she received her Master of Social Work degree and Winthrop University where she received her Bachelor of Social Work degree.
Dr. Hare has over 15 years of professional social work experience that ranges from child welfare, military social work, medical social work, and school social work. Dr. Hare is an active member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women and prides herself on upholding the organization’s mission and vision. She has proven to be committed to the empowerment of black women and girls while advocating on their behalf to promote leadership development and gender equity in the areas of health, education, and economic empowerment. She also volunteers as a designated speaker for the Domestic Violence Speaker’s Bureau and has been chosen as the keynote speaker for many domestic violence events. Dr. Hare is also an active member of the National Association of Social Workers serving the Georgia Chapter and is a member of the Political Action for Candidate Election (PACE) committee.
Dr. Hare plans to continue utilizing her social work knowledge and skills to stand against social injustice while empowering not only oppressed populations but all populations. In her downtime, she enjoys exercising, traveling, and spending quality time with her children Morgan (13) and twins Nicholas & Megan (7).

Travis Harris
IS Manager More Travis Harris
Travis Harris
IS ManagerTravis Harris, originally from Nebraska, is a business owner, veteran, and lifelong volunteer. Throughout his career, Travis has led teams in software development, counter-intelligence, and disaster relief. Having worked in both the political and non-profit sectors for years, Travis joined American Promise to address issues he has seen with the influence of money in the political sphere. Travis is also a farm-owner, utilizing his background in biochemistry to help develop an indoor agriculture project in southern Colorado.

Liz Harvey
Development Director More Liz Harvey
Liz Harvey
Development DirectorAs a former Development Director, Director of Foundation Support and Major Gifts Officer, Liz has worked in a range of roles at Massachusetts non-profits, supporting efforts to connect individuals and organizations with impactful causes. Most recently, Liz was the Associate Director at the Concord-Carlisle Community Chest where she oversaw marketing and development communications efforts and special events. As the Development Manager at American Promise, Liz looks forward to helping to address the outsized influence of money in politics and engaging, and inspiring others to join the effort.

Kendra Hendrick
Executive Assistant More Kendra Hendrick
Kendra Hendrick
Executive Assistant
Kaitlin LaCasse
Deputy Executive Director More Kaitlin LaCasse
Kaitlin LaCasse
Deputy Executive DirectorKaitlin LaCasse is the Deputy Executive Director at American Promise. She has worked on three campaigns for Governor, serving as deputy campaign manager for two. Kaitlin also led the successful effort to pass semi-open primaries legislation in Maine, for which she designed and executed the campaign strategy, enlisted and organized partner organizations, stakeholders, grass-top supporters and volunteers, and managed communications and press outreach. Most recently, Kaitlin has been serving as the campaign manager for the Protect Maine Elections citizens initiative and she will continue overseeing that effort as part of her portfolio at American Promise. Kaitlin lives in Maine with her husband and three children.

Alan LaPolice
National Coalitions Director More Alan LaPolice
Alan LaPolice
National Coalitions DirectorAlan LaPolice is a lifelong educator, a 5th Generation Kansas farmer and a combat veteran. Alan has run for the 1st Congressional District seat a total of three times, as Republican, Independent and Democrat. In each subsequent race, he garnered more and more bi-partisan votes without ever changing a word of his people-centered platform. His political insight comes from Kansas where partisan politics have shifted most substantially and his worldview comes from having lived around the globe and returned back to the heartland to help shift Kansas (and the nation) back to its historical moderation and dignity. Alan is deeply concerned for the future of our nation due to hyper-partisanship and has dedicated his energy to exposing the corrupting influence money has on all aspects of politics. He was an advocate for the 28th Amendment long before he had the incredible privilege of learning about American Promise. He is now fully committed to collaborating with American Promise in the vital work of restoring American Democracy and saving the Republic.

John McCrea
Business & Civic Network Director More John McCrea
John McCrea
Business & Civic Network DirectorJohn is thankful to dozens of great clients, and hundreds of co-workers, and thousands of employees, for an exciting 30+ years fulfilling enterprise IT services projects across many domains. Now is time for John to both give back and help propel our country forward to enhance a level playing field where businesses flourish on the value they bring to market. John has 30+ years in business as a dynamic General Manager in the Computer Consulting Business in the Washington, D.C. Commercial /Federal marketplace. He led three successful start-ups: Founder and General Manager of a highly profitable technology consulting practice, growing it to more than $50 million in annual sales. Recent GM of a privately held IT consulting firm, growing business from $1.1 million to $8 million in 1.5 years, and the 2016 sale of Achieve-it to the Viateq Corporation.

