HILLTOP PUBLIC SOLUTIONS - Key Persons
Aaron Kaufman brings a wealth of experience with community outreach and public affairs programs to the Hilltop team. Aaron has been involved with Hilltop's energy and infrastructure practice since 2019.
Prior to joining Hilltop, Aaron worked for the New York City Department of Social Services, as a member of the Mayor's Public Engagement Unit, an innovative City initiative that proactively engages New Yorkers and provides them with individualized assistance for access to key City services. Aaron has also worked for the Mayor's Office of Sustainability, and for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Born and raised in New York City, Aaron has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from The University of California, Santa Cruz, where he co-chaired The Education for Sustainable Living Program, a student organization that facilitated the only accredited student-led class in the UC system.
Job Titles:
- Associate - Washington, DC
- Associate in Hilltop 's Washington
Andrew Castillo is an Associate in Hilltop's Washington, DC office, working on political and issue advocacy campaigns.
Before joining Hilltop, Andrew was a field organizer for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, where he coordinated online volunteer programming, phonebanks, and virtual house parties.
Andrew also previously worked for the Kamala Harris 2020 presidential campaign, the Office of U.S Senator Jack Reed, the Rhode Island Democratic Party, and the Rhode Island Senate Policy Office.
Andrew is a graduate of Brown University, where he majored in Public Policy and Sociology.
Job Titles:
- Lead Consultant
- Campaign and Public Affairs Professionals
- Partner - Montana
Barrett served as a senior advisor to Montana Governor Steve Bullock's successful campaign in 2012
A native of Denver, Barrett is a 1999 graduate of The University of Montana. He splits his time between Washington, D.C., and Billings, MT, where he lives with his son, Rowan Leo, and two Gordon Setters, Gilly and Guinness.
Barrett Kaiser leads a team of seasoned campaign and public affairs professionals in offering campaign management, ad production and placement, public relations, issue advocacy, and grassroots organizing services. Named one of America's top "Influencers" by Campaigns & Elections Magazine, Kaiser draws on more than 20 years of political experience, including nearly 11 years as a top advisor to former U.S. Senator and Ambassador to China Max Baucus.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner - Pennsylvania
Brendan McPhillips joined Hilltop as Partner in 2022 and helps lead the firm's Pennsylvania practice.
As a campaign manager, McPhillips has a record of winning critical races on the national stage that have shaped the way campaigns are run. Most recently, McPhillips was the campaign manager for John Fetterman's groundbreaking victory for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, winning a seat that had not been held by a Democrat since 1969 and helping to secure a Democratic Senate majority. The Fetterman campaign was praised for charting a course for how Democrats can run competitively in other swing states, particularly its strategy to campaign in every county which resulted in Fetterman improving on President Biden's performance in 64 of 67 counties.
In 2020, McPhillips led President Biden's successful Pennsylvania campaign as State Director where his team had to rewrite the playbook for successful organizing to adapt to campaigning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also in the 2020 cycle, McPhillips served as Iowa State Director for Pete Buttigieg, winning the Iowa Caucuses with an historic victory for the first openly LGBTQ candidate to ever earn delegates in a presidential primary. McPhillips also managed Andrew Gillum's come from behind victory in the 2018 Democratic primary for governor of Florida. He has held senior positions on a number of Pennsylvania campaigns, including campaign manager for Philadelphia Councilmember Helen Gym (2015), senior advisor for Councilmember Gym (2019), campaign manager for John Fetterman's first bid for Senate (2016) and both the Obama and Clinton presidential campaigns.
McPhillips completed his general studies at Mt. San Jacinto College in Southern California prior to transferring to earn a Bachelor's degree in Peace Studies and Political Science from the University of Notre Dame.
Prior to beginning his career in politics, Brendan was also a proud union member for over seven years with the United Food & Commercial Workers.
Hilltop Partner Chris Griswold brings high-impact experience in climate advocacy, foundation management, electoral politics, and coalition-building to the Hilltop team. Chris leads Hilltop's climate portfolio, managing and supporting coalition efforts to reduce carbon emissions through state law and agencies. In 2021, Chris was instrumental in Colorado passing nation-leading climate legislation at the state legislature.
