Carolyn Lukensmeyer
Carolyn J. Lukensmeyer is an American activist who is a leader in the field of deliberative democracy, a public servant and social entrepreneur. She is Executive Director Emerita of The National Institute for Civil Discourse. In 1995, she founded AmericaSpeaks, a non-partisan non-profit organization that strengthens citizen voice in decision making. Carolyn was Chief of Staff to Governor Celeste of Ohio from 1986 to 1991. She was Consultant to the White House Chief of Staff for nine months during the Clinton years. Early life Lukensmeyer was born on May 13, 1945, in Hampton, Iowa. Lukensmeyer grew up in a four generation family and they instilled in her a strong sense of values, including: a strong ethos of fairness and justice, outrage over injustice, and a belief in standing up for the underdog. From a very young age, Lukensmeyer was interested in learning how systems work. She wanted to know who makes the decisions, who holds the power, and how to keep expanding it. Career AmericaSpeaks Lukensmeyer was the President and Founder of AmericaSpeaks from 1995–2012, a national non-profit whose mission was to link citizen voice with the governance of the nation, and to influence leaders in the nation's capital. After