| Jason Bennett Executive Director Jason Bennett first plunged into politics when he interned at US Senator Patty Murray's office in the spring of 1997. Shortly following the internship, Jason accepted a position in the Washington State Legislature with the office of State Rep. Jeff Morris. Nearly two years later, Jason caught the campaign bug and moved over the the House Democratic Campaign Committee as their Operations Director where he helped secure the majority for House Democrats in Nov. 2001. After 5 years working on Democratic campaigns, Jason was recruited to the office of US Senator Maria Cantwell and served as her State Outreach Director. In early 2005, he decided to take his extensive campaign experience and political contacts and form Argo Strategies, a political consulting firm based in Seattle. In his spare time, Jason has served on Mayor Greg Nickel's Citizens Technology and Telecommunications Advisory Board, was an elected Queen Anne Community Councilmember and is a "site restoration steward" for Pipers Creek in Carkeek Park. He also lends his fundraising expertise to Equal Rights Washington and Institute for a Democratic Future. Jason was born and raised in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He attended Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona where he studied political science and anthropology. He moved to Seattle in February 1996 and currently resides in the 36th Legislative District. |
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Dean Nielsen Co-Founder Dean Nielsen is Washington State Director of Progressive Majority (www.progressivemajoritywashington.org), a organization dedicated to recruiting, training and running progressive candidates for office throughout Washington state. Dean is a career politico, having worked on more than 100 campaigns for elections throughout the Western United States and Eastern Europe starting with Bill Clinton's 1992 campaign. His lengthy client list includes Governor Gary Locke (WA), Solidarity Party (Poland), the Gore/Lieberman Campaign, as well as issue campaigns for groups such as EMILY's List, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington and the Democratic Party in several states. He was instrumental in building and expanding the grassroots and grasstops lobbying program for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a non-profit based in Washington, DC. At TFK, he and his staff of 10 field lobbyists generated pressure on Members of Congress to support legislation on FDA regulation, fire safe cigarettes and other issues. Dean was the lead staff for the public health community in defeating the "Class Action Reform Act" of 2003 which the public health community won in the U.S. Senate by one vote. Dean co-founded the Institute for a Democratic Future in 1997 and served as its first executive director through 2001. He has served the Democratic Party in a variety of capacities, including as a member of the Democratic National Platform Committee and as a two-term President of the Young Democrats of Washington. In 2000, Dean was named the Warren G. Magnuson "Democrat of the Year" by the Washington State Democrats. In 2004, Dean served as an on-air advisor for the 10-episode SHOWTIME Television program "American Candidate." |
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Lisa Witter Co-Founder Lisa Witter has more than a decade of experience in politics, policy, organizational development, marketing and media relations. As the Executive Vice President and General Manager of Fenton Communications, Ms. Witter oversees the largest public interest communications strategy firm in the country. Her track record of devising and managing strategic communications for issue campaigns within and beyond Fenton is extensive. Her clients have ranged from Harvard School of Public Health , American Lung Association , Air America Radio , MoveOn.org , Women for Women International, Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, The Joyce Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. In addition, Ms. Witter is a seasoned public speaker on the political, nonprofit and philanthropic circuits on politics, social change and communications for organizations such as the Women's Funding Network and Campaign for America's Future. In 2000, she was the chief strategist behind the American Medical Association campaign to successfully block NBC from airing hard liquor ads, thwarting one of the biggest advertising arrangements in television history. Most recently she was one of the architects of the White House Project's promotion of Commander and Chief. She also is the creator and co-founder of SheSource.org, an online database of women experts for the media. Ms. Witter's "on the ground" political advocacy work includes, among numerous initiatives, designing and executing a national public education and voter mobilization campaign against the privatization of Social Security during the 2000 presidential election. For this work, Institute for a Democratic Future and EMERGE: Women Leaders for a Democratic Future. In the late 1990's she was a legislative assistant to a Seattle City Council member. A political strategist and pundit, Ms. Witter has made frequent guest appearances on radio and television, in 2004, participated in Showtime's "American Candidate." She holds a B.A. in politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a certificate in non-profit management and fundraising from the University of Washington. She has also studied at the Universita di Padova, Italia and interned for the European Union. |
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Tillie Gallagher Staff Director Tillie Gallagher is a proud graduate of the Institute for a Democratic Future (2005) who began her political career in 2002 as a Field Organizer for the Washington State Democratic Coordinated Campaign in the 42nd Legislative District. In 2003, Tillie worked as a Compliance Specialist at Sound Business Services, where she gained experience in political campaign finance laws. She used this experience in 2004 when she returned to the Washington State Democratic Coordinated Campaign as the Campaign Comptroller. In 2005, Tillie decided to leave the Washington State Democrats to pursue a career in human resources. Currently she works in the human resources department for a local consumer electronics retailer. Tillie has been extensively involved in the Young Democrats since she started the Western Washington University Young Democrats during the 2002 campaign. Throughout the years, Tillie has held many positions with the Young Democrats, including Vice President of Membership and Vice President of Finance. She currently serves as the Young Democrats Representative to the Washington State Democratic Central Committee. Tillie is a native of the Central Puget Sound area. She graduated from Federal Way High School in 1998 and received a BA in Political Science from Western Washington University in 2002. In her spare time, Tillie enjoys playing tennis, baking, and spending time with good friends. Tillie currently resides in the 36th Legislative District, where she can often be found at the gym, drinking coffee or doing both at the same time. |
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IDF Board of Directors | Honorary Chairs |