Acacia Rettich – TL – Orlando, Florida
Acacia Rettich joined HeadCount in March 2008 as the Team Leader for the Central Florida area. In addition to volunteering with HeadCount, Acacia is an adjunct faculty member at Brevard Community College (BCC) in the Communications department. She also teaches English at Palm Bay High School. Acacia is originally from Ohio and
received her B.A. in English from Ohio State in 2002. Go Bucks! In 2004, Acacia received a Master of Arts in Teaching Language Arts from Miami University. She now resides in Melbourne with her two dogs, Elly and Charlie. When not working or volunteering, Acacia has an Xbox 360 addiction and loves to read.
Will Reyes - TL - Raleigh, NC
Will joined HeadCount in May 2008 as the Raleigh Team Leader. He graduated from NC State University in 2006 with a B.A. in Communication Media and a B.A. in Spanish Language & Literature. As a student, Will was Lead Outreach Manager for the Annual Giving Office, in charge of coordinating fundraising efforts for academic programs for the university.
Will loves to travel, having studied abroad in Vienna, Austria and Lima, Peru, and regularly plans road/camping trips. Upon graduating, he moved to Europe for a year, doing special event planning for organizations in London and then in Valencia, Spain, eventually leading him back to Cambridge where he pushed river tour boats with a pole in the British style of gondolas called Punting.
Will currently works for the NCSU College of Design to fund his more than frequent concert and festival going. Will is also keen on exercise, healthy & spicy food and registering voters, of course!
Michael Simon – TL – Cincinnati, Ohio
Michael Simon joined HeadCount in 2008, and is excited to be leading the Cincinnati, Ohio team. He first became aware of HeadCount in 2004 when he registered to vote at a Phish show in the Midwest. Michael graduated from Indiana University in Bloomington in 2006 with a BA in public policy. He is currently working for a local park district in Cincinnati, where he can be found submitting endless grant applications and running soundboard for local cover bands at the park's summer concert series. In his free time, Michael enjoys jamming with friends, traveling, and downhill skiing.
Max Rothstein – TL – Chicago, IL
Max joined the HeadCount team in 2008 after serving as the Connecticut Coordinator for Students for Barack Obama where he coordinated a collaborative, non-partisan effort to register students to vote at college campuses across Connecticut prior to the primary election. While currently enrolled at Wesleyan University, Max is serving as a Team Leader in Connecticut and will assume the same role in his native Chicago this summer. Max is excited about the future of the youth vote movement and recognizes the crucial role that music will play in its progress. When Max is not enjoying a show or politicking, you'll likely find him playing soccer or watching a movie with his friends.
Jordan Zucker – TL – Los Angeles, CA
Jordan Zucker started out volunteering for Headcount back in 2004. Fueled by the discovery that her 80 year old grandmother had failed to make it to the polls for the 2000 election and single handedly could have swung the entire state of Florida, she vowed to not let "anything like this happen again." Jordan graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997 with a BA in Mathematics and fondly remembers seeing the Disco Biscuits at parties around campus. She is an actress, most known for her role as 'Lisa,' on NBC’s ‘Scrubs.’ Various day jobs leading up to her landing said role included tutoring, bookkeeping, and volunteer party planning. Currently she resides in Los Angeles, but would like to consider herself bicoastal, citing her second home as NYC.
Sarah Burris – TL – Lawrence, Kansas
Originally from Oklahoma, Sarah Burris relocated to the Kansan heartland. She’s worked on numerous campaigns from federal elections to city council races, but likes the local campaigns the best. Today, she guides youth based organizations towards major funders across the country, and works as a new media and outreach consultant as well as a well known blogger who frequently causes trouble.
Burris has guest lectured for several training programs as well as university communications classes, providing campaign and election lectures to give a young insider perspective and help young politicos learn skills to become the next generation of leaders. She's always happy to talk to fellow young people about elections, organizing, and new media.
Michelle Stafford – TL - Baltimore
Michelle Stafford began volunteering at local shows with HeadCount in April 2008. Shortly after seeing the effectiveness and widespread influence of the organization first-hand, Michelle decided to take the position of Baltimore Team Leader in hopes of creating a strong and thriving volunteer base in her home community and having an impact at upcoming music festivals.
