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, Calvin has built a national organization that has helped more than 13,000 people obtain the IDs they need for jobs, housing, and life—also allowing them to vote at the polls. Spread The Vote registers 92% of eligible clients, taking them from 0% to 40% voter turnout through a voter education program. Through the Vote By Mail in Jail program, there is a 79.4% turnout rate of incarcerated voters. 

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

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

Calvin sits on the boards of IDEAS Generation and The Loveland Foundation, and is part of the Hewlett Foundation’s Culture, Race, and Equity Advisory Council. She also writes weekly insights and pop culture recommendations at Hot Takes and Applesauce and hosts the Choose the Bear podcast. 

She 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.