We are a national strategy, communications, and organizing center working to connect and empower the 40% of Americans who identify themselves as independents. Our mission is to develop a movement of independent voters for progressive post-partisan reform of the American political process.
David Cherry, Chicago, Illinois, is the City Leader of the All Stars Project of Chicago. For more than 25 years, Cherry, a seasoned community organizer and activist, has helped diverse communities develop around issues of democracy, social justice and inclusion. He is the founder of United Independents of Illinois.
Leah Clifford, Administrative Assistant, has roots in the Democratic Party, but in recent years, she has found herself increasingly alienated by America’s two-party system. Originally planning on pursuing a career in education, she began to see the flaws in how major institutional systems have failed, especially due to political party gridlock. While finishing her degree, COVID-19 occurred, and it was the straw that broke the camel’s back. She began to pursue other avenues to make sustainable social change, and in 2022 she joined the Independent Voting team.
Leah graduated with a B.S. in Human Development from the University at Albany, State University of New York in 2021. She provides everyday administrative support while also playing an integral role in the execution of special projects at IV.
Leah grew up in New York’s Hudson Valley region and now resides in Saratoga Springs, New York.
Caroline Donnola is the Executive Assistant to Jacqueline Salit, President of Independent Voting, a position she has held since 2011. Originally from New York, she spent 25 years building the independent political movement in diverse areas of the country, including the Baltimore/DC area; North Carolina; and Seattle, Washington.
In 2001, Donnola moved to San Francisco to help launch a local branch of the All Stars Project, a national nonprofit which produces cutting-edge development programs for inner-city kids. During this time she helped form Independent Voice, California’s chapter of Independent Voting. In 2010, Donnola was active in the state’s successful campaign for a Top Two Primary system.
A former English teacher, she has a BA from Franconia College.
Jessie Fields, MD, New York, New York, is an attending physician in Internal Medicine affiliated with the Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan and on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine. She is a primary care physician at the Mount Sinai Faculty Practice in the Harlem community. Dr. Fields is a vice chairperson of the New York County Independence Clubs.
Harry Kresky, General Counsel at Independent Voting, is one of the country’s foremost legal authorities on issues relating to political reform as well as on concerns of independent voters, candidates and parties. He was appointed by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to the 2002 New York City Charter Revision Commission and served as Chair of the Election Law Committee of the New York County Lawyers Association, 2010-2013.
Kresky has participated in litigation in defense of open primaries and in support of independent candidates in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Jersey, New Mexico, Hawaii, South Carolina and West Virginia. Op-eds authored by him have appeared in the Albany Times Union, Daily Beast, Huffington Post, Newsday, Rochester Chronicle & Democrat, Sacramento Bee, and the Tacoma News Tribune.
Kresky is a graduate of Columbia Law School where he served on the Board of Editors of the Law Review.
Gwen Mandell, Director of National Outreach, is in constant dialogue with independents looking to defeat partisanship and renew our democracy. Mandell has met, guided and trained thousands of independents, many new to politics, and helped them develop as leaders in their communities. She works with activists who want to build local chapters of Independent Voting by giving them tools and support. Mandell edits The Hub, IndependentVoting.org’s online newsletter, and is chief organizer of Jackie Salit’s national conference call, the largest of its kind in the country.
Mandell became active at the age of 18 organizing on the streets of New York City and in welfare centers with the New York City Unemployed and Welfare Council. She travelled the country on independent petitioning drives, including for Dr. Lenora Fulani’s historic 50-state presidential campaign and booked independent activists and innovators on national media and speaking tours.
Mandell has a BA from Barnard College.
Cathy Stewart, Vice President for National Development at Independent Voting, has been a community organizer and strategist in the independent political movement since the early 1980’s. In 1994, she helped found the Independence Party of New York. In 2001, 2005 and 2009, she ran the Party’s voter pull operations for Michael Bloomberg’s winning mayoral campaigns. She currently coordinates the NYC Independence Clubs, a part of the IndependentVoting.org network.
Stewart’s unique expertise lies in designing and implementing bottom-up organizing thrusts, including building and mobilizing organizations of independent voters; ballot access and voter registration drives; and outreach to diverse constituents with a political reform message. She founded and hosts Politics for the People, an online book club and blog for independent activists, featuring an interactive conference call with the authors of selected books.
Stewart holds an MS degree in nursing from Simmons College, and worked in the community health arena for over a decade.
Starting in February 2020, Cathy is on assignment with The People where she serves as the National Field Director.