Lisa is President of the Board of the Center for Media and Democracy and Executive Director at True North Research. She is a well-known researcher, writer, and public speaker. Her research and analysis have been cited by every major paper in the country and featured in critically acclaimed books and documentaries, including Ava Du Vernay’s award-winning film, “The 13th,” Bill Moyers’s “United States of ALEC,” and Showtime’s “Years of Living Dangerously.”

CMD's niche is investigating and exposing the undue influence of corporations on public policy. CMD's investigations are often cited by leading papers and have been featured on news shows on HBO, Showtime, PBS, MSNBC, NBC, CNBC, CBS, Democracy Now!, NPR's Fresh Air, and more. CMD's original research about the Koch brothers and the corporate special interest infrastructure has been credited in several documentaries and books, including Jane Mayer's Dark Money.

CMD's investigations help aid grassroots efforts to secure a healthier democracy, economy, and environment for us all.

CMD launched its award-winning ALEC Exposed investigation after a whistleblower gave Lisa all of the model bills secretly voted on by lobbyists and lawmakers. CMD publishes PRWatch.org, SourceWatch.org, and ALECclimateChangeDenial.org.

Before taking the helm at CMD, Lisa was Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice in the Office of Legal Policy/Policy Development and served as Chief Counsel for Nominations for the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee for Senator Patrick Leahy. She also worked as the Deputy Chief for the U.S. Court system in the division for lifetime-appointed judges, as an adjunct law professor, and as the leading legislative strategist on privacy issues in national security surveillance. She has testified as an expert witness in both the Senate and the House. Her analysis has been quoted on every major news network in the country and in every major paper in the U.S. and major international outlets.

She has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, MSNBC, CNBC, BBC, CNN, C-SPAN, Amy Goodman's Democracy Now, the Thom Hartmann Show, and on numerous other news programs including National Public Radio and the Canadian Broadcast System. Her analysis has been quoted in the Guardian, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, The Associated Press, Reuters, USA Today, the New Yorker, Mother Jones, the Atlantic, Vanity Fair, Esquire, Wired, Congressional Quarterly, Roll Call, National Journal, Legal Times, Newsday, The Nation, In TheseTimes, American Prospect, and The Progressive, among others, as well as online in Daily Kos, The Huffington Post, Talking Points Memo, and other blogs. Her articles have also been published by In These Times, The Progressive, Yes! magazine, the Texas Law Review, and other periodicals. Her analysis has also been cited in numerous books and documentary films.

Graves is on the board of U.S. Right to Know, in addition to other volunteering.