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Campaign Verify is a U.S. nonprofit organization founded in 2020 with a mission to "provide a public service on a non-partisan basis to verify the integrity and authenticity of text message and other communications related to political campaigns and elections in order to educate the public, ensure public confidence in American elections, and protect political and civic rights in the election system."
Campaign Verify envisions a digital landscape where essential information reaches U.S. citizens, disinformation is substantially decreased, and the public restores trust in political and educational digital discourse.
Campaign Verify was founded in 2020 to help preserve trust in U.S. elections.
None of us needs reminding that election security is a major concern for our nation. In 2017, FBI Director Christopher Wray established the Foreign Influence Task Force to identify and counteract malign foreign influence operations targeting the United States. According to the FBI, “[t]he goal of these foreign influence operations directed against the United States is to spread disinformation, sow discord, and, ultimately, undermine confidence in our democratic institutions and values.”
Because text messaging, with its immediacy and high message open-rate, is such a compelling communications tool, it is at risk of being exploited by foreign influences as well as domestic bad actors. Campaign Verify inserts an important checkpoint into the process of establishing a political text message campaign, and allows all parties to trust that the message sender is who they say they are. Initially, Campaign Verify authenticated federal campaigns, and in 2021, expanded to verify state and local campaigns.
The security of our elections is neither a Republican nor a Democratic issue, but a looming threat to the fundamental integrity of our country’s democratic institutions. That’s why Campaign Verify was founded by a board of directors with vast experience in wireless messaging and with political campaigns on both sides of the aisle. Working with each other, and with leaders in both the political and telecommunications communities, they created Campaign Verify as a non-partisan, non-profit charitable organization dedicated to protecting U.S. election candidates’ messaging campaigns from malicious threats.
MEAGAN BOLTON
Board Member
Meagan Bolton is Of Counsel in Ice Miller’s Public Affairs Group, where she focuses her practice in technology and telecommunications policy. Meagan leverages her passion for social justice and equitable access to broadband and tech opportunities to develop effective strategies for clients. Prior to joining Ice Miller, Meagan served as Chairman Gary C. Peters’ technology, telecommunications and judiciary counsel in the U.S. Senate where she helped pass legislation expanding rip-and-replace funding. She also assisted Sen. Peters in the selection and ultimate appointment of Michigan’s first black female U.S. Attorney and confirmation of Michigan’s first federal judge of South Asian descent. She previously served Congress as the tech and telecom counsel for the U.S. House Committee on Small Business majority staff and worked as in-house counsel at Universal Service Administrative Co. which is designated by the FCC to administer nearly $10 billion in funding to connect rural and low income homes to broadband services. Additionally, Meagan represented tech, telecom, media and labor clients as senior director and counsel at a government relations, public policy and digital advocacy firm.
In law school, Meagan held positions at the FCC in the office of former Chairwoman Mignon L. Clyburn and Wireline Competition Bureau, Comcast NBCUniversal, CTIA, VMware, Florida State Conference NAACP, and United States Federal Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida. She was also named Multicultural Media Telecom and Internet Council's Earle K. Moore fellow for her work as law clerk to founder and President Emeritus, David Honig.
Prior to law school, Meagan developed and managed the real estate litigation department at an established, full-service law firm and managed cases in the areas of commercial and residential mortgage foreclosure, civil litigation, bankruptcy, family law and intellectual property law.
DAVID DIGGS
Board Member, Treasurer
David Diggs began his wireless career in the mid-1970s with American Radio Telephone Service (ARTS), a mobile services company in the mid-Atlantic that operated one of two experimental cellular networks licensed by the FCC. He served with several wireless operators through 1995, when he joined CTIA, the wireless industry trade association. Diggs was formerly VP Wireless Internet Development at CTIA, where he led industry efforts to establish the guidelines for text messaging services published as the CTIA Messaging Principles & Best Practices. As Principal of David Diggs & Associates, Diggs subsequently consulted for clients in the messaging ecosystem and contributed to the M3AAWG’s Mobile Messaging Best Practices for Political Programs in the United States, published in April 2020.
DOUG BUSK
Board Member, Secretary
Over the span of his career, Doug has excelled at connecting audiences to their favorite brands via omni-channel story-telling. Currently, he advises clients on how to scale their story-telling and engagement via his role with the global consulting division of Slalom, LLC.
