Who We Are

Alex is the Director of Policy & Research at The Hub Project, where she supports the research and policy needs for The Hub’s advocacy campaigns, and helps to develop strategy for new and ongoing campaigns. Prior to joining The Hub Project, Alex was Policy Counsel on the Economic Justice team at the National Partnership for Women & Families, where she focused on state and federal policy on paid sick and safe days, pregnancy discrimination and accommodations, sexual harassment, and paid family and medical leave. Originally from Philadelphia, she has been in the District for 15 years and enjoys traveling, reading, and running on The National Mall. Alex is a proud graduate of Georgetown University and American University Washington College of Law.

Amber is the Senior Manager, Partnerships & External Affairs at The Hub. Amber has spent the majority of her career doing progressive advocacy work, having previously worked at the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center and on numerous progressive campaigns. Amber is from Baltimore, MD and graduated from the George Washington University with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. When she’s not working, Amber can be found singing, trying new DC restaurants, and hanging out with her rescue dog, Pepper!

Arielle is the Associate Director of Policy and Research at The Hub where she manages the research supporting campaigns to ensure that people in America can fully and freely participate in our democracy.

Before joining The Hub, Arielle worked as a policy analyst at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights where she helped to manage the organization’s policy advocacy on education, health care, and anti-poverty issues. Arielle started her career at the Youth Service Opportunities Project where she coordinated community service programs for youth and school groups to volunteer with the unhoused and food insecure populations in New York City.

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Arielle earned her Master of Public Policy degree from George Washington University and holds a bachelors degree in political science from Boston University. In her free time, Arielle enjoys traveling, and when she’s not doing that, you can catch her exploring DC’s awesome food scene.

Arielle is an associate director of communications at The Hub, where she leads communications strategy and media outreach for a number of campaigns. Prior to joining the team, Arielle worked as a director at Derris for nearly a decade, advising nonprofits, startups, global companies and public figures on brand and communications strategy. During her tenure at Derris, Arielle led several clients teams in messaging development, media relations and crisis management. She also ran the company’s internal media training practice, preparing spokespeople for broadcast appearances, off-screen interviews, and speaking engagements. A California native, Arielle began her career interning at FRONTLINE PBS in the Boston area, where she graduated from Tufts University with a double major in sociology and community health. During her free time, Arielle can be found dancing, hiking, or eating cheese.

Arkadi is the founder of The Hub Project and its Executive Director.

Prior to launching The Hub, Arkadi was senior vice president for campaigns and strategy at the Center for American Progress and the Center for American Progress Action Fund. In that capacity, Arkadi managed the American Progress advocacy arm and oversaw policy teams focused on gun violence, court reform, and public lands.

Prior to joining CAP, Arkadi was the senior director for policy, partnerships, and public affairs at Opower (a clean energy company that has been acquired by Oracle). There, he led a team focused on regulatory research, government outreach, and partnerships.

Before Opower, Arkadi served as special adviser and first deputy criminal justice coordinator to New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, where he managed the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition (now Everytown for Gun Safety). During four-and-a-half years in the mayor’s office, Arkadi oversaw the coalition’s growth to more than 600 mayors, led successful campaigns to influence federal legislation, partnered with Wal-Mart to develop a landmark gun-seller code of conduct, and led New York City’s undercover investigation of out-of-state gun shows.

Before joining the Bloomberg administration, Gerney worked as a litigator at WilmerHale and as a partner in a political consulting firm.

Arkadi lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Nancy and their three children.

Barion is the Creative Director at The Hub Project. He manages a team of designers, editors and contractors who produce videos, websites, live streams and a variety of other digital products. The Creative team is responsible for ideation, production and delivery of content optimized for distribution across multiple social media platforms. Barion also manages the distribution of content to our online partners and works closely with our paid media, comms and campaign teams.

With 20 years of production experience, Barion’s client list includes MTV, BET, MSNBC, TVOne and Aspire. He also co-founded theGrio.com and was Associate Producer of the Oscar nominated documentary Tupac: Resurrection.

