Mark Skidmore
Chief executive officer
Mark Skidmore is an entrepreneur and a global leader in marketing and public affairs. As the CEO and co-founder of Assemble he has led the firm’s growth serving top companies, nonprofits, and elected officials. Prior to founding Assemble, Mark launched and advised President Obama’s re-election campaign, and was a Founding Partner of Bully Pulpit Interactive.
Mark has been a featured speaker at the Aspen Ideas Festival, CNN, the Wall Street Journal, and AdAge. He was named to City & State’s Power Consultant’s List, and The National Association of Asian Pacifics in Politics and Public Affairs 40 under 40 List. He currently serves on the advisory board of the Harry Belafonte Legacy Initiative, Sankofa.org. Mark graduated from New York University and is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets.
Eve Samborn McCool
Partner & chief strategist
Eve Samborn McCool is a leading political and communications strategist specializing in fundraising and digital strategy. She has raised more than $30 million for candidates and causes and led digital campaigns for top Senate and statewide candidates across the country.
In 2020, Eve ran rapid response for President Joe Biden’s super PAC. She was the lead digital fundraising consultant for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for the 2018 cycle.
Prior to that, she served as Digital Director for Senator Tammy Duckworth’s 2016 victory, one of two Democratic Senate pickups that election cycle. Eve also ran the digital program for Duckworth’s 2012 congressional campaign, where she pioneered online fundraising for House races.
Lacie Newton
Partner
Lacie Newton specializes in strategic communications with an expertise in development and implementation of public affairs campaigns as well as government and media relations including crisis management, media training and executive coaching. Her two decades of experience ranges from serving as communications director and senior advisor to the mayor of a mid-sized Southern city to a NYC-based communications consultant for a variety of companies, start-ups and nonprofits.
From building communications strategies for complex persuasion campaigns to managing rapid response and highly targeted stakeholder awareness, Lacie has worked closely with leading corporations, tech start-ups, member associations and social advocacy groups across a wide-range of diverse sectors — from major sports, gaming, transportation and energy to criminal justice and public finance.
Morgan Miller
Partner
Morgan Miller is a partner at Assemble, where she oversees winning advocacy and electoral campaigns for political, labor, and non-profit clients nationwide. A native Angeleno, Morgan has served as general consultant for the Yes on G campaign to overhaul LA County government, and led the successful independent expenditure effort to elect Karen Bass the first female mayor of Los Angeles. Morgan was a Senior Strategist for the Elizabeth Warren for President campaign and a longtime senior political staff for the national AFL-CIO, where she oversaw research and internal communications across political, policy and issue campaigns for the Federation’s 12 million members.
Morgan is a recipient of the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) 40 Under 40 Award recognizing leaders and innovators in politics. Outside of work, you can usually find Morgan at a Dodgers or Lakers game.
Minh Nguyen
Partner
Minh Nguyen is a Partner at Assemble. He is an experienced strategist who advises Fortune 500 companies, labor unions, elected officials, and nonprofit organizations on navigating the complexities of politics at the federal, state, and local levels. His expertise includes campaign and organizational development, social impact campaigns, coalition building, crisis management, and political and philanthropic donation strategies.
Minh recently served as a Senior Advisor to the Adam Schiff for Senate campaign and previously as a Senior Strategist for Senator Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign. His clients have included Amazon Studios, the American Beverage Association, the American Federation of Teachers, SEIU, and others.
Outside of work, Minh spends his weekends playing Mario Kart with his kids.
Fiona Cahill
Director of fundraising and advocacy
A digital strategist with over a decade of experience covering everything from online fundraising to social media to digital organizing, Fiona spent the 2018 and 2020 electoral cycles helping elect Democrats to statehouses as Director of Digital Strategy at the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee. Previously, she worked on multiple statewide electoral campaigns as well as at EMILY’s List, and with nonprofits including Guns Down, Democracy Works, Defend Our Future, and the Sundance Institute.
Originally from Wisconsin, Fiona got her start in politics and digital work as an intern on Russ Feingold’s 2010 Senate race and working on the Wisconsin recalls. In her spare time she enjoys singing with an Arlington-based women’s choir and is slowly (and clumsily) learning to rock climb.
Alex Peña
Director of paid media
Alex is the director of paid media at Assemble and based in Washington, D.C. He previously led winning digital ad campaigns to help re-elect members of Congress like Eric Swalwell, Gerry Connolly, and Becca Balint. In 2020, he was also a part of the Biden-Harris campaign’s Latino Paid Media team that helped turn out crucial votes in states like Arizona and Nevada.
In his free time, Alex loves spoiling his cat Honey, playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends, and trying out new recipes in the kitchen.
Eliza Mosbarger
Creative director
Eliza Mosbarger is an all-around creative and strategist who believes in the power of holistic creative design to disrupt the status quo in the political sphere. She brings a strong visual sense to her work, and understands the necessity of interweaving design, messaging, content, and strategy to create effective and meaningful campaigns.
Eliza brings a unique perspective from a women’s and gender studies background. In her free time, you can probably find her knitting, working in the garden, or consumed by the NYT Games app.
Tess Harkin
Director of digital engagement
Tess Harkin is the director of digital engagement and is based in Brooklyn. She comes to Assemble after spending the 2018 and 2020 cycles as a copywriter with Priorities USA. Whether it’s writing social media copy, researching content recommendations, or drafting ad copy, Tess prides herself on staying on top of emerging digital trends and identifying opportunities for clients to try new things.
