ABOUT US
We are dedicated to strengthening the democratic system with consequential Citizens' Assemblies. We provide technical guidance, build deliberative capacity, and develop best practices through a rigorous learning agenda.
Working alongside North American practitioners and experts, we work to integrate their wealth of experience with insights from European successes in order to advance democratic innovation.
OUR STRATEGIC PILLARS
A three-fold approach to accelerating impact
SCALING DEEP
Embedding a culture of democratic participation through advocacy, awareness-raising, and capacity building. We engage with civil society, educators, and media to elevate deliberative democracy in public discourse and policy circles. Through trainings, public speaking, and the Citizens’ Assembly Schools, we equip public servants, elected officials, and community leaders with the tools to design, deliver, and champion deliberative processes that are representative, equitable, and impactful.
SCALING DOWN
Expanding the reach and quality of Citizens’ Assemblies through hands-on technical support, design oversight, and evaluation. From issue framing to sortition and facilitation, we advise governments and institutions to ensure assemblies meet rigorous standards. We also lead learning agendas—collecting data, comparing models, and sharing insights—to help practitioners continuously improve and adapt to local contexts.
SCALING UP
Fostering movement-building initiatives and achieving institutional and legal reform. We support long-term strategies to integrate deliberative democracy into governance structures—from permanent assemblies to mandates for citizen participation. We collaborate with allies across academia, government, and civil society to push for systemic change, advocating for frameworks that make meaningful citizen engagement a democratic norm rather than an exception.
TEAM
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Movement builder, strategic policy advisor, researcher and practitioner. She is a fierce believer in citizen-centric, inclusive, responsive and impactful government-led engagement that provide citizens with consequential voice in policy reform.
Marjan is a Berggruen Institute Future of Democracy Fellow, an IDEA Senior Fellow, a Senior Associate at MASS LBP, and Strategic Program Director of the Democratic Action Fund. She is on the steering committee of Global Innovations and Democracy (GID) and serves on several boards including Healthy Democracy, the American Friends Service Committee, Apolitical Academy and the Local Policy Lab. She was one of four guarantors selected to the Collège des Garants of the French Citizens’ Convention on the End of Life (Convention Citoyenne sur la Fin de Vie) (2022-2023) and on the Oversight Committee of G1000’s We Need To Talk Citizens’ Panel (2022-2023).
Contact:
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COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR
Ansel Herz is a communications professional with extensive experience in the U.S. Congress and the news media. He worked previously for DemocracyNext, Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Pramila Jayapal.
Ansel studied journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and was a finalist for the Washington Coalition for Open Government Bunting Award. He speaks English and Haitian Creole.
Contact: ansel.herz@gmail.com
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GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
FIDE - Europe & North America
Miguel holds a BA in Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Santiago. Started his professional career at Eurocities, where he collaborated in the development of its citizens’ engagement principles and organized cooperation events for cities and municipalities across Europe.
At FIDE, he is responsible for coordinating our communications across Europe and North America, as well as the organization of our Citizens’ Assembly Schools.
Contact: miguel.gonzalez@fide.eu
LEARNING SERIES
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Learning Series Research Coordinator
Pim is a second-year PhD student in political theory with a focus on plebeian politics, radical democracy, and critical theory. Currently, his projects look at the ways in which people experience political life within modern democracy and anti-oligarchic institutional design.
At FIDE - North America, he leads the team of evaluators behind the Citizens Assemblies Learning Series.
Contact:
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Lead Evaluation Fellow
Case Study: Yukon Citizens’ Assembly.
Mary is a recent graduate of Hamilton College where she majored in Public Policy and minored in French. She began to research citizens’ assemblies during her junior year of college and believes that citizens’ assemblies play a vital role in creating spaces for citizens to engage directly in policy-making processes across North America.
Mary developed our Learning Agenda Methodology to evaluate the impact and strength of Citizens’ Assemblies and led the evaluation of the Yukon Citizens’ Assembly.
Contact:
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Lead Evaluation Fellow
Case Study: Victoria-Saanich Citizens’ Assembly.
Educator, Researcher, and Community builder. Miles draws on experience across political research, teaching pedagogy, instructional design, and athletics that coalesce around the importance of community and communication. Miles is completing his Master's in Political Studies at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. His research focuses on deliberative democracy and the relationship between mini and maxi publics.
At FIDE - North America, Miles is following and analyzing the Victoria-Saanich Citizens' Assembly. Follow his writing in our next Learning Series case study.
Contact: miles.brackenbury@queensu.ca
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Lead Evalution Fellow
Case Study: Boulder, Colorado
Abby McConnell is an Associate Scientist in the Center for Education, Engagement and Evaluation (CEEE) at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado at Boulder. A social scientist by training, Abby employs research and evaluation methods to understand programmatic impacts and help programs better meet the needs of those who engage with them. Abby works to incorporate culturally responsive and trauma-informed evaluation methods and enjoys finding ways to increase collaboration and community involvement in evaluation work.
Contact: abby.mcconnell@colorado.edu
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Lead Evaluation Fellow
Case Study: Millcreek, Utah Citizen Assembly
Executive Board
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Valerie Lemmie
Senior Advisor for State and Local Government
Charles F. Kettering Foundation
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Yves Dejaeghere
Executive Director
FIDE - Europe
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Amy Lee
Associate Director
IDEA, Ohio State University
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Peter MacLeod
Founder
MASS LBP
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Hélène Landemore
Full Professor in the Political Science department
Yale University
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Harry Gottlieb
Founder
Unify America
Founding partners
Federation for Innovation in Democracy - North America
Let’s explore how we can work together — reach out!
3717 Fulton St, NW
Washington DC 20007
