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DFA Campaign Academy Agenda

Jackson, MI           April 24^th-25^th 2010

Saturday

Sunday      

Training Presenters

Matt Blizek – Field, Planning and Online Organizing

Matt was born and raised in rural Iowa and first got involved in politics at the University of Iowa.  In 2001 he managed his first campaign in an attempt to elect a UI student to the Iowa City Council.  Not long after he was elected Vice-President of the student body where he fought against radical tuition hikes, corrupt apartment management companies and police harassment on campus.

Matt spent the 2004 election cycle fundraising for the DNC and doing GOTV for MoveOn.org.  In 2006 he was selected to join Russ Feingold’s Patriot Corps program and was deployed to Montana where he did Field Organizing for Senator Jon Tester.

Matt is currently the National Field Director at Democracy for America; for the last three years Matt has managed a national training program for Democratic activists and candidates.  Since joining DFA he has organized over 56 campaign trainings in 31 states, training over 3,000 people to become better activists, campaign staff or candidates.

 Kendra-Sue Derby- Field

Over her career, Kendra-Sue Derby has fought for progressive causes and candidates. She focuses her work on administrative and field activities. Most recently she was Senior Consultant to the Jon Tester for Senate and Montana Democratic Party. She also worked at Alliance for Justice from 2001 through 2006 as the Director of Field Operations. She trained thousands of activists and campaign employees when she worked for The Ron Brown - Paul Tully Institute for Political Action and as an independent contractor. Kendra has worked on campaigns of all sizes, ranging from City Council to Presidential, including the 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004 Democratic presidential campaigns. In 2004 she ran the Democratic Party of Oregon’s coordinated campaign. Kendra currently resides in Denver.

Don Weigel- Communications

Don Weigel began organizing in college, running a non-partisan voter registration drive and founding the College Democrats.  After college, he helped coordinate the first-ever full-ticket campaign for city council, efforts which elected only the second Democrat in over twenty-five years.  In 2006 Don served as deputy executive director and then in 2007 and 2008 as the executive director for the Democratic house caucus in Colorado helping expand their majority by four seats and organizing their incumbency protection program. Don has served as a press secretary, communications director, and campaign manager to a handful of congressional candidates in New York and Alabama.

Anastasia Apa - Finance

Anastasia Apa is a political management and fundraising consultant who has traveled the country for the past eight years to help Democrats build the strongest campaigns possible.  She has worked at the local, state and federal level in the Southern, Midwestern and Eastern part of the country. Apa focuses on fundraising and planning because she believes a solid plan and the money to implement it is the way to a win.  She is based in Miami, Florida and runs a campaign staffing network which trains, retains and places experienced campaign operatives on races.

More Trainers To be announced soon!