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Alex has nearly twenty years of successful cross-sector experience working with policymakers, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and philanthropy to solve complex problems and advance change. Most recently he served as Chief of Staff at The California Wellness Foundation, one of the largest private health foundations in the state. Alex led efforts to address gun violence as a preventable public health issue, reimagine the youth justice system, and address issues ranging from health equity, environmental justice, and immigration.
Prior to Cal Wellness, Alex managed the development and execution of Californians for Safety and Justice overall strategy and goals to advance best practices in justice reform; build coalitions with diverse stakeholders; engage in high-impact communications; and elevate the voices of diverse crime survivors in the debate on public safety policy. While at Children’s Defense Fund-California, Alex led statewide policy advocacy, program and organizing efforts focused on access to quality affordable health coverage and care for children and low-income families, reform the youth system, promoting educational equity, and ending child poverty. Under his leadership the organization won a long-fought battle to end solitary confinement in juvenile institutions.
Alex also brings significant government experience, having worked for a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He served as a senior advisor on education, early childhood development, youth justice, and public safety issues impacting the Second District. In addition, Alex served two terms on the Los Angeles County Board of Education, including time as President, working to effectively shape policies and programs in the best interests of students and families. He began his career in New York City advocating for domestic violence victims as an assistant district attorney in Bronx County.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Alex is a graduate of Morehouse College and American University, Washington College of Law. He serves on the boards of Southern California Grantmakers, Trust for Public Land-California Advisory Board, and the Wiley Center for Speech and Language Therapy. Alex’s writings have appeared in Huffington Post, The Guardian, Los Angeles Daily News, San Jose Mercury News, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, California Health Report, and Sacramento Bee.
Elsa Alvarado is a communications expert who leverages her years of senior-level public affairs experience from the Pentagon, the State Department, and the campaign trail, to position Bryson Gillette’s clients in the media and cultivate key stakeholders.
Most recently, Elsa served in the Biden-Harris Administration as Director of Strategic Communications in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs. In this role, she received the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Outstanding Achievement for her work in preparing the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense for their congressional engagements. During her tenure, Elsa successfully navigated high-level priorities through a series of world crises such as the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Elsa holds a Master’s degree in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing, where she attended as a Schwarzman Scholar. Elsa also received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Middlebury College.
In her spare time, Elsa serves on the D.C. Advisory Board for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, where she advocates for access to higher education for young Latino students. She is also an alumni/mentor for the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Elsa is a native New Yorker and now resides in Washington D.C. with her partner, Hunter, and their Australian Shepherd puppy, Smokey.
Monika joins Bryson Gillette after working as the Associate Communications Director at the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, a statewide health advocacy organization advancing health equity and racial justice. Previously, Monika worked on several statewide campaigns and ballot initiatives as a Campaign Coordinator at Paschal Roth. She has experience in full-scale communications work, from public education campaigns to targeted legislative work, all with a desire to bridge policymakers and elected officials to the communities they serve and are accountable to. She has worked across a variety of policy areas, including health, housing, clean energy, and labor unions.
Originally from San Diego, she currently resides in Sacramento. She graduated from Scripps College with a B.A. in Legal Studies, focusing on History. In her spare time, she served as the Campaign Manager for a local city council race, volunteers with Global Shapers Sacramento, an organization funded by the World Economic Forum, and enjoys bouldering, hiking, and baking.
Michael Ocon is a recognized leader in the realm of educational equity, a trained political organizer, and a passionate advocate for institutional access. Michael is a first-generation college graduate, having attended Stanford University, where he received his B.A. in English Literature. As an undergraduate, he served as the inaugural Student Advisor to the Provost and Vice Provost of Student Affairs. In this newly-created role, he counseled administrators and trustees on issues related to budget reform, investment responsibility, community crisis response, public safety, and diversity and inclusion. Michael is also recognized as the Co-founder of the Stanford Coalition for Workers’ Rights, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for direct Covid-related relief for hundreds of workers in the Bay Area.
