Leslie Graves (nonprofit executive)

In 2007, Graves founded the Lucy Burns Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that publishes Ballotpedia. In 2012, Graves authored a guidebook titled Local Ballot Initiatives: How citizens change laws with clipboards, conversations, and campaigns.^[2][10]

Graves' political analysis has been included in the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg News, Campaigns and Elections, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.^{[3][4][5][11][12]}

Judgepedia was originally launched in 2007 by the Chicago-based nonprofit, Sam Adams Alliance. Graves was "busy at that time with WikIFOIA,"^[13] and did not think she could take on a project the size of Judgepedia.^[13] Graves stayed involved in the project as a volunteer and then a consultant.^[13] In March 2009, when the founding editor of the Judgepedia project left the Sam Adams Alliance, a staff member from Graves' group stepped in as editor,^[13] which led to the decision to cede sponsorship to the Lucy Burns Institute in July.^[13]

Leslie is one of five children of Robert and Derry Graves. Her older sister is now-deceased Olympic rower and gold-medalist Carie Graves. In 1998, all four Graves sisters (Carie, Leslie, Tia, and Alison) competed in team rowing at the Nike Master's World Games under the name "Team Four Sisters."^[14]