More Staff

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Yaser Ahmed, Client Services Associate

As a member of BSD's Client Services Team, Yaser helps our clients develop, deploy, and manage their online initiatives. Before joining BSD, Yaser was a project manager at Ashoka Innovators for the Public, where he produced Web sites and managed the development of online initiatives and programs, including a new constituent relationship management database. Yaser has also worked as a consultant for various government and commercial clients, providing business intelligence to improve their operations.

Yaser hails from Ohio and received a B.S. in business administration and management information systems from the Ohio State University. It is no surprise then that he is an avid football fan. Yaser currently resides in Washington, DC, where he spends his spare time frequenting the hot spots that the District has to offer.

Cameron Corda, Content Development Manager

Cameron heads up BSD's California offices from San Francisco. He is our most expert user of the BSD content management and user-generated content tools, and spends his days immersed in the software, looking for new ways to creatively use its capabilities for our clients.

Cameron joined BSD in 2005. Prior to that he was an early BSD client, leading Web site development for America Coming Together (ACT). He studied at UCLA, the school with the most national championships in the country, and is a fervent Bruins fan, which occasionally gets him in trouble in the Bay Area.

Risa Emmling, Production Associate

Risa develops Web graphics, video, site plans, and information architecture documents for BSD client Web sites during the planning and implementation phases. She previously worked as a freelance graphic designer, animator, and video editor.

Born in Naples, Italy, Risa holds a B.F.A. in digital art and animation from George Mason University. She is a Redskins fan, a camper and hiker, and enjoys Washington's live music scene.

Russ Fagaly, Strategist

Russ specializes in online outreach, research and strategy at Blue State Digital. He joined BSD in early 2008 after working on the research staff at the John Edwards for President campaign. Before that he worked as a research analyst at Wal-Mart Watch, a consumer watchdog campaign that challenged the world's largest retailer to become a better employer and corporate citizen.

Russ holds a B.A. in history and political science from the University of California, Davis. He is originally from coastal San Diego, California. His ideal evening involves a spicy burrito and watching his beloved Padres defeat the Dodgers.

Naomi Geller, Advertising Strategist

Naomi designs rich media campaigns including video and social networking and is expert in creating branding initiatives.

In the three years prior to joining BSD Naomi planned rich media campaigns at Beyond Interaction, a leading digital marketing firm based in New York. Clients Naomi has worked with include: Nokia, Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy and Royal Bank of Scotland.

Naomi holds a B.S. in Communication Studies from New York University and is currently working towards her M.A. in Media Studies at New School University.

Nicole Haber, Strategist

Nicole works with BSD's strategy team to serve a diverse client base. Primarily a copywriter, Nicole works to implement creative online communication strategy in media including email, web page content and blogs. In addition to preparing content, Nicole contributes to the overall message plans and research that BSD performs for clients.

Prior to joining BSD, Nicole wrote emails and worked as an online organizing associate for the Hillary Clinton for President campaign. She also served as Deputy Finance Director on the Eric Massa for Congress campaign. Additionally, she worked for Congressman Steve Israel and Senator Charles Schumer.

Nicole hails from New York and holds a B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University.

Chuck Hagenbuch, Software Engineer

Chuck founded the Horde Project in 1998 and has been working with PHP in the world of Web development ever since. He has provided professional PHP services to many prominent PHP-using organizations, including Google, PayPal, and Portugal Telecom.

Leigh Heyman, System Administrator

Leigh ensures reliable performance, security and sustainable growth for the company's technological infrastructure. His expertise covers most aspects of UNIX system management, and he approaches his role with the holistic view developed from years of experience, including infrastructure design and network security.

Before coming to Blue State Digital, Leigh was a system administrator at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, where he was a member of the team that designed and built an innovative computing and networking infrastructure for the Frank Gehry-designed Stata Center.

Leigh holds a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College. Outside of work, he is a two-time U.S. national champion in rowing . He referees ice hockey in the wintertime and also enjoys golf, sailing, and movie trivia.

