Our State Advisory Board
Patrick Roath, Chair (he/him) Patrick is an attorney and experienced democracy advocate. He is an associate in the Boston office of the law firm Ropes & Gray LLP, where he focuses on litigation and maintains a pro bono practice focused on promoting voter rights. He is a former staffer for Gov. Deval Patrick. Patrick graduated from Columbia Law School and Tufts University, and is a resident of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston.
Jacquetta Van Zandt, Vice Chair (she/her) is the Vice President of Engagement at the Partnership, Inc. Jacquetta is responsible for building, coordinating, and maintaining strategic relationships across the civic, political and business sectors. In this role, she manages long-term strategic thinking regarding the Partnership’s relationships to build systemic and sustainable influence in furtherance of the organization’s mission.
Prior to joining The Partnership, Inc, Van Zandt honed a political skill set on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. as well as various state and federal campaigns, Jacquetta has been a respected voice at the table to aid in making significant decisions that impact communities of color.
A highly sought-after political strategist, with a special focus on public policy and diversity initiatives, her desire to bring about equal opportunities for women of color has brought her back to Massachusetts. Her goal towards making an impact on her community and to bring important issues to light such as wage inequality, financial literacy, socioeconomic development, women’s empowerment, and diversifying the legislature are at the heart of today’s most important issues. She was instrumental force on many campaigns including the successful campaign of Framingham’s first Mayor and only popularly elected woman of color to that post.
Van Zandt launched a growing and popular zoom-cast/podcast called “Politics and Prosecco”. Politics and Prosecco is a one-hour show where guests and hosts engage in topics surrounding current events and its impact on everyday life. In addition to hosting “Politics and Prosecco”, Van Zandt currently serves on the board of directors for the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts.
Born and raised in Boston, MA, Van Zandt graduated from Mount Ida College (now part of the UMASS education system) with a B.S. in Criminal Justice. She resides in Roxbury, MA
Janet Domenitz (she/her) Janet has been the executive director of MASSPIRG since 1990 and directs programs on consumer protection, zero waste, health and safety, public transportation, and voter participation. Janet has co-founded or led coalitions, including Earth Day Greater Boston, Campaign to Update the Bottle Bill and the Election Modernization Coalition. On behalf of MASSPIRG, Janet was one of the founding members of Transportation for Massachusetts (T4MA), a statewide coalition of organizations advocating investment in mass transit to curb climate change, improve public health and address equity. Janet serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Consumer Federation of America and serves on the Common Cause Massachusetts executive committee, Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow board of directors, and Department of Environmental Protection Solid Waste Advisory Committee. For her work, Janet has received Common Cause’s John Gardner Award and Salem State University’s Friend of the Earth Award. Janet lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with her husband and two sons, and every Wednesday morning she slow-runs the steps at Harvard Stadium with the November Project.
Reade Everett (he/him) Reade is a counsel in Goodwin Procter’s Real Estate Industry group. Reade represents institutional investors, real estate funds, developers and other owners and operators of commercial real estate in connection with all aspects of real estate transactions.
Reade devotes a significant portion of his practice to representing developers and other clients in the formation and restructuring of condominiums, including commercial, residential, mixed-use, two-tiered and multi-phase condominiums. Reade also has extensive experience representing clients in connection with all aspects of complex commercial and mixed-use real estate developments, including ground leases, declarations of covenants and easements, zoning and related land use matters.
Reade is a member of the Boston Bar Association. Prior to joining Goodwin, Reade was a legal fellow at Common Cause Massachusetts, where he advocated for transparency and accountability in state and local government and worked to protect access to the political and democratic processes. Reade currently serves as a member of the advisory board of this organization.
Diego Huezo (he/him) Diego Huezo joined the Common Cause – MA Chapter in November 2021. Diego is a life long Boston resident and proud son of immigrants from El Salvador. He and his siblings attended the Needham Public School system through the METCO program. Diego attended Boston University and after graduation became engaged in local campaigns and politics. He worked for former Governor Deval Patrick and U.S. Senator Ed Markey. Recently, Diego worked for at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council’s (MAPC) Government Affairs Department. In January 2022, he began work as the Deputy Director of State Relations of the Intergovernmental Relations Department for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu.
Brendan Jarboe (he/him) Brendan Jarboe is an attorney from Boston and has been a board member of Common Cause Massachusetts since 2016. Brendan previously served as an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division and, before that, a legislative aide in the Massachusetts Senate. He cares passionately about the right to vote, campaign finance reform, and working towards a more just, inclusive democracy.
Eda Matchak (she/her) Eda is a seasoned public servant with a diverse portfolio. Eda currently serves as the Community Development Facilities Manager with the City of Lynn and previously held the position of Director of Elections with City of Lowell. Throughout her career, Eda has worked with diverse groups of individuals both domestically and internationally. As a City Year (AmeriCorps) Corps Member, and Boston Public Schools employee, Eda organized largescale community service events, and lead tutoring and mentoring groups.