Chris has worked at Hilltop since 2014 and his experience spans campaign management, and coalition-building from the local to national level. Statewide, Chris has recently consulted on two statewide ballot measures- the 2020 tobacco tax increase and 2020 National Popular Vote item. He also ran two successful 2018 statewide campaigns for treasurer and secretary of state, helping elect a first-time candidate as the first Democratic secretary of state since 1958. Locally, Chris has led education-funding measures in 2016 and 2020 and has guided successful school board campaigns.
Outside of elections, Chris has successfully organized and recruited state-wide coalitions of non-profits, chambers, and business leaders to pressure Congress to pass federal legislation, including a change to food labeling and chemical safety laws.
Job Titles:
- Senior Member of the House Ways and Means Committee
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner - Colorado
Craig Hughes is a Partner at Hilltop Public Solutions, managing the firm's Colorado operation. Hughes is one of the pre-eminent strategists and managers of political and issue campaigns in the country. Called "one of the five most influential Democrats in Colorado" by Campaigns and Elections magazine, Hughes has been involved in the design and management of dozens of high level issue and candidate campaigns throughout the United States. In fact, he has worked on four victorious presidential races alone and served as Senior Advisor for Colorado for both of Barack Obama's victorious campaigns.
Craig has helped elect Democrats to the highest levels in Colorado including U.S. Senate, Congress, Attorney General, State Treasurer, Secretary of State as well as further down the ticket, and has helped steer complex ballot issues to victory most recently leading the successful effort for Proposition EE - funding early childhood education through a tax on vaping & tobacco.
Craig served as Eastern Political Director in the Clinton White House from 1998-2000. In that position, he supervised activities for the President, First Lady, Vice President, and Mrs. Gore in twelve Eastern states.
Born and raised in the greater Seattle area, Dayna brings more than 10 years of Pacific Northwest political experience to Hilltop.
Early in her career, Dayna joined a political fundraising firm where she worked on numerous high profile local, state, and federal campaigns including: King County Executive Dow Constantine; Governor Chris Gregoire; Congress members Jay Inslee and Suzan DelBene; and U.S. Senator Patty Murray.
When the senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Congressman Jim McDermott, was faced with redistricting and his first primary challenger in 20 years, he hired Dayna. She oversaw an aggressive fundraising and outreach campaign that helped the Congressman defeat his primary challenger by 65% and win the general election by 60 points.
Most recently, Dayna orchestrated press conferences, roundtables, field hearings and town halls while on the staff of U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell. She also acted as a liaison between the Senator and her constituents and represented the Senator throughout King County. Dayna's experience on both the campaign and policy side of members of Congress gives her a unique perspective on issues that matter to Pacific Northwesterners.
Dayna has also worked on political initiatives and other issues close to heart in her beloved home state of Washington, including a successful stint as campaign manager for the Schools First! Seattle Public School levy campaign.
Dayna graduated from Linfield College with a B.A. in Communications. She and her husband live in West Seattle with their dog, O'Malley.
Devin Howell brings a strong background in organizing and experience in state government to Hilltop as an Associate in the New York office.
Prior to joining Hilltop, Devin worked for the New York state legislature in both Albany and in his hometown of Syracuse. During the 2020 campaign cycle he was a field organizer on a state senate campaign in the first election win for a Democrat in District 50 in over five decades. In 2022, Devin served as the DCCC's Organizing Director for Central New York.
Devin earned a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in History from SUNY Albany.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate - New England
Fabio Perla brings a strong background in electoral and issue campaigns, as well as public service experience, to the Hilltop team.
Fabio has previously worked on Mark Levine's successful City Council campaign in 2013, which had a primary field of ten candidates, and for the Working Families Party. From 2016-2018 he worked for New York City's Public Engagement Unit, a groundbreaking outreach team built to proactively connect city residents with public services. He has also contributed to multiple Hilltop issue campaigns, particularly within the firm's energy and infrastructure practice.
A Queens native, Fabio has a BA in History with a minor in Political Science from SUNY New Paltz.
Job Titles:
- Associate - Pennsylvania
- Associate at Hilltop
Hannah Johnson is an associate at Hilltop, working in Pennsylvania office since 2023.
