I started in progressive politics in college, where I led the campus LGBTQ+ organization. I specifically worked to engage allies and expand cooperation between the students, faculty and administration.

I attended the Democratic Campaign Management School in 1999 on a mayoral race in a major Southern city. I worked with other school participants to convince the candidate and campaign management to work closely with the LGBTQ+ community. We convinced the candidate to commit to providing protection to all municipal employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

From there, I moved to DC and worked for the field department at People For the American Way. I was involved in coordinating field activities with other departments. I also engaged with other organizations to coordinate efforts. We worked with the NAACP to put on an education policy conference in Detroit.

I then went to work for the Campaign School. My team recruited interns around the country for over a dozen races. We coordinated training activities and ensured the schools got off to a smooth start.

Once the 2000 cycle started in earnest, I moved on to the US Congressional campaign in Illinois District 9 to re-elect Rep. Schakowsky. I was Co-Director of Field Organizing. My partner and I developed, recruited for and managed an internship program for local college students. We registered thousands of voters. We engaged with diverse community organizations and other candidate campaigns up and down the ballot. We delivered 76% of the vote for our candidate and 80% for Al Gore. This helped to ensure the Vice President carried Illinois.

Since leaving professional political work, I have volunteered for and donated to various organizations including MoveOn, Emily’s List, the Obama, Clinton and Biden campaigns and other progressive and Democratic campaigns and organizations.