The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) is pleased to announce that Nelson Cunningham and Laurie Richardson have joined IFES’s Board of Directors.  

“IFES is pleased to welcome these two accomplished leaders to our Board,” said IFES Board Chair Amb. William Eacho. “Both Nelson and Laurie bring a wide breadth of knowledge and expertise, and their insights and perspectives will be great assets as IFES navigates challenges to democracy worldwide.” 

Richardson is Vice President for Trust and Safety at Google. Cunningham co-founded McLarty Associates, now merged with Ankura Consulting, and is Vice Chair of the Business Council for International Understanding (BICU). They were elected to IFES’s Board by unanimous vote at the Board’s meeting on October 17, 2023. 

“In the face of global democratic backsliding, I am honored to join a bipartisan Board of leaders who are united in their mission to build and strengthen resilient democracies around the globe,” Nelson Cunningham said.  

“Safeguarding technology is critical to strengthening democracy amidst rising authoritarianism,” Laurie Richardson said. “As new threats to global democracy and elections emerge each day, I am proud to join an organization that leads in leveraging technology to support electoral integrity.” 

About Nelson Cunningham: Cunningham co-founded McLarty Associates in 1998, leading the firm for 25 years before it merged with Ankura Consulting in 2022. Before co-founding McLarty, he served in the White House as the special advisor to President Clinton on Western Hemisphere affairs and as General Counsel at the White House Office of Administration. He previously served as General Counsel of the Senate Judiciary Committee under then-Sen. Joseph Biden. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU).
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About Laurie Richardson: Richardson is Vice President for Trust and Safety at Google. In this role, she leads the global team that develops and enforces product policies for Google, working to protect Google’s users, prevent abuse, and ensure that Google is a trusted source of information. Previously, she served as the Vice President for Strategic Response and a senior adviser to the CEO of Google. Prior to joining Google, Richardson served in the Obama administration as chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Treasury.
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