Before joining Hilltop, Hannah worked at the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, where she helped to elect Democrats up and down the ticket in a monumental election year that elected Governor Josh Shapiro, Senator John Fetterman, and flipped control of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to Democrats. While at the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, Hannah served as a Field Organizer and Regional GOTV Director.
Prior to this, Hannah interned at the Bipartisan Policy Center and the Democratic Party of Virginia where she focused on issues of governance, democracy, and voter rights. In addition to this, Hannah completed a fellowship with the Andria for Virginia campaign in 2021.
Hannah received her B.A. in Political Science from James Madison University.
Job Titles:
- Majority Leader
- Senate Majority Leader
Job Titles:
- Campaign Manager
- Partner - Washington, DC
Ian Moskowitz is a veteran campaign manager with nearly a decade of experience at the highest levels of campaigns and independent expenditures. He has managed and advised campaigns across 17 states and at the federal, state and local levels.
Ian most recently served as a Regional Director for the Biden-Harris campaign, overseeing programs in Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Virginia, and Maine, and serving as part of the strategic teams that built and advised multi-million dollar operations in those states. The plans Ian helped create and execute led to unprecedented wins in a tough political climate.
Ian began the 2020 cycle when he was tapped to serve as the Biden campaign's New Hampshire Primary State Director. In this position, he managed a team of over 60 and a multi-million dollar budget. Following the New Hampshire primary, Ian worked on the Super Tuesday and Beyond team, where he oversaw eight states including pivotal primary wins in Texas, Florida, and Virginia.
Prior to his work on the Biden campaign, Ian managed and consulted on over a dozen races including managing a $7 million campaign for Ohio Attorney General in 2018, the largest ever challenger AG race in Ohio's history.
In 2016, Ian managed a first-time gubernatorial candidate in a competitive primary in Vermont before going on to work at a media firm where he built media plans, advised on paid media strategy and wrote and produced ads for a US Senate IE, a top-tier U.S. House race, and a targeted state legislative caucus.
Prior to 2016, Ian served as the Political Director of the New Hampshire Democratic party and worked on federal and city races in New York City.
Ian is a graduate of Boston University and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner - Washington, DC
Ian Winick is a partner in Hilltop's Washington, D.C. office where works on grasstops, grassroots and issues advocacy projects covering a multitude of subject matters. While at Hilltop, he has managed multi-state campaigns and state advocacy work on behalf of both nonprofit and private sector clients. In addition to his grassroots and issues advocacy work, Ian has helped lead the firm's political campaigns work during the 2018, 2020 and 2022 cycles.
Ian formerly served on the policy team of Beto O'Rourke's 2020 presidential campaign, helping to produce policy proposals and talking points on key issues throughout the campaign.
Prior to joining Hilltop, Ian worked as a market research analyst at Penn Schoen Berland. He graduated from American University with a B.A. in Political Science, and currently resides in Washington, D.C.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal - California
Jacob Jauregui (he/him/his) is a Principal at Hilltop Public Solutions, leading grasstops advocacy campaigns. He draws upon his extensive experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors specializing in government relations and political communications - including developing strategic public affairs campaigns, policy analysis, community outreach and coalition building, and lobbying. Jacob's areas of legislative expertise include higher education, land use, economic development, environment, healthcare, and entertainment.
Jacob began his career in the California State Senate and carried this experience to a position at UCLA Government & Community Relations where he worked with the State Government Relations department on issues and legislation affecting the institution. He focused on state policy and budget analysis to assist in the department's crafting of its advocacy strategy. Jacob then spent time at Mercury Public Affairs before becoming the Director of Public Policy and Economic Development at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Most recently, Jacob was the Director of Public Affairs at Collaborate, where he led the development and execution of lobbying and community engagement strategies for clients ranging from Fortune 500 to small nonprofit organizations. His other accomplishments include leading voter engagement outreach through collaboration with Latinx, LGBTQ, and business advocacy organizations on behalf of the CA Secretary of State and spearheading community partnerships for a vaccination campaign aimed at hard to reach populations in Los Angeles.
Jacob earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California, Los Angeles. He lives on the Westside of Los Angeles and is politically involved with organizations focused on LGBTQIA and Latinx issues.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Campaign Managers
- Partner - Pennsylvania
Jane Slusser joined Hilltop as a Partner in 2022. She has over a decade of experience organizing on behalf of progressive political candidates and causes.