Outside of work, Tess can usually be found ranting about the latest pop-culture moments or boring her friends with New York City history.
Ian Harrington
Director of production
Ian Harrington began his career in Hollywood as an assistant and associate producer for Danny DeVito and his company Jersey Films. After that, he worked on international documentary projects, wrote screenplays, directed commercials, and produced theater.
In 2011, Ian joined David Axelrod’s team as the in-house filmmaker for the paid media team on the Barack Obama campaign. In keeping with politics, he worked on a number of international campaigns as a media consultant. Ian joined Assemble in 2019.
Gaines Langford
Deputy director, corporate & issue advocacy
Gaines builds winning campaigns that translate online conversation into real-world action to pass legislation, shape policy, and carry elections. Gaines is passionate about combining storytelling with data to ground complex policy fights in their human impact. His past work includes securing state investment in renewable energy projects, mobilizing voters to defeat anti-abortion legislation, and helping the country’s largest labor unions win elections and lock in strong contracts for workers.
Prior to Assemble, Gaines helped lead BerlinRosen’s digital organizing practice and worked at the media firm SBDigital.
Isaac Kennedy
Senior advertising strategist
Isaac works to design and execute paid media campaigns to help clients achieve their goals. His career in politics began during the 2016 cycle as an intern on Senator Tammy Duckworth’s campaign. Since then, he has managed digital advertising for numerous congressional campaigns, advocacy organizations, and non-profits.
Isaac has also leveraged his expertise in corporate advertising, consulting for businesses across the e-commerce, finance, food & beverage, and education sectors and developing impactful advertising strategies to drive business growth and customer engagement.
Beyond his professional endeavors, Isaac is an avid hiker, skier, and photographer and is passionate about protecting our natural world.
Emma Whitestone
Senior digital ads strategist
Emma is a senior digital ads strategist at Assemble, helping clients launch and optimize winning campaigns.
Prior to joining Assemble, Emma spent three election cycles leading digital media strategy and buying for a number of winning frontline Congressional campaigns, state-level candidates, and advocacy organizations. She got her start in politics managing digital communications on a Congressional campaign in New York.
In her free time, Emma enjoys running, going to the movies, and playing in a local orchestra.
Joe Bell
Senior manager, ad tech and data
Joe is the Senior Manager of Ad Tech and Data at Assemble, based in St. Louis, MO. A political scientist by training, he has worked as a data scientist and engineer for several major corporations.
In his free time, Joe enjoys diving into baseball statistics, painting Warhammer miniatures, and subjecting his household to an endless stream of obscure facts.
Margaret Easley
Senior associate, digital communications
Margaret is a senior associate on the digital communications team at Assemble, based in Washington, DC. She has experience in copywriting, digital content creation, and social media strategy.
Prior to Assemble, she was a digital senior associate at Precision Strategies and a field organizer for the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s 2020 coordinated campaign. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in political science.
Outside of work, Margaret can be found attending concerts, thrifting, or learning a new craft.
Emily Bordow
Senior strategist
Emily is a digital content strategist at Assemble, passionate about helping bridge the gap between policy makers and people outside of the political system to promote civic engagement and participation. She has experience in copywriting, digital content creation, and social media strategy.
Before joining Assemble, she studied at Arizona State University as well as The London School of Economics and Political Science and worked as a digital copywriter for U.S. Senator Kyrsten Sinema.
Outside of work, Emily is usually taking photos of her cat or watching movies, talking about movies, or trying to convince her friends to watch her favorite movies.
Anusheh Siddique
Senior associate, digital advocacy
Anusheh is a digital strategist at Assemble, passionate about using storytelling and digital tools to advance advocacy, civic engagement, and community-driven change. She has experience in digital organizing, disinformation defense, content strategy, and social media production for campaigns and mission-focused organizations.
She is a graduate of the University of Houston, where she studied Political Science, Middle Eastern Studies, and Business Administration. Outside of work, you can usually find Anusheh hiking, at a stand up comedy show, or in pursuit of the perfect matcha.
Maryam Khawar
Associate, digital advocacy
Maryam is a digital advocacy strategist at Assemble, where she brings both corporate and nonprofit experience to help clients build thoughtful campaigns.
She got her start in political work interning at a civic-tech startup, where she helped develop software that expanded access to the ballot box. Since then, she has worked at the intersection of technology and social impact—supporting everything from climate justice to international media.
Maryam studied Political Communication and English at UT Austin and currently serves as a Human Rights Commissioner with the Austin City Council. She likes good books, South Asian recipes, and wildflower season in Texas.
Dara Bruck
Senior associate
Dara is a digital content strategist at Assemble, supporting clients with email production, copy drafting, and social media strategy. Prior to joining Assemble, Dara earned a B.S. in Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing and entrepreneurship from the University of Colorado Boulder. There, Dara worked as an intern of Assemble as well as Emily’s List while finishing her studies.
Dara got her start working on political campaigns during the pandemic, joining Mark Kelly’s campaign for Senate as digital intern in 2019. Since then, Dara has grown her digital communication skills, graphic design techniques, and overall digital content strategy. Outside of work hours, she enjoys traveling anywhere she can, painting or drawing, doing yoga, and spending time with her family and friends.