Michelle works as the Middle School Program Coordinator at Students Sharing Coalition, a grassroots non-profit in Baltimore City whose mission is to promote civic engagement and meaningful service-learning opportunities among inner-city youth. She teaches a service-learning curriculum to seventh graders and facilitates a service oriented after school program. Michelle received her B.A. in English and Creative Writing Poetry certificate from Dickinson College in 2007 and currently lives in Ellicott City, MD.
Spencer Harrison – TL – Los Angeles, CA
Spencer joined HeadCount in 2008 as a volunteer in Chicago and after moving to the west coast in April, became Team Leader for the Los Angeles area where he works for a public relations agency. He graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in communications in 2006. While in school, Spencer worked in marketing and PR for the Office of Arts and Cultural Programs where he helped coordinate the university’s Performing Arts Series and An Appalachian Summer Festival.
John Zirinsky – TL – Washington D.C.
John joined HeadCount in January of 2008 as the Washington, D.C. team leader. Two of his great passions are music and politics and HeadCount allows him to engage music fans about the political process--with no context of partisanship or a particular ideology--and serve a population that politicians have traditionally dismissed as non-voters. By day, John is a research analyst with a Republican polling firm. His other interests include cooking with his fiancée, camping and supporting the greatest franchise in the history of sports, the New York Yankees. He holds a B.A. in Philosophy from Cornell University. If you see him at a show, he LOVES getting high-fives.
Tim McCormick – TL – Boulder, CO
Tim McCormick joined Headcount in March of 2008 as the Team Leader for Boulder, CO. Originally from Boston, Tim moved out to Colorado in 2006 to with the hope of gaining experience in the music industry. He’s currently an assistant at Madison House, Inc., a Boulder-based music management and booking agency. A 2005 graduate of Dickinson College in Pennsylvania, Tim holds a B.A. in Political Science and a Minor in Music. He has had many years of experience with the concert scene and shares his love of all types of music with his family and friends. He is eager to register and involve as many people in the democratic process as possible for the 2008 election.
Lisa Lovedahl – TL – Asheville, NC
Lisa joined Headcount in early 2008 as the Team Leader in Ashville, NC, where she lives with her two daughters. She has an educational background in the Paralegal field and has served as Director of Elections in Jackson County for the past fifteen years in addition to sitting to sitting on the local City Planning Board.
Lisa realizes that past generations have sacrificed to give us the right to vote and it's our responsibility to utilize it to protect the future generations. Excuses like ‘I'm not political,’ ‘I don't have time,’ or ‘my vote doesn't count’ are only excuses with no merit. Lisa encourages everyone to do something great today - register to vote, encourage others to get involved, be informed, and VOTE! She is trying to learn Pilates and enjoys living in the mountains.
Tappan Vickery – TL – San Francisco, CA
Tappan started volunteering with HeadCount in 2004 with her husband, Morgan. She graduated from the University of the South in 2003 with a BA in Philosophy and a concentration in Women’s Studies. She has worked in immigration law and online advertising and is seeking her dream job in green business marketing. Currently she attends Golden Gate University where she is a candidate for an MBA in Marketing. Tappan is passionate about the democratic process, and has found great meaning and purpose integrating her love for the music community with her personal values.
Melissa Brennan – co-TL – NYC, NY
Melissa is a writer working as a freelance theater electrician in New York City. She attended Bradford College, where she studied under David Crouse, and SUNY Purchase, and is an alumna of The Juilliard School's Professional Intern Program. She has also assisted on the successful re-election campaign for then State Senator Bill Finch of Connecticut. It was when working with Finch that Melissa found a passion for working within her community and engaging people in the democratic process, which eventually lead her to HeadCount. Melissa also enjoys live music, kayaking, gardening, crocheting and celebrating her friends. |
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Lisa Whitaker – TL – Kentucky
Lisa joined HeadCount in 2008 as the Team Leader in Kentucky and quickly found HeadCount was the perfect mix of activism and good times. In addition to being an outlet for civic engagement, it serves as a fix for her live music addiction. Lisa's day job is in Employer Relations for the public pension system in Kentucky. Kentucky born and raised, Lisa earned her BA in English at Georgetown College.