Barion joins The Hub from Harlem, NY and is a proud native of Newark, New Jersey. He studied radio, television and film production at Rowan University and is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Outside of the office, Barion loves traveling, film and music festivals, cooking and spending time with family and friends.

Bre (Breanne) is the Director of Campaign Strategy & Operations at The Hub Project, working on The Hub’s campaigns to engage national and state partners to integrate communications, research, digital, and paid tactics on the important policy conversations of the day. Prior to The Hub, Bre was a member of the Outreach and Campaigns team at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, working with hundreds of partners to protect safety net programs and stand against budget and tax proposals that give away trillions of dollars in revenue, worsening inequality. Bre also was a Fellow for the Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality and served in the Missouri State Senate as a Policy Fellow. Bre holds a master’s degree in social work from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor’s degree in social work from Olivet Nazarene University. Bre is a proud Midwesterner and streaming enthusiast. When not binging the latest album, audiobook, show or podcast, she can be found trying a new dish in the kitchen, practicing yoga, solving Sudoku puzzles, or exploring the DC area with her spouse.

Bryan is the Senior Director, Polling & Analytics at The Hub Project, where he oversees the design, management, and analysis of all qualitative and quantitative research projects to inform messaging for a variety of issue advocacy campaigns. Bryan also serves on the pollster team for Navigator Research, a public opinion research collective designed to better understand the American public’s views on issues of the day and provide messaging guidance to progressive advocates, elected officials, and other interested parties to make and win policy arguments. Prior to joining The Hub Project, Bryan previously served as a research manager at Illuminas, a boutique market research agency, and was responsible for conducting qualitative and quantitative studies for clients in the technology, non-profit, and education industries. He started his career at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, advising numerous Democratic political candidates, progressive issue advocacy groups, and non-profit organizations. Originally from central Texas, Bryan studied government at The University of Texas at Austin. He currently lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife Lesley and his cat Alex.

Brynna Quillin is the Associate Director of Digital Content at The Hub Project where she focuses on economic campaigns. Her work has spanned roles with political campaigns, campaign committees, media startups, and progressive organizations. She specializes in content strategy, digital organizing, influencer and partnership engagement, and driving conversations online. Brynna previously worked as a Consulting Partner with the DigiGeeks Collective, advising nonprofits on digital strategy, and as the Deputy National Mobilization Director at the DCCC, helping to build their first-ever digital mobilization program during the 2020 cycle. She is an alum of Senator Cory Booker’s presidential campaign, American Bridge 21st Century, AmpliFire News, March For Our Lives, Hillary for America, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Wendy Davis for Governor and Battleground Texas. Brynna received her Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard Kennedy School and Bachelor of Arts from University of California, Berkeley (Go Bears!). Brynna is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, but her family calls Austin, Texas home now. Outside of work, Brynna loves playing music (guitar, piano, and saxophone), going to concerts, traveling, and cheering on Bay Area sports teams.

Carter is the Digital Associate at The Hub Project, where she digitally organizes advocacy groups to strengthen our democracy and achieve racial justice for communities of color.

Prior to joining the Hub, Carter worked as a Digital Organizing Intern at NextGen America during the 2020 general election cycle. Carter worked in email and SMS campaigns that urged young people in 11 swing states to pledge to vote and write to members of the U.S. Congress about progressive issues.

Outside of the office, Carter enjoys cooking without recipes, attending hip hop dance classes, and hiking any trail near a body of water.

Celine is the Manager, Digital Partners and is passionate about spotlighting impactful stories and developing effective digital campaigns in collaboration with key partner organizations and advocates.

With a background in research and policy, she previously served as a researcher for nonprofits to inform policy on black immigrant issues such as voting rights and economic empowerment. She has worked for organizations like the Ghana Diaspora Public Affairs Collective and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation to uplift and showcase the nuanced narratives within the African diaspora.

