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Courage Campaign Institute Board Member Lindsay Gardner Elected Board Chair, Founder Rick Jacobs Now Emeritus Chair

CONTACT: Brett Abrams | 516-841-1105 | brett@unbendablemedia.com

Courage Campaign Institute Board Member Lindsay Gardner Elected Board Chair, Founder Rick Jacobs Now Emeritus Chair

1.3 Million Member Progressive Advocacy Organization Adds Jamie McGurk, Anat Shenker-Osorio, Christina Livingston & Michael Lux to Board

CALIFORNIA — The California-based Courage Campaign Institute 501(c)(3) announced today that long-time media executive Lindsay Gardner has been named the organization’s new Board Chair. Gardner has served on the Board since 2013. At the same time, Courage Campaign 501(c)(4) has added Jamie McGurk, Anat Shenker-Osorio, and Christina Livingston, and Michael Lux as members of its board. Rick Jacobs, who founded both Courage Campaign and Courage Campaign Institute in 2005 has been named Emeritus Chair. 

Gardner is Chief Content Officer of Layer3 TV, the next generation cable company. He was previously President, Distribution for Fox Networks. He was a member of President Obama’s National Finance Committee and served as National Finance Chair for Rep. Harold Ford’s US Senate campaign.  

  • Jamie McGurk‘s career has encompassed both the entertainment and political worlds, often focusing on the intersection of the two. Jamie has her own film/television production company, Off Balance Productions, and previously co-founded SeaChange Communications, specializing in non-traditional communications in the political and non-profit arena. Prior to this, Jamie worked in various capacities in advertising, marketing and political research. She is currently on the Foundation Board of the California State Summer School for the Arts, and is a former Trustee of The Motion Picture & Television Fund. She has also donated her time as a marketing consultant to Film Independent and The H.E.L.P. Group.
  • Anat Shenker-Osorio is a strategic communications expert, researcher, and political pundit, as well as author of Don’t Buy It: The Trouble with Talking Nonsense About the Economy. Her writing and research have appeared in publications including The Atlantic, Huffington Post, Salon, the Christian Science Monitor.
  • Christina Livingston is the Executive Director of ACCE and the ACCE Institute. She began her organizing career at Los Angeles ACORN in 2004 after graduating from the University of California, Berkeley. There she worked with community members in South LA, developing leaders and organizing campaigns to improve community conditions.
  • Michael Lux is the co-founder of Democracy Partners, a political consulting firm whose mission is building the progressive movement. He also co-founded the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, Progressive Majority, Women’s Voice/Women Vote, and the Center for Progressive Leadership.

“Having been involved with progressive causes all my life, it is truly an honor for me to take a more hands on role with the Courage Campaign’s members and extraordinary staff,” said Lindsay Gardner, chair of Courage Campaign Institute. â€śThere’s never been greater urgency to advance our members’ progressive values and causes than today and this is the right organization to bring about that change.” 

“I could not be more excited to announce that Lindsay is taking on the role of Board chair. He is a true progressive and an accomplished leader. I also want to thank Rick for his years of mentorship and guidance. I’m very glad he will continue to be in our corner as emeritus chair. And it is also an honor that Jamie McGurk, Anat Shenker-Osorio, Christina Livingston, and Michael Lux will be joining Courage Campaign’s more than 1.3 million members in the fight for a more progressive California and country,” said Eddie Kurtz, executive director of Courage Campaign and Courage Campaign Institute. “With this sort of leadership on our boards — we will continue to push California to model progressive solutions for the country. From progressive tax policy to smart gun legislation, to fair overtime pay for farm workers, and statewide carbon reductions, California is a role model for the other states. There is much work to be done, and we are excited to work with the board members of both organizations to make sure that the promise of California is shared by all that live in our State.”

Together, the Courage Campaign and the Courage Campaign Institute have more than 1.3 million members, making it the largest online progressive organization in California.

Members of the Courage Campaign (c)(4) Board include:

Sarah Callahan
Jamie McGurk
Anat Shenker-Osorio
Christina Livingston
Michael Lux

Members of the Courage Campaign Institute (c)(3) Board include:

Lindsay Gardner- Chair
Richard Jacobs- Emeritus Chair
Eric Paquette
Douglas Moore Jr.
Christine Ellice

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CourageCampaign.org fights for a more progressive California and country. We are an online community powered by more than 1.3 million members. The Courage Campaign Institute is the educational arm of the Courage Campaign family of organizations. Our mission is to defend and extend human rights through innovative leadership development, training, strategic research, and public education.

The Courage Campaign Institute is the educational arm of the Courage Campaign family of organizations. Our mission is to defend and extend human rights through innovative leadership development, training, strategic research, and public education.

Courage California, formerly Courage Campaign, works to unite communities organizing for progressive change, fight the forces of corruption, and hold our representatives to account in order to ensure that California’s elected officials act with courage. Our community of members envision California as a model of progressive, equitable, and truly representative democracy that sets the standard for our country.
www.couragecalifornia.org

Contact

Angela Chavez
press@couragecalifornia.org