Michael’s passion for political organizing was focused through internships with Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor, the Office of Senator Kamala D. Harris, Kamala Harris for President, George Gascón for District Attorney, and SEIU-USWW. In these roles, he worked closely with senior staff on communications and rapid response, field organizing strategy, and policy advocacy on the issues of educational reform and youth voter engagement. A proud native of Pasadena, CA, Michael has also been politically active on a number of local races and advocacy campaigns, and serves on the board of College Access Plan, Pasadena.
A member of the Trojan family, Michael is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Administration at USC, where he serves on the governing boards of the Norman Topping Scholarship Fund, and the Graduate Policy and Administration Committee, and as a City/County Management Fellow. In his spare time, he’ll be found gaming with his friends, watching true crime documentaries, listening to R&B, and writing stories about the places and the people he calls home.
Seth is a strategist, communicator, and doer who has spent 20 years bringing people together to find inspiration, build capacity, develop strategy and solve complex challenges. An experienced nonprofit executive, Seth has organized marginalized families in Los Angeles to secure policy victories and built coalitions to elevate and influence key issues. Equally skilled at media relations, shared strategy, and executing under pressure, Seth employs every tool at his disposal to help clients expand their imagination of what is possible and then achieve their goals, usually while working in a laugh or two.
A Bronx native, Seth founded a public high school in the South Bronx for young people who deserve a fair shot at happiness and success after being impacted by the criminal legal system. The absolute best part of that job was standing at the door in the morning and sharing corny, but real, words of encouragement. A great reminder that the words we say can create the world we want to live in.
Seth and his wife Lucy live in Washington DC with their two Australian Shepherds, Zeus and Lefty. In their spare time, they enjoy walking their dogs, playing fetch with their dogs, cleaning dog hair out of their robot vacuum, asking each other why they got a second dog, and wondering out loud if they should get a third dog.
Kyle Valdes is a Cuban-American who was born and raised in Miami, FL. He is currently a senior at the University of Southern California where he is majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Advertising. He loves to travel, try new foods, and spend quality time with family and friends.
Alexis Molden is a second year Political Science major at UCLA. During her first year, she had the opportunity to participate in student government and other advocacy projects that contributed towards helping marginalized communities. As a part of the fellowship for UCLA’s office of the External Vice President, she was able to represent UCLA by understanding and adhering to the different needs of the students on campus. She has also participated in Black Lobby Day as a delegate for her university as she discussed with Senators and Assembly Members the different ways to rectify local and national issues. Moreover, her role in the University of California Student of Color Conference allowed her to connect with other leaders to discuss plans of action in advocating for change. She has already begun to dedicate her career to advocating for equality and equitability within society, and is excited to continue fulfilling her passion of contributing towards change as an intern for Bryson Gillette.
Synia Boyer is a junior at Howard University, currently studying Strategic Communication. She is passionate about advancing equity in politics and even created a blog that covered social justice issues. Prior to joining Bryson Gillette, Synia developed social content for Evoke Kyne, a health public relations agency. Interning with the agency’s reputation and social impact team, she also conducted research and supported content for equity initiatives. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Synia enjoys meditation, listening to music, and spending time with her loved ones. She is excited to bring her progressive spirit to Bryson Gillette while learning more about media strategy in public affairs.
Diego is a senior double majoring in Political Science (honors) and Politics, Philosophy, and Law with a minor in Legal Studies. At USC, Diego found a passion for research, emphasizing in electoral politics, voting systems, and electoral accessibility. Diego's interests in politics have evolved beyond academia, and he has since leveraged his background in electoral research to advocate for progressive voting policies at organizations like Crooked Media and Common Cause.
Katherine provides administrative support on a wide variety of projects for Bryson Gillette, including project management, client relations, finance, operations, and event planning.
Katherine is a Chicago native now living in Los Angeles. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. Outside of the office, you will find her at the dog park, hiking with her Boxer puppy, or spending time with her daughter.
