Board chair of Vote Smart, nonprofit executive, and former senior U.S. Government official
Tess McEnery is a democracy and human rights advocate with two decades of crisis-tested leadership across the U.S. government, national nonprofits, and grassroots coalitions. McEnery is currently the board chair of Vote Smart, where she is modernizing the storied voter education nonprofit into a sustainable, tech-forward civic platform. McEnery is also an election officer in her community, and she co-leads the ICE-Out of Alexandria (Virginia) coalition, challenging discriminatory law enforcement practices and demanding due process for all Alexandrians.
Previously, McEnery was Executive Director of the Middle East Democracy Center, where she undertook a rare nonprofit merger during a time of war and financial crisis. In her 15 years of U.S. government service, McEnery was twice Director for Democracy and Human Rights at the White House National Security Council. At the State Department, she led a Global Democracy and Human Rights Policy Team and served as a Senior Conflict Prevention Advisor.
McEnery began her career at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), where she managed USAID’s largest democracy assistance mechanism and pioneered the agency’s electoral security initiative. McEnery received her Master of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University and her Bachelor of Arts in political science from Guilford College. With global experience and grassroots know-how, McEnery is passionate about developing technology policies and practices that deliver more promise with less peril.