Jane got her start in politics organizing for President Obama's 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns in Pennsylvania. She went on to manage Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney's campaign, earning the largest margin of victory in the city's mayoral primary in over 25 years. Slusser served as Chief of Staff for the first three years of his administration, where she led the city's efforts to take back local control of the School District of Philadelphia, defend immigrants' rights from the Trump administration's attacks, and pass a sweetened beverage tax to fund quality pre-K, community schools, and a $500 million investment in parks, recreation centers and libraries.
Jane has led state and national advocacy campaigns for issues ranging from LGBTQ rights to the impeachment of Donald Trump. In 2020, Jane served as the National Campaign Director for Organizing Together 2020, a coalition of labor unions and progressive groups building progressive infrastructure in battleground states to defeat Donald Trump. In recent years she's worked with a number of clients on projects promoting safe, secure, and accessible elections.
Jane graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Barnard College at Columbia University and before entering politics she was an Associate Editor for History at Oxford University Press.
At Hilltop Public Solutions, Jeremy Van Ess oversees public affairs and communications projects for a wide variety of clients. He has served as a spokesperson for large non-profit coalitions, managed multi-state lobbying campaigns, written speeches and press materials for political campaigns and executed rapid response operations for clients in crisis.
Jeremy came to Hilltop from Capitol Hill and the office of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. As a communications advisor and Reid's chief speechwriter, Jeremy crafted all public remarks for the Senate's top Democrat, and played a key role in the daily message and rapid response activities of the Senate Democratic Caucus's War Room - an entity credited with unifying Democrats and giving them an offensive platform in advance of the 2006 elections.
At Hilltop, Jeremy has been part of campaigns that have successfully passed legislation at the federal and state levels. For example, he worked with the PASS coalition to modernize the sunscreen ingredient approval process and with a non-profit coalition to enhance financial security in underserved communities by creating new state requirements for financial literacy.
Prior to becoming a part of Team Reid, Jeremy held various communications and press secretary positions in the campaigns of Kerry-Edwards (2004-General), John Edwards for President (2004- Primary) and Rendell for Governor (2002).
A native of Wisconsin, Jeremy received an undergraduate degree from Central College in Pella, Iowa, and a Masters Degree from George Washington University. He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife and daughter.
At Hilltop Public Solutions, Jessalyn Reid oversees the firm's digital efforts for a variety of clients. She has led digital programs for local, state, and federal political campaigns as well as non-profit organizations.
During the 2020 Democratic primary, Jessalyn led a massive, multi-million dollar digital program on behalf of Democratic Presidential candidate Tom Steyer. In the 2018 cycle, she helped secure a 16-point victory for Senator Tim Kaine - and three flipped House seats down the ticket - through aggressive fundraising, digital organizing, and paid media campaigns. She has also done digital work for Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, at Blue State Digital's west coast headquarters, and with Battleground Texas.
Before she made the jump into political work, Jessalyn worked in public relations and communications for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, supporting efforts to establish her hometown as a vibrant community hub.
She graduated from Montréal's McGill University and resides in Washington, DC.
Job Titles:
- Associate - Washington, DC
- Associate in Hilltop 's DC
Jessica Cruz is an associate in Hilltop's DC office, where she assists with building grasstops issue advocacy campaigns. She also assists in executing multi-ethnic media plans for national, statewide and local political campaigns.
In 2020, she was part of the team that produced radio, TV, digital and print ads targeting AAPI and tribal voters in battleground states for President Biden's campaign. Jessica also assisted in the production of Spanish-language radio and TV ads for now- Senator Mark Kelly (AZ) and on Senator Mark Warner's re-election campaign reaching African-American, Hispanic and AAPI voters in Virginia. Her latest project is a multi-language COVID vaccine education digital ad campaign that targets the AAPI community in California.
Prior to joining Hilltop she interned for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the Democratic Party of Virginia in the communications and digital departments, respectively. Jessica graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a bachelor's degree in English and minors in Spanish and Media Studies. During her time in college, Jessica served as the communications director for Young Democrats at VCU and was a member of the Latinx Student Association.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner - Washington, DC
A Partner at Hilltop Public Solutions, Jessie Bradley has over twelve years of field and political campaign management experience at the local, state and national level.
