U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp served as the first female senator elected from North Dakota from 2013 – 2019. She is the founder and Chair of the One Country Project, an organization focused on addressing the needs and concerns of rural America.
Tom Perez '83 is the current Chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He served as Secretary of Labor in the Obama Administration.
Michael Steele made history as the first African American elected to statewide office when he was elected Lt. Governor of Maryland in 2003; and again with his subsequent chairmanship of the Republican National Committee in 2009.
Tessa Gould served as Senator Heitkamp's chief of staff for six years, and campaign manager in her upshot 2012 race. She has managed 8 congressional campaigns – all in red states in middle America. She lost 1. She has also worked on Presidential and statewide races. She currently advises politicians and their campaigns across the country and is a partner of a public affairs & government relations consultancy firm.
Jeff Sadosky, who is currently a partner at a D.C.-based government and public affairs firm, is a veteran of five GOP presidential campaigns and a number of gubernatorial and senate runs, all in senior communications roles. After getting his start working for President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign, Sadosky has served as spokesperson and a communications strategist for Senators Rob Portman, Kay Bailey Hutchison, John McCain and Mike DeWine, state parties, and super PACs, including the super PACs supporting Marco Rubio’s presidential and senate campaigns in ’16.
Libby Schneider is the Rural Political Director at the DNC, spearheading outreach and mobilization efforts in rural communities across the country. Prior to joining the DNC, Libby served as Deputy Campaign Manager for Congressman Earl Pomeroy in 2008, Special Adviser to U.S. Senator Kent Conrad from 2009 to 2012, managed a Democratic Gubernatorial race in 2012 and, most recently, worked in the official office of U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp before managing her re-election race.
