Stories

Project Pericles is thrilled to announce that our new Executive Director, Sanda Balaban has been recognized as a Democracy Hero as part of an inaugural cohort of 25 trailblazers, advocates, organizers and changemakers around the U.S. dedicated to ensuring marginalized voters have a voice in our democracy. This initiative is a collaboration between Headcount,  “I am a Voter”, MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” and The Rockefeller Foundation. ​In Sanda’s reflection upon receiving this award at a celebrity-filled gala last Friday night, she expressed: “Being chosen as a Democracy Hero is a force multiplier, enabling each of us to build alliances with extraordinary civic movers and shakers from all across the country in order to strengthen and fortify our fraught democracy at a time when it is too often under siege. One of the beautiful things about democracy is that it is what we the people create–and re-create. Our democracy is being pressure-tested in ways that it has never

NEW YORK – The Board  of Directors  of Project Pericles is delighted to announce the  election of Sanda Balaban as its new Executive Director following a national search. An alumna of Swarthmore College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Balaban brings more than 20 years of experience  in education and nonprofit leadership to Project Pericles. She will begin her new position in mid-July,  succeeding Jan Risë Liss who has led the organization since 2005.  ​ Balaban is currently the Co-Founder and Director of YVote/Next Generation Politics, an organization that engages young people through issue-driven and peer-led civic learning and leadership programs. She founded the organization in 2017 as a response to the societal challenges highlighted by the tumultuous 2016 election cycle. In collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, leading activists, and with young people at the center, Balaban created the organization’s five signature programs, established  a strong  media  presence, and secured $2