Jillian Youngblood is the executive director of Civic Genius and Director of Deliberative Democracy at the National Civic League. She has 20 years of experience in politics, government, and strategic communications with a focus on deliberative democracy and solutions-oriented public engagement. Jillian leads the League's civic assembly work, consults with governments to implement democracy innovations, and created a process to redesign congressional town halls. On Capitol Hill, she was a lead staffer for the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, and worked on issues related to health care, urban planning, and appropriations. Previously, she managed New York City’s federal and state legislative portfolios on public health under the Bloomberg Administration, and was a consultant to numerous nonprofit and corporate clients across a range of public policy issues. Jillian is a frequent speaker and trainer on transformative civic engagement. She serves as board president of the Seattle City Club and is a 2024 fellow of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation.

Ibrahim Bazyan is a Program Manager for the National Civic League and Civic Genius, where he helps lead democracy innovation projects that bring everyday people into shaping policy and community priorities. He manages the It’s Your America program and advances sortition-based approaches that create more representative and inclusive public decision-making. His work blends civic innovation and community organizing to bridge the gap between institutions and the people they’re meant to serve, building participatory systems that bring residents, public officials, and community leaders together for honest conversation and shared consensus-building.

Before joining the National Civic League and Civic Genius, Ibrahim led capacity-building efforts in local elections — training candidates, supporting grassroots teams, and helping communities develop the tools to lead beyond any single campaign. He is a Richard W. Pogue Fellow with the Cleveland Council on World Affairs and serves on the board of the Arora Foundation. A graduate of Case Western Reserve University’s Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, he holds a Master’s in Nonprofit Organizations and a Bachelor’s in Psychology.