Leadership Committee

One of the most widely recognized and influential strategists in American politics, Joe Trippi has been heralded on the cover of The New Republic as the man who “reinvented campaigning” and by The Atlantic as the “political innovator of the decade.” Known for his technology and media savvy, Trippi’s work in politics has spanned over four decades, five presidential campaigns, and numerous successful state and national elections. Most recently, Trippi has advised and produced television ads for John Edwards’ 2008 presidential campaign and Howard Dean’s 2004 bid, where he gained national acclaim for his innovative use of online technology to organize “Dean for America,” which became the largest grassroots movement in presidential politics.

Saul Anuzis served as chairman of the Michigan Republican Party from 2005 to 2009 and was a candidate for chairman of the Republican National Committee in both 2009 and 2010. His previous political and government service included: working with Newt Gingrich at American Solutions and with Jack Kemp’s 1988 presidential campaign; and serving as chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Dick Posthumus, as chairman of the Michigan Senate Republican Campaign Committee and on the Michigan House Republican Campaign Committee.

Saul headed the RNC’s transition team on technology and its first Tech Summit, during which more than 7,000 activists from around the country participated online, via live video feeds or in person. He also served as chairman of the RNC’s new Committee on Technology, the first non-RNC member to hold such a post.

In May 2010, Saul was unanimously elected to be Michigan National Committeeman to the RNC. He also serves as a consultant to the House Policy Committee chaired by Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich.

Jerome Armstrong is a founding partner of WebStrong Group, where he has worked with multiple Democratic campaigns and organizations, the Liberal Democrats in the UK, and other political parties outside the US, as a political consultant.

He began blogging in 2001 at MyDD.com, which was original driving force behind the netroots movement that used blogs and Meetups to propel Howard Dean’s dark-horse campaign for President in 2002 to front-runner status in 2004, and worked as a member of Howard Dean’s campaign internet team. He served as a senior advisor for Governor Mark Warner.

In 2006, Armstrong co-authored “Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots and the Rise of People-Powered Politics” and he is a co-founder of SBNation.com, the largest sports-related network of blogs.

Joanne Bamberger is a writer, political and media analyst, and social media consultant who is the author of the new book “Mothers of Intention: How Women and Social Media are Revolutionizing Politics in America” (Bright Sky Press, June 2011). In addition to writing her own political blog, PunditMom, she writes regularly at The Huffington Post, MOMocrats and MomsRising. She also was a regular contributor at AOL’s Politics Daily. Bamberger is the founder of the new women’s commentary site The Broad Side. A former op-ed columnist for The Washington Examiner, Joanne’s work also has appeared in various publications, including Legal Times, The Washington Post and Washingtonian. Her political commentary has appeared on BBC Radio, CNN, Fox News, Good Morning America, NPR.com, XM POTUS Radio and more.

Robert Bluey directs Heritage’s Center for Media and Public Policy. He arrived at Heritage in 2007 to become a liaison to conservative bloggers and run the weekly Bloggers Briefing. He served as editor-in-chief of Heritage.org, oversaw creation of The Foundry blog and daily Morning Bell e-newsletter, and developed Heritage’s online strategy, managing the organization’s outreach through social media, e-mail marketing and online issue advocacy campaigns. Bluey currently researches and writes about instances of government malfeasance and corruption, using his journalism background to fill a gap opened by the market changes roiling the media industry.

Peter Cherukuri is the General Manager of AOL’s Politics Division. There he oversees operations and revenue as the news outlet expands in the Washington market. Before joining AOL, Peter was the publisher of Roll Call, overseeing the business and editorial operations for the Capitol Hill newspaper and helping the company diversify via acquisitions into a multi-platform information and advocacy services company.

He previously led marketing and business development efforts for TMG Custom Content, a Washington-based agency that develops targeted print and online content for corporations and nonprofits. Peter started in the political publishing market working at National Journal Group and Congressional Quarterly in product development and branding capacities. Originally from West Virginia, he received his Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University and currently serves on the board for the National Press Foundation.

Peter Corbett is the founder and CEO of iStrategyLabs, an interactive agency that develops creative solutions to clients’ challenges and brings them to life in the digital and physical worlds. He’s widely known for his creative marketing approaches, coupled with a deep technical background and a focus on civic innovation through community building. Peter is widely known for co-creating Apps for Democracy with Vivek Kundra and the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Technology Officer, as well as his co-founding of Government 2.0 Club, Government 2.0 Camp and Transparency Camp.

