Audrey Wiggins, Elena Goldstein, And Other Senior Biden-Harris Administration Officials and Top Advocates Join The Expanding Pro-Democracy Organization 

In addition to Wiggins and Goldstein, Michael Widomski, Bradley Girard, Sarah Rich, Julie Couchman, and Somil Trivedi are the latest in a series of recent staff additions to Democracy Forward’s team assembled to combat extreme threats to people and democracy and to advance a bold path forward for the nation

Washington, D.C. – Today, Democracy Forward announced that it has added two highly regarded lawyers, including a former senior member of the Biden-Harris Administration, to its legal ranks. Audrey Wiggins, who most recently served as Senior Advisor to the General Counsel at the US Department of Health and Human Services, and Elena Goldstein, who most recently served as Deputy Solicitor of Labor at the US Department of Labor, are joining the organization, adding to Democracy Forward’s ongoing expansion of its operations to address pressing threats to democracy and progress throughout the United States.  In addition to Wiggins and Goldstein, Democracy Forward has made five additional senior-level hires over the past two months as it prepares for long-term fights ahead. 

“Since its founding in the wake of the 2016 election, the team at Democracy Forward has stepped up to counter extreme threats to democracy and progress throughout the nation.  With growing far-right efforts to undermine the rights of the American people in courts and communities across the nation, we could not be more pleased to make significant additions to our bench of battle-tested talent as we continue to oppose harmful anti-democratic activity and build a path for a vibrant future,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. 

Audrey Wiggins, who joins Democracy Forward as a Legal Director, is a career civil rights attorney and seasoned litigator who most recently served as Senior Advisor to the General Counsel at the US Department of Health and Human Services. Wiggins founded the DEIA working group in the Office of General Counsel at HHS, served as the executive chair of the HHS Office of General Counsel’s Training Committee, and previously served as the Deputy Associate General Counsel of the Office of Civil Rights at HHS. Immediately prior to joining HHS, Wiggins was a Deputy Chief in the Employment Litigation Section in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. She previously held leadership roles at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, worked as an attorney advisor at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and earlier in her career, served as a public defender. A double HBCU graduate (Historically Black College and University), Wiggins is an alumnus of Hampton University and North Carolina Central University School of Law. 

“Democracy Forward has played a critical role in representing people and communities across the nation to advance our nation’s democratic values and ensure extremist movements as well as efforts to eradicate civil rights protections are met with swift legal opposition.  I am excited to join the team as Legal Director and look forward to supporting the growth and expanding the impact of the organization,” said Wiggins. “Audrey Wiggins has dedicated her career to ensuring that all have access to our democracy and we could not be more honored that she is bringing her decades of legal experience and expertise to our team,” Perryman said. 

Elena Goldstein, who joins Democracy Forward as a Senior Legal Advisor, was most recently the United States Deputy Solicitor of Labor in the Department of Labor (DOL), where she served since 2021. As the Deputy Solicitor of Labor, Goldstein helped to lead DOL’s 650-person legal office, overseeing numerous litigation, regulatory, and policy matters relating to the rights of workers, job-seekers, and retirees in the United States. Immediately prior to rejoining DOL, Goldstein served as Deputy Chief of the Civil Rights Bureau in the New York State Office of the Attorney General, where she was a lead counsel in numerous cases challenging federal executive and agency actions in the forty-fifth Presidential administration and supervised a wide range of civil rights matters. Goldstein’s legal career includes nine years as a senior trial attorney in DOL’s Office of the Solicitor, litigating cases involving minimum wage and overtime laws, workplace safety, whistle-blower statutes, and a variety of other labor and employment laws. Earlier in her career, she worked as a Skadden Fellow and senior staff attorney at the New York Legal Assistance Group, where she helped to start a workers’ rights project focusing on the rights of low-wage and immigrant workers. Goldstein served as a law clerk for the Honorable Jed S. Rakoff in the Southern District of New York and the Honorable Robert A. Katzmann on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals and is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Harvard Law School. 

“I am honored to join the incredible team at Democracy Forward and to continuing to use the law to ensure that the government works for all people at a time when the stakes could not be higher,” said Goldstein. “Elena’s commitment to working families, labor rights, and civil rights and her deep expertise and accomplishments as a litigator will be an asset to our team at Democracy Forward and we are excited to have her join the team,” said Perryman. 

Michael Widomski is also joining Democracy Forward to lead the organization’s policy and public affairs portfolio, the organization announced today. Prior to his role at Democracy Forward, Michael served as the Chief of Workforce Engagement at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). During his tenure at CISA, he played a key role in establishing the Office of External Affairs as the agency transitioned to a component-level organization within the Department of Homeland Security. Before joining CISA, Michael was the Director of Communication and Executive Affairs at the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS). He spent the majority of his federal career at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where he advanced to the position of Deputy Director of Public Affairs.

Wiggins, Goldstein, and Widomski are the latest in a series of hires Democracy Forward is making to deepen its bench of talent and expand its work and impact.  Recent additions to the organization have also included: 

Bradley Girard, Senior Counsel – Girard joined Democracy Forward from Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Girard is an impact litigator who has developed and litigated cases at the forefront of First Amendment jurisprudence and practiced in all levels of state and federal courts, with a focus on the federal courts of appeals and the Supreme Court. Girard served as a 2023-24 Georgetown Law Blume Public Interest Leader in Residence and is serving as a 2024-25 Harvard Law School Wasserstein Fellow. 

Somil Trivedi, Director of Strategic Initiatives – Trivedi came to Democracy Forward after having served as Chief Legal and Advocacy Director at Maryland Legal Aid, where he led a 200+ person legal and policy department covering all aspects of poverty reduction, including housing, consumer protection, and public benefits. Trivedi has also served as a Senior Staff Attorney at the National ACLU, focusing on criminal justice reform and voting rights; a Trial Attorney in the DOJ’s Fraud Section; and a Senior Associate at WilmerHale LLP. 

Sarah Rich, Senior Strategic Oversight Attorney – Rich joined Democracy Forward following a decade at the Southern Poverty Law Center, where she represented mainly noncitizen clients in litigation on workers’ rights, asylum, detention, access to counsel, and the entanglement of local law enforcement and federal immigration enforcement. Rich also worked as a policy analyst and advocate on local, state, and federal immigration issues, and developed expertise on the far-right’s anti-immigrant narratives and networks. 

Julie Couchman, Director of Marketing & Special Projects – After 12 years working at SXSW, the world-renowned conference and festival, Couchman brings an extensive background in event production and management, client services, and partnerships to her new role at Democracy Forward. Couchman also previously worked for a leading political consulting firm and for the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas. 

“The strength of Democracy Forward’s work has always been its tremendous staff and the brave clients who make up the fabric of our nation we have the privilege of representing each day,” added Perryman.  “Michael, Bradley, Somil, Sarah, and Julie are driven and accomplished leaders in their fields and we could not be more proud to have them join us.” 

For more information about Democracy Forward, the organization’s current staff, and the recent additions, please visit www.democracyforward.org. 

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