Mike Monetta
Vice President - Volunteer Advocacy and Training More Mike Monetta
Mike Monetta
Vice President - Volunteer Advocacy and TrainingMike Monetta serves as Vice President of Volunteer Advocacy and Training for American Promise. He has over a decade of experience in the 28th Amendment movement, previously serving as National Director and Organizing Director for Wolf-PAC. He has helped to build volunteer teams all across America, lobbied in over 20 statehouses, and testified at dozens of committee hearings on the dire need to end the corrupting influence of big money in American politics. He is excited to bring his experience and perspective to American Promise and the fight for the For Our Freedom Amendment.

Corinne Noonan
Senior Development Manager More Corinne Noonan
Corinne Noonan
Senior Development ManagerA New Hampshire native, Corinne got her start in the political sphere working on a US Senate race. Motivated by her experiences engaging with community members and hearing their stories, she went on to work with volunteers for issue-based environmental campaigns across the country. Most recently, she organized with the ACLU’s non-partisan effort to bring key civil liberties into the conversation in the 2020 presidential primary. Seeing the challenges presented by allowing big money to control how we elect officials, she is excited to join the fight for campaign finance reform. Corinne is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where she studied English and Government.

Isabel Virtue
Donor Relations Coordinator More Isabel Virtue
Isabel Virtue
Donor Relations CoordinatorBorn and raised in Michigan, Isabel first entered the political world as a campaign volunteer in the 2018 gubernatorial race. From there, her experience includes regulatory affairs, political fundraising, and nonprofit development. Isabel earned her MA from Michigan State University and her BA from the University of Michigan, before joining American Promise in 2022. Isabel has always been driven to make meaningful change through her work and is excited to join the inspiring fight for campaign finance reform at American Promise.
Board Members

Leila Blodgett
Board Member, American Promise and American Promise Education Fund More Leila Blodgett
Leila Blodgett
Board Member, American Promise and American Promise Education FundLeila Blodgett spent 20+ years in the financial services sector working in marketing and investor relations for investment consulting and private equity firms. She worked with both domestic and international teams to drive business and sales activities. She has served on education boards and currently works with a north shore community foundation. A native of San Francisco, she now resides in Massachusetts with her family.

Jeff Clements
President and Board Member, American Promise and American Promise Education Fund More Jeff Clements
Jeff Clements
President and Board Member, American Promise and American Promise Education FundJeff serves as President of American Promise. He has practiced law for three decades in public service and private practice, and is the author of Corporations Are Not People: Reclaiming Democracy From Big Money & Global Corporations. He is also the founder of Whaleback Partners LLC, which provides sustainable financing to businesses in the local agriculture economy. Previously, Jeff has been a partner in a major Boston law firm and served as Assistant Attorney General and Chief of the public law enforcement bureau in the Attorney General’s Office in Massachusetts. Jeff has helped to start and been a board member of many non-profit organizations and businesses.
Twitter: @ClementsJeff

Cheryl Crawford
Board Member, American Promise Education Fund More Cheryl Crawford
Cheryl Crawford
Board Member, American Promise Education FundCheryl Clyburn Crawford is the Executive Director of MassVote. She grew up in Boston and has worked for many years in communities of color advocating for voting and civil rights. She joined MassVOTE in 2008. Cheryl is a critical public face for MassVOTE, recruiting coalition members, new donors, and volunteers. She sits on the Executive Board of the NAACP-Boston Branch as 2nd Vice President and is a past Executive Board Member and former Chair of the Board of Emerge Massachusetts. Before MassVOTE, Cheryl served as Chief of Staff to State Representative Willie Mae Allen. She is a graduate of Lesley College, with a B.S. Education & Psychology. Cheryl frequently serves as a poll worker for the City of Boston. She has served on the American Promise National Advisory Council since the organization was founded, and helped lead the successful cross-partisan campaign in Massachusetts to create the first Citizens Commission to Advance a Constitutional Amendment for Government of the People. Cheryl now serves on the Citizens Commission.

Jason Ford
Board Member, American Promise Education Fund More Jason Ford
Jason Ford
Board Member, American Promise Education FundJason is a passionate and dedicated educator with a wide range of experience in public, charter, and independent schools. He currently serves as the middle school principal at Trinity School in New York City. A native of Houston, Texas, Jason has always been drawn to opportunities through which he can inspire young people to become caring and engaged citizens.

