Staff and board
Get to know the Citizen University team.
The Citizen University staff approaches our work with spirit, joy, and a deep responsibility to each other and to the civic health of our nation. We bring enthusiasm and ingenuity to our work. We ask each other, why does democracy matter? We work with incredible people and each strive to live like citizens the best we can each and every day.
Eric Liu
CEO and Co-founder
he/him
Eric Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University. He is the author of numerous acclaimed books, including most recently Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy — a New York Times New & Notable Book — and Live Like a Citizen: 8 Ways to Change Your Mindset and Our Country, to be published in October 2026. Liu served as a White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and as the President’s deputy domestic policy adviser. He was later appointed by President Barack Obama to the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service.
A graduate of Yale College and Harvard Law School, Liu was elected in 2020 to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and co-chairs its Our Common Purpose commission. He lives in Seattle, where he has served on the boards of the Seattle Public Library and the Washington State Board of Education.
Brooke Prieskorn
Program Manager
she/her
Brooke always dreamed of being a scientist – well, she actually dreamed of being a dolphin trainer first, but what ’90s kid didn’t? Then, in 2020, after years of goggles and lab coat research, she felt it was time to zoom out and embrace something bigger. Now, she’s all about supporting our CU Community as our Program Manager for Power + Character, our Global Learning Project and other in-the-works programs, where she uses her microscopic attention to do all of the behind the scenes (and sometimes in the scenes!) work that supports transformative experiences we host here at CU. If you ever find yourself in Seattle, she says “Don’t miss out on my favorite desert restaurants; Frankie & Jo’s and BeanFish.”
Chris Hayashida-Knight
Director of Administration and Finance
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Chris directs administrative operations at Citizen University. He has worked in nonprofit administration for 25 years and taught U.S. history at California State University, Chico. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife, daughter, and chihuahuas. Chris has always looked for ways to put idealism into practice and is proud to be a part of the CU team. He holds a Ph.D. in U.S. history and women’s, gender and sexuality studies from Penn State University and a master’s degree in American studies from the George Washington University.
Davis Endava
Program Manager
she/her
Davis designs and leads civic programs that help people understand power, practice responsibility, and build shared life together. At Citizen University, she works within CU Labs to steward the National and Youth Collaboratories work, holding both the strategy and the lived experience of participants — from relationships and facilitation to logistics and learning. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest with Indigenous roots shaped Davis’s deep connection to place and community. Her background spans nature-based education, founding an outdoor preschool, and serving in equity and belonging leadership, all of which inform her relational, grounded approach to civic work. Davis is known for bringing calm to complexity and translating civic values into experiences that feel human, meaningful, and worth showing up for. Outside of work, she loves dancing, soaking up the sun, spending time outdoors, and being in community.
Kayla DeMonte
Deputy Director
she/her
Kayla leads the Citizen University team, overseeing strategy and organizational growth, and works alongside partners and staff to bring our slate of programs and projects to life in communities around the country. She began her tenure at CU building the Civic Saturday program, and prior to this, spent years at the Seattle Metro Chamber of Commerce and One Reel, working on festivals, conferences, and gatherings of all sizes. Kayla has served in leadership and board roles for a variety of arts and civic organizations including the Seattle Arts Commission, the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, The Vera Project, 4Culture and ArtsFund. Her work has taken her around the country and globe, but she is happy to spend most of her days in her neighborhood of West Seattle where she lives with her husband and son.
Moses Ngong
Program Manager
he/his
Moses is passionate about building community, especially across lines of race, class, and age. He does so by facilitating experiences that help folks from different backgrounds brainstorm ways to make their community better, unlocking an appreciation for their shared interests and collective power in the process. Moses also researched people-power building techniques while pursuing his master’s in social work, and is always thinking about new ways to create civic opportunity as part of the Labs team. An adopted Clevelander and a proud Returned Peace Corps volunteer, he brings cultural humility and a love for humanity in all of his work.
