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Leslie Graves (nonprofit executive)

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Leslie Graves
NationalityAmerican
Alma materSt. John's College
OccupationNonprofit executive
Known forFounder of Ballotpedia
SpouseEric O'Keefe

Leslie Graves is the founder and president of Ballotpedia, a nonprofit online political encyclopedia.[1][2][3][4][5][6]

Education

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Graves has a bachelor's degree in liberal arts from St. John's College, Annapolis, Maryland. She did graduate work in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

She co-authored "Is indeterminism the source of the statistical character of evolutionary theory?" in the Philosophy of Science and wrote "Transgressive traditions and art definitions" for the Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism.[7][8]

Early career

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In 1980, Graves collected signatures to qualify the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate, Ed Clark, for a spot on the ballot. She later served as Wisconsin chair of the Libertarian Party, and as the party's national finance chair.[9]

Ballotpedia

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In December 2006, Graves founded the Lucy Burns Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that publishes Ballotpedia. In 2012, Graves authored a guidebook titled Local Ballot Initiatives: How citizens change laws with clipboards, conversations, and campaigns.[2][10]

Graves' political analysis has been included in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg News, Campaigns and Elections, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.[3][4][5][11][12]

Judgepedia was originally launched in 2007 by the Chicago-based nonprofit of her spouse, Sam Adams Alliance. Graves was "busy at that time with WikIFOIA,"[13] she did not think she could take on a project the size of Judgepedia.[13] Graves stayed involved in the project as a volunteer and then a consultant.[13] In March 2009, when the founding editor of the Judgepedia project left the Sam Adams Alliance, a staff member from Graves' group stepped in as editor,[13] which led to the decision to cede sponsorship to the Lucy Burns Institute in July.[13]

Personal life

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Graves is married to political activist Eric O'Keefe.[14]

Olympic rower Carie Graves is one of her three sisters. In 1998, all four Graves sisters competed in team rowing at the Nike World Games under the name "Team Four Sisters."[15]

References

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  1. ^ Doud, David (April 11, 2014). "OpenGov Voices: Candidate Verification – transparency in political background checks". Sunlight Foundation. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  2. ^ a b Palmer, Kevin (February 1, 2013). "Local Ballot Initiatives: Learn How To Promote Democracy In Your Community". Watchdog Wire. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Omaha mayoral recall vote part of angry voter trend". Reuters. January 24, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Belkin, Douglas (January 8, 2011). "Angry Voters Lead Drive for Recall Elections". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  5. ^ a b Mildenberg, David (February 8, 2012). "El Paso Mayor Fighting Ouster on Gay Rights Vote Counts Rising Legal Bill". Bloomberg News. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  6. ^ "Nonprofit Group Offers Free Judicial Profiles Online at Judgepedia.com". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. December 21, 2009. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  7. ^ Graves, Leslie; Horan, Barbara; Rosenberg, Alex (1999). "Is indeterminism the source of the statistical character of evolutionary theory?". Philosophy of Science. 66 (1): 140–157. doi:10.1086/392680.
  8. ^ Graves, Leslie (1998). "Transgressive traditions and art definitions". Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism. 56 (1): 39–48. doi:10.2307/431946. JSTOR 431946.
  9. ^ Harrington, Eugene (1980-10-31). "Wright challenges Kastenmeier". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  10. ^ Fowler, Jack (September 19, 2011). "The Big Elections of . . . 2011". National Review. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  11. ^ "Why technology can't replace old-fashioned politicking". Campaigns & Elections. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  12. ^ Graves, Leslie (December 6, 2008). "She prefers news as shared experience in the online world". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  13. ^ a b c d e Metstaff news writer (December 21, 2009). "Nonprofit Group Offers Free Judicial Profiles Online at Judgepedia.com". Metropolitan News-Enterprise. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  14. ^ Murphy, Bruce (2014-06-12). "The mystery of Eric O'Keefe". Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved 2020-06-24.
  15. ^ "Sisters doing it for themselves". Associated Press. 1998-08-15. Archived from the original on July 17, 2007. Retrieved June 16, 2014.