NICD Staff
He was recruited to lead NICD because he had recently launched CommonSense American, a new organization that brings Republicans, Democrats, and Independents together from across the country to identify solutions with broad grassroots support and then champion them in Congress. CommonSense American’s more than 50,000 members are three-for-three. They played meaningful roles in helping Congress pass bipartisan legislation ending surprise medical billing in 2020, investing in America’s physical infrastructure in 2021, and updating the Electoral Count Act in 2022.
Keith piloted CommonSense American at the state level in Idaho from 2005 – 2009. Its major legislative achievements led the Idaho Democratic Party to make the unusual move of asking him, as an independent, to be their nominee for Governor in 2010.
Prior to returning home to pilot the citizens’ group, Keith was the first professor of conflict resolution at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He started his academic career as a professor at Columbia University.
Keith has also served in a variety of business leadership roles. Most recently, he was a senior partner at the Cicero Group, ranked the 12th best boutique management consulting firm in the world by Vault.com. He was also a member of the Board of Directors for Perpetua Resources, which trades on NASDAQ (PPTA), where he chaired the Compensation Committee and served on the Governance and Audit Committees.
Keith earned a PhD in Organizational Behavior from UCLA and BA in American History from Stanford.
A fifth-generation Idahoan who grew up working summers on the family cattle ranch, Keith finished eighth in the world standings of the National Cutting Horse Association in 2017 after competing in the World Finals in Fort Worth.
He and Christine are the proud parents of Anna, Dan, and Cate.
Prior to joining NICD, she served as the Senior Director of Field Support for the League of Women Voters of the United States. There she worked with national, state and local leadership on internal governance programs and civic capacity building through development of a nationwide training system and volunteer coaching structure to increase organizational outreach and effectiveness. Prior to that she served as Executive Director of AFL-CIO’s national youth group, where she developed an international anti-child labor campaign called the Toycott (a boycott of toys made in China). Cheryl also served as Legislative Director for the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group (MPIRG) and helped pass a state “motor voter” law designed to increase voter registration among under represented populations through public agencies. She also worked as a district Field Representative for Minnesota Congressman Gerry Sikorski when he served in Congress.
She and her husband Alain Fournier enjoy spending time in nature and observing birds through experiences in our country’s state and national parks.
Beth received her Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University, her M.S. Degree from George Peabody College, and her B.A. Degree from David Lipscomb College. Beth has been married to Sam for over 25 years and they have three children – Allie, Sam, and Tucker. Beth enjoys spending time with her family, likes the outdoors, and is an avid reader.
Tom has been studying, working and teaching state legislative leaders for more than thirty years since he served as a 20 year old legislative intern in the 1985 North Carolina General Assembly. After earning his Ph.D. in Political Science with a focus on legislative politics from The Ohio State University, Tom taught for ten years at American University and the University of Texas at Arlington before starting to work with the State Legislative Leaders Foundation. For more than twenty years, Thom has served as SLLF’s Director of Curriculum Development and Research where he has coordinated programs on everything from biotechnology to crisis management. He has also written case studies on state legislative leadership in states from Alabama to Ohio.
He has edited four books, published dozens of scholarly articles and chapters, and offers trainings and workshops for those interested in learning about how to engage differences constructively in a variety of settings. He received his PhD from Cornell University.
He is the author or editor of nine books, including "The Deregulatory Moment? A Comparative Perspective on Changing Campaign Finance Laws" (2016); "Getting Primaried: The Causes and Consequences of Congressional Primary Challenges" (2013); and "Interest Groups and Campaign Finance Reform in the United States and Canada" (2011). He is currently completing a book manuscript on how American politicians discuss political corruption.
He received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Carleton College.
Bonnie earned her B.A in English from Wesleyan University and her J.D. from New York University School of Law (with an emphasis in environmental law). She clerked for two federal judges and served in the Honors Program at the U.S. Department of Justice as a trial attorney in the Environmental Crimes Section. Bonnie prosecuted over 20 federal trials and worked on the Exxon Valdez case.
Bonnie and her husband Bruce Reed have raised a daughter Julia Reed and a son Nelson Reed who have also worked in education, law, and government. Bonnie is the President of the Cleveland Park Historical Society. She serves on the board of the Australian American Leadership Dialogue. Bonnie is also a Bridge Building Co-Chair of the Partnership for American Democracy.
She enjoys her women’s book groups, exercise, cooking, and sporting events – especially baseball and Gonzaga basketball. Bonnie and Bruce live in a very old house and have a young golden retriever, Wrigley. You can find them hiking around the District of Columbia.
Prior to relocating to Washington, DC, she served as President of Boise City Council and was integral to the creation and adoption of Boise’s comprehensive and progressive modern zoning ordinance. She worked to bolster local businesses, support working families, and to pass and implement Boise’s goals of 100% clean energy by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2050. Holli has also served as a State Representative in the Idaho Legislature and in 2014 ran for Idaho Secretary of State. She’s a proud graduate of Boise State University with a BA in English and Executive MBA.
Prior to entering public service, she worked in the renewable energy industry helping to develop and finance wind farms in Idaho and Minnesota before founding Woodings Group, a consultancy specializing in startup energy companies. She has been honored as one of Idaho Business Review’s Women of the Year and Accomplished Under 40, as a Women’s and Children’s Alliance TWIN awardee, a recipient of the Girl Scouts of the USA Thanks Badge and a Boise State University Alumni of Distinction.
