About Us
Advisory Board
Humanity Forward’s Advisory Board brings together a diverse range of leaders across the political spectrum to educate on evidence-based policy solutions in the spirit of bipartisanship.
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Ja’Ron Smith
Deputy Assistant to President Trump for Domestic Policy
Ja’Ron Smith served as Deputy Assistant to President Trump for Domestic Policy and Deputy Director of the White House Office of American Innovation. Smith was also Special Assistant to President Trump for Legislative Affairs and was the President’s liaison to a wide range of committees, including Ways and Means, Homeland Security, the Congressional Black Caucus, and Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Smith now works as Executive Director of the Center for Advancing Opportunity, which which creates economic mobility for people living in fragile communities.
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Celinda Lake
Leading Democratic Party Pollster and Strategist
Celinda Lake is one of the Democratic Party’s leading political strategists. She was one of two lead pollsters for the Biden campaign in 2020 and continues to serve as a pollster to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), other national party committees, and dozens of Democratic incumbents and challengers. Lake and her firm, Lake Research Partners, are known for cutting-edge research on issues including the economy, health care, the environment and education, and have worked for organizations including the DNC, the Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA), and AFL-CIO.
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Congressman Dennis Ross
Former GOP House Senior Deputy Majority Whip
Former Congressman Dennis Ross (R-FL) served for four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was a Senior Deputy Majority Whip and served on the Committee on Financial Services and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He currently heads the American Center for Political Leadership, an organization dedicated to promoting civic engagement through civil discourse, and is a distinguished professor in the Political Science program at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida. Prior to his time in Congress, Ross served in the Florida State Legislature.
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Sarah Chamberlain
President and CEO, Republican Main Street Partnership
Sarah Chamberlain is President and CEO of the Republican Main Street Partnership (RMSP), a broad alliance of governing Republicans, including more than 70 sitting members in Congress. Chamberlain’s career began in the office of Congressman Amory Houghton, Jr. (R-NY) in Corning, NY. She later became the first executive director of the John Quincy Adams Society in Washington, D.C. Through RSMP, Chamberlain’s work focuses on issues such as healthcare, family issues, workforce development, the environment, and infrastructure.
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Kim Joiner
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy
Anne Kimberley “Kim” Joiner, of Virginia, worked as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Community and Family Policy under President Trump. Joiner has extensive experience in the defense industry, serving as the Director for business development at both General Atomics and FLIR. During the George W. Bush administration, she served in the Department of Homeland Security, as the Director of Immigration, Transportation and Border Security in the Office of Legislative Affairs.
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Gisèle Huff
President, Gerald Huff Fund for Humanity
Dr. Gisèle Huff is president of the Gerald Huff Fund for Humanity. Dr. Huff served as San Francisco University High School’s director of development for twelve years, and the Executive Director for the Jaquelin Hume Foundation. Her policy proficiency includes the Advisory Board for Harvard University’s Program on Education Policy, the advisory committee for the National Charter School Research Project at the Center on Reinventing Public Education, and the Executive Committee of the Digital Learning Council.
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Katy Gaul-Stigge
President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey
Katy Gaul-Stigge is the President and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey, Inc., serving individuals with disabilities and other barriers to employment. Gaul-Stigge previously led workforce and human service initiatives in key city-wide agencies for 14 years. She developed Mayor de Blasio’s Career Pathways strategy as the Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development, and was also Assistant Commissioner at New York City’s Small Business Services (SBS).
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John Belluomini
Former White House, Treasury Task Force Leader on Sustainable Businesses
John Belluomini is a business leader who has worked with and led teams for the US Treasury Department, the White House office of Social Innovation, KPMG, Merrill Lynch, SAP, and Oracle. Belluomini was selected by the White House Office of Social Innovation and the San Francisco Federal Reserve to join four task forces on the creation of sustainable businesses. His expertise in sustainable business was shaped by his work with The Clinton Global Initiative, The Council on Foundations, Milken Institute, Aspen Institute and other organizations.
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Cameron Najafi
Next Generation Leader, Humanity Forward Advisory Board
Cameron Najafi serves as a Next Generation Leader on Humanity Forward’s Advisory Board. At University of Chicago, Cameron studies global catastrophic risk with a focus on the underlying, interlocking set of economic, political, and social conditions that give rise to large-scale risk and how effective coordination and governance can offer holistic solutions.
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Andrew Platt
Co-Founder & CEO of Statt
Andrew Platt is the Co-founder and CEO of Statt, a public policy research and analytics software company that specializes in automated public policy and regulatory intelligence, research, and analysis. Platt previously led policy for a venture-backed fintech company pioneering a pay-for-success financing model for workforce development. Prior to joining the private sector, Andrew was a Democratic state legislator in Maryland and a staffer for a U.S. House Democratic leadership office.
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Karen Andres
Director of Policy and Market Solutions, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program
Karen Andres is the Director of Policy and Market Solutions and Project Director of the Retirement Savings Initiative at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program. Andres spent over 10 years at the Financial Health Network, where she built the Long-Term Savings and Retirement Practice. Previously, Karen led the development of the Financial Health Network membership model and advised a variety of financial services companies seeking to develop high-quality products and services for underserved consumers.