Sila Avcil
Executive Director

Sila was born in Iowa and raised between the United States and Turkey throughout her life. She attended high school in Turkey and moved to New Mexico to pursue her college education. Sila is an alumnus of the University of New Mexico (UNM) with her Master’s in Political Science with a focus on International Relations and Comparative Politics. She completed her BA at UNM as well, where she double majored in International Studies concentrating in Conflict, Peace, and Diplomacy, and Foreign Languages concentrating in French and German. She is a first-generation dual citizen, Turkish-American. She speaks French, German, and Turkish. She has nearly seven years of volunteer experience in the community, specifically with international students at UNM through the Center for English Language and American Culture and ISI ABQ.

Perry Radford

Deputy Director

Perry Radford (she/hers), fundraising coach and consultant, is the founder of Rad Philanthropy. In this role, Perry helps fundraising organizations as fractional or interim staff, serves as strategic counsel, manages key projects, and leads team-building workshops that bring groups closer to each other and their philanthropic purpose. At NMOE, Perry is a generalist and supports the executive director by managing communications, volunteers, relationships, and operations.

Prior to launching Rad Philanthropy, Perry spent the last 15+ years working in annual giving and alumni relations at Scripps College, Emerson College, Caltech, Harvey Mudd College, and got her start at her alma mater, UC Santa Cruz. 

Kathleen Burke

Vice President, Independent Voter

Kathleen Burke is an independent consultant and organizer in New Mexico, USA where she is a coordinator for Fair Districts for New Mexico, a project of the League of Women Voters of New Mexico. She has been a leader in human trafficking prevention and advocacy for sex trafficking survivors in New Mexico as a member of the New Mexico Attorney General's Human Trafficking Task Force and formerly Albuquerque’s Southeast Area Community Policing Council. Today her advocacy is primarily carried out at the New Mexico Legislature and among environmental scientists.

Kathleen was a National Delegate for Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention of 2016 and an official observer to the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27) in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt. As a committed and high-profile organizer in New Mexico, Kathleen places a high priority upon issues of fairness in elections for all voters, as well as public health and the environment.

Heather Balas

Board Member

A fifth-generation New Mexican, Heather W. Balas brings over 25 years of experience in public policy, including policy research, citizen deliberation, legislative advocacy, voter education, and coalition-building to Elections Reformers Network. She is a senior consultant to the Carter Center, where she advises on advancing reforms to strengthen American democracy.

Heather is also the previous President and Executive Director of New Mexico First, a cross-partisan public policy organization co-founded by U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Pete Domenici.

Previous employers include the Thornburg Foundation, where she managed a $1.2 million portfolio of good government investments, as well as the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Commission on Presidential Debates, and the California Center for Civic Participation. Heather holds a master’s degree in political communication from the University of Maryland and a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She is married and mother to two young adults.

Barry Bitzer
Board Member, Republican Voter

Barry brings a long, successful political resume to bear, often in unconventional fashion. On Capitol Hill, he was a senior aide to the late Congressman Steve Schiff and communications director for Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison. He served until 2008 as chief of staff to ABQ mayor Marty Chavez, and wore a variety of hats in the administration of Governor Gary Johnson – most notably as Deputy Secretary of Human Services and Director of the Child Support Enforcement Division. Barry’s recent stint as development director at the NM BioPark Society featured a campaign for a $17 million per year GRT revenue stream to overhaul and expand the Zoo, Aquarium, Botanic Garden and Tingley Beach. A 1985 UC Berkeley Political Science graduate, Barry currently works as a Church administrator and as a science teacher at Legacy Academy. He also serves on the NM Environmental Improvement Board.

Daniel Garcia
Board Member, Democratic Voter

Daniel Garcia is the Communications Director and Spokesperson for the Democratic Party of New Mexico where he oversees external and internal party communications and serves as the on-record press contact.

After graduating from the University of New Mexico, Daniel worked for the New Mexico Office of the Speaker, the New Mexico Senate Democrats, several congressional campaigns, Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, the Bernalillo County Clerk's office, and many down-ballot races. His experiences on campaigns have taken him to all 33 counties in New Mexico, across almost every campaign role, including management, fundraising, organizing, and communications. 

So why would a professional Democrat join an organization that many would say weakens partisan control of elections? Daniel believes every voter should be able to fully exercise their fundamental right to vote and participate in our democracy without barriers, even partisan ones.