Meet Our Staff
National Board Chair
Jessica Arrigoni
Responsible for Vote Smart's National Board. Jessica has a master's in political science from Truman State University and formerly served as the Director of Vote Smart's National Political Awareness Test (now the Political Courage Test).
President
Kyle Dell
Responsible as the chief executive officer of the organization, the president has primary responsibility for the financial, operational and strategic success of the organization to realize its mission. Kyle is a graduate of Kalamazoo College and also earned a master’s and doctoral degrees in political science from Boston College. Before his twenty-year career as a professor and dean in higher education, Kyle served on the Vote Smart staff as director of the National Political Awareness Test (now the Political Courage Test).
National Director
James Wypych
Responsible for day-to-day oversight of all Vote Smart programs, staff, operations, facilities and administration. James was born in Wellington, New Zealand. He graduated from Drake University in 2016 in International Relations and joined Vote Smart in March 2017.
Assistant National Director
Aline Alves da Costa
Aline Alves da Costa is delighted to have joined Vote Smart as the Assistant National Director. As a graduate student at the University of Wyoming Aline is focusing her MPA on nonprofit management. Aline serves on the board of directors for the Urbandale Food Pantry and as a member of the governing council of the Iowa chapter of the American Society of Public Administrators.
Assistant National Director
Noah Andrew
Oversees the research process and staff within the Biographies, Political Courage Test, and Campaign Finance research programs. In 2021, Noah graduated with his MA in Women and Gender Studies from University of Northern Iowa. His masters degree was interdisciplinary and he wanted to continue to challenge himself. With his love of information and continuously learning about politics that brought him to Vote Smart in May 2021.
Director of Development & Communications
Benjamin Whittingham
Membership Associate
Lori Hunt
Lori is originally from Des Moines Area and has vast experiences that brought her to Vote Smart in September of 2021 as a Membership Associate. In her role she oversees donations and membership communications.
Information Technology Director
Travis Flatt
Responsible for web development, user support, and system administration. Travis lives in and works remotely from San Antonio, TX. His first programming experience was in BASIC on a Commodore 64.
Full Stack Developer
Matt Dublin
Responsible for web development, user support, and system administration. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Matt's previous areas of focus have been bioinformatics and media asset management.
SysAdmin/DevOps
Mark Mangoba
Director of Elections Research
Nick Israel
Nick grew up in San Diego, California, and attended the University of Washington (graduated in 2015 with a BA in Political Science and History) and Georgetown University (graduated in 2016 with a MA in American Government). He joined VoteSmart in January 2022 to work on the Issues Positions research in the Elections and Candidates Department, where he researches the issue stances for every congressional candidate running in the 2022 elections.
Research Associate
Seth Kallestad
Seth joined Vote Smart in April and is currently responsible for collecting biographical information and addresses for all candidates running in state or federal elections. He recently graduated from Iowa State University with a major in political science and minors in history and philosophy. Seth enjoys learning about political history, reading science fiction, and spending time with his dogs.
Research Associate
Caleb Courtney
Caleb grew up in Auburn, Michigan, and attended the University of Iowa (graduated in 2022 with a BA in Political Science and History). He joined VoteSmart in April 2022 and works in the issue positions department, where he researches the issue stances for congressional candidates running in the 2022 elections.
Research Associate
Zachary Nathan
Research Associate
Thomas Stone
Thomas is responsible for tracking, analyzing, and summarizing major legislation in congress and all 50 states. Thomas graduated early from Iowa State University in 2017 with a B.S. in History and a Minor in Sociology. Originally from Des Moines, Thomas is a Projectionist for the IMAX Theater at the Science Center of Iowa and first joined the VoteSmart team as an intern before starting full time in July.
Research Associate
Johanan Tai
Responsible for tracking and maintaining special interest groups data. Johanan graduated from Drake University in 2018 with a B.S.B.A in Data Analytics and Information Systems and joined Vote Smart in April 2019.
Research Associate
Israel Robinson
Israel grew up in Shorewood, Il. He has worked as an electoral organizer with several organizations and political campaigns. He joined Vote Smart in March of 2022 as a research associate on the Public Statements team in Officials Research.