Cathy Duvall is a left-of-center political activist who has been involved in politics since the mid-1980s. She has held many prominent positions at left-of-center organizations, including working as national field director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), national campaign director of America Votes, and national political director of the environmentalist Sierra Club. As of mid-2021, she is a consultant to and board member of the State Innovation Exchange and administers the Redistricting Reform Project. ^{1 2}

Early Career

Duvall began her political career with the Public Interest Network (PIN), a collection of left-wing organizations which operate around the country. Duvall held a variety of roles within the organization, and while at PIN, she co-founded the Clean Up Congress Environmental PAC. ³

In 1995, Duvall left PIN to become the campaign and field director for former U.S. Representative Walter Capps (D-CA)’s congressional campaign in California. Following this successful race, Duvall became the national field director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) where she was involved in over 75 congressional campaigns. Duvall then went to work in Ukraine for a year with the National Democratic Institute, a nonprofit that works around the world to promote democratic institutions. ⁴ She served as an advisor to former Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko during the “Orange Revolution.” ⁵

From 2004 to 2005, Duvall was the national campaign director of America Votes and was heavily involved in the organization’s formation and founding vision. America Votes is a left-center-organization that began as a “coordination hub” for left-of-center activists and groups. America Voters is now very involved in providing campaign infrastructure and activist mobilization. ⁶

Sierra Club

In 2005, Duvall began a 10-year stint at the Sierra Club, a left-of-center organization primarily focused on environmental issues. While there, she worked as the director of strategic partnerships and national political director. Duvall has claimed credit for pushing the organization to advocate in support of non-environmental left-of-center policy issues, including immigration, the minimum wage, and various race-related initiatives. She was also heavily involved in organizing Sierra Club support for various candidates and campaigns, raising over $5 million in a single election cycle. ⁷

Democratic Redistricting and State Policy

In 2015, Duvall left the Sierra Club to found Democracy Ascent Advisors, a consulting firm that advises on environmentalist energy projects and congressional redistricting in the wake of the 2020 census. ⁸ This work is closely related to her leadership of the Redistricting Reform Project, an initiative of the New Venture Fund (NVF). NVF is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that is part of a multi-million-dollar “dark money” network managed by the left-of-center consulting firm Arabella Advisors. ⁹ At the end of 2018, Duvall stated that the Project’s left-of-center redistricting efforts were further along than she believed it would have been two years prior. ¹⁰

Duvall is a board member of the State Innovation Exchange (SIX), a left-of-center organization that is focused on promoting a left-progressive policy agenda on the state level. The group was conceived as a left-wing alternative to American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and its success on the state level. ¹¹

1. Cathy Duvall | LinkedIn.” Accessed May 31, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathyduvall/.
2. Cathy Duvall | LinkedIn.” Accessed May 31, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathyduvall/.
3. “You’re Invited to Honor Cathy Duvall.” Accessed May 31, 2021. https://myemail.constantcontact.com/You-re-Invited-to-honor-Cathy-Duvall.html?soid=1101229599805&aid=BatvHc-hHZQ.
4. Cathy Duvall | LinkedIn.” Accessed May 31, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathyduvall/.
5. “You’re Invited to Honor Cathy Duvall.” Accessed May 31, 2021. https://myemail.constantcontact.com/You-re-Invited-to-honor-Cathy-Duvall.html?soid=1101229599805&aid=BatvHc-hHZQ.
6. Cathy Duvall | LinkedIn.” Accessed May 31, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathyduvall/.
7. Cathy Duvall | LinkedIn.” Accessed May 31, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathyduvall/.
8. Cathy Duvall | LinkedIn.” Accessed May 31, 2021. https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathyduvall/.
9. Miles Rapoport. “Prospects Brightening for Redistricting Reform.” The American Prospect. Dec. 7, 2017. Accessed March 4, 2021. https://prospect.org/power/prospects-brightening-redistricting-reform/
10. Rapoport, Miles, and Cecily Hines. “Opinion | A New Playing Field for Democracy Reform.” Common Dreams, December 27, 2018. Accessed May 31, 2021. https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/12/27/new-playing-field-democracy-reform.
11. “Staff.” State Innovation Exchange, April 10, 2021. https://stateinnovation.org/staff/.