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Joel Bradshaw – Joel Bradshaw Associates

Having worked on over 300 campaigns, ranging from mayor to president, Joel is one of the nation's premiere political strategists. For twelve years, he served as Founder and President of the Campaign Design Group, the highly successful political consulting firm that helped elect Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Patty Murray, and Congressman Frank Pallone, among numerous others. Before launching CDG in 1985, Joel worked as a lobbyist for the Colorado Education Association and as a senior advisor to Senator Gary Hart. Joel is also one of the foremost political skills trainers in the country, having directed programs for the Democratic National Committee, the American Medical Political Action Committee, and the Credit Union National Association. Joel now also does strategic planning workshops for conservation organizations around the country.

 

Shirin Bidel-Niyat, League of Conservation Voters

Coming Soon!

 

Cheryl Contee, Fission Strategy

Cheryl Contee is a partner and co-founder of the social media consultancy Fission Strategy where she specializes in online advocacy, engagement, and communications.  Prior to launching Fission Strategy, Cheryl was Vice President at Fleishman-Hillard San Francisco where she acted as lead digital strategist for the West Coast, helping clients manage their brands and online campaigns.  Before Fleishman-Hillard, Cheryl led the interactive team as Vice President at Washington, DC public affairs firm Issue Dynamics Inc. where she launched and led the group blog BloggerRelations.com. Previously, she was the Web Director for Oceana, an international marine conservation organization. Before Oceana, Ms. Contee launched 40 multi-lingual Web sites for Discovery Communications as Senior Producer for International Networks for television brands Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, TLC, Discovery Health, Discovery Kids and more.

Cheryl serves on the board of Netroots Nation, the preeminent organization and conference for technology and progressive politics and also chairs the board for CommonGoods.net. She writes as Jill Tubman for the award-winning & top-ranked black political blog JackAndJillPolitics.com which she founded in 2006. Cheryl has appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, San Francisco Magazine, BBC and CNN among other media appearances. Cheryl's work in the interactive sphere has been recognized with over 20 awards. Cheryl was appointed Fellow for the Edge Program founded by tech legend John Seely Brown at the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine in 2008. Cheryl is regularly invited to speak at conferences and events. She received her B.A. from Yale University with a major in ethics, politics and economics and has an international executive M.B.A. from Georgetown University. In her spare time, Ms. Contee enjoys hiking, yoga, movies and tai chi sword.

 

Amy Drummond, League of Conservation Voters

Amy manages the data and targeting efforts with LCV and LCVEF, and oversees modeling and list-enhancement projects. Amy joined the organization in May 2007 after over three years as the Program Analyst in the Development Department at EMILY's List. There, she assisted in forming EMILY's List overall direct marketing strategy, created budgets and projections, and provided statistical analysis for all aspects of the program. Prior to that, she spent three years in artificial intelligence research, building a common sense knowledge base at Cycorp, Inc. in Austin, Texas. She holds an AB in philosophy from Smith College, and completed coursework towards a Ph.D. in philosophy at University of Virginia.

 

Lee Flinn, Conservation Voters for Idaho

Lee is a co-founder of Conservation Voters for Idaho and Conservation Voters for Idaho Education Fund, and became the founding executive director in June 2005.

Lee spent the previous ten years working for the Idaho Women’s Network, where she served in many leadership roles, including program director, executive director and lobbyist. She has experience in grassroots organizing, legislative lobbying, elections, and non profit management. Prior to joining the nonprofit community, Lee spent ten years working in retail management. Over the last 20 years, she has worked in the business community, on candidate campaigns, state-wide initiative campaigns, and been involved in various social justice and environmental organizations.

Lee has lived in Idaho for over thirty years and holds a BA in history from Boise State University

Laura Goodwin, The Osborne Group

Karen Graham, The Databank

Karen is the account manager for all state leagues using thedatabank - an all-in-one nonprofit CRM with integrated action alerts, bulk email, online giving, and other database management and communication tools. She has been with thedatabank since 2003, and her work there includes sales and marketing, partnerships, and product development. She holds a Nonprofit Management MBA from the University of St. Thomas. Her prior experience includes 7 years in human resources, in both corporate and nonprofit environments. You could say she was born to be an environmentalist: Karen's birthday is Earth Day. This conference marks a milestone for her, because with the addition of South Carolina, she will have visited all 50 States!

