Revolution Messaging

Courtney Sieloff

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:50:23 +0000

A WI native and Packer fan, Courtney Sieloff is an organizer, strategist, and professional connector. Previously, Courtney was the director of the V3 Campaign, a nonprofit that hoped to teach other nonprofits how to be politically active. She has spent the past ten years working for labor unions, nonprofit organizations, political campaigns and consulting firms developing strategic outreach, mobilization, communications, and fundraising plans for progressive campaigns and causes. This background serves her clients well at Revolution Messaging, as she helps them integrate text and other social media tactics into creative, high-impact campaigns.

In 2002, Courtney founded JobsthatareLEFT, a nationally recognized job bank and networking organization that serves 17,000+ progressive activists. She is also one of the founders of WIPT (Women in Political Technology). She’s very active in WIN, and is a frequent speaker, trainer, and fundraiser for progressive organizations. Courtney is a food geek (never a foodie) who spends her free time seeking out new recipes and the best reservations.

Alison Scharman

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:43:38 +0000

After studying politics and communication, Alison enjoys learning about the role of new media and technology in social movements and democracy. Alison has experience planning social-justice related events and marketing them through social media. She holds three places near and dear to her heart: the Washington D.C. area where she grew up learning about politics; Madison, WI where she enjoyed watching social media amplify a movement; and Pune, India where she blogged about her experiences working at a school for underprivileged children. She loves learning about different cultures, rooting for the Wisconsin Badgers, traveling, and finding new places to eat Thai food.

Rich Ranallo

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:43:08 +0000

Starting out on the web design and social media departments of President Obama’s campaign, Rich periodically strove to get some dirt under his fingernails by moving to the trenches in battleground states of the Midwest. He’s done field work on campaigns from Indiana’s farm country with SEIU’s Change that Works to Chicago’s bungalow belt for Congressman Mike Quigley; from Northeast Ohio auto plants to the inner city of Saint Louis, MO for President Obama. Rich comes to Revolution Messaging with a balance of new media skills and the ground-level political knowhow with the goal of making technology speak to the average voter. Prior to working in politics, Rich served as vice president of finance for Chicago-based consulting startup XIG Networks. He has been a freelance web developer, writer and graphic designer. He also makes very good hash browns.

Sam Lozier

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:42:31 +0000

Originally from the Midwest, Sam comes to Revolution Messaging with a vast experience of campaigning in state, local, and federal elections. Most recently as the Press Secretary for Roxanne Conlin’s U.S. Senate bid in Iowa. During this stint he was also heavily involved in new media strategies and focused on delivering the campaigns message through a variety of platforms. In addition to his political experience he has spent many hours behind the wheel of a tractor working with his family on their farm.

While hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains is a favorite activity, it is Wisconsin football that really gets him going. You can find him most weekends in the fall watching the game or looking for the most recent update on the Badgers.

Jen Lotze

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:41:32 +0000

Jen comes to Revolution Messaging with a strong background in communications, political strategy and community action. At Jobs with Justice National, she utilized new and traditional media to bring together labor unions, student activists, faith groups and community organizations to fight for workers rights. She was a translator and tutor at Hogar de Cristo, one of Chile’s largest non-profit organizations. In 2010, she worked at American University aiding students with campus event planning and resource management. Jen looks for any opportunity to practice her Spanish and Mandarin skills, including get-togethers to watch telenovelas.

Kayla Klein

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:41:07 +0000

Kayla Klein has worked on new media projects for a number of not-for-profit organizations. She was the Online Mobilization Coordinator for the V3 Campaign – a project of DC Central Kitchen’s Robert Egger. She enjoys all aspects of politics and worked as a Field Organizer for a Virginia congressional race and most recently for Benenson Strategy Group. While working at BSG, a polling and consulting firm, Kayla was involved in every aspect of the public opinion surveying process, including candidate and issue research. Kayla is always in the mood for a good book or cheering on her Red Sox.

Kate Kennedy

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:40:36 +0000

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Kate joins the Revolution Messaging team after serving as the New Media Director for the We Are Ohio campaign. In her time at We Are Ohio, Kate and the new media team worked to promote the campaign’s message through various outlets of social media and came up with creative ways for workers’ rights supporters to become online activists, many for the very first time. Before her time at We Are Ohio, Kate worked at the Ohio Democratic Party as the Deputy New Media Director. Kate studied Political Science at James Madison University, and spends her spare time cheering on her Ohio State Buckeyes, much to the dismay of a majority of the office.

David Holtz

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:39:46 +0000

David Holtz is a self-taught print and screen designer and developer who was acting Creative Director of Liberation Media, a web design firm that focused on full scale web sites for the music industry. During his 10 years at Liberation Media, David conceptualized and designed web sites for the bands Avenged Sevenfold, Bad Religion, NOFX, The Offspring, Rise Against and Social Distortion, as well as record labels Fat Wreck Chords and Vagrant Records.

David met Scott Goodstein in 2004 when he was commissioned to design the Punk Voter web site. Scott and David became friends through their love of punk rock and politics. When Revolution Messaging was looking for a Creative Director, David came aboard.

Gabe Hammersmith

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:39:15 +0000

Gabe Hammersmith brings ten years of IT management experience to Revolution Messaging, where he has found a niche as the resident Linux guru. His career thus far has been energized by a passion for user-friendly, transparent, free software. He has lead several large-scale migrations to open source software and continues to be an enthusiastic member of the Free Software Foundation. He enjoys vegan food, heavy metal and riding his bicycle around his native city of Grand Rapids, MI.

Walker Hamilton

admin — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 15:38:47 +0000

Walker Hamilton was a programmer at Obama for America during the 2008 campaign. He has also been the digital director for a US Senate campaign, assisted in re-launching Columbia College Chicago’s web presence, taught programming and web development courses at Columbia College Chicago, and run a small web development and consulting company.

Walker has spoken at Roosevelt University, Columbia College Chicago, and various technical meet-ups and conferences from Seattle, WA to Washington, DC. You can also catch him on the Roller Derby (Flat) Track.