Our Mission
Upvote California is a podcast devoted to helping Californian voters. Our primary goals are:
Increase the number of people that vote
Help voters make informed decisions
Fairly present all sides of an argument
In November 2018, there are 11 statewide ballot measures and dozens of local measures. Many of these measures are complex issues that require a deeper look into the details. We designed this podcast so that a voter can listen to a single episode about a measure and hopefully get a better understanding of the pros and cons of the law.
Team
Bryan Atwood, Producer
Bryan is an experienced Bay Area entrepreneur who got interested in politics through volunteering at polling stations for the past few years. After seeing a lot of confusion from voters about ballot measures, he started Upvote California as a way for voters that are short on time to get a better understanding of what they are voting on. Bryan lives in Berkeley with his wife Cindy and wants to see more people voting in the city and state.
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Jorge Soto, Marketing and PR
Jorge is a serial entrepreneur born in Miami to a Cuban immigrant father and Spanish-Filipino mother. He was an early sales person at MoPub, founder of Sotoventures Media and Sales4Startups and is currently the co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer at First Cut. Jorge lives in Oakland, loves to yoga and cycle, and is fascinated by existentialism, philosophy, history, art, music, and the human mind.
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Scott Lyons, Advisor
Scott is an entrepreneur and political expert in the San Francisco Bay Area. He spent two years in the Peace Corps teaching physics to high school students in Cameroon. Through this experience, he became passionate about government and earned a Masters degree in Public Policy from UC Berkeley. Scott lives in the Bay Area with his wife Rebecca and three children and keeps active in organizing local voter events.
Rebecca Benassini, Advisor
Rebecca is the Assistant Deputy Director for Waterfront Development Projects at the Port of San Francisco and has had significant experience in Bay Area politics and development. She has a Masters Degree in Public Policy from UC Berkeley and was a member of the El Cerrito City Council. Rebecca lives in the Bay Area with her husband Scott and three children and stays active in local politics and encouraging voter turnout.
