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Meet Our World Class Instructors

In addition to the NOI staff members who teach in our program, we're proud to feature some of the top talent as instructors in the New Campus.

New Campus instructors aren't just pulled off the street - they're progressive practitioners with a track record of excellence and a reputation for innovation. We work closely with each instructor to ensure that their presentations are lively, engaging and tailored to meet YOUR needs. We're proud to introduce them to you! As we add more courses, we'll add more instructors, growing the resources we can offer you. Here, in no particular order, are the great people who make up our e-faculty!

Susan Markham: Director of Women's Participation, NDI

Susan Markham has served as the Finance Director for the Ohio Democratic Party, as Executive Director of Participation 2000 (a multi-candidate political action committee) and Campaign Manager for four statewide campaigns. She also acted as Director of Senate Services at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Susan joined EMILY's List in 2005 to manage its Campaign Corps program and later the Political Opportunity Program (POP) and the Training Department. In 2007, she was named Deputy Political Director. Most recently, Susan worked as a Senior Strategist at the Campaign Workshop where she consulted for the Child Nutrition Initiative, California List, and the New Organizing Institute.

At the National Democratic Institute, Susan and her team help women acquire the tools necessary to participate successfully in all aspects of the political process.. These programs create an environment where women can advocate on matters of policy, run for political office, be elected, govern effectively, and participate meaningfully in every facet of civic and political life.

Doug Hattaway: President and CEO, Hattaway Communications

Doug Hattaway has worked as a communications specialist in politics, government and policy advocacy for more than 20 years. Both in government and as a consultant, he has provided communications counsel, message development and media relations to national leaders such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen. He has lectured on strategic communications at Harvard University, Cornell University, Emerson College, Northeastern University and other institutions in the U.S. and overseas. He holds a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University and a M.A. in English from the Florida State University.

Amy Huffman: VP of Management Training, The Management Center

Amy previously served as Vice President of Communications at Teach For America, where she grew media coverage by 127% percent during her tenure. She also led the training of Teach For America's campus recruitment team as applications grew 36% percent. Prior to Teach For America, Amy worked at ABC News, where she helped launch multiple digital media initiatives, and at The Walt Disney Company, in their strategic planning group. She holds an M.B.A from Harvard Business School and a B.A. in economics from Harvard University.

Amy is currently the Vice President of Training at The Management Center, which is dedicated to helping non-profits achieve better results through strong management practices.

Ethan Fletcher: Vice President of Client Services, The Management Center

Ethan brings to his work with clients a diverse professional background in progressive politics, business strategy, and entrepreneurship. Ethan worked in national politics for several years, first at polling firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and later as a targeting and redistricting analyst at NCEC and an Election Day special consultant for CNN.

At McKinsey & Company and Peterson Worldwide, he built valuation and pricing models to help companies assess options and formulate strategy. After law school Ethan co-founded and later served as CEO of UpGuppy, a social media startup. He holds a J.D. from Yale Law School and a B.S. and B.A. from Tufts University.

Ethan currently serves as the Vice President of Client Services for The Management Center, which is dedicated to helping non-profits achieve better results through strong management practices.

RJ Bee: Associate, Hattaway Communications

RJ brings a unique combination of expertise in political communications, policy research and media relations. He has worked as a communications consultant for international organizations, political campaigns and clean energy companies, including the US Agency for International Development, National Democratic Institute, Betty Castor for US Senate, New England Clean Energy Council and Viridia Energy.

RJ has also helped create and execute communications plans for large technology companies, including HP and CA. RJ holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Chicago and a BA in Political Science from The Ohio State University.

Apollo Gonazales: Director of Social Advocacy, NRDC

Apollo Gonzales is the Director of Social Advocacy for the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Director of Online Strategy for the NRDC Action Fund. Apollo provides campaign strategy to over a dozen programs, on campaigns ranging from Mountaintop Removal Mining to Toxics Reform.