Jennifer Green, Analyst Institute

Coming Soon!

 

Tim Greyhavens, Wilburforce Foundation

Coming Soon!

 

Martin Hamburger, The Hamburger Company

Martin Hamburger is that rare entity in politics, and life in general: a proud New Jerseyan. Beyond that, he’s a clear-eyed strategist, forceful creative voice, and disciplined campaigner with wide-ranging political and message development experience. Having worked in progressive politics, Congress, Democratic Party organizations and political campaigns all of his “adult” life, he brings to campaigns an eye for the subtle details, the ones that show voters candidates who are real, and bring messages to life. His clients have included The Nature Conservancy, The National Education Association, Senators Debbie Stabenow and Ben Cardin, and ballot initiatives and campaigns on subjects as widely varying as land conservation, a living wage, biotech, transportation, and immigration reform. Outside of work, Martin is an avid skier and outdoor sports enthusiast.

 

Jon Isaacs, Oregon LCV

Jon joined OLCV in October, 2009. Most recently, he served as State Director in the office of U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, after managing Merkley’s successful senatorial campaign against Gordon Smith in 2008. That campaign was the first to unseat an incumbent United States Senator in Oregon in 40 years. Jon also served as Executive Director of FuturePAC, the political committee for the Oregon House Democrats, and has worked for a number of political organizations and candidates in Oregon as well as in Washington, D.C.

 

Anne Krumboltz, Brainerd Foundation

Coming Soon!

 

Martha Levensaler, League of Conservation Voters

Martha comes from the state conservation voter league family in that she was on the board of the Alaska c4 for many years and its president for several. During the time she was president, the league participated in a three year organizational development program through the Training Resources for the Environmental Community. Throughout those three years, Martha worked with the c3 board president, executive director, and both boards to improve and strengthen the organization. Also, at that time Martha was working for National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and was the liaison between NWF and several state affiliates, who, like state leagues, are separate organizations from the national organization. Martha worked with one affiliate who was also involved in a three year organizational development program through the Environmental Support Center. In that time she was a mentor and supporter of the board and staff as they proceeded through their growth. So, Martha has had the experience of being the board president leading an organization through development and change, and an advisor to a statewide group going through growth and development. From those experiences, Martha learned a great deal about board development work and also learned a great deal about the unique challenges of our c3/c4 organizations.

 

Tony Massaro, League of Conservation Voters

Tony joined LCV/EF in May 2005. Tony has over 25 years experience in environmental politics, including work on over 100 campaigns in every capacity. Prior to joining LCV, he was the Executive Director of the state league Colorado Conservation Voters (CCV) for four years. Under his direction Colorado Conservation Voters grew from a political program of $65,000 in the 2000 election cycle to $600,000 in the 2004 election cycle. From 1992-2001 Tony ran a small environmental public affairs consulting company, Rocky Mountain Environmental Strategies. He worked on clean air, alternative energy, emerging technologies and political campaign political campaigns. From 1983-2001 Tony served Federico Peña in the Denver Mayor’s Office as Director of Environmental Affairs and Political Director.

 

Allen H. Mattison, Lichtman, Trister & Ross, PLLC

Allen Mattison advises nonprofit organizations, labor organizations and political professionals on campaign-finance, tax and corporate matters. From establishing corporations and securing I.R.S. tax exemptions, to managing employee problems and understanding options for political activism, he helps nonprofit leaders succeed in all phases of their organizations’ lives. For organizations that want to influence elections or pass new laws, he assists them in understanding all the options available, and helps them to tailor their tactics to the relevant federal or state regulatory regime. He has helped nonprofit organizations to navigate the campaign finance and corporate laws in 49 states and the District of Columbia. His background in political and nonprofit communications enables him to help clients find ways to amplify their message within the restrictions imposed by federal and state campaign finance and lobbying laws.

