New office grows organization’s democracy reform footprint to 25 states

Phoenix, AZ – Common Cause announced it has established an official state office in Arizona, naming Jennifer Guzman as its Program Director this week. In this role, Guzman will lead the organization’s election protection, ethics & accountability, and voting rights initiatives.

“I’m thrilled to bring Common Cause’s fight to make a fair and just democracy that works for everyone to Arizona,” said Guzman. “My expertise and lived experiences allow me to bring often dismissed perspectives into crucial conversations about our democracy, and I’m eager to expand our impact. More than ever, Arizonans deserve advocates who will protect their right to democracy at the legislature.”

Born and raised in rural Arizona, Guzman leverages six years of experience in policy, political advocacy, and bilingual communications, giving her the expertise to support the organization’s legislative work. The core of her work has centralized on the fight for socioeconomic equity, having executed successful campaigns for voting rights, state ballot measures, reproductive freedom, LGBTQ+ rights, and protecting public education.

“Arizona has quickly emerged as a key battleground in the fight for a stronger, more representative, and more accountable government,” said Pam Wilmot, vice president of state operations at Common Cause. “We know if we are going to defend our democracy from attacks on our freedom to vote nationally, Arizona is critical to our success and we are thrilled to have Jenny leading the way.”

Based in Phoenix, Guzman is an alumna of the Monzón Fellowship, a prestigious and highly-competitive political leadership fellowship in Arizona; the New American Leaders Ready to Lead program, a training program for immigrants and communities of color; and Arena Academy, an interdisciplinary political training program where she recently returned as a trainer for the communications track session.

The Arizona office opening represents Common Cause’s sixth state in the western region and the twenty-fifth staffed state nationally.

Visit the Common Cause Arizona website at commoncause.org/arizona to learn more.