Accountable.US Action is the advocacy and political arm of Accountable.US, an environmentalist advocacy group that focuses on climate change, alleged “right-wing corruption,” and economic mobility in the United States. Accountable.US Action is a project of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a left-of-center pass-through and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit managed by the consulting firm Arabella Advisors. Accountable.US is a former project of the New Venture Fund (NVF), the 501(c)(3) affiliate of the Sixteen Thirty Fund. ¹

Background

Accountable.US Action is the political arm of Accountable.US, and a project of the Arabella Advisors-run Sixteen Thirty Fund. ² In 2020, Accountable.US announced that it was “in the process of transitioning from the New Venture Fund,” the sister organization of the Sixteen Thirty Fund, into a standalone nonprofit. ³

Accountable.US claims that several other New Venture Fund projects are in fact projects of Accountable.US. These include Restore Public Trust, Allied Progress, and the Western Values Project. ⁴ As of 2020, the group had obtained independent tax status.

The group claims to be reinforcing the Accountable.US goal to hold policymakers and special interest groups accountable and to expose government malfeasance. Accountable.US Action purports to conduct educational and electoral activity initiatives and advocates for left-of-center policy in Congress and state legislatures. ⁵

Leadership

Caroline Ciccone is the president of Accountable.US as of 2023. She took over from activist and attorney Kyle Herrig, who previously served as president from 2019 until 2023. Ciccone previously served as executive director for Accountable.US. Prior to her time at the organization, she worked as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Communications Director for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM). ⁶ In addition, she was the former executive director for nonprofit group Americans United for Change (AUFC), the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Communications and Public Liaison under the Obama Administration, and the Deputy Communications Director, Communication Specialist for the Democratic National Committee (DNC).  ^{7 8}

Kyle Herrig is the founder and former president of Accountable.US. He served as president from 2019 until 2023 when Caroline Ciccone took over in the position. As of October 2023, Herrig serves as a senior advisor and board member for the organization. ⁹ In addition, Herrig serves as executive director for opposition research group Congressional Integrity Project (CIP), is a co-founder and board member of judicial activist organization American Oversight (AO), and the former executive director of nonprofit group New Venture Fund. ^{10 11}

Tony Carrk is the executive director of Accountable.US as of 2023. He started working at the organization as Vice President of Issue Campaigns. Prior to joining, Carrk previously served as the deputy campaign director for healthcare advocacy group Protect Our Care, the research director for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, the vice president of policy and research at the Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAP Action Fund) from 2014-2015, and the Director of Rapid Response Research for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2011-2013. ^{12 13}

Derek Martin is the director of research and campaigns at Accountable.US. He was previously the research director for Allied Progress. He also previously worked in counterintelligence at the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). ¹⁴

1. District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Search: Sixteen Thirty Fund. Fighting Chance for Families Action. Accessed June 30, 2021. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov/BizEntity.aspx/ViewEntityData?entityId=2696217.
2. District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Search: Sixteen Thirty Fund. Fighting Chance for Families Action. Accessed June 30, 2021. https://corponline.dcra.dc.gov/BizEntity.aspx/ViewEntityData?entityId=2696217.
3. “Donate.” Accountable.US. Accessed January 23, 2020. Original URL: https://www.accountable.us/donate/. Archived URL: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/01/Accountable.US-Donate.-New-Venture-Fund-Project.-01.2020.pdf
4. “About.” Accountable.US. Accessed January 23, 2020. Original URL: https://www.accountable.us/about/. Archived URL: https://www.influencewatch.org/app/uploads/2020/01/Accountable.US-About.-Projects.-01.2020.pdf
5. Accountable.US Action. Accountable.US. Accessed July 22, 2021. https://www.accountable.us/accountable-us-action/
6. “Caroline Ciccone.” Accountable.US, Accessed October 27, 2023. https://accountable.us/about/our-board-and-leadership/caroline-ciccone/
7. “Caroline Ciccone.” Accountable.US, Accessed October 27, 2023. https://accountable.us/about/our-board-and-leadership/caroline-ciccone/
8. “Caroline Ciccone.” LinkedIn, Accessed October 27, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/caroline-ciccone-28b266140
9. “Kyle Herrig.” Accountable.US, Accessed October 27, 2023. https://accountable.us/about/our-board-and-leadership/kyle-herrig/
10. “Kyle Herrig.” Accountable.US, Accessed October 27, 2023. https://accountable.us/about/our-board-and-leadership/kyle-herrig/
11. “Kyle Herrig.” LinkedIn, Accessed October 27, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-herrig
12. “Tony Carrk.” Accountable.US, Accessed October 27, 2023. https://accountable.us/about/our-board-and-leadership/tony-carrk/
13. “Tony Carrk.” LinkedIn, Accessed October 27, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-carrk-b4a08410
14. “Derek Martin.” Accountable.US, Accessed October 27, 2023. https://accountable.us/about/our-board-and-leadership/derek-martin/