After earning a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies at University of Massachusetts Boston, Eda had a brief internship at the Edward Collins Center for Public Management prior to joining the City of Lowell’s Law Department. Throughout her nine-year tenure in Lowell, Eda worked on data driven, community-centric projects and was able to bring her passion for civic responsibility and public involvement to Lowell City Hall. Eda worked to build a culture of kindness, inclusivity and neighborly thinking within the Election and Census Division through outreach, partnership and defining shared goals that included ensuring all polling locations were ADA compliant and introducing the Commonwealth’s first trilingual, English, Khmer and Spanish, ballot.
Eda has been involved with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) as an international election expert and has participated in seven OSCE missions as both a short-term and long-term observer in Armenia, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Patrick Moore (he/him) Pat is the First Assistant Attorney General in Massachusetts and was formerly a partner at the law firm of Hemenway & Barnes, LLP, in Boston where he was a litigator and an election lawyer, and represents a range of companies, nonprofit organizations, state and local governmental entities, officeholders, and candidates for office. He formerly served as Deputy Counsel to Governors Patrick and Baker and Associate Counsel in the White House of President Obama.
Nichelle Sadler (she/her) Nichelle is the Executive Director for the Training Center for Excellence (TC4E), the premier training facility in Massachusetts for addressing gun violence through both a public health and racial equity lens. Previously, Nichelle served as Chief of Staff to District Attorney-Elect Rachael Rollins and Chief of Staff to Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson. Raised in Boston, she actively participated in Boston’s local community centers throughout her youth. Following college, she joined the staff of Boston Community Centers’ Streetworker program where she began her career working high-risk youth at a very difficult time for the city when crime among youth was high. Prior to her work at UTEC, Nichelle was the Boston Area Director for Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps, where she oversaw two community-based programs. Nichelle’s experience provides her with the kind of leadership and experience that is needed to undertake community initiatives serving impact young adults.
Peter Sturges (he/him) Peter has been on the board of Common Cause Massachusetts for twelve years and served as chair for ten years. Peter’s public service includes positions as executive director of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission and general counsel to the Campaign Finance Office. He was also appointed an election commissioner in the City of Cambridge and was the editor and an author of the first edition of MCLE’s Massachusetts Election Administration, Campaign Finance and Lobbying Law. Peter is a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Northeastern University School of Law.
David Sullivan (he/him) David Sullivan has been a Senior Voter Protection Lawyer for the national Democratic Party since the 2000 Florida recount. A long-time active Common Cause member, he helped draft our VOTES Act. Until 2018, Sullivan served as Counsel and Policy Adviser to the Massachusetts Senate President. Before that, he served as chief lawyer for the Secretary of State and its Elections Division, the Ethics Commission, and the Massachusetts Senate. He was elected to five terms as a Cambridge City Councilor. A graduate of MIT and Harvard Law School, he lives in Cambridge with his wife, Catherine; they have three adult sons.
Teresa Walsh (she/her) An attorney, lecturer and analyst, Teresa is a veteran of local, state and national politics. She was elected from Massachusetts to the historic Electoral College in 2020. She serves as an election monitor for OSCE, covering the Ukraine Presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2019 and the Republic of Georgia elections in 2021. Teresa has designed and taught courses in Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, First Amendment and Voting Rights & Election Law. She is a former Massachusetts assistant attorney general experienced in trial and appellate litigation. Teresa received a BA degree in Political Science from Tufts University, Medford, MA; an MSc. degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science; and a JD from Boston College Law School in Newton, MA.
Khushbu Webber (she/her) Khushbu has over a decade of policy, government relations, and legal experience in the public and non-profit sectors. Currently, Khushbu serves in the Executive Office of Administration and Finance. Her career in public policy began in the Massachusetts State Senate, where she served as associate counsel to the Senate Committee on Ways and Means. Khushbu most recently worked as the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the City of Somerville, where she oversaw strategic planning, intergovernmental and external affairs, and development and implementation of policies. Earlier in her career, Khushbu worked as an assistant district attorney in Norfolk County, Massachusetts and served as the Director of Public Policy for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.
Brenda Wright (she/her) Brenda Wright is at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and perviously served as Senior Advisor for Legal Strategies at Demos. Over the course of 25+ years, she has led many legal and policy initiatives on voter registration and voting access, campaign finance reform, election administration and other democracy and electoral reform issues, with a focus on advancing racial justice in access to voting. Her extensive experience in federal court litigation on voting rights issues includes two arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court. Brenda has written extensively on democracy and voting rights issues in both popular and scholarly publications, and has testified before Congress on voting rights.