Carrie Bigford has been a fierce and vocal advocate for medical freedom since 2003 when she was made aware of the issues surrounding our current vaccine program at a work conference. Since that time, Carrie has had the opportunity to work with multiple medical liberty organizations in three different states as a volunteer and currently serves Texans for Vaccine Choice as the Outreach Director. Carrie is very passionate about helping others know and assert their medical liberty rights effectively.

Jessie Mannisto is a former CIA leadership analyst, Google Policy Fellow, political activist, and founder and editor emerita of Third Factor, an online magazine, podcast, and membership community dedicated to the search for the higher path. With interests in psychology and philosophy, she was drawn to the Braver Angels debate program as a way to productively channel that intellectual energy that we so often use to process—or to cloak—our more vulnerable emotions. After getting deeply involved in her local alliance’s debate program, she was thrilled to come on board as Braver Angels’ Director of Debates in 2024.

A proud native of Detroit and graduate of Kalamazoo College and the University of Michigan, Jessie is now based in the Washington, DC area.