Celine holds a B.A. in Political Science from George Washington University where she served as the Vice President of the GW African Students Association to help create more inclusive spaces and programs. Outside of work, she enjoys watching psychological thrillers, writing poetry, and jamming out to Afrobeats.

Dan oversees campaign communications and is the press secretary and spokesperson for The Hub.

Dan has worked at the intersection of policy and political communications for more than a decade. He came to The Hub from the Economic Policy Institute, where he worked to promote policies that would strengthen the economic conditions of working- and middle-class Americans, through traditional and digital media outreach. Dan is a veteran of President Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns and served in the Obama administration as a communications assistant at the Small Business Administration. He graduated from Cornell University with a double major in government and theater arts.

Dan has lived in the District since 2009, which is longer than he’s lived anywhere else. He and his wife currently make their home in DC’s Park View neighborhood, with their dog and cat. Dan is an avid bike commuter, occasional road cyclist, and competitive powerlifter.

Ebonie is the Associate Director of Creative at The Hub Project, where she designs and manages the production of compelling digital and print products for campaigns at The Hub.

Before The Hub, Ebonie worked as the Digital Director at Social Security Works, where she was the lead on digital strategy and created and curated content for various organizational campaigns related to healthcare policy, drug policy, and student debt policy. She also worked as deputy editor of Social Security Works’ publishing arm, Strong Arm press, for which she designed various book covers including Nancy Altman’s The Truth About Social Security.

She is a proud member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc and enjoys serving her community through public service. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and son, creating art (drawing, painting, designing), and watching tons of movies.

Emily is a senior communications manager at the Hub Project, where she develops and implements communications and media strategy for a number of campaigns. Prior to joining the Hub, Emily led communications for Generation Progress, the youth advocacy arm of the Center for American Progress, where she worked to uplift the voices of young people and center younger generations’ unique experiences in broader political conversations. Before moving to D.C. in 2019, Emily began her career at a PR firm in San Francisco working with a variety of clients in the tech sector. She graduated from Dartmouth College with a B.A. in Women’s and Gender Studies and is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area.

Emily currently lives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of D.C. with her cat, Maisie. Outside of work, she enjoys trying new restaurants with friends, reading in Lincoln Park, and fostering kittens with her roommate.

Emily is the Digital Director, where she strategizes and creates all-encompassing online efforts across platforms to assist and amplify issue-based campaigns.

Prior to joining The Hub Project, Emily served as the digital content manager at the Labor Department as a political appointee in the Obama administration. She created and managed content for official digital and social media accounts of the department and the Secretary of Labor. In this role, she developed a number of digital strategies for ongoing campaigns including minimum wage, paid leave, and worker voice; and final rule rollouts for conflict of interest, overtime, and silica. Previously, Emily worked for Young Invincibles’ consulting arm, managed health care advocacy clients at Blue State Digital, and worked on a number of issue-based campaigns at the Center for American Progress. Emily began her career in Washington working for Sen. Claire McCaskill.

Emily is a St. Louis native, graduated cum laude from Bucknell University, and is a yoga instructor in DC. When not in front a screen, Emily enjoys long walks with her daughter, free samples at farmers markets, and is a serious foodie who loves to travel and cook.

Emma is a Special Assistant at The Hub, where she supports the work of the executive and campaigns teams. A true New England native, Emma grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and attended Brown University, where she studied Political Science with a focus on American Politics. Prior to joining The Hub, Emma worked in the field on two progressive campaigns in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Most recently, she worked as a Stop Disinformation Field Fellow at Common Cause, where she discovered her passion for working to strengthen our democracy. Outside of the office, Emma loves reading, being outside, and shamelessly watching reality tv.

Evan is a Special Assistant at the Hub, where he keeps the office running behind the scenes. Evan attended the College of William & Mary and graduated with degrees in Political Science and Sociology. A passionate advocate for human rights, he previously volunteered with Peace Corps to promote sustainable agriculture in Benin and worked with NARAL to protect reproductive rights. Most recently, Evan worked with ASHLIN Management Group in support of the Department of Labor’s Job Corps program. Outside of the office, Evan loves reading, playing volleyball, and supporting terrible Premier League teams (go Newcastle!).

