Key People-Former Gov. Mark Warner (D-VA)
revised Dec. 20, 2006

Forward Together PAC
201 N. Union St., Suite 350  |  Alexandria, VA
Manager Nicholas Perrins
Has worked for Warner for well over a dozen years.  President of MRW Enterprises in Alexandria, VA, responsible for asset management and the private equity portfolio.  Worked on Gov. Doug Wilder's presidential campaign.  B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Boston University.
 
 
Political Director / Senior Political Advisor Mary "Mame" A. Reiley
One Virginia PAC (Warner's state PAC) director starting in March 2003.  Director of Warner's inauguration.  General manager of WashingtonInc/Production Group International, an events planning firm in Rosslyn, 1996-2001.  Chief of staff to Rep. James P. Moran (D-VA), 1991-March 1996; has run several of Moran's campaigns.  Ran Virginia Gov. Doug Wilder's campaign in the 1992 New Hampshire primary.  Longtime member of the Democratic National Committee, where she serves as Chair of the Womens Caucus.
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Policy Advisor / Consultant Monica Dixon
(mid-2005)  Director of field communications for America Coming Together, 2004.  Consultant to the DSCC, 2002.  Deputy chief of staff to Vice President Gore, then joined the Gore-Lieberman campaign in Nashville running the war room.  Chief of staff for the House Democratic Caucus.
 
Deputy Political Director (mostly Southern states) Craig Kirby
(2006)  Previously director, Office of the Vice Chairs at the DNC.  Campaign manager on Rep. Peter Deutsch's unsuccessful campaign for the 2004 Democratic U.S. Senate nomination in Florida (started in the latter part of March 2004).  Deputy campaign manager, constituency outreach on Sen. John Edwards' campaign for the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination.  Southern political director at the DNC.
 
Northeast Deputy Political Director  Dominic Gabello
Field director for Warner's state PAC, One Virginia, from 2003-05; focused on the General Assembly races in 2003 and 2005 and the budget battle of 2004.  President of the Virginia Young Democrats since 2005 as well as serving in various roles with the Young Democrats of America, most recently as Chair of the Select Campaign Committee.
 
Western Deputy Political Director and Hispanic Outreach Marie Therese Dominguez
Partner in FieldWorks, the DC-based grassroots organizing firm; has done extensive work for the DNC mostly in the area of Hispanic voter turnout.  Director of Human Capital and Performance for Resource Consultants, Inc.  Worked on Mark Warner's 2001 gubernatorial campaign.  Regional field director for Central Florida for the Gore/Lieberman campaign and recount in 2000.Eight years in the Clinton Administration serving as Special Assistant to the President for Personnel, Deputy Chief of Staff to the FAA Administrator and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works.  Worked on the Clinton/Gore 1992 and 1996 campaigns.  J.D. from Villanova Law School.  Graduate of Smith College.
 
 
Political Outreach Kathy Lash
(2006)  Worked on Howard Dean's 2004 campaign starting in May 2003 as deputy press secretary and later doing field/political; left when her husband, Joe Trippi, national campaign manager left in Jan. 2004).  Assisted with media for Gov. Mark Warner’s inaugural.  Has worked on several congressional campaigns, including Jim Moran's 1990 election in Northern Virginia, as well as other campaigns.
 
 
Communications Director Ellen Qualls
Communications director for Gov. Mark Warner 2005-06 after serving as Warner's press secretary starting on Dec. 12, 2001 through 2005.  Previously Richmond Bureau Chief for WDBJ-7 TV in Roanoke starting in Nov. 1994; earlier served as station's first Danville Bureau Chief.  Graduate of the University of Virginia with a degree in English, 1988.
 
Deputy Communications Director Lars Anderson
(June 19, 2006)  Previously communications director to Congressman Adam Smith (D-WA), which he started in Sept. 2003.  Senior Account Executive at Fleishman Hillard.  Chief of Media Relations for the Secretary of the Air Force in New York City field office.  A NATO spokesperson in Sarajevo.  Graduated from the Air Force Academy.  From Lacey, WA.
 
 
Finance Chair Don Beyer
National Treasurer and Acting Virginia Campaign Manager on Howard Dean's presidential campaign (signed on as National Treasurer on April 4, 2003).  Democratic nominee for Governor of Virginia, 1997.  Lieutenant Governor of Virginia,1990-98.  Virginia Chair of Clinton for President, 1992; Virginia Chair of Paul Simon for President, 1987-88.  Beyer has held finance positions for numerous other Democratic party committees and candidates.  With his brother he co-manages the family business, Don Beyer Volvo in Northern Virginia.  Graduate of Williams College with a degree in Economics, 1972.
 
