Our Mission
Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan, all star team of experts dedicated to stopping the assault on democracy and restoring American democracy.
What We Do
Our collective experience informs our work – we’ve seen how autocrats attempt to dismantle democracies, and also how they can be defeated.
Benjamin Franklin famously called for “a republic, if you can keep it” at the 1789 constitutional convention.
At Democracy Defenders Fund, we take action to ensure we will keep – and strengthen – our republic and democratic institutions. We are leading the fight to defend the rule of law, end corruption, and protect democracy.
Meet Our Board of Directors
Ambassador Norm Eisen (ret.)
Co-founder & Board Member
Ambassador (ret.) Norman Eisen is the founder and executive chair of Democracy Defenders Fund, which has been helping lead the successful national court fights against the Trump Administration, helping secure multiple landmark orders against its authoritarian moves. His work in the courts of law is matched by his efforts in the court of public opinion as the co-founder and publisher of The Contrarian. He is also the co-founder and former chair of other major non-profits including CREW and States United.
Joe Walsh
Board Member
William Joseph Walsh is an American politician, talk radio host, former social worker, and former 2020 Republican Party presidential candidate, who served one term in the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois’s 8th congressional district. He attended Grinnell College then earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Iowa in 1985. He completed a Master of Public Policy at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy Studies in 1991.
Spencer Boyer
Board Member
Spencer Boyer is a Partner at DGA-Albright Stonebridge group, leading the firm’s National Security, Defense and Aerospace practice. He served for nearly 3 years in the Biden administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO Policy. His government service includes senior roles in both terms of the Obama administration, including as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs from 2009-2011. He has also served as a Director, Senior Fellow or Visiting Scholar with numerous think tanks, including the Center for American Progress, the Center for Transatlantic Relations at Johns Hopkins SAIS, the Brookings Institution and the Brennan Center for Justice.
Brian Frosh
Board Member
Brian Frosh served as Maryland's 46th Attorney General from 2015 to 2023. During his two terms as Attorney General, Brian Frosh worked to ensure fairness, equality and justice for all Marylanders. Prior to that, he served in the Maryland General Assembly for 28 years, including 12 as chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, where he led the effort to pass gun safety legislation that has been called some of the toughest and most effective in the nation.
Bill Kristol
Board Member
Bill Kristol is the founding director of Defending Democracy Together, an advocacy organization dedicated to defending America's democratic norms and institutions. He is also editor-at-large of The Bulwark and hosts the podcast, "Conversations with Bill Kristol," featuring guests from academia and public life. During the Reagan Administration, he served as chief of staff to Education Secretary William Bennett and as chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle during the Bush Administration.
Lavora Barnes
Board Member
Lavora Barnes is an American political executive, who just stepped down this month from her successful tenure as the Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. She was the first African-American woman elected to the position and the second woman. She was elected to the position in 2019 and stepped down in late 2024. Barnes, a graduate of The College of William and Mary in Virginia, began her political career in her native Virginia. She held various positions in Michigan politics before coming to the MDP in 2015 as the party’s Chief Operating Officer, a post she held until her election to Chair.
Nancy Getner
Board Member
Judge Nancy Gertner is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She assumed senior status on May 22, 2011, and retired outright from the federal bench on September 1, 2011. She is now a professor of practice at Harvard Law School. She is a graduate of Barnard College and Yale Law School where she was an editor on The Yale Law Journal. She received her M.A. in Political Science at Yale University. In 2008 she received the Thurgood Marshall Award from the American Bar Association, Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities, only the second woman to receive it (Justice Ginsburg was the first).
Rahna Epting
Board Member
Rahna Epting is the Executive Director of MoveOn, a member-led grassroots progressive organization working to make this country a place where everyone can thrive; she leads both Move Civic Action and MoveOn Political Action, working to both advance progressive policies and social change and elect candidates who are committed to standing up for an inclusive, progressive agenda. Prior to her work at MoveOn, she served as the chief of staff at Every Voice, managing state and national campaigns, and she was the Member Political Programs director of the Service Employees International Union.
Stephen Richer
Board Member
Stephen is a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and the CEO of Republic Affairs, which provides crisis consulting services to pro-democracy entities and individuals. Previously, Stephen was the elected (Republican) Maricopa County Recorder, responsible for voter registration, early voting administration, and public recordings in Maricopa County, Arizona, the fourth largest county in the United States. Stephen received his J.D. and M.A. from The University of Chicago and his B.A. from Tulane University. Stephen has received many awards and recognitions for his commitment to public service and democracy, including being named “Arizonan of the Year” in 2021 by The Arizona Republic, “Leader of the Year” by the Arizona Capitol Times in 2023, and, in 2024, Time Magazine awarded Stephen as a “Defender of Democracy.”
