From 2023 to 2025, I led client relations at New Way Forward Strategies, helping candidates build powerful programs in some of the toughest electoral environments in the country.

Strategy, Messaging and Metrics

As Client Affairs Director, I oversaw a team of four associate consultants and directly handled almost a dozen accounts at a time, from insurgent state house bids to nationally profiled members of Congress.

• Grew a new client’s fundraising program by 191% in the first quarter we were on board
• Helped flip the Alaska state house in 2024, the only legislative chamber in the country to go from red-to-blue
• Oversaw content development, email performance tracking, and multi-channel coordination across SMS, email, and social

The Reality of Political Consulting

I learned how to raise money, manage crises, and keep candidates focused. I also experienced how brutal this industry can be, and how often even well-intentioned campaigns get hijacked by ego, burnout, or misaligned incentives.

Some highlights, lowlights, and truths from the trail:

• I saw grassroots donations fund limo rides and luxury hotels.
• I handled clients running unopposed who text at 3am, ghost on approvals, and ask if “reading is too hard” for staff.
• I had to smile through events with candidates who were actively stiffing us on money.

Lessons For the Future

This work taught me how to communicate under pressure, center clarity in every message, and advocate for the most vulnerable people in the room – sometimes even when they were my clients.

It also made clear that my long-term future is in building things that outlast an election cycle. That’s why I now study urban planning, but I carry these campaign lessons with me into everything I do.