The Fulcrum Democracy Forum Meets Harry Nathan Gottlieb, Founder at Unify America

By Brian Clancy, Citizen Connect, Co-founder: A Project of the Bridge Alliance

For more than 25 years, Harry has focused on creating delightful decision-making processes and unique, interactive experiences that bring people together. After founding and building the successful for-profit companies Jellyvision and Jackbox Games, Harry launched the nonprofit Unify America. Harry and the Unify America team are on a mission to replace political fighting with collaborative problem-solving and give regular American citizens a way to participate directly in finding a way to reach our many shared goals together.

His company, Jackbox Games, creates irreverent, entertaining party games for friends and family to play using mobile phones as controllers. Jackbox Games were played by over 100 million people in 2021 alone. (In case you’re wondering if you’re among the 100+ million, Jackbox’s most popular games you may have played include Quiplash, Fibbage, Drawful, Trivia Murder Party and YOU DON’T KNOW JACK.) At Jellyvision, Harry’s first company, he led the team that invented an online service called ALEX. ALEX asks employees questions about their benefits and helps them decide what medical plan to select, how much to put away for retirement, and other decisions that usually make people want to light their hair on fire. ALEX takes these boring, complex topics and makes them simple and engaging. ALEX is used by over 1,600 organizations, including almost 23% of the Fortune 500.

And Harry’s a master of culture-making. Jellyvision has been ranked one of the “Best Places to Work” by local publications in Chicago for years and, more recently, by the national publication Inc. Magazine.

Connect with Harry on LinkedIn

Brian has been deeply involved in America’s civic renewal movement for more than a decade now. His signature accomplishments include launching Citizen Connect – a powerful online platform that puts 600 nonpartisan organizations working to address our toxic politics at every American’s fingertips. Brian is also a board member at the Listen First Project – the organization that hosts the groundbreaking National Week of Conversation and highly innovative programs like America Talks.

Among other career adventures Brian was the CFO of Fidelity Management and Research, led the team that launched Fidelity.com and was responsible for systems planning and analysis at the world’s largest investment management organization. He also has a strong social entrepreneurship track record that includes co-founding the Center for Financial Inclusion. The Center has become a global thought leader in poverty alleviation via microfinance and has partners and funders that have included the Gates Foundation, McKinsey, Mastercard, Harvard Business School and the World Bank. He also has experience in the rough and tumble world of city and state politics through his tenure as President of the Boston Public Library Foundation. Brian did his undergraduate work at Cornell University and has an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Connect with Brian on LinkedIn