Reed Galen, owner, Jedburghs and Chief Strategist SAM- Serve America Movement talks about his efforts to create a new political party.  With deep experience in national, state and local political and advocacy campaigns, Reed and his team have recognized the challenges and potential for an alternative to the Democratic and Republican parties.  Ballot access, gerrymandering and sore loser laws are only some of the obstacles to overcome.  While some voters are happy to be considered Independent, it seems that most voters prefer some party affiliation when making voting choices.  What happens when the existing choices no longer fit?

@reedgalen

@SAMforUS

SAM - Serve America Movement 

Jedburghs.com

Bob Berkowitz is a media consultant, presentation trainer and political advisor and has a wealth of information from his many years covering politicians and campaigns as a nationally acclaimed journalist.  He talks about fundraising, need to make sure candidate messages are authentic and clear to move voters to support them, how older and younger candidates are using social media, and strategies for candidates for dealing with hostile situations with voters.  Hard to be a great candidate!

BobBerkowitz.com

Ernest Landante Jr., president, State House Digital and Advocacy brings deep understanding of communicating with state and local elected officials and the staff that surrounds them.  Ernie is excited about using innovative digital lobbyists tools like geo-fencing to deliver hyper-local issue ads, video news releases and tapping into the power of mobile journalism to activate influential constituents and to influence legislators. 

@StateHouseDigit

State House Digital and Advocacy

Henri Makembe, Partner, Beekeeper Group drives home the point that building an authentic relationship with constituents means having a consistent message and reaching out even when nothing is happening.  In an age of social unrest and fake news, constituents are wary and need to know that trusted sources are providing news with legitimate calls to action.

@beekeepergroup

Beekeeper Group

Patti Russo, Executive Director, Women's Campaign School at Yale University has been helping women run for public office for over 20 years and is seeing unprecedented demand for information by women interested in getting on the ballot and winning in 2018.  With regional events and the yearly Get Ready to Run Conference to be held at Yale this summer, Patti is connecting with a wide range of potential candidates inspired to run at the state and local level.

@WCS_at_Yale

Women's Campaign School at Yale University

Chris Turner, CEO, Stampede Consulting knows that it is essential to treat campaign workers as professionals whether as paid employees or consultants where taxes are paid and insurance provided.  Chris is a pro at field operations and understands the value of retaining people who are good at building relationships with voters and walking the district to canvass and leave behind door hangers.  He also talks about the role of field in the age of Facebook and the over-informed voter.

@StampedeConsulting

Stampede Consulting

Shaun Dakin, Dakin Associates, is a digital communications consultant and teacher and talks about how Gen Z is using social media particularly Facebook and Instagram, best practices for gaining followers of all ages, quality versus quantity of constituent lists, who is actually using Twitter, and best practices for creating compelling narratives to drive engagement on social media.

@ShaunDakin

Dakin Associates

Bonnie Siegel, founder, Political Branding Associates has her eye on helping to grow the next generation of Republican candidates for state and local office as well as developing strategies for getting younger voters to the polls.  She also shares some wisdom about what candidates and elected officials should do to keep their brand fresh and how they should react if negative news or accusations come out.

Political Branding Associates

Erik Rosedahl, Head of Stakeholder Engagement, Phone2Action has a clear view of the need to understand different types of activists and emphasizes that just focusing on the number of supporters can be misleading.  Having lead the advocacy efforts at the National Association of Manufacturers, Erik emphasizes the need to communicate with constituents on their preferred platform be it mobile, email, phone or mail.

@Rosedahl1

@phone2action

Phone2Action

Nick Guthman has co-founded Blue Future, a civic engagement start-up focusing on organizing young people 18-25 around progressive electoral campaigns.  This group includes young Millennials and Gen Z and while they might not have much money to contribute to a candidate, they have energy and social media experience that can be invaluable to a campaign.  What's missing is the resource to identify meaningful volunteer and organizing opportunities. 

@BlueFutureNow

Blue-Future.org