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DGA Announces Senior Staff

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Washington, DC—Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Elisabeth Pearson announced that the DGA had filled out its senior staff roles for the 2015-16 cycles. Full bios of each staffer are below.

“The DGA has put together an experienced and well-rounded team to lead our efforts in the upcoming elections,” Pearson said. “We face a challenging map through the 2016 elections, but I’m confident that we can continue to build on our fundraising and political efforts from the last few years and compete strongly—even in traditionally Republican states.”

DGA Senior Adviser: Kevin O’Brien

Kevin most recently worked as Deputy Chief of Staff to Montana Governor Steve Bullock. He previously served as Campaign Manager to Bullock for Governor. Prior to that, O’Brien served as the Director of Communications for the Montana Department of Justice and primary spokesman for the Attorney General. O’Brien has also been a communications aide to the Montana Democratic Party and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester. O’Brien is a native of Chicago, and he attended Illinois State University.

DGA Communications Director: Jared Leopold

Jared Leopold served as Communications Director for Senator Maria Cantwell for four years, where he developed messaging strategy on efforts to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, pass the Farm Bill, and extend the Violence Against Women Act. He has also served as a communications adviser on Cantwell’s 2012 re-election campaign, as Deputy Communications Director at the DSCC, and as Campaign Manager for Cal Cunningham’s U.S. Senate race in North Carolina. Jared previously worked on gubernatorial, senatorial, congressional, state legislative and initiative campaigns around the country. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and a native of Philadelphia.

Finance Director: Noam Lee

During the 2014 cycle, Noam directed the DGA’s major donor program. Prior to joining the DGA last cycle, Noam served as the Southern Finance Director at the DSCC and has raised money for campaigns across the country including then Majority-Leader Harry Reid’s 2010 re-election. Noam is originally from Tempe, Arizona, and is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis.

DGA Policy Director: Kwame Boadi

Originally from Ghana, Kwame Boadi grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, and brings several years of experience in campaigns and policy development to the DGA. Most recently, Kwame worked as a direct mail consultant at Mack-Sumner Communications during the 2014 cycle, developing campaign messaging and providing strategic guidance to various campaigns and labor unions across the country. Kwame holds a B.A. in political science and economics from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in international relations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

DGA Digital Director: Gavrie Kullman

Gavrie Kullman has over 10 years of direct response fundraising and communications expertise. He has raised millions of dollars from grassroots donors for political committees, non-profit and advocacy organizations and Democratic candidates, including the DGA, DSCC, League of Conservation Voters, the Democratic Party of Virginia, USO, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Mark Warner, Governor Terry McAuliffe and Congressman Paul Hodes.  Gavrie hails from Laguna Hills, California, and holds a B.A. in Political Science from University of California Riverside.

Previously announced:

DGA Executive Director Elisabeth Pearson

Elisabeth Pearson most recently served as the Political Director of the DGA, where she led the effort to protect Democratic incumbents and expand the map to as many races as possible. She also worked closely with targeted campaigns across the country to develop winning strategies. In 2011 and 2012, she served as the DGA’s Campaign Director. During her time at the DGA, the DGA was able to elect new Democratic Governors in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Washington, Montana, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico, while protecting incumbents in states like Kentucky, West Virginia, Connecticut and Colorado.

Prior to her work at the DGA, Elisabeth was Deputy Political Director at the DSCC during the 2010 cycle.  She has also worked on multiple campaigns in Virginia including Warner for Senate, Kaine for Governor and Wagner for Lt. Governor.  Elisabeth lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband and 1-year old son.  

DGA Political Director: Corey Platt

In the 2014 cycle, Corey Platt was the Campaign Director at the Democratic Governors Association, working with candidates and campaigns across the country. Prior to joining the DGA, Corey was the National Field Director at the Service Employees International Union during the 2012 election cycle, managing their $35 million Presidential campaign program. Corey previously spent over a decade managing and working on races for Congress, Senate and Governor across the country, including directing the coordinated campaign for Robin Carnahan’s 2010 Senate campaign, managing Kay Barnes for Congress in 2008, and prior stints in Missouri, Pennsylvania and Arizona. Corey lives in Washington by way of Atlanta with his wife and motorcycles.