Kelvin Green II is a graduating senior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) studying Physics with a double minor in Writing and Literature. Before coming to Bryson Gillette, he served as a regional organizer on Team Massachusetts at Warren for President (2020) and as the Deputy Campaign Manager and Field Director for a local Boston City Council candidate (2021). Kelvin’s passion for change through politics has been long-standing. From attending President Obama’s inauguration in 2012 to volunteering with the New Hampshire Democratic Party in 2014 and 2016, he has consistently taken opportunities to be civically engaged through direct action.
In his spare time, Kelvin is the President and CEO of Ren Consulting Group, a firm founded in 2020 with a commitment to producing strategic solutions for clients (with a focus on growing women and minority-owned businesses). He also enjoys reading and writing fiction and is currently working on a novel inspired by the Indigenous people to the land called Virginia. On campus, he has served and consulted on a plethora of Institute-wide committees, working groups, and student groups focused on researching and implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in curriculum, student life, policing, and administrative operations.
Kelvin is an alum of School Year Abroad China (2016), where he gained fluency in Mandarin, and Phillips Exeter Academy (2017). He is also a brother of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Isaiah Dawson is a junior at Howard University majoring in Political Science and minoring in Public Relations. Prior to joining Bryson Gillette, Isaiah interned at NARAL Pro-Choice America, the LGBTQ Victory Institute, and the Pivot Group. Isaiah also volunteered as an AmeriCorps member for two years, working to close the opportunity gap in New York City public schools.
As a Florida native, Isaiah loves to spend their free time on roller coasters or at the beach. Their passions include urban photography, art curation, and LGBTQ ballroom culture.
Anna joins Bryson Gillette from the nonprofit sector, where she has built and strengthened systems for a number of different organizations and programs. Most recently, she served as the Strategic Operations Manager for Central City Association of Los Angeles, a membership-based organization that convenes a variety of industries to tackle LA's most pressing issues and build opportunity in the region. Anna also brings campaign operations experience from her time at New Era Colorado, where she supported the organization's statewide youth civic engagement and issue advocacy work. Anna is passionate about building smart, efficient processes that increase the impact of her colleagues, and believes in the transformative power of equitable operations.
Anna received a Bachelor of Arts in History and Anthropology from the University of Colorado with a minor in Leadership Studies and a certificate in Business Management. She also holds a graduate certificate in Human Resources Management. Outside of work you can find Anna exploring LA with her husband Tucker, packing the car for a weekend trip, or cuddling with her cats at home, tea or cocktail in hand.
Michael Trujillo is a democratic strategist who has served as a senior adviser to political leaders, corporations and nonprofits in California and around the country.
Michael was the youngest City Commissioner in Los Angeles history at the age of 18. He worked as a senior political aide to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in 2008 in California, Texas and North Carolina.
He was one of the first hires to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s initial campaign for Mayor in 2001, while Antonio came up short, Michael worked for him on his successful campaign for LA City Council and then Mayor in 2005. Michael has served as a communication advisor to Actor/Director Rob Reiner, Governor Gray Davis and many others. Michael lives in Downtown Los Angeles.
Born and raised in Massachusetts, Jess fell in love with public service and political organizing through an internship for her U.S. Senator, Elizabeth Warren. After graduating from Mount Holyoke College, she persisted with Senator Warren across the Commonwealth and then the country, serving on her state office staff, Senate re-election campaign, and bid for President. Knowing how much was left to do, Jess finished the 2020 cycle by coordinating absentee ballot data and building the first early voter file for the New Hampshire Democratic Coordinated Campaign. She most recently worked at FreeWill, where she introduced hundreds of high-impact nonprofits to fundraising technology that has democratized philanthropy and raised over $5Billion for charity.
Jess is thrilled to take her passion for progressive causes and organized project management to support the Bryson Gillette team and clients in our pursuit to fight for a better world.
She lives in Atlanta with her partner, Anna, where they’re aiming to try all of the delicious food, dance to lots of live music, and immerse themselves in the city’s legacy of activism.
A former intern, Risa Sunakawa joined Bryson Gillette as an associate after receiving her B.A. in Government and Psychology with distinction in all subjects from Cornell University.