In her position at Hilltop, she specializes in managing federal grasstops campaigns on behalf of Fortune 100 companies, non-profits and trade associations. Jessie also manages the grassroots and field aspects of the firm's political consulting practice.
In 2012, Jessie served as the Voter Protection Co-Director for Pennsylvania Organizing for America. In this capacity, she oversaw the recruitment, training and placement of over 1,500 in state and 1,000 out of state attorneys on Election Day.
In 2008, Jessie ran the vote by mail program for the Florida Campaign for Change on behalf of Barack Obama, which helped ensure the largest early voter turnout in Florida history. In 2007, Jessie planned and managed the get-out-the-vote operation for Mayor Michael Nutter's successful mayoral campaign in Philadelphia.
Prior to joining Hilltop, Jessie ran the field program for the Democratic Party of New Mexico on behalf of the Madrid for Congress campaign. This campaign was one of the most expensive and closely-watched races in the country, and as Field Director, Jessie implemented a field program that included persuasion phones and canvassing. The GOTV program was credited with significantly increasing the district's midterm turnout.
Between 2004 and 2005, Jessie worked on campaigns in New Jersey and Alaska. In New Jersey, Jessie served as the campaign manager of the victorious Greenstein for Assembly campaign (Legislative District 14). As campaign manager, Jessie developed and implemented the scheduling, fundraising, press and paid media plans for this targeted race. In Alaska, Jessie ran the rural field program on behalf of former Governor Tony Knowles.
A graduate of the University of Missouri, Jessie currently lives in Washington, DC.
Job Titles:
- Principal - Washington, DC
- Strategist and Communications Expert
Joel Kasnetz is a seasoned political strategist and communications expert with nearly a decade of experience across seven states. His expertise spans research, communications, campaign management, and strategic consulting for political campaigns and organizations at local, state, and national levels.
Prior to joining Hilltop, Joel provided launch consulting for campaigns and strategic communications guidance to progressive and good governance groups. His work included crafting messaging for rapid response war rooms that helped shape national narratives on crucial issues such as immigration policy, Covid-19 disinformation, and the Mueller Report.
In 2022, Joel managed the general election campaign for one of the most competitive and expensive Congressional challenger races in the country, outperforming the Democratic gubernatorial nominee in district. Leading a team of 14 staff, he oversaw a $2.89 million budget and secured endorsements from over 70 labor unions, organizations, and PACs.
Earlier in his career, Joel served as a Communications Director for a U.S. House office, running an aggressive, bilingual press and media operation. In 2018, he led communications for the Democratic Party of New Mexico, working directly on successful gubernatorial and House race flips that completed a full Democratic sweep of statewide and federal elections in the state.
At the national level, Joel's experience includes serving as the Democratic National Committee's Director of LGBTQ Media, where he went on the record to hold the Trump administration accountable for its attacks on LGBTQ rights. He began his political career as a researcher for the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.
Originally from New Hampshire and a graduate of the University of Vermont, Joel brings his experience to Hilltop where he helps provide strategy for political and private sector clients.
Katie Robbins joined the Hilltop team shortly after the 2018 election. She is a campaign operative who has been key in Nevada ballot measures, first as Deputy Campaign Manager for the 2016 Question 1 gun background check campaign and then as the Campaign Manager for 2018's Question 6 measure on clean energy.
Katie has a strong background in building diverse coalitions for a number of different campaigns and organizations and works on a wide range of issues, including conservation, health care, gun violence prevention and clean energy.
Previously, Katie worked for Organizing for America, and its reiteration Organizing for Action, both at the Chicago headquarters and in states across the country during the 2012 presidential election cycle. In 2014 Katie worked for the DCCC as the Field Director for one of the top frontline congressional races in the country. She is originally from Arizona and understands the West.
Katie received her B.A. in political science from the University of Arizona.
Kaytlynn Monroe, a Principal at Hilltop Public Solutions, has been active in New Hampshire politics and advocacy for nearly a decade, working in the fields of government relations, campaign management, and community engagement.
