WE DO BETTER - Key Persons
Ben Turek is a long time resident of Maryland, an educated and trained lobbyist, paralegal, and researcher. His paralegal and political training included a internship with the Public Defender's office in Annapolis, as well as serving as a Peer Advisor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Ben regularly volunteers for numerous charitable groups that help victims of human trafficking, assists with food pantries, and helps out at homeless shelters. His personal interests include book shopping, trap and skeet shooting, and video games.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Founder
Dan is the founder and Executive Director of We Do Better. In nonprofits, Dan is the founder of 3 national nonprofit organizations, has helped brand and market dozens of nonprofit initiatives, and regularly writes and speaks on the effectiveness of donor and service-funded nonprofits.
In activism, Dan is a seasoned activist with nearly a decade of experience in grassroots organizing and strategy. He has written or co-written numerous pieces of legislation, and organized and trained thousands of grassroots activists from coast to coast. He has worked across the political spectrum, organizing numerous nonpartisan coalitions and working to find common ground to solve problems in communities, states, and Washington.
With his experience in social change and the nonprofit sector, Dan is dedicated to advancing better ways to meet human needs.
Jeff Lewis is a veteran of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Naval Nuclear Power School graduate, and a four-time cancer survivor with the unenviable experience of adapting and overcoming life-threatening situations. Over the past 14 years, Jeff has conducted briefings for Members of Congress, testified before state legislatures, consulted and advised federal, state, and local officials, as well as candidates for office on a variety of issues.
Jeff founded the God & Country project in his home state of North Carolina, bringing together churches, nonprofits, and other service providers to help communities in need. As We Do Better's senior adviser, Jeff helps maintain We Do Better's standards of excellence in front of the church lady, the judge, and the public.
Mitchell is a Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP). He is passionate about social justice, prison reform, and human rights. Mitchell is working to help small nonprofits get on their feet, and large nonprofits continue to succeed. As Operations Director, Mitch helps We Do Better run smoothly, puts out fires, develops our capacity, and helps We Do Better maintain our standards of excellence.
Nick is a sales & marketing professional who works at a tech startup in Indianapolis. He also enjoys discussing politics, philosophy, and more on his podcast the Conversation of Our Generation. As Marketing Director, Nick helps promote the work of We Do Better and the nonprofits we serve.
Job Titles:
- Business Manager
- Program Director
Rick Rivkin is a business manager and real estate professional living in Austin, Texas. Rick joined the We Do Better team over 2 years ago, produced content, including reports, videos and articles, as well as anchoring We Do Better News, for the organization. As the program director for Better Nonprofits, Rick helps donor and service-funded nonprofits get the mentorship and support they need to succeed.
Shayn Hornik is an entrepreneur with many interests, one of which is communicating ideas in a visual format. Shayn ran HFK Properties' social media advertising before retiring to a passive role, and volunteered for Charlie Earl's gubernatorial campaign in 2014. He has a passion for helping people and creating relatable content. As We Do Better's social media manager, he engages our online audiences to help us support nonprofits, promote better solutions, and advance better ways to meet human needs.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- Auditor, and Staff Accountant for a Catholic
Susan is a trained auditor, and Staff Accountant for a Catholic nursing home in Massachusetts. As a daughter of strongly civic-minded parents, she lends whatever talents she has to a good cause. She has been involved in many worthy causes throughout her career, including We Do Better. As We Do Better's Treasurer, she helps ensure proper stewardship of donor funds, and financial transparency.
Thomas Johnson currently works with the Bill of Rights Institute in Arlington, VA in the Development department where he serves as project lead on acquisitions and point of contact with development vendors. Thomas specializes in communication strategies and development process design. Thomas believes in empowering individuals to personally take initiative and responsibility to meet the needs of their communities. As We Do Better's Development Advisor, Thomas helps We Do Better develop the capacity and support to accomplish its mission.