Max (he/him) brings a wealth of advocacy experience on a wide range of issues, including LGBTQ+ rights, criminal justice reform, as well as several years of experience working on Capitol Hill. At Penchina Partners, Max brings his research and analytical skills to his work helping clients plan and execute advocacy campaigns, think through questions of organizational design – always starting with asking the right questions before the right answers. Max has worked with clients to develop strategic plans for national and global clients and has led on implementing a three-year strategic plan for a national organization.

Most recently, Max spent over three years in the Post-Conviction Litigation department at the Innocence Project, where he worked on behalf of wrongfully convicted clients in their fight to prove their innocence in court. Max brought his passion for criminal justice, sentencing, carceral reform, and abolishing capital punishment on behalf of the Innocence Projects and their clients – as well as the broader criminal justice reform movement.

Prior to the Innocence Project, Max worked for Ranking Member Patrick Leahy on the Senate Judiciary Committee, working under the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel on federal nominations and issue-focused research on matters before the committee, including criminal justice reform, immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, non-discrimination, and public accommodation. Prior to that Max worked as the International Liaison for the Prague Pride Association in Czechia, coordinating with their international NGO and partner organizations, and honed his passion for movement building working for the LGBTQ Victory Fund in Washington, D.C., tracking and supporting LGBTQ+ candidates running at the federal, state, and local level.

Max, a former Justice Policy Network fellow, lives in New York City. He is an honors graduate of McGill University.