Job Titles:
- Colorado State Deputy Director for Energy Foundation
- Principal - Colorado
Lindsey Rasmussen is a young professional in Denver who joined Hilltop as an Associate in 2021. Her experience spans from working in former State Representative and current Jefferson County Commissioner Tracy Kraft-Tharp's legislative office to managing Kraft-Tharp's competitive Jefferson County Commissioner campaign in 2020 that ended in an eight-point victory over a powerful incumbent. As one of the largest counties in the state, Jefferson County is a vital battleground area in which Lindsey has consulted on numerous campaigns and helped move municipal, county, and state offices towards Democratic leadership. Prior to joining the Hilltop team, Lindsey also spent time working for Governor Polis's Fiscal Policy Advisor and former State Treasurer Cary Kennedy, where her fiscal and economic research ultimately helped contribute to crucial 2020 ballot measures. Before joining Hilltop, Lindsey served as State Representative and national leader on Gun Violence Prevention Tom Sullivan's Chief of Staff, where she helped Sullivan pass groundbreaking GVP legislation including Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO) and the creation of Colorado's first Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
At Hilltop, Lindsey serves as the Colorado State Deputy Director for Energy Foundation. She has worked on a wide variety of issues including healthcare, broadband expansion, climate and environmental justice, affordable housing, education, reproductive rights, and more. Lindsey has also served as lead consultant for numerous high-profile campaigns in her time at Hilltop.
Lindsey has a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Colorado in International Studies and Economics, and is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Public Policy. She is originally from Minneapolis, but also grew up between New York City and Boston.
Lucy Fox-Boots has over a decade of experience in state and federal issue advocacy and campaigns.
Lucy began her career in Hilltop's Washington, DC, office, where she worked for five years managing grasstops and grassroots issue advocacy campaigns as an associate and then a principal.
In 2017, Lucy left Hilltop for a stint at Indivisible, a progressive grassroots non-profit organization. At Indivisible, Lucy developed the organization's first ever national endorsements program. As Indivisible's Political Director in 2020, Lucy oversaw the organization's electoral program, including over $2 million in paid media spends and more than 37 million voter contact attempts by the organization's volunteer network.
Previously, Marco worked as the National Field Director at Vote Rev (formerly Vote Tripling) where he led the independent expenditure program with groups such as MoveOn, Sierra Club, and a myriad of labor organizations for the 2020 Presidential Election as well as the 2021 Georgia U.S. Senate runoff.
In 2020, Marco served as the California Deputy State Director for Pete for America (Pete Buttigieg), helping to craft and implement the campaign's California strategy. Marco has served in leadership roles on local, state, and statewide campaigns, and he has extensive experience managing field, communications, and campaign logistics. He began his career in the office of then California Assembly Speaker and Congressmember, now Los Angeles Mayor, Karen Bass.
Marco writes opinion pieces for elected officials and non-profits. His work has been published in the Los Angeles Times, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and CNN.com, among other outlets. He also writes, produces, and provides voiceover talent for radio and video ads.
Originally from the California Bay Area, Marco graduated from the University of Southern California.
Job Titles:
- Associate - Washington, DC
Mario Destephen joined Hilltop in January 2022 after completing his Master of Arts in American Government and Politics at Georgetown University. At Hilltop, Mario works on mobilization campaigns, provides research and writing services, and was instrumental in Hilltop's successful efforts on behalf of clients in the 2022 midterm elections.
Mario's political experience includes work as a grassroots coordinator in New York City on behalf of entities such as the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. While in college, Mario also worked as a communications intern on Beto O'Rourke's 2018 Senate campaign. In 2019, he led social media strategy for Houston's LatPac chapter and helped launch a new progressive politics podcast for the organization. LatPac was formed in late 2016 to engage and mobilize the Latino American community.
Mario received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Rice University in 2020.
Megan Jones is a Hilltop partner and leads the firm's Las Vegas office.
Jones recently returned to Hilltop after leaving to serve as Special Assistant to the President and as Vice President Kamala Harris's Director of Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs. In her role White House, she led a team that developed and executed a robust engagement strategy, creating events across the country for the Vice President, including her 2022 midterm fight for reproductive freedom and Harris's "Fight for Our Freedoms" 2023 college tour.
Jones got her start in political organizing over 20 years ago working with former Majority Leader Harry Reid going back to his 1998 re-election efforts and subsequently served as a senior advisor until he retired in 2016. As a member of the team that built the legendary "Reid Machine," Megan gained experience in all areas of campaign management from fundraising and message development, to strategic scheduling and coalition building. To this day, the Nevada State Democratic Party infrastructure that Jones helped create serves as a model for deep political organizing across the country.