Buff Kavelman
Board Member, American Promise and American Promise Education Fund More Buff Kavelman
Buff Kavelman
Board Member, American Promise and American Promise Education FundBuff Kavelman is founder and president of The Kavelman Group Philanthropic Advisors (TKG). Buff Kavelman founded TKG in 1997 to serve individual donors, foundations and nonprofit leaders in strategic planning, board development, philanthropic initiatives, and external affairs. Buff is recognized for increasing organizational capacity, launching new initiatives, building effective partnerships, and raising institutional profiles. She has been a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, served in senior positions at the American Academy in Rome, the Smithsonian and Columbia University. She has participated on many grantmaking panels, including the J. M. Kaplan Fund’s Innovation Prize, the Architectural League of New York, the Utah State Council on the Arts, the Pew Trust’s Philadelphia Cultural Management Initiative, and the New York State Council on the Arts, where she chaired two 2012 panels. From 2016 to 2018 she served on the expert selection panel for the New York Community Trust’s Nonprofit Excellence Awards. In 2019 she was certified in Nonprofit Board Consulting by BoardSource and appointed Co-Chair of Philanthropy New York’s International Grantmaking Network. With decades of experience in the philanthropic world, as a funder, board member and a nonprofit executive, she has a uniquely balanced perspective on organizational development.

Manu Meel
Board Member, American Promise Education Fund More Manu Meel
Manu Meel
Board Member, American Promise Education Fund“I have a lot of hope because I believe in the power of people. I am not speculating; the needle of progress moves forward when leaders, citizens, and activists combine conviction with empathy to drive unified change in our democracy. Even in our divisive political moment, everyday people have the ability to make change because the American spirit is defined by overcoming challenges in the face of overwhelming odds.”

Alex Renard
Board Member, American Promise More Alex Renard
Alex Renard
Board Member, American Promise“Dark money controls American politics. Politicians feel obligated to support the people and parties who can give the most and we – the American citizens – have no way of knowing who funds them through the untraceable channels of dark money. We should know who is trying to influence our votes and we should definitely know who is influencing our politicians.”

Jim Rubens
Board Member, American Promise More Jim Rubens
Jim Rubens
Board Member, American PromiseJim Rubens is a former two-term Republican State Senator in New Hampshire. He served as the chair of the Public Affairs and Education committees in the Senate, as Chair of the NH GOP Platform Committee, and as a GOP candidate for US Senate and Governor. Jim is a private venture investor, focusing on New England start-ups in proprietary technology and healthcare solutions, and has been Board President of Headrest, a substance abuse program and suicide prevention hotline serving northern New England. In addition to his work with American Promise, Jim is the New England Chair of Take Back Our Republic, a conservative reform organization. Motivated by deep concern about the corrupting influence of concentrated money on republican principles, free speech and liberty for all Americans, government accountability to citizens, and competitive free enterprise, in 2018-19, Jim worked with American Promise and others to help lead the effort to pass a resolution in the New Hampshire legislature to make his state the 20th to formally call on Congress to pass and return to the states for ratification a constitutional amendment for reasonable limits on election spending. He lives with his family in Hanover, New Hampshire.

John Wass
Board Chair, American Promise and American Promise Education Fund More John Wass
John Wass
Board Chair, American Promise and American Promise Education FundJohn is a corporate executive and entrepreneur whose body of work includes leadership in the early days of Staples, one of America’s most well-known office supply retailers. He helped expand the company from 3 stores to over 1000 outlets. He managed development programs including a prototype store, the B2B business unit, and a $10B global supply chain. John also co-founded and built a state-of-the-art healthcare information company, which he sold to Cardinal Healthcare. He now serves as CEO of Profit Isle, Inc.

Debra Winger
Board Member, American Promise and American Promise Education Fund More Debra Winger
Debra Winger
Board Member, American Promise and American Promise Education FundDebra Winger began a career in TV and film and on stage in the mid 70’s. Her work includes Terms of Endearment, Officer and a Gentleman, Urban Cowboy, Big Bad Love, The Sheltering Sky and most recently The Lovers and Patriot. Raising 3 sons, writing a book (“undiscovered”), teaching a fellowship for Dr. Robert Coles’ noted course “The Literature of Social Reflection” and producing several documentaries including the Academy Award nominated film Gasland, about the oil and gas industry in her home state, led her to take note of how her own industry has been changed by corporations; how this not only affected the way business was done and films were made and released, but the livelihood of artists as well. Her support for and involvement with American Promise has been unwavering since its inception.