Co-Founder and Executive Director

Garrett Johnson

Garrett Johnson is a co-founder and executive director of the Lincoln Network. He also co-founded SendHub.com, a venture-backed-YCombinator startup launched in 2011. He served as professional staff to the Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where oversight portfolio included Afghanistan, Pakistan and Haiti. Originally from Florida, Garrett holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and was the two-time NCAA Shot Put champion. He also read for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Migration Studies at the University of Oxford, England as a Rhodes Scholar. Garrett current lives in San Jose, CA.

Head of Policy

Zach Graves

Zach Graves is the head of policy at the Lincoln Network, where his work focuses on the intersection of technology and governance issues. Prior to Lincoln, he was founder and former director of the R Street Institute’s technology and innovation policy program. Before R Street, he previously worked at the Cato Institute and the America’s Future Foundation. Zach is a 18-19′ technology and democracy fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center, an associate fellow at the R Street Institute, and a visiting fellow at the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. He holds a master’s degree from the California Institute of the Arts and a bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Davis. Zach is married and lives in Washington, DC.

Co-Founder

Aaron Ginn

Aaron Ginn is a co-founder of the Lincoln Network. He is a technical product manager who has extensive Silicon Valley startup experience, having worked at Simplee, StumbleUpon, and Everlane. Aaron also worked on Romney’s 2012 campaign as a growth hacker; his areas of specialty include user acquisition, virality, growth hacking, product design, product development, user interface design, and consumer insights. He is a well-respected thought leader in growth product development and viral content. In 2016, he was awarded top 40 under 40 digital marketers in America and named a rising star in the political world by SF Chronicle. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University in finance and behavioral sciences, and he currently lives in Kennedale, TX.

Development Manager

Grace Meyer

Grace Meyer is the development manager at the Lincoln Network where she works to identify and cultivate relationships with supporters of Lincoln’s mission. Prior to joining Lincoln, Grace worked at the Cato Institute on their fundraising team. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Hillsdale College, where she studied politics and business administration. Grace is originally from Michigan and currently lives with her husband in Washington, DC.

Director of Communications and Outreach

William Upton

William Upton is Director of Communications and Outreach for Lincoln Network, where he oversees communications strategy, maintains relationships with key stakeholders, and represents our organization on to policymakers. He has previously served as the state affairs manager for Americans for Tax Reform, executive director for Campaign for American Principles, and most recently, as an account executive for CRC Public Relations. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University in political science and government, and he lives in Washington, DC.

Director of Cyber and National Security

Dan Lips

Dan is the Director of Cyber and National Security Policy at Lincoln Network. Prior to Lincoln, from 2011 to 2019, Dan worked on the staff of the U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, including serving as the majority staff’s homeland security policy director. His legislative accomplishments include bipartisan legislation to modernize federal information security management and to authorize the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity programs. He also focused on Congressional oversight and served on the staff of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He was the lead staff author of former Sen. Tom Coburn’s final oversight report: A Review of the Department of Homeland Security’s Missions and Performance, which was featured on 60 Minutes. He also led a bipartisan investigation into how the U.S. immigration system encourages child marriages, which received global coverage in 2019. 

Before working on Capitol Hill, Dan served with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, focusing on cybersecurity and intelligence. From 2000 to 2010, he worked for federal and state think tanks, concentrating primarily on education policy, including serving as a senior policy analyst with the Heritage Foundation. He testified before the House of Representatives in 2007 on improving educational opportunities for foster children. His research has been cited by the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. He has served as a member of the D.C. Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He was a 2018-19 Penn Kemble Democracy Forum Fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy. He is a visiting fellow with the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity.  

He earned his bachelor’s degree in Politics from Princeton University and his master’s degree in Statecraft and National Security Affairs from the Institute of World Politics.