Frederick is a Campaign Associate at The Hub transforming his passion for organizing into action for the Democracy program. Prior to joining The Hub, Frederick worked as a field organizer for the historic Jaime Harrison U.S. Senate campaign and served as the youngest Louisiana delegate to the 2016 Democratic National Convention.

He is a graduate of Tulane University and a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. Frederick appreciates discussing innovations in our culture, politics, and society. In his spare time, you’ll find him reading, writing, running, watching “Veep,” or spending time with those close to him. You can learn more about Frederick from his website at frederickbell.org.

Issie is a Research Associate for the Policy and Research Team at The Hub Project. Prior to joining the Hub, she volunteered with NARAL Pro-Choice Missouri where she organized lobby days, and recruited volunteers to support progressive, pro-choice candidates in St. Louis. She also worked as a research assistant to Dr. Parikh on various projects related to the effects of COVID-19 on African American ancillary health workers, sex education and HIV prevention programs for sex workers in Uganda, and PrEP adherence in the Midwest as part of a CDC funded project.

Issie is from London and a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis. When she is not working you can find her playing tennis, doing yoga, hiking or knitting!

Jack is a Research Associate in the Policy and Research Department. He conducts research to support multiple campaigns at the Hub in their efforts to make our government and economy work for everyone. Prior to joining the Hub, Jack interned in the Office of Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD) and the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of Maryland. In 2018, he worked on a campaign for Baltimore County Executive.

Jack is from Baltimore, Maryland and is a graduate of Davidson College. Outside of the office, he enjoys cooking, watching the Ravens and the Orioles, and eating good bagels.

Jennifer Mandelblatt is an Associate Campaign Director at The Hub Project, where she works on strategic mobilization efforts to strengthen our democracy.

Prior to joining The Hub Project, Jen served as the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Platform, a political training and lobbying organization dedicated to fostering young people’s political power and tearing down the barriers to entry. During this time, she developed resources for young people to understand their role in the legislative process; consulted peer organizations on their policy strategy; and coordinated high-impact advocacy days.

Originally from New Jersey, she received her B.S. in labor relations from Cornell University’s ILR School. In staying loyal to her Jersey roots, she is dedicated to remaining in Bruce Springsteen’s top 0.1 percent of Spotify listeners.

Jessica is the Finance Specialist at The Hub Project where she works on payments, contracts, and regranting. She recently graduated from the College of William and Mary with a BBA in Finance. Jessica has always been interested in non-profits and finding ways to serve her community. Prior to joining The Hub, Jessica was involved in training service dogs for people with differing abilities, ranging from PTSD to diabetes. She also volunteered and worked within the broader autism community in her hometown and Williamsburg. 

Jessica is originally from Pennsylvania and is a huge Philadelphia Eagles fan (go birds!). Outside of work, she is an avid enthusiast of completing the NYT daily crossword, enjoys finding new restaurants in DC, and loves exploring any type of outdoor space.

Joel joined The Hub as Managing Director for Communications in October 2019.

Joel has served in several notable positions in the political arena. In 2016, he was the Director of African-American Advertising for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. In that role, he oversaw the campaign’s advertising outreach program to African-American voters nationwide that exceeded $25 million, the largest such effort in political history at that time.

Before that, Joel served as Deputy Press Secretary for former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, where he helped lead messaging efforts to pass Obamacare, and communications director for California Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Lee. He also worked as a campaign aide for John Edwards’ 2008 presidential campaign and served as a policy aide for the late Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and former Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

Joel is a political contributor for CBS News. Along with his frequent regular appearances on CBS News and CBSN, including CBS Face the Nation and CBS This Morning, Joel also appears regularly on several other national cable television and radio outlets including MSNBC, CNN and others. In addition, he’s currently an opinion contributor for The Hill newspaper and is the host of the Here Comes the Payne podcast in partnership with Hip-Politics Network.

