ACTNOW TEAM
BARBARA MAYNARD
Principal & Founder
“Tenacious…” “high-energy...” “connected...” “creative...” – all words used to describe ActNow’s President, Barbara Maynard. A tireless advocate for justice, fairness, and equality for working people, Barbara has spent the past twenty-plus years fighting on the front lines of the most high-profile progressive battles, earning the respect of colleagues and adversaries alike. With roots as an equity trader on the Pacific Stock Exchange, and later as Director of Budget and Finance for L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina, Barb’s knowledge of government budgets, municipal finance, pension fund issues, and public policy has established her a leading go-to consultant among progressive organizations and political campaigns in California, and across the country. Barbara’s expertise in policy, crisis management, and media relations has been a cornerstone of her work in advising unions, progressive coalitions, elected officials, and some of the largest and most prominent progressive actions, political campaigns, and union strikes in the U.S.
BARBARA MAYNARD
Principal & Founder
"Tenacious," "high-energy," "connected," "creative" – all ways to describe ActNow’s President, Barbara Maynard. A tireless advocate for justice, fairness, and equality for working people, Barbara has spent more than twenty years fighting on the front lines of the most high-profile progressive battles, earning the respect of colleagues and adversaries alike.
With roots as an equity trader on the Pacific Stock Exchange, and later as Director of Budget and Finance for L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina, Barb’s knowledge of government budgets, municipal finance, pension fund issues, and public policy has established her a leading go-to consultant among progressive organizations and political campaigns in California, and across the country. Barbara’s expertise in policy, crisis management, and media relations has been a cornerstone of her work in advising unions, progressive coalitions, elected officials, and some of the largest and most prominent progressive actions in the U.S.
REV. WILLIAM D. SMART, JR.
Faith-based Organizing Director
Rev. William D. Smart, Jr. has been organizing in faith-based communities since Bill Clinton’s Arkansas gubernatorial campaign in 1984. Since then he’s pastored and organized in Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and – since 2002 – Southern California. Rev. Smart is the President and CEO of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) of Southern California, and Co-Pastor of the Christ Liberation Ministries in Los Angeles, where his wife serves as Senior Pastor. He recently served as Director of External Training and Outreach at the Los Angeles Alliance for A New Economy (LAANE) a nationally-recognized nonprofit organization, where he worked for almost ten years.