Olivia Leming
Accounting Manager
she/her
Olivia, the accounting manager at Citizen University, was born and raised in China and holds a bachelor’s degree in advertising from her studies there. Pursuing her academic ambitions, she immigrated to the US for graduate studies, obtaining a Master of Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in finance from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. Olivia’s passion lies in finance and accounting management within nonprofit organizations. Residing in Overland Park, Kansas, with her husband and two daughters, she finds solace in creating artworks, exploring museums, enjoying music, and indulging in family movie nights during her leisure time.
Rob Pabon
Senior Program Relationship Manager
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Rob serves as the senior program relationship manager, where he brings his gifts and experience as a coach, facilitator, and organizer to support civic catalysts all across the country. Rob has a deep commitment to healing democracy by holding space for folks to come together across lines of difference to discover a common cause, build tethered relationships, and take collective action. As a Civic Saturday Fellow and an elected official in his own community, he understands the value of building relationships, a stronger sense of belonging and opportunities for participatory engagement.
Sadé C. Sparks
Senior Human Resources Manager
she/her
Sadé is a proud Cleveland, Ohio, native with over a decade of experience in Human Resources across nonprofit, retail, hospitality, entertainment, and financial services spaces. She holds a master’s of business administration in human resources management from Ashford University and a bachelor’s in human ecology from The Ohio State University, along with professional certifications that reflect her ongoing love of learning. Her work focuses on helping organizations plan thoughtfully, support their people well, build healthy cultures, and create employee experiences that truly matter. Her approach to HR is shaped by her Christian faith and cultural values, which ground her work in service, stewardship, and care for others. Outside of work, Sadé enjoys reading, exploring the arts, history, and science, and finding meaningful ways to give back to her community.
Steve Smith
Director of Communications
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Steve brings more than three decades of experience in journalism, higher education, and nonprofit civic leadership, most recently as Director of Communications at Civic Nebraska. In his career as a journalist, public relations professional, and communications leader, Steve has helped people and organizations articulate their “why,” translate democratic values into public-facing narratives, and build trust through clear, principled storytelling. He has been involved with Citizen University since 2020 through Civic Saturdays and the National Civic Collaboratory, and is energized by CU’s commitment to building a culture of powerful citizenship. Steve is based in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Talya Gillman
Program Director
she/her
Talya yearns for a world in which all people experience dignity and freedom, and a sense of interdependence. At Citizen University, she leads programs that nurture the kinds of qualities and skills that, when practiced in community, enable us to be authentic and effective actors in that kind of world-building, together. Many experiences have formed and fueled her: designing experiential learning initiatives with Jewish Family Service, University of Washington, and Repair the World; receiving a Covenant Foundation Pomegranate Prize for emerging Jewish educators; completing an M.A. in Transformational Leadership at Seattle University; organizing with anti-racist and immigrant justice networks; and serving as an AJWS World Partners Fellow doing harm reduction work with Sankalp Rehabilitation Trust in Mumbai. Things that keep Talya going: learning from folks who speak truth and take risks with moral clarity, hugs from her adorable kids, and music from every corner of the earth.
Zoey Cane Belyea
Program Director
she/her
Zoey leads an innovation team at Citizen University, experimenting with and circulating novel methodologies for increasing civic participation at local, regional, and national levels. Zoey is the creative and strategic director of CU’s longstanding National Civic Collaboratory and its Youth Collaboratory, as well as a portfolio of partnerships and special projects. Drawing on a career as a theater artist and educator, Zoey brings a sense of playfulness, imagination, collaboration, and purpose to her work. In addition to her 9 years at Citizen University, Zoey has worked for arts and education organizations across the country including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, ScienceWorks Hands on Museum, Seattle Children’s Theatre, and the Paramount Theatre in Austin, Texas. She lives in the pine trees outside Talent, Oregon.
Board of Directors
Kristen Cambell PACE Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement
Katie Hong Principal, KH Consulting
Diane Douglas Diane Douglas Consulting
Eric Liu Citizen University
Martin A. Rodgers Accenture
Rich Tafel Pepperdine School of Public Policy
James Williams Perkins Coie