Holli has served on many nonprofit boards including the Boise State Foundation, Idaho Women in Leadership, and as Chair of the Girl Scouts of Silver Sage and the North End Neighborhood Association. She has volunteered for the Washington Urban Debate League, Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital, YMCA, NEW Leadership Idaho, and the Yes! For Boise Schools campaign.
Holli lives in NW Washington with her husband Ryan and their two children. They love to explore their new city (especially the restaurants!) by foot, bike, bus and Metro.
In addition to her role at NICD, she lectures international college students on Conflict Resolution, Volunteerism, Diversity in the U.S., Cultural Awareness, and U.S. Government and Politics. She has lived in Israel, England and most recently Denmark.
Mary earned her bachelor’s degree in International Law and Diplomacy with a minor in Middle Eastern Studies from Brigham Young University, and her Masters of Science in Education and Training with an emphasis in empowering women through adult education programs in rural villages of developing countries from the University of Reading in the UK.
She currently resides in Northern Virginia where she loves spending time in nature with her husband, five children and two dogs
She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Summa Cum Laude with a double major in Diplomatic history and International Relations. Her honors thesis in International Relations, The Paradox of International Aid: A Case for Democratic Aid Theory focused on strengthening democracy through coordination between nations. While in university, Steele served her class as the Vice President of External Affairs, President of Alpha Phi, President of Best Buddies and studied abroad at the University of Oxford.
Steele’s work experience includes being an AmeriCorps Member in Ketchikan, Alaska; Center of High Impact Philanthropy in Philadelphia; Crossroads Foundation in Hong Kong; and the African Community Learning Program in Philadelphia.
When Steele’s not working, she enjoys running, reading, pilates, and loves exploring art museums and painting abstracts.
She recently graduated from The George Washington University with a Master of Arts in Political Science. She completed her undergraduate studies May 2022 at GW where she double majored in Political Science and Criminal Justice.
Prior to joining NICD, Ariana worked at Branch Politics as an Elections Reviewer, where she focused on educating voters on potential candidates for the November election. Before that, she was a Research and Communications Intern at Issue One, focusing on government transparency. She helped research 11 states and their respective county clerks and predecessors to identify the clerk turnover rate following the 2020 election.
Ariana aspires to play a role in promoting democracy in the United States and/or Latin America.
Outside of work, you can find Ariana reading at a park.
Jack attended William & Mary, where he graduated with a Bachelor’s of Economics and Public Policy, and received his Master’s of Public Policy in May of 2023. His research and professional experiences center around congressional reform and legislative procedure. Jack spent the summer of 2022 working in the House of Representatives with the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, where he conducted research to support the committee’s mission to create a more transparent, efficient, and effective congress. Jack has also worked on the legislative team of former Virginia Delegate Michael Mullin. Jack’s previous non-policy roles include bartending at fine dining restaurants and directing waterfronts at a summer camp on Lake Michigan.
Outside of the NICD, Jack enjoys playing ultimate frisbee, taking his puppy out on walks, supporting Michigan football, and playing board games with friends.
Jason brings over 20 years of experience in development and design. He has a wide range of familiarity with different web platforms and technologies. He has worked with varying businesses and organizations in both the private, nonprofit and public sectors. Jason has created and managed over a 100 sites that range in both scale and function. He aligns tightly with NICDs purpose and objectives, and is passionate about helping this organization successfully make a difference.
Jason graduated with a degree from BYU Idaho. Jason and his wife Sheri have 5 children ranging in age from 21 to 5 (Talia, Braden, Cooper, Finley, and Gracie). They are active in their church and enjoy supporting and coaching their kids in sports, music, and life.
For the last 20 years Justin Kistner has been at the forefront of digital marketing and software product management. Most recently, he served on the executive team during two exits for digital marketing software companies. Justin has been able to see how digital ad technology and strategies work at the highest levels. This unique access has come from working for top 10 ad software partners for Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Justin has developed strategies and led the execution of over $10M in Facebook advertising for top brands, such as Nike, Invisalign, and Xfinity. Also notable, he holds a patent for a social engagement scoring algorithm. And, his work has been featured in the American Museum of Advertising. Justin has contributed to top-tier tech publications such as Mashable, VentureBeat and ReadWriteWeb. As a speaker or keynote, he has been an invited presenter at conferences such as ad:tech, OMMA Global, Web 2.0 Expo, Blogworld, eMetrics and Social Fresh.
Outside of work, Justin is a passionate vegetable gardener and Oregon Ducks football fan. He lives in Seattle with his wife and son.
In 2016, the RII Business Center was created to serve RII Museums, Centers and Institutes. Christina is currently serving as the Account Manager for the Arizona State Museum, The National Institute for Civil Discourse, the Gem & Mineral Museum, and the Mining and Mineral Museum. She also serves as PCard Liaison for all RIIBC Units. Christina has over 35 years of customer service experience and works with her customers to make sure they get the advice and/or assistance that they require for their success.
Christina is an active member of various UArizona Shared Governance Groups.
In her free time, Christina spends time with her family, and friends. She enjoys cooking, and watching TV.
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.