She has worked with non-profits in Utah to increase voter registration and civic engagement, helped advocate for AAPI issues, and made a web platform that helped Missourians safely and easily request absentee ballots during the 2020 election season.
Born in New Jersey, she finished high school in Utah, and is now located in California. She is a Yankees fan, but will root for the Angels for Ohtani. In her free time, she likes pretending like she knows about wine.
Tess Seger is an experienced campaign professional with a strong background in paid and strategic communications. Tess put thousands of miles on her car as the communications director for Senator Cory Booker’s Presidential campaign in Iowa. She also served as the campaign manager for Congresswoman Susie Lee’s highly competitive re-election campaign in Nevada. In 2018, as the communications director for the Iowa Democratic Party, Tess helped flip federal, statewide, and local seats blue. She started her career at the Los Angeles office of SKDKnickerbocker after graduating with honors from the George Washington University.
Standing up for progressive values is as much a profession as it is a calling for Tess -- she started advocating for public education when she was in the classroom herself. Forever an Oregonian at heart, outside of the office you can find her hiking, practicing yoga, or having heart failure over the latest Trail Blazer game. Tess lives in D.C. with her cat Finnegan.
Sloane Perry double majored in Political Science and Communications at the University of Southern California. She has experience in public relations, campaigns, social media strategy, and research from her internships with Cerrell Associates, the LAX Public Relations team, and the 2020 Colorado Democratic Coordinated Campaign.
As a Colorado Native, she spends most of her free time outside hiking, skiing, at the beach, or playing with her dog, Fig.
Rebecca Pearcey is one of the most accomplished Black political operatives in the country. She most recently served as Political Director and Senior Advisor for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign, overseeing political strategy in all 57 states and territories, and managing staff in over 30 states.
During her 20-year career, she has steered hundreds of campaigns across the country, including statewide campaigns in Ohio (Strickland for U.S. Senate) and Indiana (Gregg for Governor). In 2018 she directed the national independent expenditure campaign for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, a cycle in which Democrats flipped over 400 legislative seats and 8 chambers. She has served as a Senior Advisor for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Based in D.C., Pearcey has guest lectured at Harvard, Georgetown and George Mason universities.
A Georgia southerner at heart, Sean is a recent graduate from NYU where he double majored in International Relations and Public Policy, completing his studies across the globe to grow his cultural competence, his awareness for social change, and most importantly, his palate.
Before joining Bryson Gillette as a former intern, he gained a variety of different skills from his experiences as a campaign volunteer for Senators Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock and as an Immigration Casework Intern for Sen. Kristen Gillibrand, connecting New Yorkers with federal agencies to better their lives. He is excited to bring his passions for progressive causes and campaigns to Bryson Gillette full time, amongst the nation’s most well-renowned operatives in political and public affairs.
In his free time, Sean is a long-time volunteer for HOBY, an international, service-rooted organization dedicated to empowering future youth leaders. He also enjoys pop music, Broadway shows, and spending time on social media.
Lucy Martikyan has more than a decade of experience running campaigns in congressional, statewide, and state legislative elections, as well as local ballot measure campaigns in California. Prior to joining Bryson Gillette, Lucy worked with TBWBH Props & Measures and Cleansweep Campaigns where she helped develop revenue measures as well as run local and state campaigns. Previously, Lucy worked for prominent Southern California-based firm SG&A Campaigns under Parke Skelton. As a campaign manager and consultant, Lucy has helped elect a myriad of highly qualified candidates in the greater Los Angeles region.
Previous campaigns include Sheila Kuehl for LA County Supervisor, Laura Friedman, Sydney Kamlager and Miguel Santiago for State Assembly, Paul Krekorian and Paul Koretz for City Council, Betty Yee for State Controller, and John Chiang’s bids for State Treasurer and Governor. Lucy received her Masters of Public Policy from the UCLA Luskin School, where she graduated at the top of her class. In her spare time, she enjoys working on film photography projects and volunteering for organizations that fight against injustice and promote social and economic equality.