Joel is a graduate of Brown University and a native of New Jersey.

John is a Manager, Campaigns at The Hub Project, where he works to execute progressive issue campaigns in key states and hold elected officials accountable to their constituents.

Prior to joining The Hub, John worked in the Political Law Group at Perkins Coie and on Jared Golden’s historic 2018 Congressional campaign, which flipped Maine’s 2nd district blue and marked the first time a challenger won the seat since 1916.

John graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, ME with a degree in Politics. A native of Washington, D.C. (yes, D.C. proper), John spends his free time experimenting with new recipes, playing music, and brainstorming excuses to move back to his favorite state, Maine.

Josh is the Director of Finance at The Hub Project where he serves as an integral member of the senior leadership team with responsibilities for ensuring the integrity of financial and accounting information across the organization.

Prior to joining The Hub Project, he served as a senior member of the Main Campus Finance team of the Office of the Provost at Georgetown University. In his role, he provided senior-level financial and budgetary oversight of academic support units of the Main Campus; serving as a key financial partner to the unit heads of these academic units by facilitating financial, budgetary management, staffing operations, and resource planning & execution. Prior to this role, Josh held similar positions within Georgetown and at other non-profits in the Washington DC area.

Josh has a Bachelor of Accountancy from Mississippi State University and an MBA from Texas A&M University. He is currently studying to sit for the CPA exam. In his free time, Josh enjoys outdoor cycling, traveling, trying new restaurants, solving true-crime mysteries, and spoiling his dog Royal.

Kate is the Director of Development at The Hub Project where she oversees the fundraising program.

Prior to joining The Hub Project, she served as Deputy National Finance Director for the Democratic National Committee. During her tenure at the DNC, the major donor team had its most successful four-year cycle ever. In addition to her role as Deputy National Finance Director, she managed the major donor surrogate program for the Biden Victory Fund. Before the DNC, she spent nearly a decade in nonprofit fundraising specifically focused on K-12 education. She served as Managing Director of Development for City Year Washington, DC and Major Gifts Officer at Teaching Matters in New York City.

Kate is from Bucks County, PA and a graduate of West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

Kitty is the Financial Operations Manager at The Hub Project where she works on the month-end close process, program budgets, and procurement. She has always been interested in non-profit work and was drawn to The Hub after volunteering for local campaigns and organizations during the 2020 election cycle. Prior to joining The Hub, Kitty worked on intellectual property finance and R&D expense at Lenovo.

A native of Chicago, Kitty received her B.S. in Accountancy with a minor in French from the University of Illinois. Outside of the office she can be found trying local coffee shops, watching questionable reality TV, and buying books to add to her already large unread pile.

Leor Tal (she/her) serves as the Associate Director of Campaigns at The Hub Project, working with national and state partners to integrate communications, research, and digital tactics on the important policy conversations of the day.

Leor is passionate about connecting with and mobilizing working people around the issues they care about most. She recently served as the Digital Director at Florida Watch, where she led and implemented the organization’s digital strategy across email, social, paid media, and graphic design. Before that, Leor served as the National Digital Organizer at the Democratic National Committee and later moved on to become the Digital Director at For Our Future Florida, a progressive statewide advocacy and electoral organization. 

Born and raised in Florida, Leor earned dual degrees in Political Science and History as an undergraduate at Florida State University and it was at FSU where Leor found her passion in advocacy and organizing. In her free time, she can be found spoiling her dog, Boobah, obsessively playing Sudoku, binging reality television, or walking around Washington, D.C.

Maria Barrera is a Comms Associate from Austin, TX. Prior to joining the Hub, Maria was a Staff Writer for The Daily Toreador (Texas Tech student newspaper). Maria graduated from Texas Tech University in May 2022 with a Bachelor’s in Political Science and a minor in Spanish. 

