Obama 2012
General Election Campaign Organization, Maryland
Obama for America/Organizing for America
MARYLAND
| Obama
Main
Page
(page
revised
April 17, 2013)
...for
additions,
corrections
and
other
changes
contact
facebook
| twitter |
state
page
In July 2012 Obama for America Maryland merged with the Maryland Democratic Party to form the Maryland Victory 2012 Coordinated Campaign. This page is different than the other state organization pages which mainly show Obama for America/Organizing for America staff (directors, deputy directors and RFDs). The listing below includes some of the top volunteers upon whose efforts the campaign was built. Although Maryland was one of the most uncompetitive states in the presidential campaign, it was a key export state, initially focusing on Pennsylvania and Virginia and then completely on Virginia. According to the campaign, in the second half of 2012 Maryland volunteers made 4.5 million calls to Virginia and knocked on 626,000 doors.
Obama for America State Director Jason Waskey
(July 2009) Special assistant to Secretary of
State John P.
McDonough,
2007-09. One of five founders of OFA-MD in 2007-08 and a near
full-time volunteer on the
Obama Maryland campaign in 2008. Degree in American studies from
University of Maryland College Park, 2005.
Senior Aide to the Obama State Director
Simone Lavine
(Aug. 2012) Student at Pitzer College in Claremont, CA. Started as a campaign volunteer in Claremont, and then was a Summer Organizing Fellow in Maryland from May-August before she was hired as senior aide.
Coordinated Campaign Executive Director
David
Sloan
Experience includes political director of the Maryland
Democratic Party
in the 2010
cycle and media events
coordinator in Gov. Martin O'Malley's press office.
Deputy Coordinated Campaign Director Matt
Verghese
Political/communications director for Maryland
Democratic Party from
Jan. 2011. Deputy political director during 2010 cycle.
Master's
in public policy from University of Maryland College Park.
Ben Cardin Campaign Director Shelly
Hettleman
Hill staffer
for then-Rep. Cardin from 1987-1991.
B.A. in political science from Northwestern University.
Field Director Lilla Weinberger
(March 2012; promoted from the campaign in
California) Regional field director for
OFA in Sacramento during the 2010 midterm elections. Owner of
Readers' Books in Sonoma, CA, 1991-2010. B.A. in comparative
literature from UC Berkeley.
Deputy Field Director
Chuck Cook
(Aug. 2012) Real estate agent on the Lower Shore since Oct. 2009. Regional field director for the Maryland Democratic Party, Jan.-Nov. 2010. Java developer/report manager at BarNone, 2006-09. Degree in computer science from Salisbury University, 2006. Served in the U.S. Army and Maryland Army National Guard.
Deputy Field Director
Anthony Jones
Sen. Ben Cardin's state field manager in 2011 before
the Cardin
campaign merged into
the Maryland Coordinated Campaign. During the 2008 cycle Jones
served on the political staff at the DSCC. B.A. in political
science from Morgan State University.
Data Director Laila El Gohary
(March 2012) Initially digital strategies
director. Freelance
communications consultant in Bahrain, 2010-11. Account executive
at Hill & Knowlton, 2009-10. B.A. degrees in political
science and philosophy from The American University in Cairo, 2009.
Deputy Data Director Jamie Shopland
(Aug. 2012) Initially regional digital lead,
Oct. 2011-May 2012,
then regional data lead. Project manager for Unison Site
Management, 2007-12. Paralegal, legal assistant, 2004-06.
Training administrator at Lockheed Martin/Aspen Systems Corporation,
2001-04. Operations agent at BAX Global, Inc. 1999-2001.
B.A. in Law &
Society
from Hood College, 2012; A.A. in general studies from Frederick
Community College, 2009.
Deputy Data Director Rebecca Newman
(Aug. 2012) Student in political science at
University of
Wisconsin-Madison. Started as a member of the Students for Obama
executive board at UW-Madison, serving as director of outreach,
2011-12, and worked as a field organizer in Wisconsin before returning
to Maryland.
Operations Director Jon Randall
(Aug. 2012) Education policy and nonprofit
advocacy
consultant. Organizing for America regional lead
for Montgomery County, 2009-12 volunteer. Full-time
volunteer on
2008 Obama campaign in Bethesda, MD.
Operations Assistant Martha Steinbock
(Aug. 2012) Retired in 2009 from the U.S.
Department of
Agriculture
and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations after
30 years as an economist dealing with international and national
agricultural scientific issues and policies. Canvassed in Ohio
during
the 2008 campaign.