Education:

• Georgetown University Law Center, J.D. cum laude, 2006 • Washington University in St. Louis, B.A. with college honors, 1996

Prior Professional Experience:

• Sierra Club, Director of Media Relations • Nixon for Senate, Press Secretary • Office of U.S. Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, Deputy Press Secretary

 

Jorge Mursuli, Democracia USA

Jorge Mursuli has dedicated his life to the preservation, education, and implementation of civil rights. As President and CEO, Mursuli launched Democracia USA in 2004 as a program of the PFAWF.  Mursuli nurtured the program from a Florida-based operation to one of the most effective Hispanic civic engagement, voter empowerment, and leadership development organizations nationwide, now in collaboration with the National Council of La Raza.

 

In 1993, Jorge Mursuli joined SAVE Dade, an organization aiming to secure the passage of an amendment to the Miami-Dade County Human Rights Ordinance that would include sexual orientation as a category protected by law from discrimination.  In 1997, Jorge took over as Executive Director; and in December 1998, the amendment was adopted.

 

Jorge is a graduate of the University of Florida.

 

Mary Parish, MVP Associates

Mary Parish is President of MVP Associates, a management training and consulting firm, in business since 1978. She has experience and credentials in human communication. She has worked with a wide array of more than 200 private and public sector organizations. In her field of expertise, Mary designs and teaches seminars on enhancing communication skills, managing individual differences, creating win-win negotiations, resolving conflict, conducting effective meetings, training for trainers and developing leadership skills. In addition, she facilitates retreats and meetings that help clients reconnect to their mission or work together more productively. Mary coaches individual people to increase their effectiveness, achieve their goals and reach their dreams. Mary holds a Master of Arts degree in communication from Michigan State University and has worked at Georgetown University, Iowa State University, and Michigan State University.

 

Jonathan Poisner, Jonathan Poisner Strategic Consulting LLC

In 1997, Jonathan became Executive Director of the Oregon League of Conservation Voters and its sister organization, OLCV Education Fund. During his twelve years leading OLCV, he grew the combined revenue of OLCV and OLCV Education Fund from $200,000 to $1.1 million per year.

During his tenure, OLCV’s staff grew from just one and a half full time employees to more than 11 FTE, while dramatically increasing its capacity to involve thousands of volunteers in its work. OLCV's electoral program has defeated more than a dozen anti-environment elected officials and helped elect many more environmental champions to office.

Jonathan also led the Oregon Conservation Network to develop shared priorities. “Priorities for a Healthy Oregon” has raised the bar in the Oregon Legislature -- helping pass new laws that promote renewable energy, recycle electronic waste, protect farmland, and safeguard clean water. Jonathan served on the founding board of the Federation of State Conservation Voter Leagues, where he was a strong voice for growing state LCVs. In 2007, Jonathan was elected to serve on the boards of the League of Conservation Voters and LCV Education Fund.

As a mentor to other state LCVs, Jonathan has worked in more than a dozen states, including Alabama, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Jonathan holds dual degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. He has a JD from Boalt Hall School of Law at UC Berkeley.

Professionally, he practiced law as an associate attorney at the law firm of Arnold & Porter, served as Environmental Law Fellow at Lewis & Clark Law School, worked as an Adjunct Law Professor, and as regional staff for the Sierra Club.

 

Teresa Purcell, Purcell Public Affairs

Over the past 20 years, Teresa has consulted and collaborated on over 150 political, public relations and media campaigns throughout the United States. She managed the successful long-shot U.S. Senate race for the first female Senator elected from Washington State – U.S. Senator Patty Murray. Teresa has also served as a lobbyist, executive director, and senior project director for a national environmental group. Teresa has conducted trainings throughout the United States and internationally. Teresa founded Purcell Public Affairs Inc. in 2001 to provide clients with expertise in strategy, communications, and mobilization. She specializes in strategic planning, communications, public opinion research, message development, campaign planning, training, organizational development, issue management and media relations. Teresa also has extensive experience in non-partisan voter engagement and education program development, implementation, and evaluation. Teresa is the former Chair of the Board for WEAVE (Washington Environmental Alliance for Voter Education), a Board Member of Washington Conservation Voters and a Founding Board Member for the Center for Women and Democracy at the University of Washington, Founding chair of the Women’s Leadership Committee. She is a Washington State native and a graduate of the University of Washington.

