Maria Hinojosa dreamt of a space where she could create independent, multimedia journalism that explores and gives a critical voice to the diverse American experience. She made that dream a reality in 2010 when she created Futuro Media, an independent, nonprofit newsroom based in Harlem, NYC with the mission to create multimedia content from a POC perspective. As Anchor and Executive Producer of the Peabody Award-winning show Latino USA, distributed by PRX, and Co-Host of Futuro Media’s award-winning political podcast In The Thick, Hinojosa has informed millions about the changing cultural and political landscape in America and abroad.

Shaniqua McClendon has worked in politics for a decade and currently serves as Political Director for Crooked Media, home to the popular podcast, Pod Save America. In this role, Shaniqua led the creation of their voter engagement program, Vote Save America and volunteer engagement program, Adopt a State, which has educated millions of voters, recruited hundreds of thousands of volunteers and raised millions of dollars for progressive causes and candidates. Prior to Crooked Media, Shaniqua worked on Capitol Hill, serving as a policy advisor to Senator Kay R. Hagan and Legislative Director to Congresswoman Alma S. Adams. Shaniqua earned a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Kim Wyman is Washington’s 15th Secretary of State. First elected in 2012, she is serving her second term and is only the second female Secretary of State in Washington’s history. Prior to being elected to this office, Kim served as Thurston County Elections Director for nearly a decade and was elected Thurston County Auditor from 2001-2013. Secretary Wyman was selected as a Rodel Fellow by The Aspen Institute in 2013, serves as the Board Chair for the Jennifer Dunn Leadership Institute, co-chairs the Council of State Governments Overseas Voting Initiative and is also a past president of the Washington State Association of County Auditors. She serves on the boards of the Washington State Historical Society and TVW, the state’s public affairs television network, and is a member of the Lacey Rotary Club, taking part in numerous civic activities and nonprofit work.

Yanna Krupnikov is Professor of Political Science at Stony Brook University. She is a political psychologist who studies the relationship between political partisanship, political communication and people's willingness to participate in politics. To date, her work has been published in a variety of academic journals, as well as popular press outlets such as the New York Times, CNN and Washington Post. Her first book (published with Cambridge University Press) focuses on people who identify as political independents. Her next book (under contract with Cambridge University Press) focuses on differences in people's engagement with politics. She served as an academic advisor to the Knight Foundation's 100 Million Project.