Grassroots Campaigns, Inc. National Leadership Staff

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Wes Jones
Vice President and National Canvass Director
Washington, DC

A native of the Atlanta suburbs, Wes cut his political teeth as a college intern with the Georgia Democratic Party in the early 1990’s. After graduating from Tulane University, he spent 8 years managing canvasses for issue-based advocacy groups. He helped qualify a campaign finance reform initiative in California, managed the inaugural outreach campaigns of two new state-level environmental groups, and pioneered a “street canvassing” program for Greenpeace USA. Two years of life under the Bush White House were enough to bring him back to the electoral world, where uses the strategies he developed to build non-profits to help the Democratic Party create a lasting majority and change at the ballot box.

As GCI’s National Canvass Director, Wes works with clients to develop programs that meet their needs and with staff to put canvassing plans into action. He has been with GCI since its inception and helped build the DNC’s grassroots canvass-based fundraising program in 2004. Wes particularly enjoys teaching campaign and fundraising skills to first-time canvass directors at GCI’s national trainings and helping people develop their potential as political organizers.

Jon Scarlett
National Field Director
Boston, MA

Jon currently serves as one of two National Field Directors for GCI, coordinating organizing efforts on behalf of MoveOn.org Political Action. His first political work was as an undergraduate at U.C. Berkeley, where he got involved in campus politics and worked with Congressman Ron Dellums. After graduating in 1983 with a degree in Economics, he spent 20 years working in the environmental movement, including 12 years as Operations Director for a national canvass network. The attraction of partisan politics finally became too great during the 2004 election cycle, and he joined the GCI team to help oversee projects with the DNC and MoveOn. He enjoys supervising the enthusiastic staff on Move On. org Political Action's "Operation Democracy" field team and helping to create the conditions for a "change election" this fall. During his career, he has helped raise more than $100 million in grassroots contributions.

Sue Moran
Vice President
Boston, MA

Sue graduated from Oberlin College in 1998 with a degree in Political Science. Sue has worked on outreach, advocacy, and fundraising campaigns for numerous progressive organizations including the State Public Interest Research Groups, the Human Rights Campaign and the Sierra Club.

Clayt Freed
National Director & Director of the Progressive Voter Network
New York, NY

Clayt is one of our national Field Directors. He joined Grassroots Campaigns, Inc. in 2005 with eight years of issue campaigns and organizational leadership under his belt. Most recently he served as the Executive Director of a Minnesota advocacy organization working to reform higher education policy. Clayt has pioneered testing and development of organizing strategies for local activist networks and has helped establish a variety of groups on the local and national level. His activism and rabble rousing started in student government at the University of Wisconsin during his freshman year and serves him well in his current role as Director of the Progressive Voter Network.

Kama Suddath
Field Director
Denver, CO

Kama is a Field Director currently planning our 2008 get out the vote campaign. Kama left a successful legal career, convinced that returning to direct grassroots organizing was the most effective way to change the direction of the country. Kama started organizing in 1992 on environmental issues with the PIRGs, went to law school and joined the bar, and worked as an attorney specializing in cases against toxic polluters. Kama worked on a major case (Antolovich, et al. v. Brown, et al.), representing a class of over 1000 citizens against a polluter that had released a river of toxins into their neighborhood. Kama was also primarily responsible for cases against Conoco and the United States Air Force for toxic releases. Although she enjoyed litigation, Kama realized that corporate polluters have far more resources than those who challenge them in court. She came to GCI intent upon changing the political playing field through organizing. Kama works directly with our staff to implement electoral and issue campaigns in the field. She develops regional strategy and provides ongoing field training and staff development. Kama played a key role in coordinating get-out-the-vote campaigns to take back Congress during the Fall of 2006.

Erin Casey
Recruitment Director
Philadelphia, PA

Erin worked as a lead organizer with the Progressive Voter Network prior to working on the recruitment team. Erin first joined the world of political organizing in 1999, as a graduate of Green Corps, a field school for environmental organizing. She continued to work in the environmental community as a political organizer and fundraiser until 2004 where she worked as a national partner coordinator with the New Voters Project. She joined Grassroots Campaigns in 2005 to help build the progressive infrastructure and engage citizens in political process.

Lindsay Harkins
Recruitment Director
Boston, MA

Lindsay got her start at Grassroots Campaigns in 2005 after graduating from Skidmore College with a degree in social work. She was involved in women’s issues activism on campus and was looking for a way to make a national impact. She has spent time in the Boston canvass office and played a major role as a Recruiter in 2006, getting ready for the midterm elections by hiring the best field team.

Working with MoveOn.org’s Call for Change campaign in 2006 as a Field Organizer she was involved in recruiting and training hundred of volunteers out of the Chicago office, who in turn made millions of phone calls. The major win in 2006 was a great start, but not nearly enough. She returned to Boston to continue her work in the National Recruitment Department. Since then she has taken the role of National Recruitment Director leading the charge to bring on the best experienced campaigners and college graduates to join the ranks for 2008! She is a native New Englander and cannot wait for November.

Sarah Marini
Recruitment Department
Boston, MA

Sarah started her work with Grassroots Campaigns after graduating from Pomona College in May of 2006 with a degree in Anthropology. In 2004, Sarah studied abroad in Kenya and was unable to play an active role in the election. GCI gave her the opportunity to get involved in the 2006 election - winning back Congress and putting this country back on track!

During the summer of 2006, she worked in the Boston Central office, recruiting talented leaders to run campaign offices nationwide. In the fall, Sarah moved to Portland, Oregon, to work as a Field Organizer on the MoveOn.org project Call for Change, which successfully restored the Democratic majority in Congress. Her work recruiting, training, and motivating volunteers further solidified her commitment to grassroots organizing as a mode of change in this country and deepened her desire to make even more happen this November. Currently, Sarah is working in the National Recruitment Department in the Boston Central Office ramping up for an incredible Presidential Election Year!

Bill Sprong
Finance Director
Boston, MA

Bill oversees the Finance Team which performs a number of accounting, administrative, analytical and cashiering functions. He is a lifelong Bostonian with extensive financial experience in the high tech, banking and equipment leasing industries. He credits the Bush administration with providing him with the motivation to join Grassroots and the world of political activism in 2007.

Bill is a Dartmouth graduate who also holds an M.B.A. degree from Boston University, as well as Red Sox season tickets.