Mark Skidmore
Chief executive officer
Mark Skidmore is the co-founder and CEO of Assemble, where he advises companies, foundations, and elected officials on media and communications strategies as well policy issues. Mark served as a senior advisor to President Biden’s independent expenditure operation in 2020, and was an advisor to President Obama’s reelection campaign in 2012. He has also advised Nike, Livestrong, the U.S. Olympic Committee, Goldman Sachs, the Alliance for Lifetime Income, and other corporate and political organizations.
Prior to founding Assemble, Mark was a Founding Partner and Chief Strategist at Bully Pulpit Interactive. Additionally, Mark serves on the advisory board of the Harry Belafonte Legacy Initiative, Sankofa.org, where he advises grassroots movements fighting for equitable change.
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.
Kate Conway
Partner & chief creative officer
Kate is on leave through November 2024, serving as Creative Director for Biden for President.
Kate specializes in the intersection of politics and design. Her areas of expertise include developing creative for political fundraising, persuasive advertising, and branding for the unique needs of campaigns.
Prior to joining Assemble, she was creative director at the DCCC during the historic 2018 cycle, during which Democrats picked up 40 congressional seats to retake control of the House of Representatives.
There, she built the in-house creative team that developed graphic content powering more than $124M in online fundraising for Democrats in the 2018 cycle.
With over a decade of political experience under her belt, Kate is also an alum of American Bridge 21st Century and Media Matters for America. Kate’s interests include hiking, photography, puns, and making things with power tools.
Mark Paustenbach
Partner & head of strategic advisory and communications
Mark has spent 20 years helping business and political leaders tackle complex, high-profile matters. As a political strategist, Mark was most recently Senior Advisor to a pro-Biden super PAC. He served as Deputy Communications Director at the Democratic National Committee in 2016 and was National Press Secretary on the Biden for President campaign during the 2008 primaries.
Mark also served in the Obama Administration as Spokesperson for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the government’s response to the financial crisis. He has overseen external relations efforts for organizations in a wide array of sectors, including financial and professional services, media, and advocacy.
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.
Ian Harrington
Production director
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.
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.
Paul Lamontagne
Associate creative director
Paul is a multi-media designer focused on bringing a human touch to digital communications.
Guided by a playful curiosity and critical problem-solving, his work has been a feature in video games, conference art installations, congressional hearings, arenas, films, tv shows, and across social media.
As an associate creative director at Assemble, Paul looks for inventive ways for the work to stand out and deliver meaningful messaging that drives action. His energetic visuals and use of motion design brings ideas to life, as seen in the design of Assemble’s website.
Alex Peña
Director of paid media
Alex is the associate director of advertising operations 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.
Tess Harkin
Director of digital engagement
Tess Harkin is a senior content strategist 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.
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.
Eliza Mosbarger
Senior designer
Eliza Mosbarger is a graphic designer and all-around creative who believes in the power of holistic design to disrupt the status quo in the political sphere. Her current work encompasses digital ads, social media content, logos and branding, video editing, and website design. Eliza brings a unique perspective to the team from a women’s and gender studies background.
While at Assemble, she’s contributed impactful design to numerous campaigns, including the race for NYC mayor, several Senate and gubernatorial seats, and the 2020 presidential election cycle.
Before moving to the political world, Eliza worked as a designer in several other industries, including aerospace, tech, city government, and fitness. She is currently dabbling in animation, HTML, and at-home composting.
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.
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.
Dara Bruck
Digital content 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.