Voter Protection Director Amanda
LaForge
Communications
Director Isaac Salazar
Finance Director Bob Fenity
Deputy Finance Director Andrew
Lee
Scheduling and Advance Director
Wiltina Wilson
Scheduling and Events Director
Emily Barkdoll
MDP Data Director Mike Biggs
MDP Compliance Director Meredith
Bowman
MDP Deputy Political Director
Brandon Cloud
MDP Staff Assistant Betsy Dudley
MDP Staff Assistant Toni Byrd
Volunteer Recruitment
Specialist Clare White
(Aug. 2012) Full-time volunteer for the Obama campaign in New
York City
and Boulder, CO, 2007-08. OFA at DNC, recruitment and recorded
all
robocalls for OFA and DCCC, and polling for OFA Analytics
(2009-10).
M.A. in drama from the University of Toronto.
Deputy Volunteer
Recruitment Specialist Jennifer Hosey
(Aug. 2010) Researcher/biographer to (retired) Bolivian Minister,
2009-12. Sen. Ted Kennedy’s foreign policy and defense intern,
2008. Chanukah on the Ellipse organizer/assistant to
Chabad Emissary, 2007. B.A. government and politics from
University of Maryland College Park, 2007.
Director of Special
Projects Robert Yochem
(Sept. 2011) Started as data director for
Organizing for America
in Jan. 2010. Yochem helped lead volunteer organization efforts
for the Obama Maryland campaign in 2008. Research specialist at
Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine.
Political
Advisor Bill Romani
Candidate for Maryland House of Delegates District 46 in the Sept. 14,
2010 primary. Associate professor at the University of Maryland
School of Medicine.
Ph.D. in education from
University of Virginia; M.H.A. from Cornell University; B.S. in
physical therapy from University of
Delaware.
Messaging Director Michael
Buckley
White House Liaison Michael
Novelli
Summer and Fall Fellows Manager
Sara Lemke-Von Ammon
(March 2012; also served as GOTV Overnight Canvass
Coordinator) Moved from being volunteer on the campaign in
Northern California. J.D. from Northwestern University
School of Law, 1983; A.B. Occidental College, 1979.
Regional Fall Fellows Manager
Sharon Jones
(May 2012) Started out as an Organizing Fellow, then became the
Fall Fellows manager for Howard and Prince George's Counties and
served as a GOTV Overnight Canvass Coordinator.
Regional Fall Fellows Manager
Jerusalem Demsas
(July 2011) Fall Fellows manager for Montgomery County and
regional data lead for Prince George's County and the Eastern
Shore. Before and during the campaign, Demsas was a high school
student who entered her senior year at Richard Montgomery High School
in Fall 2012.
Regional Field
Directors
Western Maryland & Montgomery
Up-County Alexandra Smith
(Aug. 2012) Initially an Organizing Fellow for Obama campaign
from Jan.-May 2012 and regional data lead from May-Sept. 2012.
Elementary teacher for Teach for America Corps, June 2009-July
2012. M.A. in teaching from Johns Hopkins University
2011; B.S. in political science and international business from Olivet
Nazarene University 2009.
Anne Arundel & Howard County
Amanda Pleasant
(Aug. 2012) Started on campaign as a Summer Organizer and Fellows
manager. Degree in government and politics from the University of
Maryland College Park, 2012.
Eastern Shore Andrew Kastner
(Aug. 2012) Started working on the campaign as a Spring
Organizing Fellow, then worked as regional data lead until being hired
as regional field director. B.A. in psychology from Dickinson
College, 2010.
Baltimore Metro Andrew Mallinoff
(Aug. 2012) Before starting as a regional field director,
Mallinoff served as an OFA intern in Spring 2011, Fellow in Fall
2011-Spring 2012, and Fellows manager in Summer 2012. Student in
government and politics at the University of Maryland College Park.
Greater Silver Spring &
Bethesda/Chevy Chase Ashwani Jain
(Aug. 2012) Started as a volunteer with the Obama campaign in
2007, and has served in various roles including Maryland student
director
and Summer Fellows manager. B.A. degrees in political science and
business management from the University of Maryland.
Southern Maryland Brian Kemmet
(Aug. 2012) Logistics coordinator for Sen. Barbara
Mikulski. Regional field coordinator for Gov. Martin O'Malley
during his 2010 re-election campaign. B.A. in political
science from Salisbury University.