Jones has held leadership roles at every level of the ballot, serving as a senior advisor to then Senator Kamala Harris in her 2020 presidential primary campaign and as Nevada Trip Director in Obama's 2012 election. Other historic teams she has been a part of include: senior advisor for Senator Catherine Cortez Masto election in 2016; managing Everytown's ballot measure campaign that successfully closed the background check loophole on all gun sales; and leading state legislative efforts that led to the election of Nevada's first African American Speaker and the first female majority legislature in the country. Committed to the values of the West, she counts as some of her most meaningful work, the management of coalitions that advocated successfully for transitioning to 100% clean energy standards and the creation of two national monuments.
Anyone who has met Jones, knows that she loves the Las Vegas community. Her favorite place to be is on a hike in Red Rock or at a Golden Knights hockey game. She is a mom to two amazing humans and wife to Clark County Commissioner, Justin Jones.
Job Titles:
- Founding Partner
- Managing Partner
- Founder & Managing Partner - Washington, DC
Nicholas R. Baldick is the Managing Partner of Hilltop Public Solutions, focusing his efforts managing large-scale issue, coalition and organizing campaigns. With over two decades of experience in the political arena, Baldick brings his nationally recognized expertise and reputation to current business and public affairs concerns.
As a public affairs strategist, Baldick has successfully managed numerous campaigns on behalf of a number of Fortune 100 companies. These efforts have included nationwide campaigns on behalf of the nation's largest financial services firm, the world's largest private healthcare provider and one of the world's largest airlines. In 2010, Baldick managed the largest, most expensive issue campaign in history, when he helped a group of health care stakeholders build support for the passage of health care reform. This effort involved a team of twenty consultants and campaigns in over 20 states.
Nick began his political career in 1992 on the presidential campaign of then Governor Bill Clinton. He went on to work in the Clinton White House, to run President Clinton's Florida re-election campaign in 1996 and then serve as a strategist for Vice President Gore's campaign in 2000. As a result of his work on this last effort, the late-columnist Robert Novak dubbed Nick the operative who "[saved] Al Gore from oblivion."
In campaign politics, Baldick has served as a lead political strategist to campaigns for president, Congress and state Attorney General, as well as several major independent expenditures. He is known in political circles as a strong manager who brings years of strategic campaign experience to the efforts he joins.
A recent list of candidates that have relied on Baldick's counsel include Bill de Blasio for Mayor (New York City) Steve Bullock for Governor (MT) and Chris Koster for Attorney General (MO).
Rachel Levine has more than fifteen years of political and public affairs campaign experience at the state and national levels. At Hilltop, she manages a wide variety of projects, ranging from multi-state earned media efforts to grasstops campaigns.
Rachel got her start in politics in the 2008 Obama campaign. She began as a volunteer in South Carolina in 2007 and worked her way through 7 states in jobs ranging from field organizer to regional field director before finishing the campaign as a deputy outreach director for Ohio in the General Election.
After the 2008 election, Rachel returned to Washington and joined a prominent political fundraising firm. For three years, Rachel worked on national fundraising for an array of federal and state candidates, including United States Senators Arlen Specter, Frank Lautenberg and Ben Cardin.
In the 2012 cycle, Rachel worked as a fundraiser, and then as Campaign Manager, for Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster's very successful re-election campaign. General Koster won his race by over 15%, and in the process broke the record for amounts raised by a non-gubernatorial statewide candidate in Missouri.
During the 2014 cycle, Rachel worked on Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh's campaign, helping him to win a tough primary and go on to emerge as one of the few Democratic bright spots on election night.
Rachel graduated from Hamilton College with Honors in Government in 2007. She currently resides in Washington, D.C.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal - Washington, DC
Scott Harriford is a Principal at Hilltop Public Solutions.
Most recently Scott was a political appointee at the Small Business Administration and served as the White House liaison.
Prior to joining the Small Business Administration, he worked on the Biden Campaign as the South Carolina Political Director, and after the primary election he became the Southeastern Political Director for the Biden-Harris campaign. In his role he helped the campaign develop and implement a regional political strategy, he was also responsible for community outreach, strategic planning and political organization.
