David Rossini

Alma mater and major: Vassar College, Sociology
Job experience: Change Corps Co-founder, Fair Share National Canvass Director, Green Corps Organizing Director, The Public Interest Network Training Director
Favorite all-time campaign: In 2004, I worked with the Student PIRGs' New Voters Project to register 18-24 year old voters in New Mexico. We doubled the youth vote in the state over the previous presidential election in 2000. To help make that happen, I had the chance to travel to virtually every college campus in one of the most beautiful and interesting states in the country over the course of six weeks, engaging young people in our democracy.
Why David is excited about Impact: "Impact is all about creating the grassroots action, energy and power it takes to make an impact on important issues. And in politically strategic places like Pennsylvania or Colorado, when we reach beyond the usual allies we can really make a big impact!"
Favorite book about social change: "Long Walk to Freedom,” by Nelson Mandela

Laura Deehan

Alma mater and major: UC Davis, International Relations
Job experience: WashPIRG Lead Organizer; CALPIRG Organizing Director
Favorite all-time campaign: Save the Ocean, Ban the Bag. From 2010-2015 CALPIRG worked in cities across California to protect the ocean and ban single-use plastic grocery bags. The local efforts built enough momentum to win passage of the first statewide legislation to ban plastic bags in 2014! We involved more than 50,000 college students in the effort, training hundreds of young people to be activists in their community.
Why Laura is excited about Impact: "For many of society’s problems, we have solutions that the public can agree on. But change only happens when that support is built and mobilized at the right moment. That's what we do at Impact. We organize to win concrete changes that will add up to big change over time and a stronger democracy for the future. I love that!"
Activist hero/ine: Mario Savio

Contact Laura: (510) 844-6804,

Celeste Meiffren-Swango

Alma mater and major: University of Arizona, Sociology
Job experience: OSPIRG Consumer and Taxpayer Advocate, Illinois PIRG Field Director, Citizen Outreach Director with Fund for the Public Interest
Favorite all-time campaign: The very first campaign I worked on: helping to pass the Global Warming Solutions Act in California in 2006.
Why Celeste is excited about Impact: “At Impact, we are solutions oriented. We don’t just lament about the big problems our country is facing, but instead we spend all our time and energy working to make change. We do the hard work.”
First concert: Bob Dylan

Contact Celeste: (503) 231-4181 x306,

Megan Severson

Alma mater/major: Lawrence University, Government & Spanish
Job experience: Student PIRGs' Midwest Organizing Director, Wisconsin Environment State Director
Favorite all-time campaign: 2008 New Voters Project. We registered thousands of students throughout the Midwest to vote, and students turned out to the polls in record numbers that Election Day.
Why Megan is excited about Impact: "I believe that most people want to help make the world a better place. But with issues like global warming, polluting industries, and all-powerful banks, the problems can often feel so overwhelming that most citizens don't know where to start. That's why I'm excited about Impact. Impact is training up the next generation of organizers — people who have the passion, the skills and the vision to motivate the rest of our society to speak up and take action."
Favorite book about social change: "Silent Spring," by Rachel Carson

Contact Megan: (608) 268-0511,

Len Montgomery

Alma mater/major: Oberlin College, Political Theory
Job experience: Organizer and Organizing Director, The Student PIRGs; Canvasser, Canvass Director and Regional Director, Fund for the Public Interest; Policy Associate, Frontier Group
Favorite all-time campaign: The "No on 23" campaign in California, where we organized college students to defeat a bad ballot initiative that would have set back global warming protections.
Why Len is excited about Impact: "I can't wait to work with the new class of organizers to take on important issues. The more work we can do in the states and the more volunteers and activists we work with, the more social change we can make!"
First concert: Arlo Guthrie

Contact Len: (303) 573-5995 x326,

Adam Rivera

Alma mater/major: University of Pennsylvania, Philosophy, Politics, and Economics
Job experience: Environment Florida Campaign Organizer, Environment Florida Advocate, Environment America Assistant National Field Director, The Public Interest Network Solar Campaign Organizing Director
Favorite all-time campaign: Working to stop offshore drilling in Florida.
Why Adam is excited about Impact: "The organizing and movement-building work we do could be what makes the difference on many of the most important issues of our time."
Activist hero/ine: Bayard Rustin

Contact Adam: (202) 683-1250 x383,

Katie Otterbeck

Alma mater/major: University of Notre Dame, Psychology & Environmental Sustainability
Job experience: Impact organizer based in Denver working on Environment Colorado's solar energy campaign
Favorite all-time campaign: Environment Colorado's solar energy campaign!
Why Katie is excited about Impact: "I'm excited about Impact because it's an opportunity for people to take on the responsibility of a critical campaign — one that will actually create positive, concrete and lasting change on the issues that influence our future. I love that Impact pushes people outside their comfort zone to take on more and accomplish more than they have yet in their lives — because there's just so much at stake."
Activist hero/ine: Cesar Chavez. His classic line "first you talk to one person, face to face, then you talk to another person face to face, and then another..." is something I think about a lot in recruitment. It takes people to build a movement — real, one-on-one connections with people. That's how we'll win.

Contact Katie: (239) 434-7275,