The National Democratic Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to support and strengthen democratic institutions worldwide through citizen participation, openness and accountability in government.

Elaine K. Shocas is president of Madeleine Albright, Inc.   She was chief of staff to the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Mission to the United Nations during Madeleine Albright's tenure as Secretary of State and Ambassador to the United Nations.  She served as counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, an advisor to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, a trial attorney with the Department of Justice, Special Assistant United States Attorney in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Columbia, and a VISTA Volunteer in Miami, Florida.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, the Development Board of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation and the Advisory Board of the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.