Past Events
2011 Annual Conference Presenters and Consultant Bios
2011 Annual Conference Presenters and Consultant Bios
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
Shirin Bidel-Niyat rejoined LCV in February 2008 after serving as the Deputy Campaign Manager for the Independent Expenditure campaign for John Kerry in 2004 and the Florida Campaign Manager in 2005-06. Prior to rejoining the LCV family, Shirin managed two congressional campaigns in Central Florida and also spent time on a variety of state and federal campaigns across the country, including races in Georgia, Virginia, New Hampshire and Washington. Outside of her candidate campaign background, she has also worked for the Alliance for Climate Protection and the We Are America Alliance. Shirin is a graduate of George Washington University.
Brian Bordenick, League of Conservation Voters
Brian is the Controller at the League of Conservation Voters and League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. Brian has been with LCV and LCVEF since June 2010, previously working as Controller for Antenna Research Associates in Maryland and as Chief Financial Officer of Florida Water Products in Tampa, Florida. A native of the D.C. area, Brian graduated from University of Phoenix with an M.B.A. in Accounting, from the University of Alabama with a B.S. in Accounting, and is a C.P.A. licensed in Maryland.
Patrick Collins, League of Conservation Voters
Patrick is the Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration for LCV and LCVEF. He started at LCV and LCVEF in October of 2006. He previously worked for M+R Strategic Services as Chief Financial Officer where he oversaw the financial and administration operations. Previous employment also includes work for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. A native of Maryland, Patrick graduated from American University with an M.B.A. and the University of Maryland with a B.A. in political science and a B.S. in accounting.
Rafael Collazo, Democracia USA
Rafael Collazo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree from Columbia University. Rafael is a Latino political and media activist who has dedicated his career to helping the Hispanic community raise its collective voice in the electoral process and civic life. After being an active member of ASPIRA as a youth activist, Rafael was a co-founder and CEO of The Latino Online News Network (LATNN). LATNN received critical acclaim for its coverage of the 2000 Democratic and Republican National Conventions.
Rafael Collazo then became the Northeast Regional Director of the United States Hispanic Institute. In that position, Rafael organized hundreds of voter registration projects and trained thousands of activists, students and elected officials to develop their leadership potential. In 2004, Rafael ran against long odds to narrowly lose to a 38 year incumbent for a seat in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. In 2006, Rafael joined Democracia U.S.A. as a Pennsylvania State Director and was promoted to National Field Director. Now as National Deputy Director, Rafael oversees all national operations.
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.
Jennifer Green, The Analyst Institue
Jennifer Green is the Director of Research at the Analyst Institute.
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!
Rea Holmes, Trister, Ross, Schadler & Gold, PLLC
Rea Holmes counsels clients on state and federal campaign finance, lobbying and ethics laws. Ms. Holmes also counsels nonprofit organizations on formation and corporate governance issues along with providing guidance regarding allowable political and advocacy activity under the Internal Revenue Code and state and federal campaign finance laws.
Previously, Ms. Holmes was an appointed official in the Wisconsin Department of Health Services where she advised the agency Secretary on a wide range of policy and legislative matters and managed key agency activities, including communications and legislative and congressional relations. Education:
• UCLA School of Law, J.D., 2005
• University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2000
Bar admissions:
• District of Columbia
• Wisconsin
Prior professional experience:
• Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Executive Assistant
• Godfrey & Kahn, S.C., Associate
• Feingold Senate Committee, African-American Outreach and Field Coordinator
• Office of U.S. Senator Russell D. Feingold, Scheduler
Allen H. Mattison, Trister, Ross, Schadler & Gold, 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 SecretaryJorge 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.
Rudi Navarra, Democracia USA
Rudi Navarra leads program development and special projects at Democracia USA, the largest Latino civic engagement field organization in the United States. Most notably, he directs green jobs, environmental, and climate change initiatives at Democracia through educational and advocacy projects. Since 2006, Rudi has contributed to national campaigns around issue campaigns, voter registration, Get Out The Vote, election protection, and leadership development. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Conservation Alliance, a Florida state league of the League of Conservation Voters, and also on the Steering Committee of the Generational Alliance, a collaboration of 15 national youth organizations building collective power for underrepresented & low-income communities. He is both a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public & International Affairs and Duquesne University. He is a native of Barranquilla, Colombia, and also hails from Miami and South Florida.
Mike Palamuso, League of Conservation Voters
Mike Palamuso is the Vice President of Communications at the League of Conservation Voters and general bad ass. Mike joined LCV in April 2004 and has served in several different capacities at the organization, including Wisconsin Campaign Director (2004), Northwest Campaign Director (2005-06), Global Warming Project Deputy Director (2007) and National Campaigns Director (2008-09). As Vice President, Communications, Mike develops and implements the organization’s communications and message plans, with a growing emphasis on new media technologies and cross-departmental collaboration. Prior to joining LCV, Mike worked for presidential and congressional candidates in Florida, Louisiana, New Hampshire and New York. In addition to his campaign experience, Mike was an associate with a Washington, D.C., public relations firm whose clients included several international and national labor unions.
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 24 years, Teresa has consulted and collaborated on over 175 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 in 1992. Teresa has also served as a lobbyist, executive director, and senior project director. 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. She is a Washington State native and a graduate of the University of Washington. After spending many years living in Washington D.C., Olympia and Seattle, Teresa now makes her home in her hometown of Longview, 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 federal candidate campaigns throughout the country. As the Data and Campaigns 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. During the 2010 election cycle, she managed the LCV Action Fund Eagles program, which places staffers in targeted federal candidate campaigns, and helped coordinate state and national efforts on the Non-Partisan Voter Participation Vote by Mail program.
Clifford R. Traisman, Clifford Traisman & Associates, LLC
Clifford Traisman has been the state lobbyist for both Washington Conservation Voters and Washington Environmental Council since November 2002 and is responsible for managing 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 24 statewide environmental groups. Clifford has well over 25 years of public and private sector experience in both 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. Clifford lives in Seattle with his wife, four children, and Yellow Lab.
Vinnie Wishrad, League of Conservation VotersVinnie 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).
