photo of Jen O’malley Dillon

Jen O’malley Dillon

Co-Founder & Partner
Precision Strategies

Jen is a veteran organizer, campaign manager and pioneer in the use of data analytics to target voters and consumers. She most recently served as Deputy Campaign Manager for President Obama’s reelection campaign, overseeing the largest field organization in the history of presidential campaigns, voter protection and education programs, and political outreach, and leading the development and use of data analytics to target, register, persuade and mobilize voters. As a Partner at Precision Strategies, Jen has taken her years of experience managing top political campaigns and applied it to corporations, causes, and campaigns both in the United States and abroad. From the early days of his then come-from-behind bid for Prime Minister, Jen served as the lead consultant to Justin Trudeau and the Liberal Party of Canada, providing strategic guidance and support on a range of issues, including data-driven organizing, capacity building and plotting the party’s path to victory. His victory became one of the biggest moments in Canadian political history. In 2009, President Obama named Jen as his first Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee, where she served with Chairman Tim Kaine until she left for the 2012 campaign. Jen raised and managed an annual budget of over $100 million and built the largest DNC operation in its history, housing Organizing for America staff in all 50 states, and building the Party’s first and most robust data, analytics, and technology infrastructure, which became the foundation of President Obama’s re-election campaign. She also served as the National Co-Chair of the 57th Presidential Inauguration and was President of the Democratic National Convention Committee, where she oversaw the early planning, timing, and location process, leading to the selection of the host city. She currently serves on the executive board of Organizing for Action, President Obama’s issue advocacy organization. In 2010, Jen was named to TIME’s 40 under 40—and, in 2012, to Fortune’s 40 under 40 Electors, which called her a “field organizing whiz.” In 2008, Jen worked as the 2008 Obama campaign’s Battleground States Director, where she helped usher in President Obama’s 365 electoral votes, winning all but one of his contested battleground states. Jen managed the largest grassroots organization in presidential history with over 5,000 staff on the ground and built the first-ever in-house analytics team focused on targeted voter contact, resource allocation, and program efficiency. Jen has served on five presidential campaigns and worked at every level from State Senate and Mayoral races to Congressional, Gubernatorial, and Senate campaigns. Additional campaign highlights include Deputy National Campaign Manager and Iowa State Director for the 2008 presidential campaign of Senator John Edwards, Campaign Manager for Jim Davis’ 2006 Florida gubernatorial campaign, Deputy Campaign Manager for Senate Majority Leader Senator Tom Daschle’s re-election campaign in 2004, and Field Director for Senator Tim Johnson’s 2002 victory by 524 votes, which was the closest race in the country. She has also worked on behalf of non-profit and private organizations from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, to the Children’s Defense Fund, to serving as the Associate Director of Personnel for the 2008 Presidential Transition Team for President Obama.



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Programming descriptions are generated by participants and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of SXSW.

Events featuring Jen O’malley Dillon
Events featuring Jen O’malley Dillon