Who We Are
Jim Messina, Chair
The mastermind behind President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, Jim Messina, seized the reins on what Bloomberg Businessweek called “the highest-wattage crash course in executive management ever undertaken”—and succeeded, earning President Obama another term in the White House. Jim abandoned every step of a traditional presidential campaign and merged technology and politics in ways that were both unpredictable and unprecedented. Since then, Jim has helped more than a dozen Presidents and Prime Ministers on five continents win the biggest political fights in their respective careers. He is deeply committed to the work of preserving democracy in the United States.
Barbara Comstock, Board Member
Barbara Comstock is a former Member of Congress and seasoned public servant with decades of experience across the legislative and executive branches. She also served as Director of Public Affairs at the Justice Department, as Chief Counsel on the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, and as a senior aide to Congressman Frank Wolf. Throughout her career, she has been a strong advocate for strengthening democratic institutions, supporting small businesses, and promoting policies that expand opportunity and security for American families.
Susan Corke, Board Member
Susan Corke currently serves as Executive Director of DDPAC’s partner organization Democracy Defenders Action. For two decades, Susan has held senior pro-democracy roles at the Southern Poverty Law Center, German Marshall Fund of the U.S., Freedom House, Human Rights First, and the U.S. Department of State. She has led global programs to defend democracy, including international coalitions, networks of human rights lawyers, media initiatives, and a data lab tracking online threats. She has testified before Congress and spoken at the UN, EU, and other global fora, and is a frequent media commentator. She is co-author of The Democracy Playbook and a Webby-nominated podcaster, writer, and editor of policy and research reports.
Randi Weingarten, Board Member
Randi Weingarten is a national labor leader and longtime advocate for public education, representing millions of educators and school staff across the United States. As President of the American Federation of Teachers, she has been at the forefront of efforts to strengthen public schools, expand access to quality education, and support educators as essential pillars of democracy. Weingarten is an active member of Democratic National Committee, among other civic organizations. She served for ten years as the chair of New York City’s Municipal Labor Committee, an umbrella organization for the city’s many public sector unions.
Tom Perez, Board Member
Tom Perez is a civil rights attorney who has served across federal, state, and local government. He recently served as Senior Advisor to President Biden and Director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. In the Obama administration, he was U.S. Secretary of Labor and Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, advancing voting rights, civil rights enforcement, fair housing, and police reform. He later served as Chair of the DNC, modernizing party infrastructure and expanding voter engagement. His work has focused on expanding opportunity and strengthening democratic participation.
Norm Eisen (Ret.), Founder and Outside Counsel
Norm Eisen is an expert on law, ethics, and anti-corruption. Norm has been recognized as “at the very pinnacle” of the lawyers who provide public analysis on the trials of former President Donald Trump. He was co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during the first impeachment and trial of President Donald Trump in 2020. When serving as White House special counsel and special assistant to the president for ethics and government reform, the press dubbed Norm “Mr. No” and the “Ethics Czar” for his tough anti-corruption approach. He also advised President Obama on lobbying regulation, campaign finance law, and open government issues, helping to assure the most scandal-free White House in modern history.
Norm Ornstein, Board Member
Norm Ornstein is a renowned American political scientist, author, and longtime emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He is co-host of the Words Matter podcast and chairman emeritus of the Campaign Legal Center. Over the course of his career, Ornstein has served as a professor of political science at both Johns Hopkins University and The Catholic University of America. He is widely recognized for his work on campaign finance reform, congressional ethics, and election integrity, and has authored numerous bestselling books on American politics and democracy.
Strategic Advisors
TJ Ducklo, Senior Political Advisor
TJ Ducklo was a long-time senior aide to President Joe Biden, serving in senior communications roles from day one of both his 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns and as his personal spokesperson. TJ has designed and executed strategic communication and political initiatives for dozens of organizations in the private and public sectors, from the world’s largest media companies to the municipal government of Nashville, Tennessee, where he was the city’s chief communications officer. TJ also served as a senior spokesperson on the Biden-Harris Transition Team, where he had a leading role in successfully combating Donald Trump’s efforts to steal the 2020 election.
Ben Wikler, Senior Advisor
Ben Wikler is a Democratic strategist and organizer focused on strengthening grassroots power, expanding voter engagement, and modernizing political infrastructure. As Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin from 2019 to 2025, he helped lead Democrats to major statewide victories, including presidential, gubernatorial, Senate, and multiple state Supreme Court wins that shifted the court’s balance and reshaped the state’s legislative map. A longtime progressive organizer, he previously served as Washington Director for MoveOn, where he helped lead national campaigns to protect the Affordable Care Act and oppose the Trump agenda.
Lavora Barnes, Senior Advisor
Lavora Barnes is a seasoned political and civic leader with extensive experience in party leadership, voter engagement, and grassroots organizing. As Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party, she helped lead one of the nation’s most consequential battleground states, overseeing efforts to expand turnout, strengthen local organizing, and build durable campaign infrastructure. Barnes is the first woman and person of color to head the party and has been a leader in progressive politics in Michigan for more than a decade, serving in positions that have included MDP chief operating officer and state director of Obama for America 2012.