Kevin Johnson is co-founder and executive director of Election Reformers Network, a nonpartisan nonprofit advancing innovations that protect elections from polarization. Since 2017 Kevin has led ERN’s research and advocacy programs focused on impartial election governance, independent redistricting, and voting rules. Kevin draws on decades of experience supporting emerging democracies overseas and advancing reforms in the US.
Kevin has authored studies of secretary of state conflict of interest, election commission models, comparative election management, and proportional approaches to electoral college reform. He has also published more than two dozen opeds on a wide range of reform topics in media outlets including The Washington Post, Governing, The Fulcrum, and The Hill.
Kevin has held board or advisory positions with The Carter Center, Common Cause Massachusetts, Rank the Vote, and American Promise. For 18 years Kevin ran Liberty Global Partners, an investment advisory firm focused on venture capital and private equity in emerging markets. Kevin earned an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Yale, and lives with his wife and three children in Newton, MA.
A fifth-generation New Mexican, Heather W. Balas brings over 25 years of experience in public policy, including policy research, citizen deliberation, legislative advocacy, voter education, and coalition-building to ERN. She is a senior consultant to the Carter Center, where she advises on advancing reforms to strengthen American democracy.
Heather is also the previous President and Executive Director of New Mexico First, a cross-partisan public policy organization co-founded by U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici.
Previous employers include the Thornburg Foundation, where she managed a $1.2 million portfolio of good government investments, as well as the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Commission on Presidential Debates, and the California Center for Civic Participation. Heather holds a master’s degree in political communication from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She is married and mother to two young adults.
Amber McReynolds is one of the country’s leading experts on election administration and policy. She was appointed by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate to serve as a Governor for the United States Postal Service, she is an elections policy and administration expert and consultant, co-author of the book ‘When Women Vote’, and is the former Director of Elections for the City and County of Denver, Colorado and the former CEO for the National Vote At Home Institute and Coalition. Amber is an experienced election professional and is nationally recognized as an innovator and has proven that designing pro-voter policies, voter-centric processes, and implementing technical innovations will improve the voting experience for all. Amber also served on the Colorado Independent Legislative Redistricting Commission.
Amber was recognized as a 2018 Top Public Official of the Year by Governing Magazine for her transformational work to improve the voting experience in Denver and across Colorado; she was recognized as one of the Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Business in Colorado in 2020; and was named as a 2021 Titan CEO. Amber serves on the National Task Force on Election Crises, the National Council on Election Integrity, the Advisory Board for the MIT Election Data and Science Lab, Advisor to Vot-ER, Secure the Vote Advisory Board, City Year Denver Board of Directors, Represent Women Board of Directors, and the Women’s Foundation of Colorado Empowerment Council.Amber holds a Masters of Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.
Michael Parsons is Senior Counsel at Election Reformers Network and the Founder and Principal of Parsons Law PLLC.
As a practitioner, Michael advises clients who are working to make government more representative, responsive, and responsible. He has also represented merits parties and amici in major constitutional cases implicating the law of democracy and the separation of powers, including Rucho v. Common Cause (partisan gerrymandering), Blumenthal v. Trump (emoluments), and Patchak v. Zinke (separation of powers).
At Election Reformers Network, Michael provides policy guidance, strategic legal advice, legislative drafting assistance, and in-depth analysis of developments in state and federal legislation, election litigation, judicial doctrines, and emerging scholarship.
As a scholar, Michael studies political representation and how the law shapes, supports, and subverts that concept, especially in the areas of federalism, the separation of powers, and the law of democracy. His scholarship has been published in academic journals such as the California Law Review, Minnesota Law Review, Indiana Law Journal, and University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, and his commentary has been published on the Harvard Law Review Blog, Election Law Blog, Take Care Blog, Democracy Docket, and in outlets like Mass. Lawyers Weekly, City & State New York, and The Hill. His work has been cited in multiple federal court opinions and his proposals have been incorporated into legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives.
Rachel Leven has nearly two decades of policy experience and has worked to improve election systems as a researcher, advocate, and municipal employee. She provides research leadership and strategic support for ERN initiatives, such as the Election Overtime Project.
Rachel's prior roles include serving as Deputy Policy Director for the City of Chicago, Head of External Communications for the Chicago Inspector General, and as an advocate and lobbyist for ethical, transparent government in Illinois. Recently, in collaboration with Unite America and the Institute for Political Innovation, she managed research and evaluation of election system reforms such as open primaries, RCV, and other voting systems. Rachel holds a Masters of Public Policy from Duke University and a bachelor's degree from Tufts University.
With nearly 25 years of experience spanning multiple philanthropic sectors, Nikki Speer joined the Election Reformers Network to drive revenue growth and enhance ERN’s ability to expand its positive impact. Throughout her career, Nikki has been dedicated to fostering meaningful and joyful connections between donors and organizations, with philanthropy as the cornerstone of that relationship.
Nikki has spearheaded major fundraising initiatives for a wide variety of organizations, including water.org, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation, Hospital Albert Schweitzer Haiti, and Postpartum Support International. Additionally, she has served as a catalyst for the growth of dozens of nonprofits, guiding them toward increased capacity and sustainable success.
Nikki holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with an emphasis on Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies from the University of Pittsburgh. She resides in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her husband and their two teenage sons.
With a focus on nonprofit advocacy, public policy, and political campaigns, Kim Nickols brings over two decades of communications strategy experience to ERN.
Kim previously served as Director of Communications and Press Secretary in the California State Assembly. Her portfolio includes coordinating communications for statewide ballot initiatives and local, state, and congressional campaigns, directing media coordination for visiting foreign dignitaries, speechwriting for presidential candidates, developing public relations and advocacy strategies for Fortune 100 companies, and facilitating government relations and public affairs outreach for Native American tribes throughout California.
Kim earned a bachelor's degree in Communication Studies from the University of San Diego. She is a member of Lambda Pi Eta, the National Communication Association’s Honor Society.
Zev Braun (he/him) joined ERN in 2024 as a part-time legal intern to research improvements to election impartiality, develop voter education resources regarding close and contested elections, and support electoral college stress-testing efforts. Outside of this work, Zev is full-time public interest scholarship recipient at American University Washington College of Law. At WCL he serves as the Finance Co-Director of the Moot Court Honor Society, the co-founder of the school’s chapter of the American Constitution Society, a junior staffer in the Sustainable Development Law and Policy Brief, and the treasurer of two other student organizations.
Prior to law school and joining ERN, Zev coordinated the suicide prevention program for Washington County, Oregon, and worked as the policy director for the state nonprofit organization State of Safety. In the latter role, he played a significant part in helping to pass Oregon’s first firearm safe storage law (SB 554). Before that, Zev graduated from Boston University with a Master’s in Public Health, served in AmeriCorps in southern Oregon, and graduated from Grinnell College with a Bachelor’s in Biology.