Jason Mandell is a seasoned strategic communications professional with expertise in media relations and education advocacy. He has worked with leading Los Angeles and California nonprofits, including The Education Trust-West, United Way of Greater Los Angeles and the California Charter Schools Association, to elevate awareness and spur action on educational justice, income inequality and homelessness.
As a communications director and consultant, he has a decade of experience spearheading advocacy campaigns, weaving storytelling and data into narratives that have sparked media attention, mobilized communities and achieved policy victories.
Jason's op-eds have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, and many other publications. As a spokesperson, his comments have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, NPR-affiliate KPCC, EdSource and other outlets.
Jason was a founding board member and board president of Resolute Academy, a charter middle school in Watts. He is excited to be part of a team of passionate, progressive, creative people working on some of the most urgent political and social causes facing our communities and our country. He is an Aquarius and a singer-songwriter. He knows a lot, perhaps too much, about Led Zeppelin.
Gavin Lodge is an account strategist and social media specialist for Bryson Gillette. After two decades on Broadway, Gavin brings creativity, insight and smidgeon of pizazz to social media management. In 2015, Gavin successfully launched his own brand of baby gear for stylish dads where he cut his teeth in utilizing new media to reach target audiences. Gavin’s understanding of the creative process, ability to adjust to varying client needs, and understanding of what it takes to cut through the noise makes him an asset for Bryson Gillette and its clients.
Having worked as a field organizer in Iowa many moons ago, then as a manager for then-candidate U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (WA), Gavin left politics to pursue show business in New York City. Over the course of a career including five Broadway shows, several original cast albums, a dozen TV appearances, and a turn on the Late Show with David Letterman (where he was greased up as a singing “Rambo” for a parody sketch), he’s followed other passions including founding the “baby gear for stylish dads” fashion start-up, E.C.Knox. His greatest pride are his two children, for which he waded into the political madness of Manhattan Public Schools by serving as PTA President.
Gavin is thrilled to be back in politics to bring about real change for progressive causes that will ensure a more just world for his children and yours.
Kevin Liao joins Bryson Gillette from the U.S. Department of Energy, where he served as press secretary for Secretary Jennifer Granholm and coordinated public rollouts for department and Biden Administration initiatives. He was previously Nevada communications director for the Biden general election campaign and worked on Elizabeth Warren's primary campaign in Iowa and California. Kevin started his career at the California State Capitol, including serving as press secretary for Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. He's a native of San Jose, California.
Jacqueline Lee Rivera has developed and managed award-winning campaigns for feature films, global nonprofit organizations, and Fortune 100 companies to tackle social and environmental issues throughout the last 10 years.
Jacqueline most recently served as Impact Producer for the film production company, Participant. Her work focused on increasing visibility, new partnerships, and policy change to further the filmmakers’ goals. At Participant she developed and managed impact campaigns for films including the Academy Award-winning film, American Factory, the NAACP Image Awards Best Documentary Winner, John Lewis: Good Trouble, and with the acclaimed filmmaker, Steve James, for his docuseries, America To Me. Prior to running campaigns for feature films, she presented and trained organizations internationally on fundraising and campaign management. Some of her past work included leading international humanitarian and disaster relief communications during the Syrian Refugee Crisis and in response to the Nepal Earthquake of 2015, developing cause marketing campaigns for tech and fashion brands partnered with GlobalGiving like Microsoft Youth Spark and Gucci’s Chime For Change, and building strategic partnership and communication strategies for international institutions such as UNESCO.
Jacqueline holds a Master of Arts in Global Affairs and Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from the University of Oklahoma, and she was a Dow Jones Journalism Fellow for the Oklahoma Institute For Diversity in Journalism. Jacqueline is passionate about the power of storytelling to open hearts and minds and can be found watching the latest films, sampling new restaurants, and attending concerts across Los Angeles.
