Marian K. Schneider is an experienced civil rights and voting rights advocate, lawyer and litigator. She is currently the Senior Policy Counsel for Voting Rights at the ACLU of Pennsylvania. Previously, she was an advisor to the Brennan Center for Justice’s Voting Rights and Elections team, focusing on legislative advocacy around voting rights in several states. From 2017-2020, Marian was the President the national nonprofit, Verified Voting. From 2015 to 2017, Marian served in Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s administration as Special Advisor to the Governor on Election Policy and as the Deputy Secretary for Elections and Administration in the Pennsylvania Department of State. Marian’s signature accomplishment at PA DOS was the launch of Pennsylvania’s enormously popular online voter registration application. Marian served as the Pennsylvania state election official on the Elections Assistance Commission’s Standards Board and was a member of the Pennsylvania Advisory Committee on Voting Technology to the Joint State Government Commission of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Marian has served on numerous boards and committees, including Pitt Cyber’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Pennsylvania Election Security and the National Task Force on Election Crises in 2020. She is an active member of the Board of the Philadelphia Lawyers Chapter of the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy and chairs their Judicial Recommendations Working Group. Marian is a frequent speaker on voting rights and election administration issues and is quoted in the press – most notably by Politico, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Salon, Wired, GovTech and NPR. Schneider earned her B.A. cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania and received her J.D. from the George Washington University Law School where she was a member of the Law Review.

Kadida Kenner is the founding chief executive officer of the New Pennsylvania Project, and is a tireless advocate for social and economic justice issues and is motivated to empower and excite the electorate to enthusiastically vote in every election — all the way down the entire ballot. She has led efforts to stop the passage of a judicial gerrymandering constitutional amendment, raise the minimum wage, fairly fund public education, protect federal courts from problematic judicial nominees, and protect the state courts from extremist attempts to undermine their independence.  Kadida also serves as co-chair of Why Courts Matter – Pennsylvania, an advocacy campaign seeking to protect the independence of our state and federal courts and educate the electorate about their importance. Prior to working in issue advocacy, she was a director, producer, and writer for HBCU sports television programming – both live and scripted television in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia. The Temple University graduate resides in the Philly suburbs and counts civil rights organizing icon, and West Chester, Pennsylvania native Bayard Rustin as one of her civil rights heroes.

Timothy E. Gates’ experience at the highest levels of state government informs his current practice defending Pennsylvania companies and professionals in government investigations, consumer protection actions, and professional liability matters. Prior to joining MBK, Tim spent almost twenty years leading, managing, and advising the Commonwealth on a broad spectrum of matters, including seven years as Chief Counsel at the Department of State. Tim has negotiated, managed, and litigated hundreds of cases and appeals at the state and federal level, including multiple cases before the United States Supreme Court. Throughout his long career, he has worked with a vast array of prosecutors, defense attorneys, investigators, experts, and others across the Commonwealth. At MBK, he utilizes his extensive experience, his network, and his unique insight of being on the “other side,” to provide his clients with seasoned advice and a zealous defense. As Chief Counsel to the Department of State, Tim is no stranger to high stakes litigation. He has led teams of attorneys investigating and prosecuting consumer protection matters, civil rights violations, campaign finance laws, and elections issues. He was heavily involved in defending the many state and federal cases that arose from the controversial 2020 Presidential election and 2022 general election. As Deputy Attorney General and a member of the National Association of Attorneys General, he was involved in multi state actions to the value of $346 million. Tim now uses his experience to defend MBK clients navigating the same regulatory framework and governmental processes. He is a meticulous investigator and skilled negotiator with an in-depth knowledge of the law and its practical enforcement in Pennsylvania. Tim represents professionals who are regulated by the Pennsylvania Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs, such as doctors, dentists, and accountants. He advises on compliance, licensing, and Medicaid issues, and sensitively defends the practice, reputation, and livelihood of his clients. As a Deputy Attorney General in the Pennsylvania AG Office, Tim was a member of the AG’s Health Care Section, and served as Chairman of the Practice Ownership Committee and the Pennsylvania State Board of Dentistry. His practical knowledge of the regulation and investigation of professionals by the Commonwealth is invaluable to his clients and to the MBK team. Service is the cornerstone of Tim’s career, beginning with service to his country as a member of the U.S. Army. Tim earned multiple commendations as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division and the Multinational Force and Observers Task Force. In his ensuing legal career, while working for the people of Pennsylvania, he has also found time to volunteer with multiple community and pro bono organizations, quietly helping victims of domestic abuse, veterans, and students. In 2022, Tim’s service was honored when he was recognized as an Unsung Hero in Pennsylvania by The Legal Intelligencer.