 

Valerie Reuther, League of Conservation Voters

Valerie Reuther started raising money about the time she could talk, but she really perfected her skills as the Director of Development for Infact, where she led face-to-face fundraising efforts that increased the major donor income from $45,000 to $450,000 in four years. Valerie then worked as the Executive Director of two Seattle based non-profits where she learned to balance fundraising demands with management and program work. Since 1997, Valerie has been an independent consultant with social change organizations, teaching organizations how to raise money from individuals, and facilitating strategic planning and board development. She joined the staff of LCV in July of 2008 and currently lives on an organic farm on Whidbey Island, Washington.

 

Erica Toler, League of Conservation Voters Ed Fund

A native of Columbia, Maryland, Erica joined LCV and LCVEF in March 2009 after working on political campaigns throughout the country. She’s worked on presidential primary races in New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Iowa. In 2008, she worked in New Mexico on the Tom Udall for Senate race, defeating LCV Dirty Dozen member Steve Pearce. As the Data and Targeting Associate, she works mostly with state leagues to manage, track, and inventory data for membership and programming. She is also the main point of contact for List Enhancement programs, access to the voter file via the Catalist subscription, and targeting using the Green Screen and True Green models for various programming initiatives.

 

Clifford R. Traisman, Clifford Traisman & Associates, LLC

 

Clifford Traisman has been the full-time state lobbyist for both Washington Conservation Voters and Washington Environmental Council since November 2002 and is responsible for the lobbying programs for these two statewide environmental organizations. In this role, he also performs as the main lobbyist and spokesperson in the state capitol for the environmental community priorities coalition, which consists of over 20 statewide environmental groups. Clifford has over 25 years of public and private sector experience both in Washington State and Washington, D.C. During his over 11-year tenure in D.C., Clifford held positions as a political consultant; a staff member and congressional investigator for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, chaired by John D. Dingell (D-Michigan); and as a federal lobbyist in the private sector for the Grocery Manufacturers of America. Since arriving in Seattle in 1995, Clifford has held senior level local government posts as a legislative assistant for Seattle City Councilmember Martha Choe and as the City of Seattle's Director of Intergovernmental Relations under Mayor Paul Schell where he was responsible for the management of the City’s entire lobbying program. He has also consulted on intergovernmental matters for the City of Seattle's Department of Public Utilities. Campaign experience includes a role as Research Director on Patty Murray's successful 1992 campaign for U.S. Senate.

 

Michael B. Trister, Lichtman, Trister & Ross, PLLC

Michael B. Trister, a 1966 Yale Law School graduate, represents a wide variety of nonprofit corporations, including charitable and educational organizations, private foundations, political committees, labor and professional organizations and trade associations, with emphasis on corporate, tax, contract, election and personnel matters. He is the author of Federal Election Law Manual For Union Lawyers (1998) and an article in the American Prospect, "The Rise and Reform of Stealth PACs" (Oct. 2000). He is a past Chair of the Committee on Legal Ethics and the Rules of Professional Conduct Review Committee of the District of Columbia Bar. Member of the District of Columbia and Mississippi (inactive) Bars.

 

Vinnie Wishrad, League of Conservation Voters

Vinnie Wishrad joined LCV and LCVEF in January 2010. He has nearly fifteen years of experience directing the membership and fundraising programs of progressive nonprofit organizations from both the agency and the client side. He also has extensive experience managing online campaigns, redesigning websites, and building online communities. Prior to joining the League of Conservation Voters, Vinnie worked with the Democratic National Committee as the Deputy Director of Marketing, NARAL Pro-Choice America as the Director of Membership, Conservation International as Senior Director for Community & Membership, and most recently, as Vice President for Community Membership for the Jane Goodall Institute. He has served on the board of Virginia NARAL. Vinnie is a graduate of SUNY Oswego (BA) and the Rockefeller College of Public Policy at Albany University (MPA).