The VoteAmerica team


Daniela Dee
Junior Software Engineer (she/her/hers)

Daniela is too busy working on voter turnout right now to provide a bio, but promises to update this information soon.


Debra Cleaver
Founder & Chief Executive Officer (she/her/hers)

Debra Cleaver has been working at the intersection of technology and democracy since 2004. She is a serial founder whose organizations include FutureVoter (2022), VoteAmerica (2020), ElectionDay.org (2018), Vote.org (2016), Long Distance Voter (2008), and Swing the State (2004). Debra is an alum of Pomona College and Y Combinator, and a former Draper Richards Kaplan Fellow for Social Entrepreneurship.  She speaks frequently on issues impacting voter turnout, with appearances at SXSW, Harvard Law, the Harvard School of Government, and University of Michigan. Debra’s work has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC, C-SPAN, WIRED, Bloomberg, The BBC, Forbes, and more. When she’s not working, Debra is probably sleeping, since she has learned the hard way that her “passion projects” have a way of turning into national organizations.

Emily Behlmann
Senior Software Engineer (she/her/hers)

Emily Behlmann is a senior software engineer at VoteAmerica. Engineering is a second career for Emily, who started her working life as a journalist covering education, politics, and business in Kansas. She has worked in software development and architecture for about eight years, mostly focused on the advertising and fintech industries. Now at VoteAmerica, she’s glad to be able to apply her technical skills to make it as easy as possible for citizens to engage with their democracy. Outside work, Emily can usually be found reading mysteries or camping with her wife, Stephanie, and their hounds, Rose and Cobb.


Emma Kraus
Donor Experience Manager (she/her/hers)

Emma Kraus is the Donor Experience Manager at VoteAmerica. Emma first got involved in politics through the Hillary for America campaign, working as an Organizer in her Ohio hometown. Since then, Emma has worked for a series of political campaigns and organizations including the Texas Democratic Party and Nevada State Democratic Party. She is a graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in Public Health and Political Science. In her free time, Emma enjoys going to her local farmer’s market, cooking, cheering on the Cincinnati Bengals, and antagonizing her cat Apollo.

Jennifer Lauv
Data Engineer (she/her/hers)

Jennifer Lauv is the Data Engineer for VoteAmerica. She earned a Bachelor's in Mechanical and Ocean Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). While at MIT, Jennifer held various leadership positions in many student organizations, including being the project manager for two sustainability programs and communications coordinator for a climate activism group. During her senior year, she was Fall Career Fair Week-of Logistics Co-Director for the largest career fair the institution holds annually and the Engineering Team Lead on her capstone project. Prior to joining VoteAmerica, she worked as a mechanical engineer at L3Harris and volunteered with the Yang2020 presidential campaign, where she helped scale up the volunteer texting program as the campaign gained momentum.

Rebecca Coffman
VP, Growth & Operations (she/her/hers)

Rebecca Coffman is the VP of Growth and Operations at VoteAmerica, supporting the CEO in overseeing revenue, fundraising, marketing/PR, general operations, accounting, and HR. Passionate about preserving and protecting American democracy, Rebecca's core experience lies at the intersection of data, technology, and social impact. Prior to VoteAmerica, Rebecca served as founding Chief Operating Officer at Citizen Data, a SaaS public benefit corporation dedicated to leveraging the power of big data and machine learning to reverse polarizing dynamics in this country. Rebecca also previously worked in several positions — including Digital and Communications Director — at Stand Together, a philanthropic network of non-profits focused on eliminating barriers to opportunity. Rebecca believes that voting and democracy are nonpartisan issues and would love to debate anyone who believes otherwise. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband Mike, son Shiloh, and cat Hamlet.