As Vice President of Enterprise Communications and Marketing at Emory University over 2018-2021, he led university-wide media relations, internal communications, and owned channel content development (emory.edu, social media presence), transforming the university’s share of voice among top competitors. Following that, Doug was interim Chief Marketing Officer for Atlanta-based start-up BoxLock, and interim Executive Director of non-profit Campaign Verify where he continues to hold a board seat.
Previously, Doug was Group Director of Digital Communications & Social Media at The Coca-Cola Company, where responsibilities included overseeing the evolution and international expansion of the Coca-Cola Journey storytelling platform; driving strategic growth of the company’s corporate social media channels; and leading the development and execution of digital training and capability-building worldwide. In 2013, Doug spearheaded the creation and launch of the HUB Network, Coca-Cola’s global social listening, analysis and engagement platform, connecting and harmonizing the real-time work of more than 2,000 social media marketers worldwide.
Other notable achievements in Doug’s career include the strategy behind and implementation of the landmark mobile marketing and organizing efforts of the 2008 Obama presidential campaign and, while with Verizon Wireless, the establishment of mobile donation via text messaging in the US.
JEN HARRINGTON
Board Member
Jen Harrington is a Partner at Red Spark Strategy, a digital fundraising and marketing agency. Jen has extensive experience in campaign management and digital fundraising. Among other roles, she served as Chief Operating Officer of Opn Sesame, a Peer-to-Peer (“P2P”) communications technology company that enables two-way texting conversations, and Director of Special Projects for a large digital agency specializing in online media, strategy and fundraising. Jen started her career managing campaigns and then working for the Department of Homeland Security and The White House.
DAVE LEICHTMAN
Chairman of the Board
Dave Leichtman is the Director of Corporate Civic Responsibility at Microsoft. As part of the company’s Democracy Forward program, he runs internal and external civic engagement efforts and works with elections officials in the US and internationally to address tech and security needs. Dave also leads the company's internal coordination around US election security and readiness as well as international election strategy.
Previously, Dave worked as a Vice President at Salsa Labs, then one of the largest progressive non-profit advocacy tech vendors. Prior to that, he started both the Training and Analytics practices at Blue State Digital and served as the company's liaison to the Obama Campaign in 2008. Dave is a recognized thought leader in the Democratic tech ecosystem, working regularly with state parties and the Democratic National Committee to address their tech needs. He served two terms as a Vice-chair of the Democratic Party of Virginia and is now a statewide Virginia representative to the DNC.
Dave holds a B.S. in Physics and Computer Science from William & Mary and an M.S. in Particle Physics from University of Washington. He lives in Arlington, VA with his wife and two daughters.
MATT LIRA
Board Member
Matt Lira has a unique mixture of experiences in government, national campaigns, and the private sector - gaining first-hand insights into our nation’s political and governing institutions. His career has been centered at the intersection of politics, government, and the emerging digital economy. He was the Special Assistant to the President for Innovation Policy and Initiatives. Prior experience includes working as a Senior Advisor for the U.S. House of Representatives and serving as a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy’s School Institute of Politics. Matt is a strong believer in the potential of digital platforms to improve our nation's governing institutions - ultimately creating a smarter, more efficient and effective government for all citizens.
ANNA QUINT
Executive Director
Serving as Campaign Verify’s Executive Director, Anna works closely with the Board of Directors and technical advisors to lead initiatives related to identity verification, operations, marketing, external outreach and communications. Previously, she worked as the Communications and Development Specialist at Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind, and served as a consultant for tech, social impact and nonprofit organizations. Prior, in Los Angeles, she co-founded a boutique branding firm focused on linking emerging luxury brands with celebrities, and provided client service and marketing support at Christie’s.
Anna currently serves on the Advisory Board for the Many Hats Institute and guides programming for the Banu Foundation, an anti-human trafficking nonprofit. She has also volunteered extensively for organizations including the American Cancer Society, The Art of Elysium, and Kidsave. Anna received a Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature/Letters from the University of California, Los Angeles. A native of Washington, DC, she spent several years in Los Angeles and time in Telluride before returning to DC where she currently resides. Anna enjoys travel, nature, swimming, abstract painting, yoga and meditation.
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Campaign Verify’s nonpartisan Advisory Board consists of over 20 key players in the tech and messaging industry. The Advisory Board helps guide strategic initiatives related to the identity verification platform and process, and influences Campaign Verify’s role in the broader messaging ecosystem. Among the companies participating in the Campaign Verify Advisory board are:
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