Finance Director Scott Darling
Co-finance director on Sen. John Edwards' leadership PAC, the New American Optimists, and then co-finance director on his 2004 presidential campaign.  Finance director on Warner's successful 2001 campaign for governor and then for the 2002 Virginia Inaugural Committee.
 
Deputy Finance Director Angelique Cannon

 
 
Internet Strategy Consultant Jerome Armstrong
Co-author, with Markos Moulitsas Zúniga, of Crashing the Gate (Chelsea Green Publishing, March 1, 2006).  Partnered with Moulitsas in doing consulting; put MyDD on hiatus for a year and consulted on Howard Dean's presidential campaign, introducing the campaign to Meetup.com and directing on online advertising and blogger outreach.  Started a grassroots Howard Dean website in May 2002.  Launched the political blog, MyDD (My Due Diligence of Politics), described as "the first major liberal political blog," in June 2001 while working as a day trader.  Did some field organizing in Portland, OR in the early 1990s.
 
Adam Conner
dep. director/blogger
Nate Wilcox
on-line communications
Nancy Scola
tech. policy
Trei Brundrett
webmaster
Pablo Mercado
deputy webmaster/programmer

 
 
Part-time Senior Advisor Jim Jordan
(reported by Hotline On Call July 12, 2006) Partner at Westhill Partners.  After the Kerry campaign Jordan started his own firm, Thunder Road Group, where he directed research, political and communications strategy for America Coming Together and The Media Fund.  Campaign manager of John Kerry for President for the first eleven-plus months, fired in Nov. 2003.  Executive Director of the DSCC for the duration of the 2002 cycle [Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), chair].  Political Director at the DSCC, May 1999-Dec. 2000 [Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ), chair].  Communications Director for Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Jan.-May 1999.  Spokesman for Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee during the 1998 impeachment hearings of President Clinton and for Democrats on the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee during the 1997 campaign finance investigation.  Communications Director for Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) in 1997.  Press Secretary for Tim Johnson's (D-SD) successful campaign for U.S. Senate in 1996.  Did non-profit fundraising.  Press Secretary to Rep. David Price (D-NC,4), Jan. 1987-88.  Jordan earned his B.A. from Hampden-Sydney College and his J.D. from University of North Carolina law school (1986).  Originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
 
 
Pollster Geoff Garin
President of Peter D. Hart Research Associates since 1984; joined the firm in 1978 as a senior analyst and vice president.  Did strategic research for Warner's 2001 campaign for governor.  Graduated from Harvard College in 1975.
 
 
Speechwriter Ben Rhodes
Special Assistant to President Lee Hamilton at the Woodrow Wilson International Center since June 2002, working closely with him on the 9-11 Commission and Iraq Study Group.  Author, with Hamilton and Thomas H. Kean, of Without Precedent: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission (Knopf, Aug. 2006).  Taught and worked in local politics in New York City.
 
 
Kenneth Baer
Founder of Baer Communications.  Deputy Director of Speechwriting for Gore-Lieberman 2000 and Senior Speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore.  Wrote on technology and telecommunications issues for FCC Chairman William E. Kennard, and served as speechwriter to his home state Senator, Robert Torricelli of New Jersey.  Doctorate in Politics from Oxford University; undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.  Author of Reinventing Democrats: The Politics of Liberalism from Reagan to Clinton (University Press of Kansas, Feb. 9, 2000).
 

Forward Together PAC is paying for:
Audra Tafoya to work for the New Hampshire Senate Democratic Caucus starting May 2006.
Most recently legislative assistant to Virginia State Delegate Brian Moran.  Research director for Allyson Schwartz's successful campaign for Congress in Pennsylvania's 13th CD in 2004.  Managed Steve Shannon's successful campaign for Virginia State Delegate in 2003.  Graduated from the University of Texas at Austin (UT) with a bachelor's degree in government, May 2003; worked as an aide in the Texas state legislature.

Courtney Dozier to work for the Iowa Democratic Party starting Aug. 2006.
Most recently deputy director of the House Democratic Caucus in Virginia.  Deputy field director for America Coming Together West Virginia in 2004.  Graduate of George Mason University.
 

also of note:
Russ Ramsey
Co-founder of Friedman Billings Ramsey, a leading investment bank based in Northern Virginia.

Nigel Morris
Co-founder and former president of Capital One Financial Corporation.
 
 
 

Copyright © 2006  Eric M. Appleman/Democracy in Action