Originally from Seattle, Haley Kubik is a senior at the University of San Diego studying Political Science, Communications, and Sociology. Before beginning her internship at Bryson Gillette, Haley volunteered with various campaigns including the Mission for Arizona 2020 Democratic Coordinated Campaign which helped successfully elect Democrats up and down the ballot.
On campus, Haley has worked in the Center for Health and Wellness Promotion and is a member of USD Votes, a student organization centered around increasing local voter participation. She is passionate about mental health, reproductive rights, social justice, and voting reform. In her free time you can find Haley at the farmers market, a yoga class, or on the beach.
Ralph Jean is a strategic communications professional with experience managing projects for a diverse range of causes, from business rebrands to grassroots organizing. A journalist by trade and a storyteller at heart, Ralph has directed his passion to produce original content in support of project launches like Destination Crenshaw Museum, HealthyLA Coalition, and A3C Festival & Conference in Atlanta, GA.
Prior to Bryson Gillette, Ralph served as Director of Communications for Strategic Actions for a Just Economy (SAJE). Ralph values flexible thinking and rigid procedure. He's used these values to create metrics driven campaign strategies to increase website traffic, expand email audience, and grow organic social media engagements while connecting companies and organizations to new communities.
Ralph started his strategic communications career as a congressional intern for Congressman David Scott in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Morehouse College, studying psychology and journalism and later obtained a Master of Science degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. When he's not catching up on the hot memes of the month Ralph enjoys amateur astronomy and likes to unplug by visiting national dark sky parks or biking around his home in Georgia.
Raúl is a former educator with almost 20 years of experience in ed reform and talent development.
Prior to arriving at Bryson Gillette, Raúl led Alumni and Corps Member work for Teach For America Los Angeles for over 10 years. While at Teach For America, he supported a network of over 3,600 leaders across a variety of industries in Southern California through program partnerships, facilitating leadership development, talent matching, and ongoing engagement.
After graduating from the University Notre Dame, Raúl joined Teach For America, a national nonprofit striving to provide an equitable education to all children, where he spent eight years as a classroom teacher in Baltimore and Boston. He has expertise in designing & delivering learning experiences in a way that resonates with audiences. With a knack for making strategic connections between people, programs, and resources, Raúl builds capacity in teams and institutions in order to maximize impact.
Raúl is passionate about creating the conditions for colleagues to do their best work, and considers it a privilege to support the work of his teammates at Bryson Gillette. Raul lives with his wife, Rohini, and their two little girls. You can find him spending time with his family, going on walks with their dogs, or on the course trying to become a scratch golfer.
Shira has designed and managed strategic communications campaigns for top corporations, technology companies, philanthropic institutions, non-profits, production companies and high-profile individuals for more than a decade. From the Los Angeles Unified’s School Board to the Capitol in Sacramento and from technology companies defining their brand to the Champagne Region of France protecting its name, Shira helps clients in a wide variety of industries figure out how to use communications to solve their toughest problems.
Shira previously worked at SKDKnickerbocker, where she helped open their West Coast office, and at Global Strategy Group and CLS Strategies in Washington D.C. She also helped re-elect President Obama during the 2012 campaign cycle, working as a political media buyer.
Shira graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in public relations. On the weekends, she can be found hiking in Griffith Park, wandering on the beach or discovering new playgrounds. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.
Kate has dedicated her professional career to developing people and equity programs to lift women and people of color into organizational and government leadership.
With over two decades of experience running campaigns, managing teams and developing, building and managing program infrastructure to scale in 25+ states, Kate has a laser focus on recruiting and investing in diverse teams, developing strategic programs for diverse organizations, and building a pipeline of staff and elected leaders at all levels of government, having recruited, trained, coached, managed, and elected hundreds of women and people of color up and down the ticket.
Kate’s passion and experience managing large national teams and programs around civic engagement and leadership development has led to her holding leadership positions throughout major organizations and candidate campaigns such as EMILY’s List, SEIU, America Votes, Communication Workers of America and serving as National Women’s Vote Director for President Obama’s 2012 campaign.
