The National Advisory Council
The National Advisory Council is made of 10 elected Brigade members.
Together, they represent the needs, ideas, and goals of all the Brigades and strengthen the network and community.
What is the National Advisory Council?
The National Advisory Council (NAC) serves the Brigade community by connecting Code for America staff to the needs of the Brigade community, matchmaking Brigades to one another to share learnings and ideas, supporting and cultivating community leaders, and leveraging the diverse talent that Brigades contain.
In addition to its advisory role, the National Advisory Council helps Brigade network members build the skills they need to be successful community leaders. Members of the NAC have an expansive network and foster relationships around the country to build the civic tech movement and engage their local communities to improve government.
The current National Advisory Council
There are ten NAC members (2 elected from each of 5 regions), each are elected to serve a two year term with elections alternating each year.
They are:
- Thad Kerosky (Northeast Region, Large MSA, Code for Boston)
- Micah Mutrux (Northeast Region, Small MSA, Code for BTV)
- Tyrek Shepard (Southeast Region, Large MSA, Code for Atlanta
- Froilán Irizarry Rivera (Southeast Region, Small MSA, Code for Puerto Rico)
- Mohith Rao (Central Region, Large MSA, OpenSTL)
- Janet Michaelis (Central Region, Small MSA, Code for Dayton)
- Patrick Collins (Mountains-Plains Region, Large MSA, Code for Denver)
- Erik Dodge (Mountains-Plains Region, Small MSA, Code for Nebraska)
- Bonnie Wolfe (Pacific Region, Large MSA, Hack for LA)
- Annie Steenson (Pacific Region, Small MSA, Code for San Jose)
You can reach the NAC by emailing NAC@codeforamerica.org.
Not sure which region your Brigade is in? Check the Brigade Contact Directory
National Advisory Council meetings
The National Advisory Council meets monthly to discuss their current work, upcoming events and Brigade network needs. The agenda is maintained and facilitated by the Chair and time is split between NAC members and CfA staff.
All agendas and notes are posted on the Code for America Discourse after the meeting.
Additionally, the NAC has two in-person meetings a year: once at Summit and also at Brigade Congress.
Previous National Advisory Council Members
2019–2020
- Em Burnett (At-Large, OpenMaine)
- Thad Kerosky (Northeast Region, Code for Boston)
- Nina Kin (At-Large, Hack for LA)
- Melanie Mazanec (At-Large, Code for Philly)
- Janet Michaelis (Central Region, Code for Dayton)
- Sabrah n’haRaven (At-Large, Code for Asheville)
- Tyrek Shepard (South Region, Code for Atlanta)
- Ben Trevino (At-Large, Code for Hawaii)
- Bonnie Wolfe (West Region, Hack for LA)
2018–2019
- Laura Biediger (South Region, Code for Durham)
- Em Burnett (At-Large, OpenMaine)
- Ramy Kim (West Region, OpenOakland)
- Nina Kin (At-Large, Hack for LA)
- Sabrah n’haRaven (At-Large, Code for Asheville)
- Melanie Mazanec (At-Large, Code for Philly)
- Dawn McDougall (Northeast Region, Code for Philly)
- Janet Michaelis (Midwest Region, Code for Dayton)
- Ben Trevino (At-Large, Code for Hawaii)
2017–2018
- Chris Alfano, Code for Philly
- Laura Biediger, Code for Durham
- Jill Bjers, Open Charlotte Brigade
- Em Burnett, Open Maine
- Jason Hibbets, Open Raleigh Brigade
- Ramy Kim, OpenOakland
- Nina Kin, Hack for LA
- Dawn McDougall, Code for Philly
- Janet Michaelis, Code for Dayton
2016–2017
- Jill Bjers, Open Charlotte Brigade
- Jason Hibbets, Open Raleigh Brigade
- Chris Alfano, Code for Philly
- Neil Planchon, Open Oakland
- Noel Hidalgo, BetaNYC
- Harlan Weber, Code for Boston
- Vyki Englert, Hack for LA
- Luigi Ray-Montanez, Code for Atlanta
- Andrew Kozlik, Code for Orlando