Confronted with the realities of immigration and the power of politics from a very young age, Maria was drawn to work in the progressive space as a daughter and sister of Mexican immigrants. Her experiences with seeing how DACA changed her family’s lives as well as growing up in Texas where women and minorities are especially marginalized by politicians have both sparked her interest in politics. Maria hopes to help make our country realize its full potential in any way she can.

Nicholas is the Director of Digital Partnerships at The Hub Project, working with a wide range of partner organizations and stakeholders to develop and execute compelling digital campaigns.

Previously, Nicholas served on Hillary for America’s digital team in Ohio, where he led the campaign’s youth digital outreach program in the state. Prior to joining the campaign, he was the Senior Advocacy Associate at the Center for American Progress, where he oversaw Generation Progress’ gun violence prevention and criminal justice reform programs, helping amplify the voices of young people in the policy space. Nicholas has also worked as an Obama White House Advance Associate, as a field organizer on the 2014 U.S. Senate race in Iowa, and as an intern in President Obama’s White House Office of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Nicholas graduated with honors from UC Berkeley, where he co-founded the California Public Higher Education Caucus. He grew up on a farm in rural Northern California, and enjoys surfing, cycling, and exploring the great outdoors.

Rachael is the Polling and Analytics Manager at the Hub Project, where she manages the day-to-day execution of all public opinion research and analytics projects. Rachael works at the intersection of politics and data, striving to amplify progressive policies and elect bold leaders.

Prior to joining the Hub, Rachael worked in targeting and data analytics for the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the Pivot Group, and the Mike Bloomberg campaign.

Outside of the Hub, Rachael can be found consuming local Pennsylvania politics, listening to NPR, and hiking with her dog, Winnie the Pooch.

Rishi is the Chief of Staff of The Hub Project.

Prior to joining The Hub, Rishi was the Director of Partnerships and Policy for Accountable Tech, an advocacy group that fights for structural reforms to rein in Big Tech’s societal harms and foster a healthier democracy. Before joining Accountable Tech, Rishi led tech policy for Senator Cory Booker in the United States Senate and served as the National Policy Advisor for Senator Booker’s 2020 presidential campaign. Rishi has also held positions with Everytown for Gun Safety and the Center for American Progress. This is Rishi’s second stint at The Hub Project—he was the second person hired by the organization when it launched in 2015.

Rishi lives in Washington, D.C. with his dog, Bean. Outside of the office, he enjoys running, hiking, and attending as many concerts and happy hours as he can.

Ruiyong is the Senior Director of Paid Media at The Hub Project, overseeing the organization’s paid media strategy and ad program measurement efforts across campaigns.

Prior to joining The Hub Project, Ruiyong served as Managing Principal at Precision Strategies, leading the firm’s paid media practice. She worked with a wide range of political, advocacy, and corporate clients to develop and implement innovative paid media programs across the country.

Ruiyong is a proud alumna of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, and can always be found planning her next food and travel adventure.

Sarah is the Campaign Director for Economy Campaigns at The Hub Project, where she runs campaigns to fight for an economy that works for everyone. Prior to joining The Hub, Sarah worked as the managing director of campaigns at Climate Power after dreaming big and fighting hard as deputy states director for Elizabeth Warren’s primary campaign. Before her stint in Boston, she was a national campaign strategist at the ACLU and the associate campaigns director at CAP Action, where she worked for 5 years.

When she’s not working, Sarah is playing with her dog Elmer.

Sari is a Senior Manager of Paid Media at the Hub Project, managing the development and execution of paid media campaigns.

Sari comes to The Hub Project from Jon Ossoff’s senate campaign, where she helped execute TV shoots. Prior to that, she worked at Wildfire Contact, where she helped develop, write, and execute direct mail programs for candidates across the country. A native Michigander, Sari is an alum of several Michigan campaigns, including Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign and Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s gubernatorial campaign.

Sari is a graduate of the University of Michigan, where she started organizing on campaigns. In her free time, she enjoys running in the woods, listening to history podcasts, and eating chocolate in all its forms.