As a creative and analytical thinker, Kate has translated her decades of campaign experience and expanded her personal scale to grow impact across many issues most affecting local communities ignored and underfunded by people in power - from restorative justice, educational equity and affordable healthcare access to addressing affordable housing and the needs of those impacted by homelessness.
Kate earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Broadcast Journalism from the Annenberg School of Journalism at the University of Southern California and her Master’s Degree in Journalism from Georgetown University.
A native of Southern California currently based in Los Angeles, Kate is equally dedicated to raising her tween daughter Sinatra and two darling dogs Lula and Beau "Joe" Biden and rooting for her beloved Dodgers. Raising Sinatra pushes Kate to further her drive and determination for bringing more leaders and teams into the movement for justice and equity.
Raised in Puerto Rico, Mariela comes to Bryson Gillette after completing a masters in media advocacy from Northeastern University and serving as a legislative aide in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. There, she worked directly with low-income and diverse communities in Boston, helping them with issues such as housing, unemployment, food insecurity and maternal health. Her career began when she organized for Jay González’s gubernatorial campaign in Massachusetts and Senator Elizabeth Warren’s reelection campaign, both in 2018, after completing her undergraduate degree in political science from Boston College.
Mariela is a fierce advocate for reproductive rights and immigration reform. More importantly, she cares about economic and social justice in Puerto Rico, where she lives. She is excited to join a group of expert communicators and advocates for the most pressing issues of our time. In her free time, you can find Mariela hiking, at the beach or playing with her niece and nephew.
Danielle Carrasquero joins Bryson Gillette from the Washington State Senate where she served as Senator T’wina Nobles’ legislative assistant. Danielle managed all aspects of the Senator’s office including developing the communications strategy, advancing the Senator’s legislation, and leading constituent services. Danielle also managed Senator Nobles’ campaign, helping to flip a seat and elect Washington’s only Black Senator in almost a decade — the second Black woman elected in the Senate's history.
Danielle started her political career as an organizer with Senator Elizabeth Warren’s campaign for President in New Hampshire and Maine, where she learned about the power of communication to change hearts and minds and ultimately advance progressive causes. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Danielle enjoys hiking, camping, and international travel.
Aref Aziz joins Bryson Gillette after years of serving as a campaign consultant on some of California's most contentious statewide races. Aref has previously worked with the political teams of Governor Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta, Treasurer Emeritus John Chiang, and a handful of state and local ballot propositions. Throughout his career, Aref helped raise over $9 billion in generated and expected revenue for transportation infrastructure investments throughout California.
A British designer who’s hopped the pond and is obsessed by clever, considered, beautiful typography, created digitally or by hand. A designer that will gently push each project as far as it can go, to live up to its potential. A designer who will strip away the nonessentials to make the communication as powerful as possible. But most importantly, a designer who loves, lives and breathes design.
Prior to working with Bryson Gillette, Paul was trained in branding and print design at Kingston University, London. Winning a D&AD New Blood Award led him to working at the prestigious product design agency SeymourPowell, being trained under Richard Seymour as a graphic designer alongside a breadth of talent.
Moving on to run Delivery of Thought, a small design studio for several years, working with a wide variety of clients from The Prince's Trust, Unilever, Freedom From Torture, Puma and Adidas (not at the same time!)
Paul has the skills to implement into a wide variety of projects across both print and digital. This allowed Paul the freedom to work Freelance and make the move to NYC, where he met his wife, Becky Bean. After a stint in NYC and Seattle, Paul and Becky are now settled in Becky's home-town, the wonderful Santa Barbara.
Emily Schwartz has worked at the intersection of technology, politics and policy for over a decade. Most recently, she led Uber’s global data sharing policy where she advised the company on regulatory issues regarding privacy and mobility data, and was embedded on a product and engineering team building open data products.
Prior to Uber, she ran communications strategy and international expansion for NationBuilder, the most widely used political software in the world. There, she helped the company expand from 3 to 112 countries in less than three years and expanded its footprint into the nonprofit and brand space. Emily started her career in field organizing on the 2008 Obama Campaign and has held policy positions at the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and World Trade Organization.
