Kristen Ehlman interviews Doug Sovde about the role of mathematics knowledge in who acquires power in a democracy, and how it is incumbent upon us to widen the net of opportunity. Previously, Doug has worked in supporting multi-state consortia and school districts in developing mathematical content and instructional supports in education. Doug was also a member of the writing team of the Common Core State Standards in mathematics, having principal responsibility for creating Appendix A to the mathematics standards.