Siena Frost was president of the Colgate University debate team, and she wanted to create a database of introductory materials to educate the team on policy issues. It quickly became clear that there was a gap in the resources available, not just to debate teams but to voters interested in learning about US policies. Siena began assembling policy briefs on top political issues, and she pitched the idea to funders of an organization to create nonpartisan, introductory policy reports which would allow readers to understand the positions and debates shaping our political landscape. The Boston-based AWR Foundation provided the seed money, and Siena began building a team of young, entrepreneurial individuals with education, tech, and policy backgrounds.

The only question: where to start? Siena began listing her main policy interests, but what began as a simple task became messy quickly. She struggled to rank her personal interests, those she wanted to learn more about in order to prioritize, and those she felt were the most pressing for the country. The process generated an idea for a tool to help people navigate their policy interests. The tool she developed: a ‘Political Priorities Worksheet‘, maps individual priorities to identify key issues which become the center of their political engagement. It also helps the reader think through other factors which influence which politicians and organizations they support. At this point, ACE expanded from just producing research to become a real organization focused on educating and engaging voters.

Siena embarked on ACE’s first policy report which focused on campaign finance. While looking at issues of transparency in local elections, she challenged herself to trace special interest spending in a case study in a Montana election using only the information available to voters. This became the basis for ACE’s first game, Dark Money. Siena realized the complex, abstract policy issues the team was working with made more sense through interactive activities. They decided to disseminate ACE’s research by hosting events and building online games which allow people to experience the real life challenges associated with the policies.

While Siena put the finishing touches on the campaign finance report they realized there was another piece in the puzzle. After explaining the issue and the debates relating to it, a link was needed to show readers how to apply what they learned and make policy change. In each policy report, ACE includes organizations, politicians, and articles representing the entire spectrum of positions. This creates a pathway for the reader to continue learning, coordinate with organizations, and engage democratically on the issues they care about most.

This journey led to ACE’s three-pronged organization: Focus, Inform, Engage.