Saryn is Communications Manager at The Hub Project. Prior to joining the Hub, Saryn has worked in the non-profit spaces focusing on digital communications work. She has worked with organization such as YWCA USA, YP4, and Amputee Coalition focusing on social media, branding, and website management. Outside of the office, Saryn enjoys watching new TV shows, traveling and cooking. She has a B.A.in Broadcast Journalism from Howard University (’15), and a Master’s in Public Relations and Corporate Communications from Georgetown University (’19).

Shirien is the Design Manager at The Hub Project, where she designs and manages creative products to support campaigns at The Hub.

Before The Hub, Shirien worked as a freelance designer and illustrator. Shirien is passionate about design that is inclusive and socially impactful. Her clients range from small community organizations to big companies. Some recent clients include the Movement Strategy Center, NY Renews, Interrupting Criminalization, Trans Youth Justice Project, The Othering & Belonging Institute (UC Berkeley), Greater Good Studio, VANS, the Seattle Seahawks, Hedley & Bennett, and others. Shirien’s work has been featured by Refinery29, Adobe, ELLE, Bust Magazine, LA Times, TIME, CNN, Hypebeast, Mic, The Advocate, and more. Although Shirien specializes in digital and print, you can also find a mural Shirien designed with United We Dream in D.C.’s fourth ward for Immigrant Resilience Day.

Shirien is proud to be from Chicago, where she was born and raised. Chicago is the ancestral homeland of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations.

Outside the office, Shirien enjoys spending time with loved ones, spending time in nature, sipping on matcha, and watching comedy.

Stasha is the Managing Director of Campaigns at The Hub Project, where she develops and manages large scale advocacy campaigns that shift the conversation around top progressive policies.

Prior to joining The Hub Project, Stasha was Director of Engagement at Giffords, a leading organization in the growing movement to save lives from gun violence. As Director of Engagement, Rhodes developed and carried out national, state and local strategies and campaigns.

Previously, she was the Director of Advocacy for guns and crime policy at the Center for American Progress. At CAP, Stasha facilitated a nationwide coalition of over 200 national and state gun violence prevention and allied organizations to develop more strategic and coordinated policy, political, and organizing agendas.

Prior to that, in Louisiana, she served as the founder and principal of The Red Team, LLC, an advocacy firm specializing in issue-campaign management, grassroots organizing and government affairs.

She also has served as the American Heart Association’s Louisiana director of government affairs. She is a graduate of Southern University and A&M College and Southern University Law Center. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. with her wife and three kids.

Sylvana Dussan is the Associate Director of Digital Content at the Hub, where she focuses on reaching online audiences about issue-based campaigns through creative, digital content. Prior to joining the Hub, Sylvana has worked on federal and local campaigns, overseeing the overall digital strategy, with a focus on social media and email programs. Sylvana is very passionate about voting rights, oat milk chai lattes, and national parks, and is a proud New Yorker and Latina.

Theo is the Associate Director for Campaigns at The Hub Project. He’s played a key role over the years in various issue advocacy campaigns including Unrig Our Economy, Tax March, Health Care Voter, and Protect The Investigation. Whether he’s managing and cultivating strong relationships with external stakeholders, running and building state programs, or leading teams across the organization to produce hundreds of in-person or virtual events across the country, Theo delivers results.

Prior to joining The Hub Project, Theo worked at a private charitable foundation dedicated to social justice and protecting natural areas in the public trust where his portfolio of work included managing grants. Theo has also worked for Florida’s congressional delegation and on electoral campaigns in Maryland and Massachusetts.

A graduate of Boston University and a proud immigrant, Theo enjoys rooting for the French national soccer team, growing vegetables and herbs in his native plant garden, and playing Dungeons & Dragons.

As The Hub Project’s Senior Video Editor, Zach drives the development and execution of a diverse range of video projects. His portfolio includes music videos, short-form documentaries and a variety of branded content for commercial and non-profit organizations. He has also taught filmmaking in after school programs. In his free time he can be found cooking, watching old movies and hiking with his wife.