Dave Leichtman, director of global elections for Microsoft Corp., will be guest speaker at the Lake of the Woods Democratic Club’s January 9 meeting.
The meeting will begin with a gathering period at 1 p.m. in Classroom I at the LOW Community Center. The program will start at 1:30 p.m.
Leichtman’s experience has given him a informed perspective on the state of democracy throughout the the world and expertise on the accuracy and security of elections in the United States.
As part of Microsoft’s Democracy Forward program, Leichtman leads nonpartisan civic engagement efforts and works with election officials and those upholding democracy worldwide to address tech, security, and AI needs. He also leads the company’s internal U.S. and international election strategy.
According to its website, the goal of the Democracy Forward program is “to preserve, protect, and advance the fundamentals of democracy by safeguarding open and secure democratic processes, promoting a healthy information ecosystem, and advocating for corporate civic responsibility.”
Leichtman has held this and similar roles for 10 years at Microsoft. Prior to that, he held leadership roles at several U.S. political technology firms. He also served as state leadership of Virginia Democrats for over a decade. Dave holds a B.S. degree in physics and computer science from the College of William and Mary and an M.S. degree in particle physics from the University of Washington. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.