Leadership, taught by leaders.
A community of practice for election professionals.
The Leadership in Election Administration Program advances a professional-development model that goes beyond technical training. It supports election professionals in strengthening their leadership identity, expanding professional networks, increasing field visibility, and connecting local expertise to broader opportunities for influence, collaboration, and service.
Through LEAP, fellows get supportive, structured environments that enable them to move from managing daily responsibilities to leading with greater confidence, intention, and influence. The program is grounded in the belief that professional development gives people an opportunity to identify their strengths, build authentic peer relationships, develop a clear professional voice, and pursue meaningful growth.
Built to open pathways to leadership.
The Leadership in Election Administration Project (LEAP) was developed in response to a persistent leadership challenge within local election administration: the field’s leadership has historically been overwhelmingly white, female, and over age 50, while people of color remain underrepresented in positions of influence and advancement. Research and the experiences of Black local election officials have pointed to recurring barriers—including limited access to professional development, mentorship, advancement opportunities, professional networks, and equitable compensation—as well as isolation, racism, sexism, and the complexities of navigating local election boards. Because more than half of local election officials are elected, pathways into leadership can be especially difficult to identify and access.
LEAP was created as an 18-month pilot to examine how intentional professional development, mentoring, and relationship-building can support retention and career mobility among early- to mid-career local election administrators. Grounded in a Community of Practice model, LEAP brings participants together around a shared commitment to election administration, creating space to learn from peers, build meaningful professional relationships, connect with mentors, and expand awareness of the broader election administration ecosystem. While the program centers the experiences and advancement of election administrators of color, participation is open to all eligible professionals in the field.
Through in-person convenings, virtual monthly check-ins, mentoring, and connections to professional associations, public agencies, research centers, foundations, and other election-administration organizations, LEAP seeks to strengthen belonging and build durable pathways to leadership. The pilot also included baseline, post-program, and long-term follow-up evaluation designed to understand how networking and professional-development experiences shape participants’ retention, opportunities, and career trajectories—and to generate recommendations for a stronger, more inclusive election-administration workforce.
We want to give credit to the ETI and Democracy Fund for funding the project.
“Election administration is strengthened when professionals are not only technically prepared, but also visible, connected, and confident in their ability to lead.”
“People are better equipped to lead when they have space to recognize their strengths, clarify their goals, and build meaningful relationships that support their growth.”
Dr. Bridgett A. King
- Focus
- Election administration
- Voter experience
- Public policy
- Democratic representation
- Research support
- National Science Foundation
- Rockefeller Family Fund
- Democracy Fund
- Election Trust Initiative
- Advisory roles
- Electoral Integrity Project, International Academic Advisory Board
- FairVote Academic Advisory Board
- University of Rhode Island Engineering for Democracy Institute
- Education
- Ph.D. Political Science, Kent State University
- M.A. Justice Studies, Kent State University
- B.A. Psychology, Hampton University
Advancing election administration through research, leadership, and professional visibility.
Dr. Bridgett A. King is an associate professor of American politics and a scholar of election administration, voter experience, public policy, and democratic representation. Her research examines how administrative structures, discretion, and institutional design shape citizen confidence, participation, and access in U.S. elections. She also collaborates on interdisciplinary work applying systems and engineering approaches to challenges in election administration and decision-making.
Dr. King’s research has received support from the National Science Foundation, the Rockefeller Family Fund, the Democracy Fund, Election Trust Initiative, and others. She serves in leadership and advisory roles across the election administration ecosystem, including the Electoral Integrity Project International Academic Advisory Board, Fair Vote Academic Advisory Board, and the University of Rhode Island Engineering for Democracy Institute.
As Co-Lead of the Leadership in Election Administration Program (LEAP), Dr. King advances a professional-development model that goes beyond technical training. LEAP supports election professionals in strengthening their leadership identity, expanding professional networks, increasing field visibility, and connecting local expertise to broader opportunities for influence, collaboration, and service.
Dr. King regularly contributes to academic and practitioner conversations on election administration and participates in domestic and international election observation efforts. Her work reflects a commitment to building a more resilient, connected, and representative election administration profession.
Dr. Sharrell M. McKennie
- Focus
- Leadership and cohort development
- Strategic planning
- Organizational transformation
- Coaching and mentoring
- Experience
- Project and change management
- Compliance systems and audit
- Stakeholder engagement
- Cross-functional team leadership
- Education
- Ph.D. Human Services (Management of Non-Profit Organizations), Capella University
- M.Div. Biblical Studies, Liberty University
- M.B.A. Project Management, Keller Graduate School of Management
- B.S. Accounting, DePaul University
Building leaders, strengthening organizations, and creating pathways for professional growth.
Dr. Sharrell M. McKennie is a strategic leader, program developer, and organizational development professional with experience guiding complex initiatives, strengthening teams, and helping professionals turn their expertise into confident leadership. Her work centers on leadership and cohort development, strategic planning, organizational transformation, and professional development through coaching and mentoring.
As Co-Lead of the Leadership in Election Administration Program (LEAP), Dr. McKennie helps shape a community of practice for election professionals seeking to expand their leadership capacity, professional visibility, and connections across the election administration ecosystem. She supports program strategy, cohort engagement, goal setting, meeting design and facilitation, project documentation, and systems that strengthen program learning and sustainability.
Dr. McKennie brings extensive experience in project management, change management, compliance systems, stakeholder engagement, and cross-functional team leadership. Her background includes designing and implementing organizational processes, supporting complex system modernization efforts, developing training and communication resources, and guiding teams through change. She has also led regulatory compliance functions, including audit processes, performance reporting, team development, and engagement with external stakeholders.
Her approach is grounded in the belief that professional development is more than training. It gives people an opportunity to identify their strengths, build authentic peer relationships, develop a clear professional voice, and pursue meaningful growth. Through LEAP, Dr. McKennie helps create supportive, structured environments that enable election professionals to move from managing daily responsibilities to leading with greater confidence, intention, and influence.
Members across the country.
LEAP members serve in election offices from coast to coast. The highlighted states contain one or more LEAP members.
LEAP members are in these states: California, District of Columbia, Kentucky, Louisiana, South Carolina, Texas.