Sarah Gonski is an election law attorney and policy expert who advises campaigns, political committees, think tanks, and advocacy organizations at every stage of the political process. Her consulting clients include the Institute for Responsive Government and the Center for Secure and Modern Elections, where she helps develop and implement bipartisan policy solutions to render the election process more voter-friendly, accurate, and efficient. Prior to her policy work, she spent seven years at Perkins Coie working to secure and expand access to the democratic process. In that capacity, she litigated over 100 election law and voting rights cases across the country, including lawsuits seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Sarah is a graduate of the University of Maryland-College Park and Harvard Law School.

Matt Germer is a resident fellow for the Governance Program at the R Street Institute. At R Street, Matt leads the organization’s election policy work, where he focuses on ideas designed to improve public trust in elections, minimize frustrations for voters and better align the incentives of elected officials with their constituents. Before joining R Street, Matt was a policy counsel at the Washington State House of Representatives for the House Republican Caucus. Prior to that, he served as nonpartisan staff in the Oregon State Legislature, worked as a public policy analyst in the healthcare industry and helped launch a real estate marketing start-up. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a JD from the University of California, Irvine School of Law.

Joe Kantz has been the Chairman of the Board of Snyder County Commissioners since 2008 and is also the Business and Development Manager for the North Shore Railroad. Joe is also very active with the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania and currently serves on the Board of Directors, as the Chair of the Resolutions Committee, on the Election Reform Committee and County Governance Committee.   He also serves on the Board of the Pennsylvania Counties Health Insurance Purchasing Cooperative.  In September of 2020, Joe was appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate to serve on the newly created Election Law Advisory Board.  Joe is also passionate about economic development in the Susquehanna Valley and serves on the Board of Directors for DRIVE, FOCUS Central PA and SEDA-COG. Joe earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Susquehanna University.  He has always been a strong advocate for our region and has served on numerous boards like the American Red Cross, Leadership Susquehanna Valley and Community Aid Thrift Stores.  Joe currently serves on the board for the Corner of Hope Pregnancy Care Center in Shamokin, PA.

Mr. Love is the
former Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project and
currently in private practice. The PILP provides free civil legal assistance
to over 100,000 institutionalized persons in the Commonwealth. He is a member
of the Pennsylvania Bar, the US District Courts for the Eastern, Middle and
Western Districts and the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. In his
35 years as Executive Director, he has handled hundreds of cases on behalf of
institutionalized persons including civil rights cases in the aforementioned
courts. He has litigated a dozen cases in the US Court of Appeals for the
Third Circuit, arguing several successfully. He has tried a dozen civil
rights jury trials to verdict with several successful outcomes. He has
counseled over a half dozen class action lawsuits that resulted in
substantial improvements in local state and federal prisons and jails. These
cases and others have generated over one million dollars in attorney fees for
his organization. He has written numerous articles about criminal justice
issues for local newspapers and magazines, Bar association publications and
other local media outlets. He has appeared on several local radio and
televisions shows discussing criminal justice issues. He is the past
President of the Pennsylvania Prison Society. He is a board member of 4
non-profit organizations and President of the Board of the Community Action
Agency of Montgomery County [CADCOM]. He is the past President of the Board
of Directors of the ARC Alliance. He is a former chairperson of the
Philadelphia Bar Association’s Public Interest Section and their
representative on the Board of Governors. He is a recipient of the 2000 Bill
of Rights Award presented by the Criminal Law Section of the Federal Bar
Association of Philadelphia. He was also awarded the Peter Cicchino Alumni
Award by his law school. He is a graduate of Lower Merion High School, Ohio
State University and the Washington College of Law at American University in
Washington, D.C. He has been practicing public interest law for forty years.

Ms. Gross is the CEO and President of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts. She is also a member of the Minor Judiciary Education Board of Pennsylvania. She is a member of Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law’s Advisory Board. Ms. Gross is an adjunct professor at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law teaching a class in complex commercial and class action litigation as she had previously concentrated her legal practice her practice on plaintiffs’ securities fraud, antitrust and consumer class actions. She was previously Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association and previously President of the Philadelphia Bar Foundation. Ms. Gross received her B.S. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1982 and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1985.

