ABOUT US
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Tracy Westen is Vice-Chairman and CEO of CGS, which he founded in 1983. He has authored, co-authored or edited over 60 CGS reports and publications and helped create important CGS projects, including PolicyArchive, Democracy Network, Video Voter, ConnectLA, California Channel, California Citizens Budget Commission, California Citizens Commission on Higher Education, California Commission on Campaign Financing, and National Resource Center on State and Local Campaign Finance Reform. Tracy is also Adjunct Professor (communications law and policy) at the USC Annenberg School of Communication (since 1983) and Chairman of the Municipal Access Policy Board for Los Angeles Channel 35. He was Deputy Director for Consumer Protection at the Federal Trade Commission, Director of the Communications Law Program at UCLA School of Law, and Legal Assistant to Commissioner Nicholas Johnson at the FCC. He has received national "public service" awards from both Common Cause and the National League of Women Voters for his work on campaign finance reform and online voter information systems.
Bob Stern is President of CGS. Peter Schrag in the Sacramento Bee called him: “the godfather of modern political reform in California.” He began drafting and analyzing political reform laws as a staff attorney for the California Legislature’s Assembly Elections Committee; he then served as the Elections Counsel to the California Secretary of State’s office. He has drafted numerous state initiatives, was the principal co-author of California’s 1974 Political Reform Act, adopted by 70% of California’s voters, and was a principal drafter of the City of Los Angeles’ Ethics and Public Campaign Financing laws in 1990. He was the first general counsel of California’s Fair Political Practices Commission before coming to CGS in 1983. He is a graduate of Pomona College and Stanford Law School. 
Ava Alexandar Ava Alexandar is the Health Policy Project Manager for CGS. She manages, writes and edits content for Healthvote.org, which was created in partnership with the California HealthCare Foundation. Prior to joining CGS, she was a Public Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Her background includes both politics and policy. She worked at NYU's Center for Health and Public Service Research as a research assistant on the Robert Wood Johnson Urban Health Initiative. She also worked on Capitol Hill as a Senate intern for Senator Tim Johnson of South Dakota and as a White House intern. She graduated with honors from UCLA with a B.A. in Political Science and continued her education at New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service where she earned an M.P.A.
Saidah Johnson Saidah Johnson is the Development Associate for CGS. She focuses on foundation and grants research, and assists the Director of External Affairs with writing, editing and submitting proposals for CGS projects. She also acts as a liaison between ConnectLA Director and content providers for the ConnectLA website. Saidah rejoined the CGS staff after working in entertainment industry public relations and production. She is also a freelance writer.
Jessica Levinson is the Director of Political Reform at CGS. Her work focuses on governance issues, including campaign finance, ethics, ballot initiatives, redistricting, term limits, and state budgets. She is also an adjunct professor at Loyola Law School, where she teaches a class on campaign finance laws. Prior to joining CGS, she practiced civil litigation at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, LLP. Before entering private practice she clerked in the Central District of California for the Honorable James V. Selna. She received her J.D. from Loyola Law School, where she graduated cum laude and Order of the Coif, and her B.A. in English and Economics from Loyola Marymount University, where she graduated magna cum laude and as the class valedictorian. Jessica's publications include Timing Is Everything: A New Model for Countering Corruption Without Silencing Speech in Elections, 55 ST. LOUIS U. L.J. (publication in early 2011), Ballot Box Budgeting in California: The Bane of the Golden State or an Overstated Problem? (co-author with Bob Stern), 37 HASTINGS CONST. L.Q. 101 (publication in Spring 2010), and Bite Your Tongue in Europe: The European Court of Human Rights Strikes a Blow to the Freedom of Expression, 26 LOY. L.A. INT'L & COMP. L. REV. 483 (2004).
Smith M. Long Smith has extensive experience in the production and creation of multiple forms of media, both "new" and "old." He has worked in a variety of fields, including, commercial photography, sound design, tour management, and multimedia development.
Molly Milligan Molly Milligan analyzes campaign finance and governance issues. Molly drafted a model law for the public disclosure of all money raised by candidates and elected officials which was presented at the 2008 COGEL Conference. She has been a member of the Appellant Panel for Indigent Appointments of the California Appellate Project, a founding consultant and attorney at the Alliance for Children’s Rights, and a staff member for the United States Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. She received her J.D. from Loyola Law School where she was Chief Note and Comment Editor on the Loyola Law Review and a judicial extern to the Honorable Wm. Matthew Byrne, Jr., United States District Court. Ms. Milligan received a B.A. from Colby College with honors in government.
Romulo Rivera Romulo Rivera is Project Director for PolicyArchive. Prior to joining CGS, Romulo worked several years for the House of Representatives, during which time he helped the Clerk of the House develop electronic archival applications for legislative resources, and was a Congressional staffer to U.S.Representatives Linda and Loretta Sanchez. Romulo has extensive experience in e-government strategies and deployment of electronic data solutions for Congress. During the 2008 presidential election, Romulo served as a lead database developer for the Obama Campaign in Ohio. Today, through his work with PolicyArchive, Romulo has helped build the nation's first comprehensive open access archive of public policy research. He received his BA in Political Science and History from UCLA.
Janice Roberts Janice Roberts is the Human Resources Manager for CGS and also manages office operations. She began at CGS working with ConnectLA and other CGS projects. She previously worked with the South Carolina Summary Courts helping resolve problem issues as well as collecting fines and fees due to the state.
Betsy Rosenfeld Betsy Rosenfeld is the Director for Video Voter and other Media Projects at the Center for Governmental Studies (CGS). She is responsible for developing CGS' innovative voter education project, Video Voter. Rosenfeld co-wrote Video Voter, Producing Election Coverage for Your Community, a comprehensive guidebook for producers seeking to create innovative voter information programming. Before joining CGS, Rosenfeld worked as a producer in both television and film. Rosenfeld holds a Masters Degree in communications from the Annenberg School for Communications at USC as well as a Bachelor's degree from University of Pennsylvania's School for Communications. Rosenfeld's second book, The Complete Single's Guide To Being a Dog Owner, was published by Adams Media in May 2009.
Kassandra Thomas Kassandra Thomas is the Housing Program Manager for Connect LA. She brings close to 20 years experience as an Asset Manager, working for and with various non-profit affordable housing developers and community service providers throughout Los Angeles County. In this capacity she served as owner's representative to third-party management companies, lenders and investors. She has worked for one of the most recognized and esteemed non-profit developers and technical assistance providers in Southern California, Abode Communities, formerly the Los Angeles Community Design Center, as well as various community-based housing developers such as Ward Economic Development Corporation and W.O.R.K.S., Inc.
Audrey Thompson Audrey Thompson is the CGS Director of External Affairs, as well as the Director and producer of ConnectLA. She has a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from UCLA's Graduate School of Urban Planning, with an emphasis on Community and Economic Development. She has successfully operated a community and economic development consulting firm for more than 10 years where she has raised more than $6 million in grant funds for various nonprofit organizations, as well as assisted with board development, program implementation, and strategic planning. She has more than 18 years experience in working with various non-profit community development with an emphasis on health, technology, youth, and economic development projects.
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Tracy Westen, Chief Executive Officer 
Robert M. Stern, President 
Jessica Levinson 
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