Meet Our Team

Public Wise brings together an experienced group of individuals from the public sector, research and organizing.

Katelyn Israelski

Leadership Team

Chief of Staff

@kateisraelski

Katelyn Israelski, our Chief of Staff, manages our local, state-wide, and national partnership portfolios where she identifies coalition opportunities and forges relationships to safeguard voting rights and promote democracy access for all. She also works closely with Public Wise’s Executive Director and Senior Staff to ensure department goals are met, and advises and supports each division.

Katelyn has an extensive background in state and federal-level government and campaigns. While at Public Wise, Katelyn took a leave of absence from Public Wise to help lead Young Americans for Biden. On the campaign, Katelyn wrote talking points for youth surrogates, organized the Democratic National Convention’s fellowship program, and managed the campaign’s Youth Incubator Program.

Immediately prior to joining Public Wise in 2020, Katelyn was Senior Advisor for Intergovernmental and Community Affairs in the Office of the New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Her responsibilities included representing and staffing the Comptroller, tracking legislation, and leading special events with key constituencies. Katelyn also took a leave of absence from government during the 2018 election cycle to manage communication efforts for the Comptroller’s successful reelection campaign.

From 2015 to 2017, she served U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in New York City and the Hudson Valley, taking leave in 2016 to organize and turn out the vote for Hillary Clinton in the Secretary’s home community of Westchester, New York. Katelyn began her career at NBC News, where she started as an intern before working full time for The Rachel Maddow Show.

Katelyn has a B.A. from New York University and M.A. from University of London, SOAS. Born and raised in the Hudson Valley region of New York, Katelyn now lives in Ventura, California. Outside of Public Wise, Katelyn enjoys exploring Southern California by foot, escaping to the beach or mountains, and spending time with her partner.