Staff

• Ilir Zherka - Executive Director
• Eugene Dewitt Kinlow - Public Affairs Director
• Antonette E. Russell - Operations Director
• Abigail Levine - Program & Development Manager
• Leah Ramsay - Communications Manager
• Jennifer Matson - Public Affairs Associate

Ilir Zherka - Executive Director

Ilir Zherka joined DC Vote as Executive Director in 2002. As Executive Director, Ilir leads DC Vote's national efforts to raise public awareness about DC's lack of voting representation in Congress, serves as the principal spokesperson for the organization, and manages the day-to-day operations.

Under his leadership, DC Vote has quadrupled in size, brought together a strong coalition of local and national organizations, and advanced DC voting rights legislation in the Congress for the first time in 30 years.

Ilir has testified before Congress and the DC City Council. He has made numerous appearances on local and national news programs and has served as a panelist for civic and academic programs focused on civil rights and equality. Ilir currently serves as a Visiting Practitioner at Georgetown University's Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership and is an Associate with the Human Systems Dynamic Institute.

Ilir brings award-winning leadership to DC Vote. In 2007, the Meyer Foundation recognized Ilir with an Exponent Award. He has also received the Urban League's Whitney M. Young Jr. Leadership Award, Human Rights Community Award, among others. Ilir was featured in a full-length documentary, Un-Natural State, and as case study in Dynamical Leadership: Building Adaptive Capacity for Uncertain Times, by Kristine Quade and Royce Holladay. Under his leadership, DC Vote was recognized with the Letelier-Moffitt Memorial Human Rights Award, the Golden Dot Award, the PACE Award, the Catalogue for Philanthropy "One of the Best" seals, and by the Drum Major Institute.

Before joining DC Vote, Ilir was Co-founder and the first Executive Director of the National Albanian American Council (NAAC). NAAC is dedicated to promoting democracy and human rights in the Balkans. As President, Ilir led NAAC's advocacy and public relations campaign and helped convince the Clinton Administration to intervene during the Kosovo War. NAAC also helped secure peace in Macedonia through constitutional reforms. Additionally, Ilir created the Hope Fellowship Program which trained women leaders from the Balkans.

Before joining NAAC, Ilir promoted worker rights issues while at the US Department of Labor, where he served as a Senior Legislative Officer to Secretary Alexis Herman. Ilir also served as National Director for Ethnic Outreach for the Clinton-Gore re-election campaign in 1996, and was Legislative Counsel to Congressman George Miller (D-CA) for labor, judiciary, and foreign policy issues. Between 1992 and 1993, Ilir was an IREX Fellow in Albania.

Ilir Zherka graduated with distinction from Cornell University and received his law degree from the University of Virginia.

Eugene Dewitt Kinlow - Public Affairs Director

As Public Affairs Director for DC Vote, Eugene Dewitt Kinlow is principally responsible for managing the more than 85 organizations that are part of the DC Vote Coalition and recruiting new organizations and individuals to our cause. Eugene also oversees DC Vote’s efforts to engage residents in the greater DC area and is our principal liaison to local officials.

Immediately prior to joining DC Vote, Eugene served as principal of Kinlow & Associates, a community relations company, and was a Management Fellow at the Marshall Heights Community Development Organization. In 2004, Eugene was a Field Coordinator for Florida Victory 2004 and for 10 years served as the Legal Information Specialist for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. In 2002, he ran for an at-large seat on the DC City Council.

Eugene is a native Washingtonian. He is a graduate of Ballou High School and received his BA from the University of the District of Columbia in Business Administration in 1987.

Eugene is deeply committed to improving the quality of life in his home town and is deeply involved in many local organizations. He serves as a Trustee and is Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia. Eugene is also a Board member and Vice Chairperson of the Washington East Foundation; an advisor to the Sierra Club’s Environmental Justice Program; and is President Emeritus of the Ward 8 Democrats. He is a columnist, photographer and editorial advisory member for the East of the River Community Newspaper and a member of the Mayor’s Environmental Council.

Antonette E. Russell - Operations Director

As Operations Director, Antonette provides day-to-day leadership and management to the organization. She improves the systems and operations of the organization while developing and enforcing policies. Her duties also include providing reports on the operating condition of the organization and spearheading long and short range objectives for the organization's finance and human resource priorities.

Previously, Antonette was an intern for DC Vote and later worked as the organization's part-time Financial Consultant. She has interned for Washington, DC elected officials, The Hill newspaper and for the Assistant Corporation Counsel of Washington, DC. She is also an active community participant in her neighborhood, having served as a two-term ANC Commissioner, Vice-Chair of the Advisor Neighborhood 6B, the Vice-Chair of ANC 6B Planning and Zoning Committee, and as the President of the Barney Circle Watch Association.

Antonette is a native Washingtonian and she attended H.D. Woodson Senior High school. She has a B.A. in English Arts from Hampton University and a joint Masters Degree from Regent University in Public Administration and Finance. The topic of her graduate thesis focused on the history and continuing struggle for representation in Congress for the District of Colombia.

Abigail Levine - Program & Development Manager

As Program & Development Manager, Abigail is primarily responsible for DC Vote's development efforts and membership program. A graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, she is happy to be back in her hometown of Washington, DC. Abigail moved from Columbus, Ohio, where she served as the Central Ohio Field Director for America Votes, a coalition of progressive organizations that works together to coordinate electoral activity and create a permanent progressive infrastructure.

Previously, Abigail worked as the Program Director for the Northern California regional office of Progressive Jewish Alliance, a Jewish social justice organization. Abigail founded and directed JERICO, Jews for Equal Rights for Immigrant Communities, a nonprofit that worked for immigrant rights, which merged with PJA in the summer of 2004.

Abigail graduated with a bachelor's in political science from Yale University in 2002 where she worked on various social justice projects, including work with the labor unions on Yale's campus, the Students Against Sweatshops campaign and political advocacy on behalf of New Haven's homeless population. Upon graduation, she moved to the Bay Area to work as an organizer with the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union, HERE Local 2850, in Oakland.

Leah Ramsay - Communications Manager

As Communications Manager, Leah works closely with the Executive Director to shape DC Vote's message. She oversees the website, drafts or copyedits all language and is a liaison with the media. Like many mid-Atlantic students, Leah made a trip to Washington, DC in 8th grade. She fell in love with the District, returned for college and has lived in the area ever since.

Before coming to work for DC Vote full-time, Leah volunteered with the organization in various capacities for years and attended trainings on its mission and talking points. She previously worked in communications and development for the Ciesla Foundation, which produces feature films and educational materials on the largely unknown heroes of American minority communities. She has also worked in media production for National Geographic, the Smithsonian Channel and Metromix.com.

Leah received a BA in Media Studies from the Catholic University of America, where she also studied the American civil rights movement for racial equality and its representation in the media. Still inspired by the peaceful yet challenging approach of those activists, Leah looks forward to contributing to the civil rights battle DC Vote continues to wage here in the District.

Jennifer Matson - Public Affairs Associate

Originally from Massachusetts, Jen moved to the DC area after an internship at a local nonprofit organization. She graduated from the University of Vermont with a B.A. in sociology, concentrating on social movements and the nonprofit sector. Her final senior project was a study of local nonprofit organizations in Burlington, Vermont where she focused on the efficiency of the development departments based on their internal structure.

Jen is looking forward to a success for DC voting rights.

Interested in volunteering for DC Vote? Contact Jen at jmatson@dcvote.org.

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