Barbara Helmick

Barbara has been a grassroots organizer ever since she answered a help wanted ad titled “Activist” in 1973. She was a pioneer in the development of the door-to-door canvassing model for progressive organizations, such as Clean Water Action, USAction, Working America, and the ERA Fund. Her cavass program developed hundreds of new activists and organizers. Barbara has been active in DC civic life, serving on her Advisory Neighborhood Commission for two terms and on the Democratic State Committee. She is active in the LGBTQIA community, serving on the Mayor’s Advisory Commission 2012-2016. Barbara’s work with DC Vote started in 2015, where she developed a canvass program before  becoming Program Director in 2017. Founded in 1998, DC Vote is a national community engagement and advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening democracy and securing equality for all in the District of Columbia by making the residential and commercial areas of DC the 51st state.