Publisher Description
The Laurence and Lynne Brown Democracy Medal, presented by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, recognizes outstanding individuals, groups, and organizations that produce innovations to further democracy in the United States or around the world.
Elections are the bedrock of any democracy, but they are under attack in the United States. State legislatures are moving to limit voting rights and seize control of election administration, candidates are refusing to accept election results, and antidemocracy forces are sowing lies and encouraging political violence.
The States United Democracy Center is fighting back by equipping state and local officials, law enforcement leaders, and prodemocracy partners with the tools and resources they need to protect free, fair, and secure elections. For this important work, its cofounders are the recipients of the 2022 Brown Democracy Medal. States United was founded during the 2020 election and continues to be led by Joanna Lydgate, former chief deputy attorney general of Massachusetts; Norman Eisen, former ambassador to the Czech Republic and special assistant to President Barack Obama for ethics and government reform; and Christine Todd Whitman, former New Jersey governor and Environmental Protection Agency administrator.
Download and start listening now!
About the Authors
Ambassador Norman L. Eisen (ret.) is the Co-Founder and Executive Chair of the States United Democracy Center. An attorney and author who has served in a broad array of government roles, he was special counsel and special assistant to President Barack Obama for ethics and government reform from 2009-11. Following his service in the White House, he was ambassador to the Czech Republic from 2011-14, where he was noted for his rule of law and other initiatives. Eisen is currently a senior fellow at a D.C. think tank and a legal analyst for a cable television network in addition to his duties at States United. His writing has frequently appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, USA Today, and CNN. He has been named to the Washingtonian’s Most Influential People, Politico 50, and the Forward 50. Eisen was the inspiration for the crusading attorney Deputy Kovacs in Wes Anderson’s movie, The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Christine Todd Whitman is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of the States United Democracy Center and the former Governor of New Jersey. After her two terms as New Jersey’s first female Governor, she served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Governor Whitman is the co-chair of the Meridian Institute Board and Chairman of the American Security Project. Previously she served as co-chair of the Commission on the Rule of Law and Democracy at the Brennan Center at New York University. Additionally she is Vice-Chairman of the Eisenhower Fellowships Board of Trustees and co-chair of the National Institute for Civil Discourse. She is the author of the New York Times best seller, It’s My Party Too.
Joanna Lydgate is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the States United Democracy Center. Prior to launching States United, she served as the Chief Deputy Attorney General of Massachusetts, where she spent several years leading the state’s most prominent litigation against some of the worst corporate actors in U.S. history, working with a bipartisan team of colleagues from across the country. Joanna also oversaw criminal enforcement for the Attorney General’s Office, which serves as the chief law enforcement office in Massachusetts, coordinating daily with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners. Joanna has also served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Rights Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, a law clerk to Judge Norman H. Stahl on the First Circuit Court of Appeals, and worked in non-profit legal services in New York City. Named one of the 2021 Top Women of Law by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Joanna is a graduate of Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
About Liisa Ivary
Liisa Ivary loves to tell stories that take you on the characters’ journey. From theater to audiobooks to teaching, Liisa brings listeners along with humor, rigor, safety, and ease.