Laura Scalet – co-TL – Seattle, WA
Laura joined HeadCount in 2004 as a field volunteer and is really excited to be a team leader for the Seattle area. After studying art at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Laura moved to Denver in 2002 where she received her A.A.S. in Veterinary Technology. After Phish’s Coventry, Laura moved to Washington and is currently finishing up her B.A. in Sustainable Design at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA. In addition to school and HeadCount, Laura is a relief ER/ICU vet tech at multiple emergency animal hospitals throughout the Northwest region and also works in the printmaking studio at Evergreen. Laura can be found dancing at the back of the crowd with her clipboard in hand.
Adam Lustig – TL – Central New York State
Adam became part of the HeadCount in 2008 as Team Leader of central New
York. Having been out of the scene since moving to Albany, Adam was inspired to become part of the HeadCount team after seeing HeadCount out at shows. Adam is a senior at SUNY Albany studying Public Policy and hopes his education, love for politics, and live music will assist him in making an impact with HeadCount. He’s been heavily involved with electronic music since middle
school and is an avid collector of live show recordings. When not working
or studying, Adam can be found attending live shows in the Albany area or
listening to a Disco Biscuits show in his apartment.
Kelly McDonald – TL – Athens, GA
Kelly McDonald joined HeadCount as the Athens Team Leader in March of 2008. She was first introduced to HeadCount years ago when her husband, Matthew McDonald of Perpetual Groove, began talking with the organization at festivals and shows around the country. She had befriended members of the HeadCount staff, and was happy to step in when they needed someone to head up the Athens team in Georgia.
Kelly grew up in southeast Michigan, but moved south after joining the United States Army as a trumpet player. It was traveling around the world that gave her an increasing awareness and deeper appreciation for her country, as well as the necessary duty to participate in its continued democracy. She moved from Savannah to Athens in June ‘06, and currently works for an Athens law firm in the business litigation department.
Mike Palm – TL – Knoxville, KY
Mike began working as a volunteer for HeadCount at Langerado in 2008, and is now the Team Leader for the Knoxville metropolitan area. He is a full-time civil engineering student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. Originally from Colorado Springs, Mike has crisscrossed the country and is currently enjoying all the South has to offer. Mike was ordained a minister by the Universal Life Church online two years ago and recently became the proprietor of a local production company. You can occasionally find him spreading the gospel as "DJ Reverend Mike the Jew" in clubs, parties, weddings, baptisms and Bar Mitzvahs around Knoxville.
Jason Gershuny – TL – Portland, OR
Jason likes to think of himself as a living balance of contrasts. A strong-willed New Yorker by birth, Jason has found his niche in the laid back Pacific Northwest, calling it home for the last six years.
By day he’s a responsible teacher and role model to high school students, but by night he’s a live music fanatic who loves to dance full throttle. He’s a devoted political junkie who’s spent countless hours reading anything and everything with a political angle, but is also a complete nerd when it comes to movies like "The Lord of the Rings" and "Star Wars." If you see him out at a show, dance on up next to him and ask him to demonstrate his impressive Wookie yell.
Jason believes that if variety is indeed the spice of life, he’s living a well-seasoned existence.
Sarah Duffany – TL – Park City, Utah
Sarah resides in the mountains of beautiful Park City. She became involved with HeadCount in the spring of 2008 after viewing a posting about HeadCount on MySpace. Before moving out west Sarah received her BA in Economics from the University of Vermont in 2001. Currently she works full-time for the US Ski Team as the Women's Alpine Team Manager. In her free time she loves to do anything outdoorsy; skiing, biking, golfing, and hiking with her dog top the list.
Kristie Freed – TL – St. Louis
Kristie joined HeadCount in 2008 after learning about HeadCount through the Dave Matthews Warehouse Club when purchasing tickets for the summer tour, and saw an opportunity to get involved in voter registration. She has been employed with a local Chamber of Commerce as their Communications and Events Director for the last five years. She is responsible for creating and maintaining business and community driven events, as well as recruitment and management of their volunteer base. Kristie volunteers her time with many local organizations including Safe Kids St. Charles County, Disabled Athlete Sports Association and currently co-chairs the local “Olde Tyme Picnic” which draws over 40,000 in attendance each year. She enjoys being active in her community and attends concerts as frequently as she can. She met her husband at the local Homegrown Festival in 1996 and has been happily married for ten years and has two children.
