Ken Powley and Chris Newlon founded Team Democracy in early 2021. Its signature initiative is the profoundly nonpartisan Safe and Fair Election Pledge. The Election Pledge is designed to create an important piece of common ground where Americans – and their elected representatives – can join together from opposite sides of the aisle, in committing themselves to protecting the most essential guardrails of American democracy: safe and fair elections, and the peaceful transfer of power. For more information, visit: https://www.theelectionpledge.org/.
Ken retired from a 46-year career at the helm of his whitewater rafting company, to found Team Democracy From his private sector career, Ken brings a love of entrepreneurship and team building to his work in the nonprofit world where, as he says, “I’ve come to think of democracy as being mainly a verb.” He and his wife, Penny, are proud parents of three. Of their six grandchildren, three called Kyiv home, until they were evacuated in the face of the Russian invasion. They and their mom are now safely stateside. Ken prefers smaller government, reasonably limited regulation, and lower taxes. Ken Powley lives in Mountain Top, PA.
Connect with Kenneth and David on LinkedIn
As one of the initial driving forces behind the Bridge Alliance and as chairman of the board, David Nevins brings business acumen, vision and a tireless this-must-and-can-be-done zeal to the burgeoning movement to bridge divides to transform the political process.
As a business leader, Nevins excels at building bridges between people and organizations from the right, left and center for civilized conversation and then action.
He co-founded the Bridge Alliance because, as he says, “No matter how well managed and how well funded any one organization is, significant political reform will not happen without an alliance to further collaborative interactions. Together we can and will raise the collective impact of all.”
Nevins is also co-publisher of The Fulcrum, a daily new publication committed to protecting democracy by educating the public on issues that matter. The Fulcrum is a key piece of a larger strategy to build a pro-democracy constituency of millions of Americans by making it easier to find and act on civic engagement opportunities. The Bridge Alliance, The Fulcrum, and Citizen Connect are all interconnected in their support of the ecosystem of our community of pro-democracy organizations and concerned and engaged citizens.
He established and continues to work with The Nevins Fellow program at The Mccourtney Institute of Democracy at Penn State University. The Nevins Fellows program allows students to complete internships at organizations that bring people together to solve common problems. In this program students begin by taking a Democratic Leadership class that introduces them to a different side of democracy—one that focuses not on campaigns and elections, but on bringing people together to work on common problems. Students learn about organizations doing this kind of work, and develop the skills necessary to facilitate conversations about community issues.
He is a member of the Aspen Institute Society of Fellows, with a focus on the Aspen Rodel Fellowship in Public Leadership.
Nevins graduated with honors in economics from Penn State in 1969 and received an M.B.A. in finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971. He continues as President of Nevins Real Estate Management. Nevins is married to Catherine Moyal Nevins. They currently reside in Palm Beach Gardens Florida and Cape May New Jersey.
