Congratulations to Cheryl Contee, DBT’s CEO and the new Chair of the Netroots Nation Board of Directors! Cheryl says:
“It’s a huge honor to take a larger leadership role at Netroots Nation, the largest annual progressive conference in America. I am the first woman of color to be board chair. I am excited to expand upon our already groundbreaking work to reflect a changing, growing movement as we gather each year to create better outcomes for more people together.”
From Philadelphia, Netroots Nation announced earlier this week:
Following a historic wave of representation being sworn into Congress, Netroots Nation announced today that Cheryl Contee will serve as the new Chair of its Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2019. Contee will lead the group—which hosts the nation’s largest national conference of progressives—through a new era of diversifying progressive politics and through an exciting 2020 election season.
Contee is the first woman of color to serve as Board Chair for the organization. She replaces outgoing Chair Arshad Hasan, who will remain on the Board.
“I’m honored that the board unanimously voted for me to provide new leadership for the progressive community at this pivotal moment in history,” said Contee. “Netroots Nation is bigger than ever, and we will only grow more powerful as people increasingly realize that progressive policies are the ones that make our nation greater.”
For more than a decade, Netroots Nation has hosted the largest annual conference for progressives, drawing thousands of attendees from around the country and beyond. In 2018, the group hosted its 13th annual conference, which drew its highest attendance in a decade and boasted the most content ever. CNN called the gathering a “major stop on the road to the Democratic nomination” and The Guardian said Netroots Nation took on “new significance” as Democrats looked to create a blue wave in November.
Eric Thut, the organization’s interim executive director, said: “Last week, the most diverse class of Democratic lawmakers in U.S. history was sworn into the House—a class that included a record number of women. The future is female, and this representation should extend to our organizations and institutions, our movement, and our government. I couldn’t be more excited for Cheryl’s leadership at Netroots as we look toward the future.”
Contee is the award-winning CEO and co-founder of Do Big Things.today, which brings together a diverse team that uses new narrative and new tech to make the world a better place for everyone. Clients have included incoming members of the new Congress plus the world’s leading nonprofits and foundations.
Previously, she was the co-founder and CEO of Fission Strategy, which helped the world’s leading non-profits, foundations and social enterprises design digital ecosystems that create change globally. She is also the co-founder of groundbreaking social marketing software Attentive.ly at Blackbaud, the first tech startup with a black female founder on board in history to be acquired by a NASDAQ-traded company, and a co-founder of #YesWeCode, which represents the movement to help low opportunity youth achieve high quality tech careers.
Contee co-founded Jack and Jill Politics, writing as “Jill Tubman” on the leading black-audience-targeted blog during the 2008 and 2012 election cycles. She has been listed among The Influencers 50 in Campaigns and Elections magazine and was named as an Affiliate of Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet & Society. She was inducted into the first The Root 100 list of established and emerging African-American leaders, along with many other honors.
Netroots Nation’s 14th annual conference is scheduled for July 11 to 13, 2019 in Philadelphia.]]>