He is tasked with the mission of moving online advocates from one click activism to super activism, and bringing traditionally siloed institutional experts' voices to the blogosphere.

Regina Schwartz: Director of Outreach and Training, The Analyst Institute

Regina Schwartz is the Director of Outreach and Training at the Analyst Institute. She has been with the Analyst institute for three years and in her current capacity she has conducted dozens of trainings across the United States on scientifically proven methods for increasing voter turnout and creating more effective political communications strategies.

Regina is passionate about sharing best practices to encourage and facilitate civic engagement. Prior to joining the Analyst Institute Regina worked in the Washington Office of Kirsten Gillibrand. She has also worked as a field coordinator and has had experience with a number of progressive organizations and campaigns. Regina graduated from Harvard University with a BA in Social Studies

Kathryn Poindexter: Strategist, Stones' Phones

Over the last ten years, Kathryn Poindexter has worked on campaigns of all shapes and sizes: local and national, electoral and organizational, candidate-focused and issue-based. As an entrepreneur in Colorado, Kathryn developed a model of campaign consulting for resource-limited state and municipal candidates. With a fresh approach to technology and an original take on print materials and direct mail, Kathryn was able to help progressive candidates in tight races run creative and effective campaigns on a shoestring budget.

Kathryn is currently a strategist at Stones' Phones, working with electoral and advocacy campaigns to shape strategy and find the best way to reach a target audience through innovative technologies and sharp messaging. Her past experience as a mail consultant, a media consultant (MacWilliams Kirchner Sanders and Partners) and a pollster (Lake Research Partners) gives her a well-rounded background and a unique perspective.

A Colorado native, Kathryn studied Philosophy and Women's Studies at Tulane University's Newcomb College. She was voted Manager of the Year by her wiffleball league, the first recipient and only woman eligible for that honor.

Shuya Ohno: Deputy Director of Communications, National Immigration Forum

Shuya Ohno joined the staff at the National Immigration Forum in Jan. 2009 as the Deputy Director of Communications. In the past 18 months, he has traveled to over 20 states around the country to assist and train local organizations in advocacy and campaign communications.

Before joining the National Immigration Forum and the Reform Immigration For America Campaign, Ohno served as the Director of Communications at the MA Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. Before devoting himself to communications in immigrant rights, Ohno managed a successful citywide City Council campaign in Boston, MA for the first Asian-American to run for elected office in the city of Boston.

Talia Borodin: Senior Analyst, Catalist

Talia serves as senior analyst at Catalist, where she has built many nationwide models currently being used by the majority of progressive political organizations, including the Catalist 2010 Vote Propensity model.

In 2003, Talia moved from Canada to Washington, DC, to work for IBM Business Consulting Services. While working at IBM, Talia took a week off to volunteer in Ohio in the 2004 presidential election. Walking in the rain for hours on end, having doors slammed in her face, Talia couldn't help but feel there had to be a better way.

Fast forward 3 years and Ms. Borodin is working for another government contractor using data mining to detect fraud when she is recruited by Catalist to put her data mining and analytics skills to use in politics. Kismet she thought, and quickly joined the team.

Talia has a Masters degree in Mathematics and 7 years experience in analytics and data mining. In addition to her work at Catalist, Talia is a frequent speaker at the Analyst Institute and other political organizations.

Daniel Mintz: Campaign Director, MoveOn.org

Daniel Mintz is a Campaign Director at MoveOn who works on economic and financial reform campaigns. He also directs MoveOn's research and analytics efforts. He's worked with MoveOn since 2005, and in 2006, was responsible for creating MoveOn's Support Corps--a group of 200 supervolunteers who responded to more than 45,000 requests for tech support during the midterm elections.

In 2008, Daniel ran the advertising contest "Obama in 30 Seconds," and headed MoveOn's merchandising efforts, distributing more than 8 million t-shirts, stickers, buttons and posters.

