How Elizabeth Warren Built Her Grassroots Army

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In 2012, consumer advocate and Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren built the strongest grassroots digital program in Senate history. The Massachusetts Senate campaign raised more money from small-dollar online donors than any Senate campaign ever, and built an online-to-offline field program that knocked on more doors than any other campaign in Massachusetts history.
Key members of Senator Warren’s campaign leadership will discuss how they built this historic digital grassroots program, what made their program different from other campaigns, and explain lessons learned for 2014 campaigns and beyond.

Presenters

Amanda Coulombe

Statewide GOTV Dir

Elizabeth Warren for MA

Amanda Coulombe has spent more than a decade working in field and get out the vote (GOTV) operations on local, state, and national campaigns. Most recently she served as Statewide GOTV Director for both Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Ed Markey in her home state of Massachusetts.

Amanda is also the Product Director for the Field and Volunteers organizing product at NGP VAN, the leading technology provider to Democratic and progressive campaigns and organizations. For the last five years, she has worked with national and international clients to improve and develop new features that help progressive candidates maximize NGP VAN's organizing product to win in the field. Amanda believes strongly in marrying new technology with traditional organizing best practices to achieve efficient, grassroots driven field campaigns.

Lauren Miller

Digital Dir

Elizabeth Warren for MA

Lauren Miller is a senior director at Bully Pulpit Interactive, the largest digital marketing firm of the Democratic Party. Lauren advises much of the firm’s political work, in addition to overseeing broader communications and fundraising programs.

During the 2012 election cycle, Lauren served as digital director for Elizabeth Warren’s Senate campaign, overseeing all online communications, fundraising and organizing. The Warren campaign raised approximately $21 million online – the most of any Senate campaign in history. Lauren then spent three months in Senator Warren's Washington office, helping to set up her official government website and online presences. Lauren continues to manage Senator Warren’s ongoing online communications and fundraising strategy.

Prior to joining the Warren campaign, Lauren spent more than six years at Blue State Digital, the political technology and consulting firm best known for its work on BarackObama.com. As the director of online communications, Lauren helped develop online advocacy, fundraising, outreach and social media programs for more than 100 campaigns and nonprofit organizations, including the Democratic National Committee, Senator Ted Kennedy, the American Red Cross and the NAACP.

Mike Firestone

Field Dir

Elizabeth Warren for MA

Mike Firestone has worked on state and national campaigns for more than a decade, particularly for progressive and women candidates. Most recently, he served as Field Director for Elizabeth Warren’s winning U.S. Senate campaign in Massachusetts.

Mike believes in interdisciplinary, grassroots campaigns that harness new technologies and social media tools to engage in traditional person-to-person voter contact. He has previously worked for Hillary Clinton, President Obama, Governor Deval Patrick (D-MA) and U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). From 2009-2010, he served as a Legislative Aide for Senator Shaheen working on federal spending, unemployment, workforce and economic development issues. Mike has also worked on consumer protection litigation and in the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General. He is in his final semester at Harvard Law School and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Mindy Myers

Chief of Staff/Campaign Mgr

US Senator Elizabeth Warren/Elizabeth Warren for MA

Mindy Myers is an experienced leader with a successful record managing tough Senate races. During the 2012 campaign cycle, she managed Elizabeth Warren's historic Senate campaign in Massachusetts, and currently serves as Senator Warren's Chief of Staff.

Myers managed the winning 2010 U.S. Senate campaign of Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who overcame his opponent’s record-breaking spending of more than $50 million. In 2008, she served as New Hampshire State Director for the Obama campaign. In 2006, she managed Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s first campaign, helping him defeat a popular Republican incumbent in a race critical to Democratic control of the U.S. Senate. When Sen. Whitehouse won, she became his Chief of Staff until joining the Warren campaign.

Myers also worked in the Legislative Affairs Office of President Bill Clinton, as Senior Advisor for Tom Daschle, and as Deputy Director for Constituency Outreach for Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign.