Our Co-Chairs
Tasha Cole
Tasha is the Deputy Executive Director for Stakeholder Engagement and Chief Diversity Officer for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, a historic role in the organization’s history. In this role, she manages the Committee’s involvement with some of the Committee’s most critical stakeholders that support and guide the Committee’s mission, including Members of Congress and outside partners and allies. Tasha also advises on and manages diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at the Committee, ensuring they remain at the forefront of its culture and decision-making.
Her political experiences include working on several defining moments in political history, including three presidential campaigns, five political conventions, two statewide ballot initiatives, and deputy campaign manager for a U.S. Senate campaign in Florida.
Tasha served for nearly a decade on Capitol Hill as a Chief of Staff, Senior Advisor, and Communications Director for two Members of Congress from Florida.
Guy Cecil
Born and raised in Miami, Florida, Guy Cecil has spent time as a high school teacher, minister, community and political leader, field organizer, non-profit board chairman, and adjunct university lecturer. He was most recently the Chairman of Priorities USA, senior strategist for Priorities USA Action, and is currently President of Miles Strategies. Cecil has served as Executive Director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado.
Cecil has made a mark in public affairs and issue advocacy, having served as a Principal at the Dewey Square Group and National Field Director for the Children’s Defense Fund. He has appeared as an analyst and guest on MSNBC, CNN, NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News, NPR, and news outlets nationwide.
Marquee Award Honorees
2023 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient
Heather Booth
It’s impossible to briefly summarize Heather Booth impact on the progressive movement. Her work is so legendary a documentary was created about her life in organizing, “Heather Booth: Changing the World.” Heather is a also a mentor to hundreds of young progressives who want to make a difference and a career in this work. This is truly why she is so inspiring to our GAIN Power work and community.
She started organizing in the civil rights, anti-Vietnam war and women’s movements of the 1960s. She started JANE, an underground abortion service in 1965, before Roe. There is a new HBO documentary about this called The JANES, and there is a new Hollywood film version of the story, Call JANE.
She was the founding Director and is now President of the Midwest Academy, training social change leaders and organizers. She has been involved in and managed political campaigns as well as several social & political advocacy initiatives over the course of her career.
2023 Next Up Award Recipient
Olivia Julianna
At 20 years old, Olivia Julianna has already made an extraordinary impact on Abortion justice and advocacy. Olivia was a progressive influencer before she famously broke the internet last year. Flipping the switch on trolls and using it to raise awareness and over 2 million dollars for state abortion funds. Her tik-tok and twitter following has grown to over a million, generating national media by raising awareness and more donations for abortion funds. In her home state of Texas she works hard to support Democratic candidates, voting rights, LGBTQIA+ rights and more. She is an inspiration for all generations. We’re honoring her for all this and her impact motivating young activists to turn passions for progressive politics and policy into a profession.
2023 Truth to Power Award Honoree
Congresswoman Grace Meng
Congresswoman Grace Meng represents the 6th CD of New York. She is the first and only Asian American Member of Congress from New York State. Congresswoman Meng serves as the First Vice-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. She is a a co-Chair of the House Bipartisan Taskforce for Combatting Antisemitism, and as a Vice-Chair of the LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.
Meng leads ASPIRE PAC which provides support for Asian American and Pacific Islander candidates and focuses her efforts on expanding and diversifying the electorate. She speaks for those who are not heard, and we are so thrilled to honor her as part of this year’s Powerful IDEA Awards.
2023 Outstanding Labor Leadership Award
President Lee Saunders
Lee Saunders is President of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), AFL-CIO. Saunders is the first African American to serve as AFSCME’s president. In addition, Saunders serves as a vice president of the AFL-CIO Executive Council. He is an at-large member of the DNC, President of Working America and Treasurer of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. He also serves as a board member of Priorities USA and the Democracy Alliance.
President Saunders’ unwavering commitment to supporting workers and the progressive movement is why we’re proud to honor him at this year’s Powerful IDEA Awards.
Living Legend Award Honoree
Henry Muñoz
Henry R. Muñoz III is a businessman, designer, social justice activist, producer, opinion leader and philanthropist. He is currently CEO of Muñoz & Company, the largest and oldest minority-owned architecture and design practice in Texas as well as a founder of TheDream.US, dedicated to placing direct action behind the belief that there is no better place to realize the American dream than through access to the strongest higher education possible today.
Muñoz is a member of the Board of The National Parks Foundation, where he has pushed to establish The American Latino Heritage Fund. He was elected chair of the effort to create a National Latino Museum on the mall in Washington D.C. He is also Chairman Emeritus of The Smithsonian National Latino Board and a Trustee of the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. We are honored to be presenting him with the 2023 Living Legend Award at this year’s Powerful IDEA Awards.
Hidden Figure Award Honoree
Andrea Hailey
Andrea is the CEO of Vote.org, the nation’s largest nonpartisan digital voter engagement organization. Vote.org’s goal is to expand the electorate and encourage people to be lifelong voters.
Andrea led Vote.org to record-breaking growth during the 2020 General Election and the Georgia runoff elections, helping more than 4.4 million people register to vote and more than 3.3 million request mail-in ballots, and leading a 50-state get-out-the-vote operation which made over half a billion voter contacts across the country.
In the 2022 election cycle, Vote.org saw more than 12 million visitors. The organization helped register more than 725,000 voters. In 2022, it reached voters nearly 270 million times using a variety of research-backed tactics, including sending 40 million unique messages to voters.
Andrea and Vote.org’s work has been featured in the New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post, NPR, Bloomberg, TIME and more.
With nearly two decades of experience in voter engagement operations and campaigns, Andrea is a recognized expert on civic engagement and a staunch defender and promoter of democracy. Prior to joining Vote.org, she served as the founder of Civic Engagement Fund, an incubator for grassroots nonprofit organizations focused on voter empowerment and engagement. She has advised and supported the efforts of presidential and congressional candidates, ballot initiatives, and historic landmarks, including the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial on the National Mall, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Andrea launched her career on Capitol Hill in the office of Representative Patrick Kennedy.
In addition to leading Vote.org, Andrea sits on the boards of NARAL and Bend The Arc, serves on the Leadership Council of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, and is a member of the Society of Fellows for the Aspen Institute.
Thank you to our sponsors!
What are the Powerful IDEA Awards?
Categories
TRANSFORMATIONAL TALENT & LEADERSHIP
Recognizing transformational talent. The people who do the work to impact our democracy, elections and advocacy. These include the candidates, campaign and organizational staff, and dedicated artists, and activists.
CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS/CONTENT
Creative communication or pieces of content using video, print, digital, audio, other other media for the purposes of communicating with members, voters, donors, activists, or other niche audiences.
Transformative Technology
Recognizing the technology built to organize, mobilize, fundraise and communicate with members, voters, donors, or activists.
INSPIRATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND CAMPAIGNS
Thousands of organizations from nonprofit educational and advocacy campaigns, party committees, political action committees, and social impact companies are dedicated to protecting our democracy, running electoral and legislative issue campaigns, voter education, and of course electing leaders who share our values. These awards will recognized the most inspirational and impactful ones.
POWERFUL PROGRAMS, EVENTS + ACTIVITIES
Critical programs events are run by formal and informal, organized and organic collectives and coalitions, single individuals and organizations. These awards will recognized the most powerful and impactful ones this past year.
