The StateDemocracy Team

Shukoor Ahmed

TheStateDemocracy Foundation and its website were established using over $300,000 in contributions from V-Empower, Incorporated--through its CEO, Shukoor Ahmed, who founded his technology firm in 1999. Shukoor chose V-Empower as the firm’s name because the goal was to empower everyday citizens to Victory! Technology could be used to give the public a conduit to lawmakers, and thus help to offset the clout possessed by powerful self-interests through their campaign contributions.

The idea for StateDemocracy.org originated in 1998, while Shukoor was campaigning for the Maryland Statehouse. As he stumped door-to-door, Shukoor was amazed to find that over 75% of citizens didn’t even know the names of their own lawmakers, much less how they voted or stood on the issues!

Using his solid background in Math (B.S.) and Computer Science (M.S.), Shukoor began developing what ultimately became www.StateDemocracy.org. He quit his regular job and began working full time with some friends, notably Ken Laureys, Dr. Omar Kahn and members of his family.

The StateDemocracy Foundation has served some 130,000 citizens over its nearly 8 years of operation, with nearly 30,000 in the past year alone.

Ken Laureys

Ken Laureys and Shukoor Ahmed met while both were involved in the Bill Bradley Presidential Primary campaign in 2000. Given his two-decade background in nonprofit advocacy, and a Master’s degree in Government and Politics, Ken immediately appreciated the power of Shukoor’s vision for using the Internet to connect citizens to their lawmakers.

Ken and Shukoor both live in Prince George’s County, Maryland (right outside Washington, DC), and they have both run for elected office: Ken for County Council and Shukoor for State Delegate. Their closely contested (if ultimately losing) races gave them both a greater understanding about the needs of candidates and constituents, which has been invested into improving StateDemocracy.org and other ventures.

Ken’s background includes lobbying on Capitol Hill for people with autism and other disabilities; Executive Director of an Irish-American association promoting the Good Friday Peace Agreement; Deputy Director of the County Community Relations Office, and extensive civic activism in his hometown of Riverdale Park, Maryland.

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