About Us

We're building the tools to help citizens' assemblies scale well.

Who Are We?

We're a team of designers, builders, and citizens' assembly experts. We believe that citizens' assemblies, which combine random, representative selection with deep learning and deliberation — are vital for a lasting democracy.‍‍

Why Are We Building Assemble?

Because we believe citizens' assemblies are an essential part of a stable, enduring democracy. And we believe that making them way easier to plan, implement, and ensure impact will help them spread — and therefore help our democracy. And we think that the more of them that happen, the more humanity will be nudged toward more peace and cooperation.

Our History‍‍

For four years, this project was known as Democracy Creative. In that time, our office space became well known as a community space in our home of Burlington, Vermont, USA.

In 2024 we split into two organizations — Democracy Creative persists as the local, shared work and community space, while Assemble continues as our democracy innovation and citizens' assembly project.

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Design Leads

Jesse Paul Warren
Executive Director
& Product Design Lead
Drawing from his background in design, music production, politics, and Capitol Hill, Jesse started Democracy Creative (now rebranded as Assemble) in 2020 to merge creativity with governance and address the lack of innovative thinking in politics, focusing on citizens' assemblies.

Kyle Redman
Process Design Lead
Kyle Redman is the Director of Research and Design at the newDemocracy Foundation, leading major citizens' assembly projects for various governments and institutions. He has collaborated internationally on democratic innovations and serves on the Executive Board of the Federation for Innovation in Democracy - Europe. Kyle has co-authored several works on democracy, including a UN Democracy Fund handbook and "The A, B & C of Democracy."

Our Board & Advisors

Terry Bouricius
Theorist
Board Member & Advisor
Terry Bouricius is an internationally known political theorist specializing in sortition, the use of random selection to form representative deliberative bodies. A former politician, he served on the Burlington City Council and the Vermont House of Representatives. Since 2005, his primary focus has been sortition, advocating and publishing extensively on the topic.

Emilie Krasnow
Vermont State Representative
Board Member & Advisor
A native Vermonter and advocate for democracy, Emilie Krasnow has called South Burlington home since 2005. With a background in leadership from the University of Notre Dame, she promotes civic engagement at Vermont schools. Emilie serves on the House Committee on General and Housing and is active in the South Burlington Rotary Club. With seven years of experience at the Vermont State House, she is committed to fostering civic participation and government transparency.

Nick Coccoma
Author & Educator
Board Member & Advisor
Nicholas Coccoma is a writer, educator, and Communications Manager for FIDE - North America, a non-profit dedicated to advancing Democracy by Assembly in the U.S. He is also founding editor of The Similitude, covering topics including culture, politics, religion, philosophy, and history.

Alex MelvilleTechnologist
Board Member & Advisor
Alex is a software engineer with a decade of experience. He has a focus on teaching and learning, combined with the ability to design, build, and maintain bleeding-edge technical products.

Polly Cameron
Communications & Strategist
Advisor
Polly Cameron is a certified mediator, facilitator, and social entrepreneur dedicated to democratic reform. She has led the Australian branch of The School of Life and served as Director of Public Engagement at the newDemocracy Foundation.