Prince George’s County Leathia
West
(Aug. 2012) Started out as an Organizing Fellow in June 2011,
then served as a regional lead. Thirty years experience as a
psychotherapist and
art teacher. ...registered
more
than
1,300
high
school
students
as
new
voters
and
implemented the Barber Shop and Beauty Salon Program.
Baltimore City Shiara Fayson
(Aug. 2012) Extensive organizing and canvassing experience
including volunteer coordinator on Rawlings-Blake for Baltimore,
March-Sept. 2011; regional field director for the Maryland Democratic
Party, June-Nov. 2010; field organizer/recruiter on Bill Halter for
Senate (AR), May-June 2010, office director for the For Maryland
Campaign, June-Nov. 2008; field organizer on V.I.P. Voting is Power
campaign in MS/LA, Jan.-May 2008; and petition
circulator/canvasser/team lead on a couple of campaigns in Ohio in 2006
and 2007.
Field
Organizers
Prince George’s County Eva Lewis
(Sept. 2012) Started as a Summer Organizing Fellow in June 2012.
Litigation associate in Chicago, 2009-11. Peace Corps
volunteer in Benin, 2004-06. J.D. from Northwestern Law, 2009;
B.A. in
economics from Spelman College, 2004.
Baltimore Metro/Baltimore City
Britney Lomax
(Aug. 2012) Bachelor's degree in political science, English from
University of Alabama, 2009.
Regional
Leads
Western Maryland Boyce Rensberger
For more than 40 years before retiring Rensberger
was a newspaper reporter and editor, mainly for the New York Times and Washington Post, specializing in
science, medicine and the environment. Master's degree in mental
health communication from Syracuse University; bachelor's degree in
zoology and journalism from the University of Miami.
Montgomery Up-County Lori
Plazinski
Out-of-state volunteer on the 2008 campaign travelling
to eight states (IA, SC, DE, MD, VA, WV, PA, CO). Experience
includes MCtime project (electronic timesheet system) program
manager for
Montgomery County Government. Degree in psychology,
personnel and labor relations from University of Maryland College
Park.
Anne Arundel Dennie Martin
In
2009 started up and managed OFA operations in the 1st CD. Managed
a Maryland office for Obama in the 2008 campaign.
Howard County Mary Marker
Teacher/reading specialist for Howard County Public
Schools 1979-2012. M.S. in special education and reading from
Johns Hopkins 1983; B.A. in early childhood education from University
of Maryland College Park 1978.
Eastern Shore Carl Widell
Chief operating officer at Development Equity Associates, Inc.
from Jan. 2010. CFO at Network Technologies International, Inc.,
2004-09. President of Ventel Telecommunications, Inc,
1999-2004. President of Widell Software Company, 1984-97.
A.B. and B.A. degress from Princeton University. Author of "How
to Debate Your Republican Relatives."
Baltimore Metro
Chris Lines
Producer at Between The Lines films since 2008. M.A. in mass
communications/media studies from Towson University, 2001.
Baltimore Metro
Kathleen Miller
Pledged delegate to Obama in 2008 and 2012.
Greater Silver Spring Neeta Datt
Started with Organizing for America in Feb. 2011 as constituency groups
team lead for Montgomery County, and later area teams advisor and issue
team lead. Hub director at the Obama-Warner campaign office in
Midlothian, VA in 2008. President of WeGreen USA, Inc., a
non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the carbon footprint,
greenhouse gases and environmental pollution, from Dec. 2008.
Owner/operator of a graphic design business, 2000-08.
Bethesda/Chevy Chase Jon Heintz
Formerly lived in Los Angeles from the mid-1990s to 2007.
Southern
Maryland Lewis Powell
A co-founder of Maryland for Obama, 2008.
President and CEO of Antiok Holdings Inc. from March 1998-present.
Prince George’s County April
Jordan
Baltimore City Hope M. Williams
Special assistant to Rep. Elijah Cummings.
Worked for the Mayor's Office of Baltimore City
leading the Cleaner Greener Baltimore Initative, 2007-10. B.A.
biology from Hood College, 1993.
Maryland Democratic Party
+
Chairman Yvette Lewis
(announced as acting chair on May 12, 2011)
Founder and director of “So This is Opera,” a program that
introduces young audiences to the world of opera
in performance, workshop and residency settings. Lewis is also a
lyric
soprano. Almost fifteen years
experience as an elementary general music teacher in the Baltimore City
and Montgomery County, Maryland
Public Schools. Staff assistant
at
the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Mus.B. from
Howard University.