A nonpartisan, nonprofit that seeks to understand the root causes and solve for polarization in our political system.

The Unite America Institute is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that seeks to encourage broad-based, nonpartisan civic engagement and political participation and engage in research and scholarly analysis on important issues of public concern, including the root causes, effects, and potential solutions to political polarization and partisanship.

Our Board

Charles Wheelan

Charles is the author of Centrist Manifesto, which helped launch Unite America in 2013. He is a Senior Lecturer in Economics at Dartmouth College. Charles formerly ran for Congress as a Democratic candidate in Illinois in 2009. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling books Naked Economics, Naked Statistics and Naked Money.

Kathryn Murdoch

Kathryn is co-founder and president of Quadrivium, which supports practical, evidence-based solutions for critical societal problems. Kathryn currently serves on the boards of Unite America, the Climate Leadership Council and Climate Central. She is a founding board member of SciLine and co-chairs the Oceans and Communications committees as a trustee of the Environmental Defense Fund. Previously, she served on the advisory board of the Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford University and the Board of Trustees at Rockefeller University.

Kent Thiry

Kent Thiry (KT) was CEO of DaVita from 1999 to 2019, a Fortune 250 company with 65,000 teammates across 12 countries. He is significantly involved in the national U.S. democracy movement and has been a leader in seven successful statewide ballot initiatives across three states. KT serves on the global board of The Nature Conservancy. He also founded and chairs Colorado Thrives, a group consisting primarily of large Colorado company CEOs, which is focused on advancing economic mobility for all its citizens. He co-founded The Aspen Group with Senators Bill Frist and Tom Daschle, a group dedicated to non-partisan healthcare reform. He is also a founding board member of Colorado Endeavor, an international entrepreneurial network.

Sam Mar

Sam oversees communications and external affairs for Arnold Ventures. He also manages strategy and grant-making for democracy, climate and clean energy, immigration, and organ donation.Before the formation of Arnold Ventures, Sam was the CEO of Action Now Initiative, a political advocacy organization founded by Laura and John Arnold. Prior to entering the field of philanthropy, Sam held various positions globally in technology consulting, banking, asset management, private equity, and product innovation.Sam is a member of the advisory committee at the Nuclear Innovation Alliance and a member of the Board at ClearPath and Americans for Action on Climate Fund. He is a graduate of the University of Texas and IE Business School.

Dr. Carolyn Bordeaux

Dr. Carolyn Bourdeaux has built a career at the intersection of policy, politics, and governance. She served as a Democratic Member of Congress from Georgia from 2021-2022 after winning one of the most competitive races in the country. During her time in Congress, she focused on health care, small business, and infrastructure, and worked extensively with the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus to help pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, one of the most significant investments in infrastructure in U.S. history.

Our Staff

Nick Troiano

Executive Director

Nick Troiano has been involved in the political reform movement for over a decade, including running for U.S. Congress in 2014 as an independent candidate. Nick previously ran a bipartisan fiscal reform advocacy organization called The Can Kicks Back. In 2016, he was named to the "Forbes 30 Under 30" for Law & Policy.

Tyler Fisher

Senior Director, Policy & Partnerships

Tyler brings a diverse background to his jack-of-all-trades role at Unite America. Past experience includes time on campaigns, at think tanks, and leading grassroots organizations. He has degrees in government and economics from George Mason University.

Beth Hladick

Director, Research & Outreach

Beth brings a national nonpartisan background to her role, having previously worked for the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Oregon State Legislature and the U.S. Senate. Currently, she focuses on electoral policy reforms and supports state-based partners and lawmakers throughout the reform process. Beth was born and raised in rural Alaska and holds a bachelor's degree in politics from Willamette University.

Carlo Malcomber

Research Assistant

Carlo brings a background in nonpartisan political reform to his work with extensive experience in both research and grassroots advocacy. He previously worked for Fair Elections Portland, a nonpartisan electoral reform campaign that successfully expanded the use of ranked-choice voting in Portland, ME, his hometown. Carlo holds a bachelor’s degree in Government from Colby College.