Rob Kampia, Executive Director
Rob co-founded MPP in January 1995 and has been its executive director ever since.
Rob co-authored most of the medical marijuana laws currently on the books in 16 states and the District of Columbia, with MPP taking a leading role in passing the laws in Hawaii (2000), Montana (2004), Vermont (2004), Rhode Island (2006), Michigan (2008), Maine (2009), Arizona (2010), and Delaware (2011)
Rob also oversaw the campaign to decriminalize the possession of marijuana in Massachusetts, where voters passed MPP's ballot initiative in 2008. This is the only state to decriminalize marijuana via a vote of the people.
Rob has testified before a U.S. House subcommittee twice (2001 and 2004), and has also testified before legislative committees in California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, Vermont, and Washington state.
Rob has been quoted in almost every newspaper in the U.S., and has appeared on national TV dozens of times, including the "Today Show" (NBC), the "Montel Williams Show" (CBS), the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" (PBS), "Glenn Beck" (Fox News Channel), "Anderson Cooper 360" (CNN), "Power Lunch" (MSNBC), "Geraldo Rivera Live" (CNBC), "Happy Hour" (Fox Business Network), and the special "Marijuana: A Chronic History (History Channel).
Rob grew up in Harleysville, Pennsylvania; graduated valedictorian of his high school class in 1986; served three months in a county jail in central Pennsylvania from 1989 to 1990 for growing marijuana for personal use; was elected student body president of Penn State University in 1992; and graduated with honors from Penn State University in 1993 with a major in Engineering Science and a minor in English.
Rob has lived in the District of Columbia since graduating from college in 1993, except for a seven-month stint in Austin, Texas, in 2007. Rob is single and has no children. Rob spends his free time reading, bicycling, traveling, and listening to heavy-metal music.
Steve Fox, National Political Director
As director of government relations, Steve Fox oversees MPP’s federal lobbying activity, as well as MPP's state and local ballot initiative campaigns. He was the driving force behind the first-ever pro-medical marijuana bill in the U.S. Senate and the first-ever roll call vote on the floor of the U.S. House on pro-medical marijuana legislation. In 2009-2010, he oversaw a signature drive and worked with the campaign team in Arizona to help that state enact a far-reaching medical marijuana law through the ballot initiative process.
While working at MPP in 2005, Steve co-founded Colorado-based Safer Alternative for Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), an organization dedicated to educating the public that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol. Under his guidance, the organization passed two successful ballot initiatives in the city of Denver, ran a publicity-generating statewide ballot initiative campaign, and generated overall more than 200 television news stories and countless other media appearances and mentions. Based on the theory underlying this work, Steve co-authored Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? (Chelsea Green, August 2009).
Prior to joining MPP in 2002, Steve was involved in various political and policy endeavors. He worked in the War Room in Little Rock in 1992, as the associate director of the Massachusetts Democratic Leadership Council, in the press office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce (1996-1997), and as deputy director of communications for the Center for National Policy. Steve is a graduate of Tufts University and Boston College Law School.
Karen O'Keefe, Director of State Policies
As MPP's director of state policies, Karen O'Keefe manages MPP's grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in all 50 state legislatures.
Karen has worked at MPP since 2003. She played a significant role in MPP's successful medical marijuana ballot initiative in Montana in 2004 and was heavily involved in passing MPP's medical marijuana bill in Rhode Island in 2006. Karen has managed MPP’s state legislative department during victories in Rhode Island and Vermont to add regulated medical marijuana dispensaries, the passage of a medical marijuana defense and study committee in Maryland, the successful campaign to make Delaware the 16th medical marijuana state, and the successful decriminalization effort in Rhode Island. She is responsible for updating MPP's model medical marijuana legislation, which formed the basis for laws in Arizona, Delaware, Montana, Michigan, and Rhode Island.
Karen was the primary staffer working with local grant recipients to draft and enact measures making marijuana offenses the lowest priorities in six cities in California.
Karen earned her J.D. from Loyola School of Law, New Orleans, where she received the Gillis Long Public Service award and the Crowe Scholar award. As a student attorney and research assistant, she worked on cases that included criminal defense, a living wage initiative, and a successful challenge to subjecting demonstrators to metal detectors. She is admitted to the Bar in the District of Columbia. In her free time, she is active in a variety of social justice causes.
Robert J. Capecchi, Deputy Director of State Policies
As one of three legislative analysts in MPP’s State Policies Department, Robert is the point person for MPP’s legislative work in about a third of the various state legislatures.