Alex Kellner, Strategist

Alex performs online strategies for a variety BSD’s clients. He is one of the firm’s primary content creators, writing blog posts, emails and other web content. Additionally, Alex executes innovative online outreach and messaging plans, research and other strategic goals for a variety of issues and along multiple channels.

Prior to joining Blue State Digital, Alex was a research assistant at The Institute of Politics, Democracy & the Internet focusing on issues in e-government and digital leadership. He also worked at Verizon’s PolicyBlog, Gannett Corporate Communications, The AARP Bulletin, Microsoft and Rep. James McGovern’s office. Alex has written for several publications including, Euonymous: an E-Anthology of First-Year Writing and the Politics and Technology Review, and has edited many others.

Alex holds a B.A. in political communications from The George Washington University and will complete a M.A. in political management from G.W. in December 2008. Originally from Central Massachusetts, Alex is an avid Boston sports fan and enjoys cooking and arguing about politics in his spare time.

Doug Kenney, Senior Client Manager

With 15 years of marketing and sales experience, Doug began his career at CNN.com, then moved to TNT/TBS Sports, where he managed investments of Universal, Sony, Paramount and others in major league media properties such as NFL, NASCAR, NBA, and MLB. He established the Los Angeles office for the online entertainment company AtomFilms/Shockwave, where he helped pioneer modern "branded entertainment" with original short films and video games funded by Ford Motor Company. For the last seven years, Doug consulted for the word-of-mouth marketing agency New Media Strategies, where he developed Web 2.0 campaigns for clients such as Dodge, Jeep, HBO, NBC Sports, Sony, Levi's and others.

Doug is a native of Winnetka, IL, a graduate of Hamilton College and has a passion for cause-driven "social entertainment." He co-produced the global music documentary, "Playing For Change: Peace Through Music," which premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. In connection with the film, he helped establish the PFC Foundation (http://www.playingforchange.com), which completed its first "connected" music center for children in the Township of Guguletu outside of Cape Town, South Africa.

Lowell Kitchen, Software Engineer

Lowell draws on his many years of experience to help maintain and develop the BSD Online Tools. For almost a decade, Lowell has taught technology courses and worked with technology firms to develop award-winning Web sites. His experience includes Web development for several higher-education institutes, nonprofits, and for-profit companies.

Lowell studied computer science at the University of Georgia before moving to Massachusetts. All of his spare time is spent tending to a tropical greenhouse in his backyard.

Ian Koski, Senior Strategist

Ian joined Blue State Digital in February 2008 after three years as the founder and creative director of On Deck Communication Studio, where he crafted communications strategy and developed web sites for a variety of Democratic campaigns and causes.

Ian's experience in politics is complimented by seven years of work as a journalist at newspapers in New York and Pennsylvania. His clips include coverage of politics, education, as well as college and professional sports. He has also worked for The Performance Institute, a nonpartisan think tank committed to improving government performance; the Highbridge Horizon, a bilingual community newspaper in New York's South Bronx; and the Daily Times, a newspaper in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Ian's sports reporting continues today on the web site NationalsPride.com - an independent, fan-published news and opinion web site covering the Washington Nationals baseball team. A big baseball fan, Ian founded the site with some friends in 2005.

Ian has published several articles on online campaigning in several reports and journals and is a contributing author to the book "Getting Results: A Guide for Federal Leaders and Managers." He has a bachelor's degree in communication from Villanova University and a master's degree in political management from the George Washington University. He lives in Arlington, Virginia.

Dave Leichtman, Technical Project Manager

Dave helps plan and manage custom technology development projects for our clients. He has extensive experience with online communities and project development as well as an extensive technical background. Previously, he was vice president of a Web consulting firm that helped universities and small cities create online communities. He has also served as an assistant to the Vice President for IT at the University of Oklahoma, and as director of online communities there and at William and Mary.

