Kat Calvin

Kat is a Founder, Philanthropy Consultant, Author, Speaker, and Advocate for Democracy.

Kat Calvin is the Founder and Executive Director of Spread The Vote + Project ID and the Co-Founder and CEO of the Project ID Action Fund. A lawyer, activist, and social entrepreneur, Kat has built a national organization that has helped more than 15,000 people obtain the IDs they need for jobs, housing, and life and that also allows them to go to the polls. Spread The Vote registers 92% of their eligible clients, taking them from 0 to 40% voter turnout through their voter education program. Through their Vote By Mail in Jail program, they have a 90% turnout rate of incarcerated voters.

Kat is currently working towards the passage of the IDs for an Inclusive Democracy Act. Her book American Identity in Crisis was released on Amistad by Harper Collins.

Kat is one of the TIME Magazine 16 People and Groups Fighting for a More Equal America, 2018 Fast Company 100 Most Creative People in Business, and has been a Business Insider 30 Under 30, The Grio 100, and more. Kat has been featured in the New York Times, LA Times, Washington Post, Atlantic, Essence, Glamour, NPR, PBS, BET, Marie Claire and many more print and digital outlets. She has been a guest commentator on MSNBC, CNN, Headline News, Sirius XM, and more. She is a frequent keynote speaker and a sought after voice for her expertise and opinions on politics, voting, ID related issues, and more.

Along with STV/PID, Kat is an enthusiastic photographer, an avid traveler, sits on the board of Amnesty International USA, chairs the board of IDEAS Generation, and is treasurer of the The Loveland Foundation board. She is also on the Hewlett Foundation’s Culture, Race, and Equity Advisory Council and a fellow in the Royal Society of the Arts and their Los Angeles Ambassador. Kat is a Practitioner Fellow in Democracy at the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute of Democracy and writes weekly insights and pop culture recommendations at Hot Takes and Applesauce and hosts the Choose the Bear podcast.

Kat attended Mount Holyoke College and the University of Michigan Law School. She is an Army brat mostly from Seattle and Arizona and currently lives in Los Angeles and Arizona.

for SPEAKING AND press requests email kat@katcalvin.com.

Consulting

Philanthropy should be transformative—not transactional. I work with high-net-worth individuals, families, and foundations who are ready to think big, fund bold ideas, and make their giving count. With nearly 20 years of experience and over $10 million raised, I help clients design and implement strategic, values-aligned giving plans that move capital where it counts. Whether you’re launching a new philanthropic initiative, investing in women-led movements, or aligning your giving with causes you care deeply about, I offer tailored, discreet support every step of the way. I take on a small number of clients each year to ensure a deeply collaborative, high-touch experience focused on long-term, measurable impact.

Let's Work Together

Speaking

I speak nationally on the intersections of democracy, identity, philanthropy, and the power of bold civic action. As the founder of a national nonprofit and a seasoned advocate for access and equity, I bring nearly two decades of experience to conversations about voting rights, identification access, strategic philanthropy, and the evolving role of women in leadership and public life. I’ve spoken at major conferences, universities, and institutions—including SXSW, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Michigan—offering audiences a compelling mix of personal insight, policy expertise, and actionable solutions. Whether on stage or in conversation, I aim to inform, challenge, and inspire.

Speaker One Sheet

American Identity in Crisis

Kat’s first book, American Identity Crisis, is the story of IDs in America, how Kat and her team built a movement across the country, and how we can all work together to end the crisis. AIC is the definitive story of how 26 million American adults are living without ID and how we can solve it.

Published Sept 2023 by Amistad, an imprint of Harper Collins.

Praise for American Identity in Crisis

“Kat Calvin has been doing the work. Like, really doing the work—the backbreaking, administratively maddening work of helping individuals without ID get the documentation they need to live, work, and vote. Now she has produced a tremendous, invigorating chronicle of how her life as an ID activist took shape, very suddenly, mid-way through her adulthood. For all those who look at this broken and unjust world and ask, “What can I do?” Calvin offers a resonant, moving, historically grounded answer: here is the story of staring straight at an insurmountably unfair system, taking a breath, digging in, and stepping up to fix it, one step at a time.”

