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Carolyn Lukensmeyer
Co-Director

Dr. Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer was the first Executive Director of the National Institute for Civil Discourse, an organization that works to reduce political dysfunction and incivility in our political system. As a leader in the field of deliberative democracy, she works to restore our democracy to reflect the intended vision of our founding fathers. Dr. Lukensmeyer previously served as Founder and President of AmericaSpeaks, an award-winning nonprofit organization that promoted nonpartisan initiatives to engage citizens and leaders through the development of innovative public policy tools and strategies. During her tenure, AmericaSpeaks engaged more than 200,000 people and hosted events across all 50 states and throughout the world.

Dr. Lukensmeyer formerly served as Consultant to the White House Chief of Staff from 1993-94 and on the National Performance Review where she steered internal management and oversaw government-wide reforms. She was the Chief of Staff to Ohio Governor Richard F. Celeste from 1986-91, becoming the first woman to serve in this capacity. She earned her PhD in Organizational Behavior from Case Western Reserve University and has completed postgraduate training at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.

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Mayor G.T. BynumChairFormer Mayor of Tulsa, OK Diana Romero CampbellVice ChairCouncil Member, Denver District 4 Adam CarlisleTreasurerVice President of Labor Relations, Southwest Airlines Anthony SantiagoSecretaryPrincipal, Outside N Strategies Mayor Malik D. EvansPast ChairMayor of Rochester, NY Ray BarayBoard MemberFormer Chief of Staff, ICMA Hon. Mary Ann BorgesonBoard MemberNACo Immediate Past President; Commissioner, Douglas County, NE T.C. BroadnaxBoard MemberCity Manager, City of Austin Maia ComeauBoard MemberPresident Comeau & Company Todd ConnorBoard MemberCEO, Veterans for All Voters Mayor John DaileyBoard MemberMayor John Dailey, City of Tallahassee, FL Johnny DuPreeBoard MemberFormer Mayor, Hattiesburg, MS Ayeola FortuneBoard MemberVice President, Impact Programs, United Way Worldwide Dr. Joshua FranzelBoard MemberSenior Executive and Director of Research & Data Analysis at National League of Cities Mayor Patti GarrettBoard Member (Former Chair)Mayor of Decatur, Georgia Mayor Ramiro Garza Jr.Board MemberMayor, City of Edinburg Heather A. JohnstonBoard MemberChief Operating Officer, Winthrop & Weinstine Rita McNeil Danish, Esq.Board MemberCEO, Signal Ohio Angela MontezBoard MemberSpecial Counsel, Eversheds Sutherland Tony PeytonBoard MemberExecutive Vice President & Chief of Staff, National Center for Families Learning Monte RoulierBoard MemberPresident & Co-Founder Community Initiatives Inc. Mayor Vince WilliamsBoard MemberMayor of Union City, GA Wendy WillisBoard MemberExecutive Director, Deliberative Democracy Consortium

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