Work group session at the first meeting of "Communicating about our Democracy" advisory group.
Building a broad movement
to strengthen our democracy
Clearview Consulting president Patrick L. Scully served as interim director of the Campaign for Stronger Democracy from May 2011 through January 2012. The Campaign is a new coalition that fosters greater communication and collaboration among democracy reform advocates, to magnify our collective efforts to create a strong, vibrant democracy in which everyone has a meaningful voice.
While serving as its director, Pat helped solidify the Campaign’s newly formed Organizing Committee; together they launched the Communicating about Our Democracy initiative, including an inaugural meeting of more than 40 democracy advocates representing a diverse mix of 35 organizations. Pat also led the effort to recruit the Campaign’s permanent staff, including executive director Peter Hardie and communications coordinator Brandon Lee.
Starting in 2008, Pat was part of a “strengthening democracy” steering committee with representatives from AmericaSpeaks, Demos, Everyday Democracy and the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University who designed and convened a series of events that led to formation of the Campaign for Stronger Democracy. This committee organized two conferences in the summers of 2008 and 2009 that brought together over 150 experts and advocates from the fields of public deliberation, community problem solving, collaborative governance, election reform, community organizing, government transparency and accountability, national service, racial equity, media reform, and civic education.
The 2009 conference also included high-ranking members of the Obama administration. After the event, Pat was the managing editor for Working Together to Strengthen Our Nation’s Democracy: Ten Recommendations, a 2009 conference report detailing recommendations for both the Administration and the democracy reform movement itself. In June 2010, the steering committee co-sponsored a meeting with Brookings Institution entitled “Is Government Broken? Strengthening Democracy through Election and Governance Reforms,” that was covered by C-SPAN.
“Pat Scully combines a terrific skill-set for project leadership with a deep commitment to democracy. His work, at Everyday Democracy and for the Campaign for Stronger Democracy was creative, energetic, thorough, and principled. One of Pat’s most important gifts is the ability to take very complex policy analysis and data and make it completely accessible to the public in a way that really engages them and opens their minds to all perspectives on the critical issues facing our country. And, he’s a delight to work with on top of everything.”
Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer, President and Founder, AmericaSpeaks
Miles Rapoport, President, Demos and The American Prospect
