“So boy, don’t you turn back;
Don’t you sit down on the steps,
’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard;
Don’t you fall now—
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.”
- Langston Hughes, Mother to Son
Crystal Stair Group specializing in political infrastructure, outreach, candidate advising, leader mentorship, strategic decision making, and problem solving in the Democratic political environment.
Our mission is to empower individuals and institutions with the tools to positively impact our democracy and build legacies aimed at serving and representing our communities and their interests at every level of government.
About Us
Meet Lavora
Lavora Barnes is an American political executive and former Chair of the Michigan Democratic Party. She was the first Black person and second woman elected to the position. She began her transformative tenure in 2019 and ended her time with the Party in 2025. Barnes, a graduate of The College of William and Mary, began her political career in her native Virginia, including her role as the State Communications Director for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign. Barnes went on to serve in Clinton’s White House as the Communications Director for the Southeast. In Michigan, Barnes worked for the State House Democrats for four cycles, including three years as the Communications and Caucus Director. In 2012, Barnes was the State Director for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Barnes arrived at the MDP in 2015 as the party’s Chief Operating Officer/Executive Director, a post she held until her election to Chair.
During her tenure at the MDP, Barnes implemented and grew a year-round full-time organizing strategy across every corner of Michigan. Project 83, named for the 83 counties in Michigan, is the blueprint for a successful organizing model now being adopted by other states hoping to replicate Michigan's successes. As part of her strategic planning, Barnes created one of the first permanent Voter Protection Director positions in a State Party as part of the MDP's core staff. Barnes led the Party to historic wins in 2022, with the re-election of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General, winning all of the statewide partisan offices, maintaining the majority on the Michigan Supreme Court, and gaining majorities in both the State Senate and the State House.
Barnes has a reputation for winning tough races cycle after cycle and building strong, effective coalitions in challenging political times. While the headlines reflect the important top of the ticket race wins, Barnes herself is most likely to talk about the fact that of the 232 school board races the MDP organizers worked in 2022, they won 197 of them. With Crystal Stair Group, Barnes hopes to lend her expertise and passion to races like these, and candidates and causes that may not always garner national attention, but whose impacts on their communities are just as great as the flashier races on the federal level.