Peter is the head of industry relations at Google. Peter joined Google in May 2007 to build and manage a new political sales team dedicated to providing Google solutions to electoral campaigns, committees and issue advocacy groups. Following a successful 2008 campaign season and the creation of a permanent political sales force, Peter now leads Google’s industry relations team focused on strengthening the company’s ties within the advertising world. Peter was recognized as a “Rising Star” by Politics Magazine in 2008 and was recently selected one of the “Top 10 Changing the World of Internet & Politics” by PoliticsOnline.

Katie Harbath is the Associate Manager for Policy at Facebook, where she focuses on political outreach. Prior to Facebook, Katie was the Chief Digital Strategist at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. She previously led digital strategy in positions at DCI Group, the Rudy Giuliani for President campaign and the Republican National Committee. Katie holds a BA in journalism and political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Eric Kuhn is an agent at United Talent Agency, where he leads its social media division and focuses on digital efforts. Before joining UTA, Eric was the first audience interaction producer at CNN, where he ran social media and focused on television-Web integration for the network.

At CNN Eric launched partnerships with big and small startups, including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Gowalla, Tumblr and GetGlue. He also reported for CNN on technology and politics, and produced original programming and shows focused on two-screen experiences, including: creating “Rick’s List” with Rick Sanchez; launching the live-streaming premiere of “John King, USA” on Facebook; and producing two worldwide “Larry King Live” telethons featuring a “social suite” with stars such as Ryan Seacrest, Will.i.am and Alyssa Milano.

Before joining CNN, Eric consulted and built the social media strategies for CBS News and the National Basketball Association. Politics Daily has listed Eric as one of the top 20 journalists on Twitter. Eric majored in government at Hamilton College, where he currently serves as a proud member of the alumni board. He also studied at the London School of Economics.

An author, political analyst and a former Bush presidential adviser, Leslie Sanchez is known for her straightforward style and in-depth understanding of the political and cultural landscape, both inside and outside of Washington. Leslie is the founder and CEO of Impacto Group LLC, a premium communications and market research firm, which specializes in defining social and economic trends affecting women and the emerging U.S. Hispanic community. For her work, Hispanic Business magazine named her one of the nation’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics.”

Since 1994, Connections Media founder and managing partner Jonah Seiger has conceived and managed winning interactive communications programs for some of America’s most influential issue groups, Fortune 500 corporations, and candidates for federal, state and local office. Most recently, Jonah and his team at Connections Media have provided digital media strategy, design and development services to Google, Starbucks Coffee Company, PepsiCo, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the Pew Research Center and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, among others.

As founder and CEO of New Media Strategies, the first and largest player in social-media marketing, Pete Snyder has pioneered an industry that has changed the way corporations, advocacy groups, political entities and brands interact with people. Under Snyder’s leadership, New Media Strategies was named one of Inc. 500’s “Fastest-growing Companies in America” for three consecutive years.

Heralded as one of the “good-guys” by the New York Post and “Best Boss” by Fortune Small Business, Snyder also was honored as one of “Washington’s Tech Titans” by Washingtonian magazine in 2009. In addition, Snyder has built a winning corporate culture at New Media Strategies, which subsequently has been recognized by both Washingtonian and Washington Business Journal as one of the area’s “Best Places to Work.”

Drawing on his background as a nationally known pollster to New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Snyder regularly appears as a political commentator and marketing expert on Fox News Channel and CNBC.

Ryan Triplette is a Republican lobbyist and strategist with the boutique new economy firm, the Franklin Square Group. Her depth of experience in the political and legislative arenas supports a distinct advocacy style, which incorporates long term political objectives while crafting a strategy for policy engagement. Her work on and off the Hill has established her as a known presence in the technology industry with a unique balance of policy expertise, specializing in intellectual property, and political acumen.  Prior to joining the Franklin Square Group, Ryan was Director of Government Relations for the Intel Corporation. During her tenure at Intel, she handled the strategic legislative and political engagement of Republican offices and members in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. In this capacity, she served as an advocate on a wide range of issues including: competition policy, cybersecurity, immigration, intellectual property, privacy, tax, telecom, and trade.