Robert joined the MPP staff in October of 2009. He played a major role in the MPP lead effort to remove the criminal penalties for possession of up to an ounce of marijuana in Rhode Island while simultaneously redrafting that state’s medical marijuana dispensary system, resulting in a program that Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee allowed to move forward. In addition to Rhode Island, Robert works in concert with legislators, lobbyists, fellow activists, allied organizations, and constituents in the following states: California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Robert is a 2008, cum laude, graduate of William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was formerly employed by Cook, Hill, Girard Associates, a contract-lobbying firm in St. Paul. Robert has been quoted in various publications including the Providence Journal, The Providence Phoenix, and the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Robert has been a guest on C-SPAN’s The Washington Journal.
Dan Riffle, Deputy Director of Government Relations
As a legislative analyst, Dan directs MPP's lobbying efforts in targeted states, lobbying legislators directly and managing contracted lobbyists, testifying before legislative committees, drafting legislation and regulations, and managing grassroots efforts.
Dan joined MPP in October 2009. Shortly thereafter, following MPP's successful campaign to remove the so-called Barr Amendment, Dan led MPP's efforts to assist the District of Columbia City Council with implementing its medical marijuana program, authoring the numerically scored competitive bidding process used by the District's Department of Health to award licenses to cultivation centers and dispensaries. In 2011, Dan was instrumental in expanding Vermont's medical marijuana law to include state-regulated dispensaries and led the lobbying effort to provide patients with debilitating medical conditions in Maryland with an affirmative defense against charges of marijuana possession.
Prior to joining MPP, Dan practiced law as an assistant prosecutor in Vinton County, Ohio. He also worked in the office of former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, the Ohio EPA, and Columbus Legal Aid Society. He is a graduate of the Ohio State University and received his J.D. from Capital University Law School, where he served on the Law Review and National Moot Court Team and received numerous scholarships, including one for his service in the chambers of U.S. District Court Judge Algernon Marbley. He lives with his wife Jessica on Capitol Hill.
Matt Simon, Legislative Analyst, State Polices Department
Matt has been working since 2007 to reform marijuana laws in New Hampshire, lobbying for medical marijuana legislation that passed the House and Senate in 2009 and 2012 (but was vetoed), and for decriminalization bills that passed the House in 2008 and 2010. In 2011, Matt served as NH communications director for Governor Gary Johnson’s presidential campaign, and in December 2011, he began working as a legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project.
A former college English instructor, Matt believes respectful and effective communication is key to successful reform efforts. Although New Hampshire still has not reformed its archaic marijuana laws, he is proud to have helped build strong bipartisan support in favor of reform, as New Hampshire’s medical marijuana bill made history in 2012 by earning majority support among Republicans as well as Democrats in both the House and Senate.
In 2013, Matt intends to finish the job and pass a medical marijuana law in New Hampshire. He is also working to support marijuana reform legislation in Vermont, West Virginia, and several other states. Matt lives in Goffstown, New Hampshire and holds a Master’s degree in English from West Virginia University.
Mason Tvert, Director of Communications
As director of communications, Mason oversees MPP's media strategy and online outreach efforts out of the organization's Denver office. Prior to taking over MPP's communications department, he co-directed the successful campaign in support of Amendment 64, the 2012 ballot initiative to regulate marijuana like alcohol in Colorado. In January 2013, the Denver Post named him the state's "Top Thinker" in the area of politics and government.
Previously, Mason co-founded and directed Safer Alternative For Enjoyable Recreation (SAFER), a Colorado-based nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about the relative safety of marijuana compared to alcohol. In this role, he was the driving force behind the campaigns in support of the successful Denver ballot initiatives to remove all penalties for adult marijuana possession (2005) and designate it the city’s lowest law enforcement priority (2007). In 2005, he was appointed to the Denver Marijuana Policy Review Panel by then-Mayor John Hickenlooper. Mason has also worked with students to pass marijuana policy reform referendums at more than a dozen large colleges and universities around the nation. He is currently a member of the SAFER board of directors and a member of the advisory board for Marijuana Majority.
Mason is a co-author of Marijuana Is Safer: So why are we driving people to drink? (Chelsea Green, 2009) has contributed columns to several state and national publications. He has been quoted in hundreds of articles in local and national publications, and he is frequently interviewed by local and national television and radio stations. Mason is a graduate of the University of Richmond. During his time as a student, he worked in the Virginia State Senate, the Phoenix City Council Office, and the Office of the Arizona Attorney General.
Eric Smith, Director of IT
As MPP’s IT Director, Eric Smith oversees all of MPP’s technology needs, including data management and MPP’s Web site. He specializes in helping MPP maximize the use of technology to amplify its campaigns and staff efficiency, and his expertise has attracted top-notch IT professionals to MPP.
Eric spent 15 years working in IT for the University of Minnesota, where he coordinated networks and systems administration, trained faculty and staff, and was involved with Web design, research, and a variety of scientific publications.