Dave is an active Arlington Democrat and is very active in Virginia politics. He was a head volunteer organizer for the Webb for Senate campaign and continues to spearhead volunteer organization efforts in Virginia. He holds a B.S. in physics, computer science, and mathematics from William and Mary, and a M.S. in physics from the University of Washington.

Matthew McGregor, BSD London Director

Matthew joined BSD in September 2008 to set up our London office. He has over ten years experiences of political campaigns, both in party politics and in advocacy campaigning.

Matthew's experience includes work for Ken Livingstone's 2008 Mayoral campaign, for trade justice advocates War on Want, for TULO, the coalition of Labour supporting Trade Unions, and others. In 2006-7, Matthew managed Jon Cruddas' deputy leadership campaign, which won Channel 4's prestigious 'Political Campaign of the Year' award. He has worked with campaigns in Sweden, France and America. As well as running online campaigns, Matthew has extensive press experience, developing media strategies for campaigns. He has had articles published in the Guardian, FT, Independent Mirror and New Statesman among others.

Matthew holds a B.A. from the University of Sheffield. Although he enjoys work, he'd always rather be watching Norwich City.

Bob McKee, Software Engineer

As a Web developer for Blue State Digital, Bob aids in developing and maintaining the company's software, as well as deploying that software to clients.

Bob was a web developer for BobVila.com, a site that delivers information relating to the home-improvement guru, Bob Vila. There, he developed systems to manage the vast library of articles, videos and other web-based tools that are used by millions of site visitors each month. For one of his projects there -- the "Paint Designer," a Flash-based web application -- Bob received Macromedia's "Site of the Day" award.

Bob graduated from New England Institute of Art in Boston, and he is also a metal guitarist.

Lauren Miller, Senior Strategist

If you subscribe to progressive e-mail lists, chances are you've read Lauren's work. Since joining BSD in 2005, Lauren has developed online communications, outreach and social networking programs for dozens of clients, including the DNC, Wal-Mart Watch, Americans United for Change, and Senator Ted Kennedy. In addition to serving as BSD'S chief copywriter, Lauren develops copy and programs for BSD clients on social websites like Facebook, Myspace and YouTube.

Previously, Lauren served as State Volunteer Coordinator for the California Democratic Party, and worked in their communications department during the 2004 election cycle. She holds a B.A. in political science and Middle Eastern and North African studies from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Rich Mintz, Director, Nonprofit Fundraising & Membership

With almost 20 years' experience in direct response marketing programs across a range of channels, Rich provides senior program support to BSD's Strategy Team from the company's New York office. He leads most of BSD's largest nonprofit fundraising and membership programs in the academic, health care, and cultural spheres, including annual fund and membership program development.

In the past, he has provided direct response program and Internet application consulting to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Wesley Clark's 2004 Presidential campaign, the Clinton/Gore campaign, First USA Bank, Monsanto, Schlumberger, and dozens of other programs and institutions. He was a co-founder of NetResponse, an Internet professional services firm that was acquired by iXL, Inc., in 1998; and of BusyTonight, a search engine technology development company in New York. From 2001 to 2004, he owned and operated Peachtree Highway Books, a neighborhood bookstore with a national direct response program in the historic Candler Park neighborhood of Atlanta.

Rich holds an A.B. degree from Harvard College and lives in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, in a brick apartment building converted from a historic brewery.

Murali, Production Manager

Murali oversees much of BSD's design and creative work. He draws on over seven years of experience in Web-related ventures at firms including Mobilestop.com, Strax and Inecta.

Prior to joining BSD, Murali was a producer/composer at Audacity Recording, where he developed original music for television and radio. He also worked as a program associate at M+R Strategic Services. At M+R, he analyzed the efficacy of Internet campaigns for clients such as Tobacco-Free Kids and Oxfam America and helped develop optimization strategies.

Murali holds a B.A. in music composition from New York University. He is a published composer and a competitive cyclist.

