Sean Wang is the Center for Civic Design’s new Executive Director

Whitney Quesenbery transitions to Chief Program Officer

We’re excited to share that Sean Wang is the Center for Civic Design’s new Executive Director. Sean first joined CCD as Deputy Director in 2024. In addition, we’re thrilled that Whitney Quesenbery, our co-founder and previous Executive Director, will take on the new role of Chief Program Officer.

To us, democracy is a design problem. The centerpiece of solving that problem is ensuring voter intent through design. We believe that democracy works when everyone is included. Since 2013, we have worked to improve elections and strengthen democracy by making the materials and processes of elections clear, usable, and easy to understand—inviting every voter to take part.

Our credibility draws from a decade-plus of practical experience and applied research. Today, election officials nationwide use our field guides, toolkits, and training to teach civic design skills, build language access programs, create usable tools, and conduct research with voters. As democracy’s innovation lab, CCD continues to develop and share best practices for civic design widely across the elections and democracy field.

While Sean and Whitney take on new roles, they both will continue to serve on our management team alongside our People Operations Lead, Teallary Williams. This orderly leadership transition ensures that CCD will remain at the forefront for reimagining ways to support democracy to engage voters and invite civic participation. 

Meet our new Executive Director

Sean has spent his career at the intersection of technology, research, and nonprofit management across 4 continents. He joined CCD in 2024 as Deputy Director and a member of our management team. Prior to CCD, Sean has also held team leadership roles at the Integrity Institute, Arabella Advisors, and the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science.

As Executive Director, Sean will continue leading our development and external communications while working closely with our Board of Directors to guide our day-to-day operations.

“The best innovations in elections build trust, support transparency, and improve turnout. At CCD, our brilliant team innovates every day to improve voter experience through civic design and research, and this work is more essential than ever,” said Sean. “I’m honored to step up as CCD’s next Executive Director. Together with our partners, we will continue to build best practices and support election heroes nationwide, so that every voter feels invited to participate in our democracy.”

Whitney Quesenbery, CCD’s co-founder and previous Executive Director, will continue at the organization in a new role as Chief Program Officer. As a civic design and elections expert, Whitney will partner with Sean to develop our vision for our programs while overseeing our civic design research.

“When we started CCD, it was with the belief that design could make it easier for people to vote,” Whitney said. “Seeing the organization grow from just a few of us has been extremely rewarding. I am confident that with Sean as Executive Director, CCD will keep pushing the field forward with the same creativity and impact that’s always been at our core.”

About the Center for Civic Design: https://civicdesign.org/ 

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