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Lisa Gilbert Named Public Citizen’s Executive Vice President

A ‘Force of Nature’

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lisa Gilbert, who has led Public Citizen’s legislative work for three years, has been promoted to executive vice president of Public Citizen, the organization announced today.

Gilbert has been the group’s vice president of legislative affairs since March 2017. Previously, she served as the deputy director and then director of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division. She is a strong advocate of government transparency and integrity, financial reform, civil justice and consumer protection.

Gilbert has built and managed large coalitions of progressive groups. For example, she founded and co-leads the 100-plus member Not Above the Law coalition, designed to push back on the Trump administration’s rule of law abuses; founded the 160-member Declaration for American Democracy coalition, which successfully pushed for passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of the For the People Act (H.R. 1) (a raft of democracy reforms) and is lobbying for Congress to give states $4 billion to ensure a safe election in November; and runs the Clean Budget Coalition, a 120-plus member coalition that has helped keep poison pill policy riders out of the budget.

“Lisa doesn’t take no for an answer. She is a force of nature who navigates difficult territory while making it look like smooth sailing,” said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. “That’s what makes her such an extraordinary coalition builder, lobbyist, campaign strategist and public interest leader. In her new role, she’s going to energize Public Citizen and make it even more effective in taking on corporate power and advancing democracy and justice.”

In her new post, Gilbert will help establish Public Citizen’s strategic and policy priorities. She will serve as a prominent spokesperson for the organization while continuing to head legislative affairs.

“Public Citizen’s staff, leadership and mission-driven ethos have been endlessly inspiring,” Gilbert said. “As our nation grapples with the crisis of this moment, I can’t think of a better time to take on more with this phenomenal organization.”

Gilbert has been named one of D.C.’s top lobbyists by The Hill and an under-40 rising star by Washington Life Magazine every year since 2017.

Prior to joining Public Citizen, Gilbert was the democracy advocate for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, where she focused on good government, ethics and campaign finance reform.  She also worked as a campaign director who organized outreach campaigns to pass legislation on social justice and environmental issues for organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign, Sierra Club and Environment Washington.

Read Gilbert’s bio.