Currently in private practice, Ms. Shuster was Chief Counsel of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission from 1983-2005. She was admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar in 1974 and to the United States Supreme Court in 1978. She served as a Deputy Attorney General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Office of Civil Litigation, from 1978-83, as an Assistant Attorney General, Pennsylvania Department of Health, 1977-78, and as an Assistant General Counsel, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, 1974-77. Ms. Shuster has done nation-wide training on employment discrimination for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and for numerous legal and business organizations. She has been a course planner and faculty member for several Pennsylvania Bar Institute courses, including the three previous CERC CLEs on Election Law, the annual CERC Civil Rights Symposia, Practice Before the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, Whose Constitution Is It, Anyway?, Errant Judges and Lawyers: What to Do? and Civil Rights: To Preserve and Protect, and many discrimination law courses, covering the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, general discrimination law, sexual harassment, age discrimination and discrimination on the basis of disability. Her discrimination law publications include “The Commonwealth Court and the Interpretation of the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act,” Widener Law Journal, 2011, and “Service/Support Animals,” Pennsylvania Bar Quarterly, 2006. Ms. Shuster served as the Civil and Equal Rights Committee’s ambassador to the PBA Diversity Team from 2010-2015. She served on the “Paths to Leadership” panel at the 2012 YLD Summer Meeting, as a member of the PBA Task Force on the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice, and as a member of the “Court as Employer Gender Bias Subcommittee Work Group” of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Committee on Racial and Gender Bias in the Justice System. Ms. Shuster received her B.A. from Temple University in 1971 and her J.D. from Villanova School of Law in 1974. She is admitted to the bars of the United States Supreme Court, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, the Middle and Eastern District Courts of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. Ms. Shuster is a member of the American Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Bar Association, where she is a member of the Civil and Equal Rights (Chair of the CLE Committee, past Chair & Co-Chair of CERC), Women in the Profession (Member of the Executive Committee, Co-Chair of the Book Club), Minority Bar, Statutory Law, and Immigration Law Committees. She is a Bencher in the James S. Bowman American Inn of Court and a past president of the Harrisburg Area Women Lawyers Association. In November 2023, Ms. Shuster was the first recipient of the PBA Women in the Profession’s Special Achievement Award which recognizes achievements by a female member of the legal profession whose actions and work have promoted the betterment of women in the law and have enhanced services to women in general. She was included in the 2021 Women in the Profession Report Card’s “Profiles of Women Advocating for Social Change.” In 2020, Ms. Shuster was awarded the PBA Civil & Equal Rights Champion Award, an annual award established by the Civil & Equal Rights Committee to honor an individual who champions civil rights for all Pennsylvanians.

Mr. Haverstick is a managing partner of Kleinbard LLC and a partner in the Litigation Department. He represents government officials, private entities, and individuals in high-profile, media intensive litigation and appeals, ranging from major grand jury investigations to Pennsylvania Supreme Court arguments over the constitutionality of state laws. Referred to in media reports as “counsel of choice for state Republicans in a number of recent policy fights” for his work on matters that garner national press attention, Mr. Haverstick has a strong understanding of local, state, and federal governments, their stakeholders, and the media. Mr. Haverstick is well known for his appellate advocacy on matters involving important government, public policy issues, Pennsylvania constitutional law, and state grand jury practice. He has argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court numerous times, and he has argued and briefed upwards of 100 matters in Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court. Mr. Haverstick also frequently represents both private and public entities in white collar criminal matters, regulatory investigations, and high-stakes civil litigation. In addition, Mr. Haverstick has successfully handled various newsworthy legal matters, including his representation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, which were both included in the grand jury report on child sex abuse in Catholic churches. He has represented State Senate Republicans and congressmen in legal fights such as redistricting, gubernatorial COVID-19 emergency orders, and election outcomes; as well as the Pennsylvania Treasury in a multi-million-dollar dispute with the State of Delaware that is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction. Mr. Haverstick also handled litigation against the NCAA, which overturned all sanctions against Penn State and caused the NCAA to cede control of a $60 million trust, resulting in the funds being solely spent in Pennsylvania to combat child abuse. Mr. Haverstick understands the critical importance of serving as a trusted advisor and counselor to his clients and is adept at handling media inquiries and often serves as a spokesman on behalf of his clients. He has been featured in various television and print outlets, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, Time, and the BBC.

Eliza Sweren-Becker serves as counsel & manager in the Voting Rights & Elections Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. She litigates voting rights cases, counsels lawmakers and administrators on voting legislation and policy, researches voting law trends, and comments on voting issues in a variety of media outlets. Eliza has testified before Congress and several state legislatures. She has served as an adjunct professor at St. John’s Law School, where she taught a voting rights seminar. Prior to joining the Brennan Center, Eliza was a litigation associate in private practice. Sweren-Becker previously served as a legal fellow in the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, and as a law clerk in federal district court in California. She received a JD from Harvard Law School, a master’s degree in public policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Brown University.

Kathy Boockvar is President of Athena Strategies LLC, working with a broad base of organizations, government officials, and academic institutions to fortify election security, strengthen democracy, and amplify understanding and civil discourse about elections in the U.S.. Formerly Vice President of Election Operations for the Center for Internet Security (CIS), Kathy led its election security initiatives, working closely with federal, state, and local government to provide the highest standards of election security and cybersecurity practices and systems.