Our Leadership
Dan McMillan
Founder and Executive Director
Dan McMillan is a writer, historian, and former prosecutor on a mission to restore government by the people.
Since he turned 20 in 1980, our founder, Dan McMillan, has watched the political system grow increasingly dysfunctional—while the voices of everyday Americans have been drowned out in Washington. Drawing on his background in history and law, Dan set out to understand the root cause of America’s decline—and identified money in politics as Public Enemy #1.
Dan left his job at the Brooklyn DA’s office to become a writer. In 2014, he published his first book, the acclaimed “How Could This Happen: Explaining the Holocaust.” It explains, in an engaging journalistic style, what scholars like Dan have discovered about why the Holocaust happened. Learn more at Dan’s personal website: www.drdanmcmillan.com.
Dan later began researching and writing a book about money in politics, then turned to direct action in 2020. He saw that Voter Dollars is the best solution, and made it his life’s purpose to make it law. He established Make Voters the Donors because he believes change is possible, but only if voters understand the problem and unite behind real solutions. That’s why Make Voters the Donors focuses on public education, coalition building, and common-sense reform that transcends partisanship.
In his youth Dan was a dedicated rock climber. He has made three ascents of El Capitan in Yosemite Valley – the highest rock wall in North America.
Staff
Sal Albanese is an attorney and political strategist working with Make the Voters the Donors to reduce the outsized influence of large donors and strengthen American democracy through citizen-powered campaign finance reform.
A longtime reformer, Albanese served 15 years on the New York City Council, where he championed campaign finance reforms, including sponsoring New York City’s small-donor matching funds law. He later served as a commissioner on the 2019 New York City Charter Commission, where he proposed adopting the Seattle Democracy Voucher program. Albanese was also a candidate for New York City mayor in 1977, 2013, and 2017.
His background includes 11 years as a New York City public school teacher and teaching as an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice and St. Joseph’s College. He holds a BA from the City University of New York, an MA from New York University, and a JD from Brooklyn Law School.
Albanese brings decades of experience in political reform, electoral systems, and governance. He focuses on solutions that are transparent, administratively simple, and durable across political cycles, with the goal of expanding grassroots participation, building bipartisan trust, and ensuring that political power flows from citizens broadly—not from concentrated private wealth.
Dave Hunsicker is Make Voters the Donors’ Pennsylvania State Director. Dave brings more than two decades of U.S. government experience working internationally with faith-based and other civil society organizations across several continents to strengthen democratic institutions, promote human rights, and support peacebuilding initiatives in conflict-affected areas.
He most recently served as Senior Conflict and Peacebuilding Advisor and the Middle East Team leader in the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Center for Conflict and Violence Prevention. In this role, he led multiple conflict and violence risk assessments in the Middle East, Asia, North Africa and the Balkans. He also worked extensively on people-to-people peacebuilding programs to support cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians. Additionally, he served as a development advisor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul, Afghanistan. Previously, he served as the USAID Central Asian Republics’ Religion, State and Society Specialist where he led engagement efforts with local religious leaders and communities. He also worked in the Public Affairs Section at the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan where he provided support to local human rights groups and other civil society organizations. He has a B.A. in Islamic Studies from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in Near Eastern Languages and Civilization from the University of Washington.
Dave is a Pennsylvania native whose family has resided in the Lehigh Valley since the mid-eighteenth century. He is an active volunteer with local historical societies, patriotic lineage organizations, and Scouting America. He is also a passionate advocate and participant in efforts to preserve Pennsylvania German language and culture.
August Shettler is a passionate advocate for constitutional freedoms and empowering everyday Americans, based in West Michigan. In 2026, he joined Make Voters the Donors, a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to reforming campaign finance by prioritizing voter contributions over special interest money. In this role, August works tirelessly to amplify the voices of regular Michiganders and ensure the voter dollars proposal reaches and resonates with communities across the state.
Claire Woodall serves as Chief of Staff and Director of Partnerships for Make Voters the Donors, bringing more than a decade of experience at the intersection of election administration, democratic reform, and strategic coalition building. She previously served as Executive Director of the City of Milwaukee Election Commission from 2020 to 2024, leading election operations in one of the nation’s most pivotal swing states through historically complex and high-stakes election cycles. Before becoming director, Claire spent eight years in voter services roles, where she was a visible advocate and educator on voting rights, election security, and voter access.
In her role at Make Voters the Donors, Claire applies her strong acumen for administrative and strategic detail alongside deep experience developing partnerships across nonprofit, governmental, civic, and bipartisan stakeholders. She helps translate reform vision into executable strategy—building durable coalitions, aligning messengers, and ensuring organizational systems support long-term impact. Her background as a public-facing election official informs her focus on credibility, transparency, and trust as essential pillars of reform.
Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, Claire traces her commitment to democracy to growing up in the shadow of the Civil Rights Movement with history-loving parents who instilled in her the importance and history of true democratic representation in America. She holds a B.A. in History from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and a Certified Public Manager (CPM) accreditation from the University of Wisconsin. Claire lives in Milwaukee with her husband, two young sons, and a lively assortment of rescued pets—an environment that reflects her comfort navigating complexity and turning chaos into forward momentum.