National Office Staff

Rob Richie, Executive Director

rr@fairvote.org

An expert on international and domestic elections and electoral reform, Rob Richie has directed FairVote since its founding in 1992. Among his activities at FairVote, Richie has:

• been a guest on many radio and television programs, including C-SPAN, NBC News, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, NPR's "Talk of the Nation", "All things Considered" and "Fresh Air" and been a frequent source for print, radio and television journalists;

• published commentary in such publications as New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Roll Call, Nation, National Civic Review, Boston Review, Christian Science Monitor and Legal Times;* co-authored two books,Every Vote Equal (2006) and Whose Votes Count (2001) and had his writings appear in seven other books;

• Spoken to scores of organizations, including at the annual conventions of the American Political Science Association, National Association of Counties, National Association of Secretaries of state, Unitarian Universalists and National Conference of State Legislatures and to the Voting Section of the U. S. Department of Justice, the Lincoln Day dinners of the Alaska Republican Party in Juneau and Anchorage and several groups of foreign dignitaries through the United States Information Agency;

• Worked with congressional and state legislative staff in writing numerous pieces of legislation;

• Testified in special sessions before charter commissions in cities in New York, Florida, Ohio, Texas and Michigan and before state legislative committees in Alaska, Vermont, Virginia and Washington;

• Helped organize eight well-attended national conferences on electoral system reform and worked with hundreds of state reformers supporting fair election methods;

• Toured New Zealand at the invitation of electoral reformers during a successful referendum campaign in that country in 1993 to adopt a proportional voting system; and

• edited FairVote's publications, such as its bi-annual analyses of congressional elections that have received prominent news coverage around the nation.

Born in Washington, D.C. in 1962, Richie graduated from Haverford College with a B.A. in philosophy in 1987. Before co-founding FairVote and becoming its director in 1992, he worked for three winning congressional campaigns in Washington state and for non-profit organizations in Washington and the District of Columbia.  He is married to Cynthia Terrell and is the father of three children: Savanna, Lucas and Rebecca.

You can reach Rob Richie at: rr@fairvote.org. He regularly publishes content on the FairVote Blog.

Cynthia Terrell, Administration

Cynthia Terrell is a founder of FairVote and is currently a board member of several charitable organizations, including the American Friends Service Committee.

Terrell has worked in the area of voting system reform in this country and abroad, traveling in 1993 to New Zealand to support that country's successful referendum to adopt a proportional voting system. She also directed the research for several reports produced by FairVote, including analyses of the 1994 and 1996 congressional elections and the 1992 presidential elections.

Before helping to found FairVote, Terrell worked extensively as a political consultant around the country, working as campaign manager and field director for campaigns for the U.S. President, U.S. House and U.S. Senate, for governor and for state and city-wide initiative efforts. Among these campaigns were a proposed equal rights amendment in 1992 to the Iowa state constitution, the 1992 presidential campaign of Sen. Tom Harkin, Douglas Wilder's 1989 gubernatorial victory in Virginia and former Congresswoman Jolene Unsoeld's congressional campaign in 1990. Terrell also researched the state initiative process for the Fund for the Feminist Majority.

Terrell is a mother of three children and active in civic affairs in Takoma Park, Maryland. She graduated with a B.A. in political science from Swarthmore College in 1986.

Terry Bouricius, Senior Analyst

Terry Bouricius is a senior policy analyst for FairVote. He is a former five-term member of the Vermont House of Representatives. Prior to his election to the legislature, he served ten years on the Burlington, Vermont City Council, including one term as Council President. He graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in political science in 1976. He lives in Burlington, VT with his wife and two children.

FairVote Fellows

Elise Helgesen, Esq. Democracy Fellow
ehelgesen@fairvote.org 

Elise Helgesen is a Democracy Fellow specializing in legal issues. She is originally from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Elise graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2008 with a major in Government. This past May 2011, Elise earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida, Levin College of Law. Elise is admitted to practice law to the Virginia State Bar.

Lindsey Needham, Democracy Fellow
lneedham@fairvote.org

Volunteers and interns at FairVote support the staff in key areas of project management. Meet our current interns.

If you are interested in joining our talented team, see our internship and employment opportunities.