Leah Rush has spent 14 years working on issues of ethics in
government. She is executive director of the Midwest Democracy Network, an alliance of more than 25 nonprofit, nonpartisan civic engagement and community organizations dedicated to improving the condition of democracy in Illinois,
Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin. Since 2008, she has been supporting the Network in its efforts to connect state-based organizations with a constellation of regional and national public policy and academic institutions.

Previously, Leah worked in several roles at the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit online investigative reporting organization. As Director of State Projects, she initiated and oversaw dozens of reports examining ethics and special interests' influence in statehouses across the nation, covering topics such as conflicts of interest among legislators, spending by industry lobbyists and the financial activity of state political parties. Projects under her
direction garnered a dozen national honors, including five consecutive public service awards from the Society of Professional Journalists.

Leah graduated cum laude from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, with honors in English composition.

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