Kelley Ferguson – TL – Nashville, TN
Kelley began working with HeadCount as a volunteer in 2004 in Nashville and continued volunteering during the Midterms Matter tour in 2006 while living in California. After returning to Nashville in 2007, she again joined up with HeadCount working at Bonnaroo, and in 2008 moved into the Team Leader position. Kelley is currently finishing up her degree in Advertising at Middle Tennessee State University, minoring in Marketing and English. After she graduates in December, she hopes to move to Portland, Oregon to be closer to family. In her spare time, Kelley enjoys making jewelry, finding yummy new vegetarian recipes, doing almost anything outdoors, and finding new ways to get people involved in protecting and preserving the environment.
Shanda Thompson – TL – Austin, TX
Shanda recently joined HeadCount and is excited to be leading a team in the Austin area. In her spare time she likes to read, sing, play guitar, and go to Barton Springs. She attended Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls then transferred to the University of North Texas in Denton, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 2001. She then packed up and moved to Austin to start a band, which lasted for a year, or so. Though she loves being on stage, singing and performing, she realized the rock star life was not for her. She now works in radio and volunteers for HeadCount because she feels young adults don’t realize how crucial it is to vote and wants to convince them.
Adam Nuckols – TL – Richmond, VA
Adam was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia and has just taken the post as Team Leader there having moved back from Hawaii about a year ago. While in Hawaii he surfed, did a lot of hiking, and lived on a tantric retreat farm for a while. He then moved in with a buddy and lived on Maui for about a year. Adam loves the outdoors enjoys meeting and engaging new people. He believes it’s important to register and encourage people to vote because it’s one of the main voices we have.
Daren Criswell & Billie Nichols – TLs – Philadelphia
Daren and Billie began attending concerts together in 2003 and never turned back! As they became more and more involved with the music scene, they decided to volunteer with HeadCount to begin making a difference. They made it their New Year's resolution in 2008 to join HeadCount and are very excited about their 5th concert season together and getting involved with HC.
John Duffy – TL – Minnesota
John first became involved with HeadCount as a volunteer in 2004 in Illinois. He has since moved to Minnesota and in 2008 he became a Team Leader in his new home state. He is very excited to be working with HeadCount once again.
Tom Reilly – co-TL – NYC
Tom Reilly became co-Team Leader for Headcount in New York City in February 2008. Hailing from the birthplace of the American Revolution in Concord, MA, he earned a BA in American Studies from Cornell University in 2007 and currently resides in Brooklyn. Outside of Headcount Tom works on the production team of "Live from the Artists Den" an innovative music TV series featuring great artists performing in unconventional spaces (www.theartistsden.com). Tom is a lifelong musician and his favorite Beatle is George Harrison.
Scott Kaplan – TL – Chicago
Before taking on the role of Chicago team leader, Scott served as a HeadCount volunteer for the 2004 election and Iowa team leader when he moved to Ames, Iowa for graduate school. He has high energy and a pension to canvas the lot for unregistered voters. Currently, Scott is about to embark on his 10th year of the NCAA life and is on track to receive his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from Iowa State University. Next year, he will take on the identity of a Saluki, aka an Egyptian running dog known for its speed, by completing an internship year in Carbondale, Illinois to work for Southern Illinois University. He hopes to make it back to Chicago quickly to live on his home turf.
Liz O'Donnell – TL – Boston
Liz joined HeadCount in August of 2008 as the Boston Team Leader. She happened across a HeadCount banner on Pearl Jam's website one day and the rest is history. Liz is going into her third year at Boston University's College of Communications. She is set to graduate with a BA in Public Relations in 2010, and hopes to also minor in Occupational Therapy.
In high school, Liz missed the 2004 election by one year and one day, and since then has been waiting impatiently for her first chance to vote. A huge believer in the power of the youth vote, Liz has lead student government and joined the campaigns of national candidates to stay politically active while she waits for November 4th. In addition to HeadCount, she also works as a full-time Public Relations intern, a part-time sales associate, plays hockey, and rides horses.
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