Greg Greene: New Media Outreach Manager, Democratic National Committee

Greg Greene is the new media outreach manager at the Democratic National Committee, where he works with blogs and online-only media outlets as part of the communications team. Greg has held new media positions at the National Democratic Institute and Blue State Digital, and has worked in communications on federal and local campaigns and as a state-level advocate for progressive causes. A non-practicing attorney, Greg enjoys cooking, indie music and long walks in the woods.

Alex Cole: Director of Advocacy, Hattaway Communications

Alex Cole is the Director of Advocacy with Hattaway Communications. Alex has conducted message research and development, branding and advocacy campaigns for a wide range of clients including the Ford Foundation, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, CARE, Service Employees International Union, American Federation of Teachers, MassEquality and Acumen Fund.

In 2008, Alex served as Communications Director for the Harry Teague for Congress campaign, which won a come-from-behind victory for a U.S. Congressional seat. He worked as the West Coast Director for Democracy Matters, an organization advocating for stronger campaign finance laws. Alex also worked on Capitol Hill for Congressman Marty Meehan. Alex holds a B.A. from Vassar College and a Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Brent Blackaby: Co-Founder and Partner, Trilogy Interactive

Brent Blackaby is a co-founder and partner at Trilogy Interactive, a leading online strategy consulting firm for progressive campaigns and causes. At Trilogy, Brent serves a wide range of political and non-profit clients, including Senators Barbara Boxer, Dick Durbin, Patrick Leahy, and Patty Murray.

Brent began his work at the intersection of politics and technology in 2003 as a leader of the netroots-driven Draft Wes Clark movement. He went on to serve as Clark's online fundraising director during the 2004 presidential campaign. After the Clark campaign, Brent co-founded Blackrock Associates, where he has worked on dozens of high-profile U.S. Senate, ballot initiative, and other statewide campaigns. Campaigns & Elections Magazine selected Brent as one of their 2009 "Rising Stars" in politics.

Prior to his time in politics, Brent worked in senior technology marketing roles, as a product marketing manager for E*TRADE, and as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company in San Francisco. Brent graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Economics.

Michelle Stephenson: State Legislative Sales Manager, NGP Software

Michelle Stephenson developed NGP's state legislative and down ballot sales program, and currently works as the State Legislative Sales Manager.

Prior to joining NGP, Michelle served as the Political Opportunity Program (POP) Assistant for EMILY's List, the second largest political action committee in the United States. In the 2007-2008 Election cycle, Michelle provided on-the-ground strategic guidance to over 40 state and local candidates and helped to organize 27 campaign trainings throughout the country.

A native of Michigan, Michelle delved into her first campaign in 2003, working as a fundraiser for an environmental and consumer rights advocacy group. After graduating from Michigan State University in 2006, Michelle was accepted into the EMILY's List Campaign Corps program. Michelle was assigned to the Jennifer Brunner Committee where she worked as the Deputy Finance Director in a successful effort to elect the first female Secretary of State in Ohio.

Jason Rosenbaum: Senior Online Campaign Director, PCCC

Jason Rosenbaum is an activist, organizer, blogger and musician. He started political life at the blog The Seminal. After working in the online shop at Health Care for America Now for two years and helping to pass health reform, he is now a Senior Online Campaign Director at the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

Julia Rosen: Online Campaign Director, PCCC

Julia got her start in politics working for Common Cause in D.C., following her graduation from Vassar College with a degree in American Culture. She moved out to California to work for the Alliance for a Better California, then later served as the Online Communications Director for Working Californians.

Julia went on to work as the Online Political Director for the Courage Campaign, splitting her time between trying to fix California's broken government and advocating for LGBT equality nationally. While at Courage she worked on both the Prop 8 campaign and No on 1 in Maine. She was the primary lead on the Prop 8 Trial Tracker and the Testimony: Equality on Trial. She recently joined the Progress Campaign Change Committee as their Online Campaigns Director. In addition to her work at the PCCC, Julia is an editor at Calitics and an occasional contributor to Crooks and Liars. She also currently serves as a trainer for the New Organizing Institute.