Board

Chair Bob Perry is retired Court Reporter for NH Superior Court; member of the Board of Trustees at the Rochester Opera House.  As a state Representative, Bob served on the House Election Law Committee and the Citizen-Funded Election Task Force.   He currently resides in Strafford, NH.

Treasurer Beverly Cotton is a formerly a registered nurse specializing in critical care then branched off to pursue my other interest, that of accounting with an emphasis on fraud and technical solutions. I served as Associate Vice President of Student Finance at SNHU and as a Client Success Manager at Ellucian.

I am involved with the Weare and Hillsborough County Democrats, the Capitol City Task Force- a non-partisan advocacy arm of AARP, and co-chair of the Greater Concord Team. I volunteer with Hospice House and am involved with advocacy for the American Cancer Society. My heart is in advocacy largely for healthcare issues and for those issues surrounding our most fundamental right to democracy.

Secretary Linda Bundy is a retired educator who worked for twelve years as a paraprofessional with students ranging from preschool to eighth grade. She then returned to college to earn certification in elementary and special education, and taught for sixteen years at Great Brook School in Antrim. For the first few years of retirement she was fortunate to have the time to be able to help elderly family members who needed assistance. After that, when considering the next chapter in her life, she felt that it was imperative to participate in actions striving to counteract those who are working to manipulate democracy to advantage the few at the expense of the majority of our citizens. One of Linda’s mentors during her educational career said that good special education is simply good education, and it benefits all students. Similarly, real democracy is a system of government that operates for all of its people. Volunteering with Open Democracy Action provides her with ways to work toward making our democracy function as it should.

Jeff Taylor is the former New Hampshire State Director for the campaign finance reform and voting rights groups, End Citizens United and Let America Vote. He pushed candidates to adopt a comprehensive reform agenda and prioritize democracy reform legislation at the state house. Previously, he has worked on numerous local, state, and federal campaigns in New Hampshire. He graduated from the University of Rochester in 2018 with a degree in Political Science and has lived in New Hampshire ever since. (Manchester, NH)

Dave Andrews is currently a Data Validation Fellow for the Redistricting Data Hub which is a nonpartisan project of the Fair Representation in Redistricting Initiative to provide publicly-available data and services for the redistricting process.  He graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2011 with a degree in Electrical Engineering and has lived in New Hampshire his entire life. He currently resides in Chichester, NH.

 Hayden Smith first got involved in politics as a high school student in New Hampshire and became more concerned about the role of money in politics after seeing the vast sums of out-of-state funds spent on the 2016 US Senate election in New Hampshire. He gained more experience with federal-level politics while advocating for anti-militarization, pro-peace legislation in Congress as a volunteer with Katarungan DC (an DC-area organization focused on defending human rights in the Philippines) and Korea Peace Now Grassroots Network (which does advocacy that he feels closely tied to as a Korean-American). His time as an intern in both the US House and US Senate provided extra emphasis on the need for strong ethics and transparency guidelines in government. Hayden currently works as the Deputy Political Director for the New Hampshire Youth Movement (NHYM), a job in which he has helped guide other young Granite Staters through the state legislative process while also doing advocacy around issues ranging from housing and LGBTQ+ rights to education to voting rights. He graduated from The George Washington University in 2022 with a BA in Classical and Ancient Near Eastern Studies, and outside of work he enjoys reading about ancient and medieval history in addition to being a public transportation enthusiast. Hayden grew up and currently lives in Hanover, NH.

Bob Emory has been a New Hampshire resident for more than 40 years. Before retirement, Bob was a paramedic at Frisbie Memorial Hospital (Rochester, NH) and a volunteer firefighter (Barnstead Fire Rescue). His passions include spending time with his wife of over 50 years, Fran; visiting his daughter Jess, a high school math teacher; walking in the woods with Teddie, the border collie; and HAM radio (KD1CT). Through his work at Open Democracy, Bob hopes to work towards building a democracy that is representative of the New Hampshire population and protects the interests of all.

Staff

Olivia Zink, Executive Director

Olivia has been working as a community organizer in New Hampshire since 2000. Before becoming OD's Executive Director, she served as the Grassroots Engagement Coordinator for the Governing Under the Influence Project in Concord, a project of the American Friends Service Committee. Olivia served as the Program Director for the Coalition for Open Democracy for four years. She has worked on a broad range of campaigns for economic and social justice with groups including the New Hampshire Citizens Alliance, National Committee to Preserve Social Security & Medicare and the Priorities NH Campaign. Olivia also spent a year in Bolivia working with the Democracy Center. In 2008, she was named one of New Hampshire’s “40 under 40,” by the NH Union Leader. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Sustainable Living, and a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University with a master’s degree in Community Economic Development.

Sara Lobdell (she/they), Program Coordinator

Sara joined the team in March 2022 to advance the mission of political equality for all through coordination of the Regional Democracy Teams, as well as outreach and digital communications. They bring a background in community building, outreach, and education to the team. Sara is a lover of music, the outdoors, language, and dipping baked goods into a hot cup of coffee. They spend their free time caring for a great many house plants, playing games with friends, and brewing kombucha. She is an Environmental Science/Environmental Education Masters degree graduate of Antioch University New England, as well as a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College with a degree in Biology and Music. 

Doreen Desmarais, Administrator

Doreen has more than 30 years experience in office administration, serving the non-profit, educational, labor union and for profit sectors. She has been the Administrative Assistant to the NH School Principals Association and currently manages administration, finance, and event planning for Open Democracy in Concord. In her free time Doreen enjoys gardening, volunteering and spending time with her family and pets.

Ophelia Burnett, Community Organizer

A New Hampshire resident for 30 years, Ophelia brings her life experiences and passion to her role as a Community Organizer. She works to build connections among people, who like herself, have experienced the criminal legal system, and to nurture hope and faith that together we can build the world that we want. Ophelia sees this work as an opportunity to prepare herself for a career in law and community organizing.  She has a deep desire to help people find their own path of joy and purpose.

During her free time, she loves reading and sustains a regular practice of meditation to keep herself grounded in peace and positivity.