Craig Nuttall, Software Engineer

As a web application developer, Craig draws on his many years of experience in producing dynamic web tools to leverage the latest technologies and produce useful and interesting applications.

In 1995, Craig co-founded NetWay Internet, a regional Internet services provider. There, he oversaw most aspects of the day-to-day business with a heavy focus on technology, until the corporation was sold in 2004. Craig also volunteered for phpBB, a popular open source project, and eventually became a Team Leader.

Craig holds B.A. degrees in both computer science and philosophy from the University of Massachusetts. Originally from Norton, MA, he still participates in several open source projects, enjoys most sports and is an avid computer gamer.

Andrew Paryzer, Client Manager

Andrew helps develop, launch, and manage new online strategic initiatives for BSD clients from our growing New York office. He draws upon his past experience managing political campaigns and working as the director of accounts and sales at Basex, a technology research firm.

Andrew grew up in New York City. He left to obtain his B.A. in history from Pomona College and then to work on political campaigns in New Jersey, Iowa and Florida. He is happy to be back in New York, helping BSD grow.

James Pepin, Software Engineer

James came to BSD from PCF Inc., where he was Senior Web Software Developer working to build everything from Web 2.0 applications to high performance multi-threaded server applications designed to integrate SAP R/3 with legacy systems using Microsoft's .NET platform in a mixed Windows/Unix environment.

James holds a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Fordham University in the Bronx, N.Y.

Rachielle Purvis, Production Associate

Rachielle designs and develops Web and MySpace content for BSD clients. She has been creating Web sites and user interface functionality for almost a decade, since the day her father brought home copies of Photoshop and Dreamweaver and she got hooked. Before joining BSD in 2008, she owned and operated AquaBoogie Design Studio, where she earned a reputation for bold, aesthetically pleasing design and clean, functional code.

Rachielle is an accomplished cook in her spare time; for many years, she aimed to open a restaurant, and she still might.

Seth Reznik, Client Services Manager

At Blue State Digital, Seth's responsibility is to launch new projects and maintain relationships with our clients. Prior to BSD, Seth served as a project manager at Kintera, Inc., helping national and international organizations to meet their fundraising and volunteer goals. He also worked in the online communications and fundraising department at America Coming Together, where he coordinated Internet operations in over fifteen state offices and assisted in Web site design and online messaging strategy.

Seth has a B.A. in economics from Northwestern University, and originally hails from New York. Outside of the office, he develops his own web designs and operates a documentary film production company.

Andrew Rothman, Strategist

Andrew executes online strategies for BSD's diverse set of clients. As one of the firm's primary copywriters, Andrew develops content on a wide range of issues for multiple channels, including email, blogs, and Web sites. He also contributes to the creation of innovative online outreach and messaging projects that promote engagement and participation among the general public.

Prior to joining Blue State Digital in January 2007, Andrew worked at the San Diego Union-Tribune. Before that he served as the associate editor of Jest, a political and social satire magazine. Andrew hails from New Jersey and holds an A.B in political science from Duke University.

Katelyn Sabochik, Senior Strategist

Katelyn manages overall client relationships for a variety of BSD strategy clients, providing strategic advice, creative campaign development, online marketing plans, and analysis.

Prior to joining BSD, during the 2006 election cycle Katelyn worked at the AFL-CIO, where she designed and implemented an online communication program to identify union activists and engage them in a wide range of online and offline activities to help elect union-endorsed candidates at all levels of government. Previously, she worked as a consultant with M+R Strategic Services, where she helped progressive nonprofit organizations create, implement and analyze the results of online advocacy and fundraising campaigns.

Katelyn is originally from Denver and holds a B.A. in politics from New York University.

Adam Shapiro, Online Media Associate

Adam helps us develop search engine optimization, online advertising, and social media campaigns for our clients. Previously, he worked at AOL Music and the National Association for Environmental Management. He will graduate from the George Washington University in 2009 with a B.A. in political science and economics.

