CL Strategies

• Building nonpartisan election monitoring programs in NM and across the US and supporting inclusive democracy grant programming on behalf of The Carter Center.
• Supporting jail-based voting advocacy and associated research projects for The Sentencing Project.
• Advising the National League of Cities on utilizing community advocates engaged in social policy work.
• Supporting public education and advocacy for open primaries and ranked choice voting.

 Carmen J. López is committed to creating a world in which all people thrive and reach their potential. She believes the path toward creating a more equitable and just society requires a thriving, participatory, resilient democracy.  Over the past 25 years, she has worked to engage people in democratic political reform.  She previously served as the Senior Director of Democracy at the State Innovation Exchange, the Democracy Policy Officer at the Thornburg Foundation, the Deputy Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Higher Education Department, the Data and Policy Director at America Votes-NM, and the U.S. Congress and NM Legislature. Carmen earned a Master of Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a BA in Political Science and Women’s Studies from Mount Holyoke College.  Carmen resides in Santa Fe, NM.