KNI Communications President Sean Tenner has spent his career working for organizations and officials dedicated to social justice and the public interest. Tenner served on President Obama’s campaign staff during both his U.S. Senate and Presidential campaigns and has worked for over 20 years to successfully elect Democrats at every level of government. He has held leadership roles in a wide variety of innovative non-profit organizations addressing both local and global issues. He is the recipient of the Saul Mendelson Social Justice Award from IVI-IPO, The Community Renewal Society Leadership Award and the Belfast (Northern Ireland) Ambassador Medal.

One of Tenner’s personal passions is addressing the alarming rise of hate crimes, bigotry and intolerance in our current political climate. He has led Illinois public policy initiatives for The Simon Wiesenthal Center, one of the world’s leading anti-hate groups. The Center runs the acclaimed Museum of Tolerance and carries on the legacy of the Holocaust survivor and acclaimed Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal. He and the KNI Communications team also assist organizations including Asian Human Services and the Zakat Foundation of America to raise awareness about their philanthropic missions and accomplishments.

Tenner was appointed by Illinois Governors of both parties to the Illinois Holocaust and Genocide Commission following years of human rights work. On the Commission, he worked alongside legislators and other state leaders to develop initiatives related to holocaust and genocide education. He was an early leader in the Save Darfur movement in Illinois and works closely with refugees from the violence in Darfur and South Sudan who have built new lives in Chicago. Tenner also works with Chicagoans who fled Apartheid in South Africa, serving on the Board of Color Me Africa Fine Arts which brings Apartheid-era protest artists to Chicagoland to share their stories and their lessons in perseverance. He assists the Uweza Foundation and Art Gallery in the Kibera community of Nairobi, Kenya as it works to help young people with a variety of programs.

Tenner has done work related to post-conflict reconciliation in both Rwanda and Northern Ireland, and has also been profiled by CNN for his work founding the Uptown-based Abolition Institute, which has successfully advocated for over $10 million in federal funding to fight modern day slavery in West Africa.

As a former President of Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s Chicagoland Affiliate, Tenner worked for years with state leaders including Illinois House Majority Leader Greg Harris and State Senator Sara Feigenholtz to pass landmark pieces of breast cancer legislation in the Illinois General Assembly: requiring insurance coverage of breast cancer screenings recommended by physicians, requiring insurance coverage of medical costs related to cancer clinical trials, establishing numerous crucial new state programs to fight breast cancer through the "Reducing Breast Cancer Disparities Act," and requiring insurance coverage and state standards for potentially lifesaving clinical breast exams. Tenner also works to address the epidemic of youth suicides through his work with the Hope for Us Network.

He has worked for some of the most prominent elected officials and organizations in Illinois and Washington, DC - including President Barack Obama (US Senate Primary and General Elections, 2004 and Presidential Campaign, 2008), the Illinois House of Representatives Democratic Majority, Washington, DC City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, former Evanston (IL) Mayor Steve Hagerty and the late Aurora (IL) Mayor Tom Weisner. He has helped elect numerous members of the Illinois judiciary, the Illinois legislature, the Chicago City Council and the Washington, DC City Council. News outlets have touted Tenner’s “enviable record of success in the judicial campaigns he’s quarterbacked.” and his team has won over 31 Judicial campaigns in recent cycles. He served as lead consultant on the successful 2018 campaign of Cam Davis, President Obama’s Great Lakes protection lead, who won the largest number of write-in votes in modern Illinois history - beating a state record previously held by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In March of 2020, voters in his home 46th Ward of Chicago elected him Democratic Committeeman.

Tenner is a native of Naperville, Illinois and a graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, DC. He lives in the Buena Park neighborhood of Chicago with his wife Shiwali, who founded the non-profit Indian dance organization Tribhang to raise awareness of global women’s rights issues. He is proud of his mother Nancy, a former pre-school teacher and his father Gene who was recently honored by the City of Chicago as 46th Ward Senior of the Year for his tireless community work.

Reverend Mitchell Johnson has been a Chicagoland community leader for over 25 years. He and his wife, Cook County Appellate Justice Sharon O. Johnson, live with their wonderful children in Chicagoland’s south suburbs. Reverend Johnson hosts popular radio programs on WCPT - Chicago’s progressive talk radio station, and WVON - Chicago’s largest African-American radio station.

Reverend Johnson is a nationally recognized economic development expert who has helped hundreds of churches serve as catalysts for economic growth and empowerment in their communities. He is a member of the African American Chamber of Commerce, the National Forum of Black Public Administrators, and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., where he serves as the Chaplin of the Upsilon Sigma Chapter.

Johnson is also the Chaplin of the National Policy Alliance (NPA). The NPA is composed of the major organizations representing black public officials from federal, state and local levels of government throughout the country, as well as the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. The NPA is the nation’s preeminent think tank focused on issues of particular concern to the African-American community.

In addition to his work on behalf of KNI Communications’ clients, Johnson also serves as the Executive Director of My Community Plan Foundation (MCPF). In his work with MCPF, Johnson helps direct financial resources to approximately 5,000 churches and other non-profit organizations. Johnson’s focus on community economic development and collaboration has led to roles serving as Executive Director of Developing Communities Project (DCP) – a position previously held by President Barack Obama – and as Economic Development Officer for the Baptist State Convention of Illinois.

Reverend Johnson’s work at DCP resulted in community bonding companies, as well as local minority owned electric companies, receiving contracts for public sector projects including the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Redline upgrade. His work also helped foster the growth of community based private enterprises in underserved communities.

Johnson serves as Executive Pastor for New Seasons Church in Chicago. He also served at Joy Fellowship Baptist Church as the Associate Pastor of Community Affairs and Evangelism concurrently with his Presidency of the Associate Ministers’ Division of the Southside Christian Fellowship District Association, United Baptist State Convention of Illinois, Inc.

A graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law, Johnson graduated from Springfield Technical Community College in 1983. He later completed his undergraduate work at Fisk University in Nashville, TN in 1986. His further studies included studying law at Downing College in Cambridge, England and at the University of Connecticut School of Law in Stores, Connecticut.

Martin Doherty grew up in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago and now lives in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. As the son of an Irish immigrant and union carpenter, he was raised around politics and public service. Doherty has worked on and volunteered with several campaigns at all levels of government, from Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign to Cook County judicial races and aldermanic campaigns for the Chicago City Council.

While attending the University of Kansas, he worked as Government Relations Director for the university’s Student Senate - one of the most powerful and autonomous student governments in the United States, with control over a $25 million budget and important university policies - where he organized GOTV drives that aided in record youth turnout in the 2018 midterms. In that position, he also lobbied both the Kansas State Legislature and the United States Congress to support strengthening Title IX and giving institutions clear guidelines on how to address cases of sexual misconduct. Additionally, he fought for crucial higher ed funding restorations and funding for the expansion of mental health services at higher ed institutions nationwide.

Martin has run successful social media and digital advertising operations for numerous political campaigns throughout Illinois and works with clients to develop effective digital strategies for their campaign, non-profit, or business.