A proud Kansan, Emily believes deeply in the value of honest conversations and loves building and being a part of diverse and impactful teams. She holds a masters degree from the London School of Economics and currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Alex and rambunctious one year old, Jameson.
Marcos brings a robust background in speechwriting, crisis communications and political consulting to the team at Bryson Gillette. He works with a broad range of clients from law firms to political candidates to tech organizations. As a native Spanish speaker, Marcos helps connect clients to diverse communities through bilingual communications and engagement with Spanish language news outlets.
Prior to joining Bryson Gillette, Marcos completed a fellowship with the Office of the Superintendent at the Los Angeles Unified School District. During the fellowship, he worked on the crisis communications during the 2019 teacher strike and spearheaded communications for new initiatives. Marcos began his career at SKDKnickerbocker, working with congressional candidates, nonprofits and elected officials on strategic communications.
Marcos was born in Mexico, grew up in California's Central Valley and now lives in Los Angeles. He graduated from Harvard University with B.A. in Government.
Sarah Angel is a former prosecutor and long-time advocate for educational equity and reform. Most recently, Sarah served as the Chief of Staff to Los Angeles Unified School Board Vice President Nick Melvoin, where she managed a team of policy, community engagement, and communications professionals serving the over 700,000 public school students and their families in Los Angeles.
After graduating from UC Berkeley School of Law, Sarah practiced as an attorney at the Los Angeles office of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP. Her pro bono work there led to her next role as a prosecutor. After seeing too many defendants end up in court as a result of an inadequate education system, Sarah left her law practice to become a non-profit education advocate for low-income students of color in Los Angeles at the California Charter Schools Association; there, she led a team developing and executing strategic consulting for charter schools and collective action campaigns related to new schools, renewals, and facilities issues. Sarah also grew a community organizing team that coached charter schools on how to connect with their parents to improve their school communities. She began her career as a staff consultant for the California State Assembly Budget Committee, focused on health and human services. Sarah is a proud alumna of California public schools, including UCLA for her undergraduate degree and UC Berkeley School of Law.
Sarah believes in progressive values, understands how to guide transition through large, bureaucratic organizations and in the impact of change at the local level. Sarah lives with her husband, Dan Nieman, and their three school-aged children in Los Angeles. She is a proficient Spanish speaker, learned from her mom, public school, and a semester teaching algebra in Monterrey, Mexico. You can find her at cross-fit-style workouts, family trips to the beach, and singing off-key to the musical “Hamilton.”
Bill Burton is a renowned political and communications strategist who has served as a senior adviser to political leaders, corporations and nonprofits in California, Washington, D.C., and around the country. In California, Bill and his colleagues have experience consulting on political, litigation and public affairs projects of all different scales, working with everyone from individuals to some of the most recognizable brands in the world.
Bill was one of the earliest hires on President Obama’s first presidential campaign where he was the national press secretary beginning in January 2007. He served in the Obama administration as deputy White House press secretary and special assistant to the president. In that capacity, he traveled extensively, both domestically and internationally, advising the president, briefing reporters both on Air Force One and at the podium in the White House briefing room. After leaving the White House, Bill co-founded and served as senior strategist for the super PAC Priorities USA Action during President Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012.
During the 2006 electoral cycle, in which Democrats won control of the House of Representatives, Bill worked as Rahm Emanuel’s communications director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Before that, Bill served as a communications adviser to Democratic Leader Rep. Dick Gephardt, Senators John Kerry and Tom Harkin and others.
Most recently Bill has served as an advisor to Senator Amy Klobuchar's presidential campaign and has worked with leading trial attorneys to build successful messaging campaigns around important cases and issue areas.
Bill believes that a good strategy is one that has heart. He works with clients to ensure that their personal story and values are embedded into their communications and messaging.
Since 2015, Bill has made Santa Barbara his home with his wife Kelly Ward Burton and three kids, Oscar, Emma, and Miles. Bill loves playing guitar and teaching his son to play basketball.
