Technology and Social Change
Movement Building
Vice President for Campaigns (previously National Campaigns & Digital Director), Common Cause
July 2015 – October 2024
Common Cause is a nonpartisan organization dedicated to upholding the core values of American democracy.
- Responsible for planning and execution of key national campaigns, working with program, communications and lobbying staff in state and national offices. Directs grassroots engagement efforts.
- Grew list of members and supporters from 300,000 to 1 million in under three years without advertising budget, dramatically increasing grassroots activism, engagement and online fundraising. Current list is 1.5 million.
- Developed an online fundraising program that has raised over $15 million in small-dollar online contributions, increased online contributions from $500,000/year to over $5M/year.
- Developed a digital-first grassroots engagement program, recruiting thousands of Action Team members for daily actions like phonebanking, textbanking and social media engagement.
- Directed digital communications including digital campaigns, national and state affiliate websites, microsites, email program, social media and SMS program.
- Built and managed a team of seven staff (organizers, digital campaigners and data analysts), including hiring, promoting and developing capacities.
- Developed a new online-to-offline activist project. Secured major donor funding, hired staff and successfully managed the program, growing the grassroots political power of the organization; engaging thousands of activists in local, offline democracy reform campaigns.
- Developed and led the “Stopping Cyber Suppression program” to combat disinformation in the 2020 elections that harms voters. Raised and managed a $2 million budget, directed the work of 15 staff and contractors.
- Managed a multi-year, million-dollar digital expansion grant, exceeding yearly grant performance benchmarks.
- Managed a year-long grant to improve grassroots organizing capacities.
Director, Strategy and Campaigns, Echo & Co.
June 2012 – June 2015
Echo & Co. is a digital agency with a focus on the non-profit sector.
- Led strategic management consulting engagements with non-profit and government clients to develop organizational digital growth plans, project briefs, impact and outcome benchmarks, staffing plans, and more, managing over $1 million in business annually. Clients included America’s Promise Alliance, MassTech, National Parks Service, Conservation Law Foundation.
- Served as Strategy and Client Lead for launch of Understood.org (winner of a Webby) directing strategy, staffing and execution of an enterprise-scale technology project. Developed client’s vision statement, measures of success and project RFP. Served as “Virtual CTO” for organization until project launch.
- Planned and executed website and product launches within project budgets and timelines.
Web Director, Public Interest Network
August 2008 – June 2012
The Public Interest Network houses Environment America, U.S. PIRG, Toxics Action Center and related non-profits.
- Developed the department’s $2 million, 5-year technology plan; led technology and vendor selection; trained staff; obtained buy-in and approval from seven department heads.
- Served as Project Manager for organization-wide website rebuild, managing user experience, content strategy, design and development for 150 organizations part of a national network.
Multiple Positions, Green Corps
August 2003 – July 2008
Green Corps trains recent college graduates to become effective environmental organizers. The Recruitment Director manages outreach, reviews applications, recruits volunteer interviewers and trains accepted candidates.
- Recruitment Director (August 2005 – July 2008) Recruited, hired and trained over 200 organizers.
- Canvass Director (Summers 2003 – 2007) Raised over $1.5 million in direct, small dollar contributions.
- Assistant Organizing Director (2004 – 2005) Managed 8 field organizers, three campaign clients.
- Field Organizer (2003 – 2004) Created press events securing over 50 earned media hits, helping win major concessions from the cruise ship industry.
Teaching
Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School
January 2016 – May 2016
Crafted a new full-credit semester-long graduate seminar via the Shorenstein Center.
- Developed a unique syllabus, “Social Change in the Digital Age.” Created and graded experiential assignments, delivered twice-weekly lectures, and mentored Kennedy School students.
- Syllabus.
Adjunct Lecturer, Tufts University
December 2013 – December 2015
Three full-credit undergraduate seminars for the Communications department and Tisch College of Citizenship.
- Developed unique syllabi, delivered weekly lectures, assigned and reviewed student assignments for three 13-week seminars focused on digital media, civic engagement and social change.
- Syllabus: “Social Media”
- Syllabus: “Civic Engagement in the Digtial Age”
Education
Haverford College B.A. in Political Science, May 2003
- Award-winning thesis on political philosophy of Hannah Arendt and political practice of Saul Alinksy.
Writing, Presentations, Speaking
Co-Author: “Trending in the Wrong Direction: Social Media Platforms’ Declining Enforcement of Voting Disinformation” (Whitepaper, September 2021)
Co-Author: “As a Matter of Fact: The Harms Caused by Election Disinformation” (Report, October 2021)
Co-Author: “PowerShift: How People Can Take on the NRA, March 2018” (Report, March 2018)
Op-Ed: USA Today, “Whistleblower confirms what we knew: Facebook blowing it on political disinformation” October 2021
Op-Ed, Tech Policy Press, “As Far-Right Extremists Gather Again in Washington D.C., False Election Claims Proliferate on Social Media” September 2021
Presentations