Kat Calvin

Kat works at the intersection of policy, philanthropy, and implementation, focusing on the systems that determine who has access to opportunity, resources, and power.

Her work spans national civic infrastructure, funding systems, and legal frameworks, with a focus on building solutions that function in the real world.

Kat Calvin identifies structural failures in systems and policy and builds solutions that work in practice.

She is the founder of Spread The Vote + Project ID and the co-founder of the Project ID Action Fund, organizations that have helped more than 15,000 people secure the identification required for jobs, housing, and civic participation. Through programs like Vote By Mail in Jail, her work has driven some of the highest voter engagement rates in the country among historically excluded populations.

In 2026, Spread The Vote was acquired by the National Civic League, marking a rare structural transition in the nonprofit sector. Kat now serves as a Senior Advisor to the League, where she focuses on advancing national strategies for civic infrastructure and participation.

She is now focused on this next phase of work as the co-founder of Abby Lab, an initiative designed to strengthen how resources move within civic and philanthropic systems by connecting movement leaders, funders, and institutions to accelerate practical, scalable solutions.

Kat is the author of American Identity in Crisis (Amistad/HarperCollins), which examines the systemic barriers faced by the 26 million Americans living without identification and outlines pathways to solving the crisis. Her work has been recognized by TIME and Fast Company and featured in outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, NPR, and PBS.

In addition to her organizational leadership, Kat advises a small number of philanthropic and institutional leaders on how to deploy resources for meaningful, measurable impact. She serves on the board of Amnesty International USA and on the advisory council of the Hewlett Foundation’s Culture, Race, and Equity initiative.

She holds degrees from Mount Holyoke College and the University of Michigan Law School.

kat@katcalvin.com.

 Advisory

Kat advises a small number of high-net-worth individuals, foundations, and institutional leaders on how to deploy capital and influence to achieve meaningful, measurable impact.

Her work focuses on connecting resources to real-world solutions—particularly in democracy, civic infrastructure, and women-led movements—ensuring that funding strategies are not only aligned with values, but designed for execution and scale.

Drawing on nearly two decades of experience building and funding national programs, she brings a systems-level understanding of how to move money, structure initiatives, and navigate the realities of implementation.

Kat works selectively and by referral.

Speaking

Kat speaks at institutional convenings, leadership gatherings, and private forums on the systems, funding, and strategy required to make democracy function in practice.

Her talks draw on nearly two decades of experience building national programs and navigating the intersection of policy, philanthropy, and implementation—offering clear, actionable insight into how power and resources move, and how they can be redirected more effectively.

She has spoken at institutions and convenings including Forbes, SXSW, Vanderbilt University, and private sector leadership audiences such as Universal Studios.

American Identity in Crisis

American Identity in Crisis examines one of the most overlooked structural barriers in the United States: the 26 million Americans living without identification, and the cascading effects on access to work, housing, and the democratic process.

Drawing on her experience building a national organization to address this issue, Kat outlines both the scope of the problem and the practical pathways to solving it—bridging policy, implementation, and lived experience.

Published in 2023 by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins.

Praise for American Identity in Crisis

“Kat Calvin has been doing the work... Now she has produced a tremendous, invigorating chronicle… 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…”

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… 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

"The centuries long fight for all Americans to have access to the vote… 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

kat@katcalvin.com : LINKEDIN.com /in/katcalvin