Mark Skidmore, Director of Advertising

Mark provides the BSD Strategy Team and our clients with insight into search engine optimization, pay-per-click and other online advertising models, social media, and rich media initiatives.Previously, Mark managed Nike's European search marketing campaigns across 10 countries. Other brands Mark has worked with include Neiman Marcus, Juicy Couture, Michael Kors, Ferragamo, and the Mei Moses Fine Art Index. In 2006 Mark co-founded VENTwork.com, a white-label social networking platform, where he led business development, and online marketing.

He holds a B.A. in fine arts from New York University and is a Google-certified advertising professional.

Dan Slimmon, Junior Linux Administrator

Dan came to BSD in June of 2007, after graduating from Wesleyan University with degrees in physics and mathematics. In college, he worked as a physics research assistant, building intuition on an OpenMosix research cluster, and as a computer lab technician. Through these experiences he developed a deep interest in Linux and computer internals, and ended up spending a lot of his free time not partying like a normal college student but honing his skills with Linux. By the time he came to work for us, he had become an adept Linux user, and since then his administration ability has continued to grow at quite a clip.

When not messing with computers, Dan can usually be found playing his favorite video games, which include the Mario Kart and Mega Man series and Super Metroid. He has also been known to irritate and confound his coworkers by putting some, shall we say, unconventional rock on the office speakers.

Chris Stelmarski, Strategist

Chris oversees BSD's video production services. It's his job to find newand creative ways to communicate our clients' messages visually, and the videos he's developedfor clients like Americans United for Change, Wal-Mart Watch, and Ken Livingstone for Mayor have received hundreds of thousands of views online, and have been featured on major news outlets like CNN, MSNBC and the BBC.

Prior to joining BSD in January 2007, Chris worked in the communications department of Sherrod Brown's winning Senate campaign in Ohio. Among his responsibilities were producing campaign videos, managing the campaign's information systems, advancing events and staffing the candidate and his wife. Born to a military family in Germany and raised in Ohio, Chris currently attends American University, where he is completing his B.A. in political science.

Jessica Steward, Senior Program Manager

With over 12 years of experience in technology and services marketing and project management, Jessica is responsible for defining the product direction and strategy for the Blue State Digital Online Tools . She is also responsible for cultivating and maintaining the partnerships and alliances that complement Blue State Digital solutions. Jessica comes to Blue State via Adobe Systems (by way of Macromedia and Allaire) where she provided project management and product marketing expertise in a variety of areas including product development, developer solutions, partner programs, training, and support.

Jessica has a Bachelors degree in Management from Chatham College in Pittsburgh and is working on a certificate in Dispute Resolution from UMass Boston. In her spare time, she volunteers with the Big Sisters Association of Boston and works on the board of the Greater Boston chapter of Soroptimist International developing programs that benefit women and girls locally and around the world.

Derek Stewart, Director of Business Operations

Derek is a newly hired member of the BSD Washington office. Derek recently graduated from the University of Vermont with a degree in political science and a background in finance. While attending school Derek was running a residential electrical company out of Burlington, Vermont called Specialty Lighting and Electric which focused on high-end residential remodels.

Derek oversees the administrative responsibilities of the DC office. He also keeps track of the company's finances, reporting, auditing, and forecasting. In the next few months Derek will be taking over BSD's HR department as well. When he's not working you can find him golfing at one of the area courses or checking out the National Zoo.

Matt Thompson, Client Services Manager

Matt helps plan, develop, and deploy online initiatives for BSD's clients. Prior to joining BSD, Matt managed the Federal Highway Administration's Knowledge Sharing Initiative, which included the development and deployment of knowledge management websites. Matt has also worked with the Department of Health and Human Services to strategize and implement their department-wide Enterprise Architecture.

Matt is a native Upstate New Yorker with a B.S. in integrated science and technology from James Madison University. When not working, he likes to go camping on the Maryland shore, check out live music, snorkel, and play the guitar.