Rebecca Traister, Journalist, Author of Good and Mad: How Women's Anger Is Reshaping America

"Ella Baker. Fannie Lou Hamer. Gloria Richardson. These intelligent, strategic and effective activists and organizers would all be proud that folks like Kat Calvin have stepped up and filled in a void as current day champions for the voiceless who fight for those who are unseen and unheard everyday by many policy makers and political leaders. American Identity in Crisis is a revelation of not only a powerful new leader to watch but also as a treatise that is a must-read for anyone who cares about equity and democracy."

Bakari Sellers, New York Times best-selling author of My Vanishing Country

“In these divisive times, many of us wonder if anything can get done. Kat Calvin has not only lead the way on practical solutions, but now, she has written down the path, so each of us can take part in making our democracy more equitable for all. Don’t miss this inspiring book.”

Piper Perabo, Actress and Activist

"The centuries long fight for all Americans to have access to the vote—a core principle of a democracy—is as valid now as ever. Kat Calvin is on the frontlines of this battle and is fearlessly and forthrightly making the case why millions of Americans without IDs should have access to the franchise. In American Identity in Crisis, she brilliantly makes her case and demonstrates with power and compassion why every human and vote counts."

April Ryan, author of Black Women Will Save the World: An Anthem

“In this stunning book, Kat Calvin shines her light on ID-less Americans, an issue that could have changed the shape of the 2016 election, and currently affects the lives of over 26 million people. Calvin writes with a courageous heart that leaps off the page, as she incisively lays out the contours of this crisis of personal agency, while managing to provide inspiration, and a delightfully whacky sense of humor. Between her work spearheading Spread The Vote, Project ID, and this wildly generous political guidebook, I think it's only fitting to identify Kat Calvin as an American hero.”

Lauren Duca, Journalist, Author of How to Start a Revolution: Young People and the Future of American Politics

"Kat provides rare insights into just how life-changing an ID can be and she has a powerful plan for fighting back against America’s increasingly unreasonable ID laws. Anyone who cares about democracy, elections, and the American experiment should read this book."

-Shannon Coulter, Creator of #GrabYourWallet

“I’ve made a habit out of reading whatever Kat writes — op-eds, newsletters, and now books — because I know that whatever she tackles will be funny, smart, and eye-opening. She makes a habit out of finding the clearest, most brilliant solutions to complex problems. As a reader, I'm just happy to be along for the ride."

Ben Sheehan, Author of OMG WTF Does The Constitution Actually Say

“Kat perfectly encapsulates the issues facing millions of Americans on something we all likely take for granted. ID attainment is a health, equity, and civil rights issue. With so much technology at our disposal, this is our call to action, and Kat is leading the way.”

Dulce Vasquez, Educator and Activist

“Kat’s book is a beautifully insightful and personal journey confronting the frailties and inequities of U.S. democracy.”

Lior Ipp, CEO, Roddenberry Foundation

“I used to view the absence of a valid ID as no more than a minor, annoying inconvenience – a wasted afternoon at the DMV or scrapped overseas travel plans. Oh, how Kat Calvin has opened my naively privileged eyes to see the vast inhumanity and indignity the absence of state-issued ID really is. Thank you, Kat, for not simply shining a light on the problem, but relentlessly working to solve it too.”

J. Kelly Hoey, Author of Build Your Dream Network

The Kojo Nnamdi Show 8/24/2020

Tulane University, forbes, American Association of University Women, universal studios, vanderbilt university, NeueHouse, Bain and company, SXSW, West Hollywood Women’s Advisory Group, California Democrats, Allbright Collective, DigiDems, Blackbird House, Gettysburg College, starting bloc, American Constitution Society, national association of councils on developmental disabilities, women in film, university of michigan, fordham university