About us

Empowering grassroots volunteers to send personal, heartfelt letters encouraging fellow Americans to vote.

What we do

Vote Forward is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization that empowers grassroots volunteers to send handwritten letters encouraging fellow Americans to vote. The majority of our letter-writing campaigns are nonpartisan campaigns, supporting our core 501c(3) and 501c(4) social-welfare mission, which focus on mobilizing potential voters in historically marginalized communities—such as people of color, women, and young voters. We also support 501(c)(4) partisan campaigns to encourage likely-Democratic voters to turn out in strategic states and districts.

285k+

Volunteers powering this work

33.6M+

Handwritten letters sent to voters

25+

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted & publicly shared

Our approach

Volunteer-powered

Our volunteers are a mix of experienced activists and new volunteers inspired by letter writing: In 2020, more than one-third of surveyed letter writers had never volunteered for a civic or political cause before Vote Forward.

Collaborative

We’re making letter writing available to the broader pro-democracy movement. Vote Forward has powered efforts by a diverse coalition of 100+ organizations—nonprofits, faith-based organizations, companies, political groups, and more—providing our platform and support at zero cost to them.

Evidence-driven

Vote Forward has tested the effectiveness of its letters on voter turnout more than 25 times over the past six years, and measured a positive impact nearly every time. Learn more about our experiments here.

Scalable

Our team can quickly launch and grow impactful letter writing campaigns—targeting anywhere from thousands to millions of potential voters—while supporting the thousands of grassroots volunteers who power them.

Our Partners

Our origin story

Vote Forward began in 2017 as an experiment conducted by Scott Forman in Alabama, where he sent 1,000 letters to encourage voters in the special U.S. Senate election.

Encouraged by the success of that test, Scott and a small group of friends and colleagues built the first version of this platform to allow volunteers to take easy and effective action in future elections. We’re so proud of how this community has grown over the years—and the impact we’ve achieved together.

Program Staff

Yasmin Radjy

Executive Director

she/her

Yasmin has more than 15 years of experience as a visionary leader in elections, advocacy, organizing, and outreach. Before Vote Forward, she served in the Biden administration as Senior Advisor for Recovery Program Outreach at the Department of Treasury, leading efforts supporting the implementation of the American Rescue Plan. Previously, she was National Political Director at Planned Parenthood Action Fund (PPAF), Director of Organizing and Training at PPAF and Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and Virginia State Director at Mobilize during the 2017 election. She received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania and her MPP from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. She is based in D.C.

LeJamiel "Lee" Goodall

Managing Director

he/him

Lee provides leadership and support across departments to help teams meet their strategic goals. He is passionate about promoting democracy and increasing citizen participation in elections and public policy. Before joining Vote Forward, Lee was a presidential appointee in the Biden-Harris administration as Senior Advisor at the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA). He previously served as Chief of Staff at the District of Columbia's Department of Transportation and consulted for Access Health Connecticut, helping launch the state's health exchange under the Affordable Care Act. He has served in leadership roles in 2008 & 2012 Obama for America campaigns, Organizing for America, and at the Democratic National Committee. Before entering politics, Lee worked in financial services at Morgan Stanley. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Northwestern University and is a proud Cubs fan and Chicago native.

Emily Wasserman

Sr. Director of Voter Contact

she/her

Emily Wasserman leads our data and research team, and is responsible for designing, executing, and assessing our grassroots voter contact programs. She’s worked in educational technology at the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, and in social psychology and neuroscience at Boston College. She graduated from Pomona College with a B.A. in Cognitive Science and is based in San Luis Obispo, California.

Phong Le

Data and Research Analyst

he/him

Phong Le manages the data and science for our experimental campaigns. His background is in mathematics and statistics, and he’s interested in the community applications of data. He has a Ph.D in theoretical mathematics from U.C. Irvine, and is based in Baltimore.

Nia Bentall

Sr. Director, Mobilization & Partnerships

she/her

Nia leads our national-scale mobilization and partnerships strategies. She created the inaugural Swing Left College Fellowship in 2018 and has expanded her role to support mobilization and partnerships for both Swing Left and Vote Forward since then. She has over 10 years of reproductive rights and electoral organizing experience, previously holding positions at Planned Parenthood. She graduated with a BA in American Government from the University of Virginia and is based in D.C.

Technical Staff

Sam Hall

Development Director

she/her

Sam oversees our mid-tier fundraising program, institutional giving, and special events. She led nonprofit fundraising at several other organizations before joining our team. She earned her MA in Social Policy from UPenn and lives in Philadelphia.

Patrick Higgins

Sr. Director, Engineering

he/him

Patrick leads our software development and data analytics efforts. He’s plied his trade for tech startups, nonprofits, and political campaigns, including Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential bid. He lives in Eagle Mountain, UT.

Anna Langer

Sr. Director, Product

she/her

Anna leads our efforts to strategically harness digital platforms. With deep experience in the tech start-up space, she firmly believes in the power of UX as a positive change catalyst. She holds a Master of Public Policy from the University of Minnesota and a BA from Carleton College, and is based in the Bay Area.

Adin Lenchner

Head of Program & Strategy

He/him

Adin leads our organizing and mobilization teams, overseeing volunteer recruitment and GOTV strategy. He holds a BA from Wheaton College in Massachusetts and is based in Brooklyn.

Nick Hutchins

Head of Communications & Digital

he/him

Nick oversees our PR, social media, email, and brand. Previously, he’s held positions at Vote.org and the Human Rights Campaign. He has a BA in political science from the University of Tennessee and an MA in global communication from GW. He lives in Charlottesville, VA.

Sheamanti Haque

Sr. Director, Digital

she/her

Sheamanti oversees email marketing, social media, graphic design, SMS, and influencer marketing. She was previously the Digital Director for the Texas Democratic State party. She holds a BA in International Relations in Communications and Media and is based in Dallas.

Andrea Riveron

Executive Office Director

she/her

Andrea supports senior leadership by managing cross-functional alignment and executive office priorities. She’s an experienced program manager with a background in driving social impact through digital content. She holds a BA in Cinema-Television Production from USC.

Michelle Alwardt

Head of Operations

she/her

Michelle leads our financial, compliance, legal, administrative, and people programs. She has spent over 10 years managing the operations needs of mission-driven organizations including Planned Parenthood Action Fund and the Victory Fund. She’s driven by a deep passion for the advancement of intersectional and progressive causes, and calls Atlanta home.

View our board