Before joining the Biden campaign, Scott worked in South Carolina's First Congressional District as a Senior Field Director for Congressman Joe Cunningham. In that role he was responsible for leading the district's community outreach program. Previously he worked on Representative's James Smith and Mandy Powers Norrell's campaign for Governor/ Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina as the Deputy Political Director.
Scott graduated from the University of South Carolina where he had the opportunity to start a small business that focused on hydroponic farm development and consulting.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner - New England
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Partner - Washington, DC
A partner at Hilltop Public Solutions, Sharon works in the firm's grasstops practice area, building and managing national and state coalitions on a diverse set of issues. As a public affairs professional, Sharon has created and managed multi-state coalitions engaging in grasstops and grassroots strategies to successfully pass legislation at the state and federal levels.
An expert in developing cutting edge, multi-lingual paid media campaigns, her work has also helped deliver the margin of victory for some of the nation's highest office holders. Sharon also assists clients in reaching diverse communities, helping them further develop their earned media communications and message strategy. Her rich, multicultural personal experience and professional background provides her the unique insight needed on how to best reach diverse communities through radio, digital, television and print campaigns.
Sharon has extensive political campaign and media advertising experience. In 2020, Sharon lent her skills to Senator Mark Kelly's historic campaign in Arizona and again for his 2022 re-election victory, where she was an advisor on BIPOC issues and created the campaign's Spanish-language advertising. Her work on John Fetterman's Senate race in Pennsylvania where she directed African American, Latino, Chinese and Vietnamese media helped the Democrats secure control of the U.S. Senate. Also in 2022, she was part of the DCCC Independent Expenditure team leading the production of all the African American TV, Radio and Digital media.
In 2020, Sharon's team planned and executed the Biden for President AAPI advertising campaign in battleground states, producing print and radio ads in six languages, as well as an English-language TV ad targeting Pan-Asian voters. That year, she also served as the ethnic media consultant to North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper's re-election campaign
Born in Washington, D.C. and raised in nearby Prince George's County, Maryland, she attended Towson University where she studied Political Science and International Relations.
Sky Gallegos has worked in national Democratic politics for over 25 years, holding senior positions in government, non-profit, corporate and campaign arenas. She specializes in building and managing coalitions and public-private partnerships, and in designing and implementing advocacy and public relations strategies. She has honed management, strategic planning and advocacy skills through a wide variety of roles over her career. She served in three Democratic Presidential Administrations, on four different Presidential campaigns, was a Deputy CEO of the 2008 Democratic National Convention, developed and managed political programming for one of the most politically active philanthropists in the country and has consulted non-profit and corporate clients.
Sky's political career is grounded on her work in building and managing relationships with the nation's state and local elected officials. In the early 90's at the Democratic National Committee, Sky was part of a team that formalized the Democratic caucus organizations for state and local elected officials, including the Democratic Attorney Generals' Association, the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State and the National Conference of Democratic Mayors. She then served in the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs in President Clinton's White House in both Clinton Administrations and as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs in the Department of Energy in the Obama Administration.
Sky is also an experienced campaign veteran. In addition to roles in targeted states for the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Sky held prominent positions in three presidential cycles. She served on President Clinton's re-election team in California; managed Vice President Gore's campaign effort for twelve western states; was Senator Edwards' National Political Director for his 2003 primary run and then managed Senator Kerry's California campaign operation in the general election in 2004. In 2008, she skipped the campaign trail to return to her home state of Colorado to be the Deputy CEO for Intergovernmental Affairs for the Democratic National Convention.
Since 2012, Sky has managed or advised independent expenditure campaigns in support of candidates for local, state and federal office across the country. Most recently, Sky has brought her considerable political experience to the South. She has worked closely, both in paid and pro bono roles, with the emerging donor tables in TN and AL, advising them on their strategic planning and investments. She served 3 years on the Board of TN Emerge and currently serves as Chair of the C4 Board for the TN Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition.
Outside her work for political committees and elected officials, Sky has used her advocacy and public relations talent to advance critical issues like climate change and education. She helped create and then managed a statewide advocacy organization for public school reform in California and built a statewide innovation network of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) schools, programs and stakeholders in Tennessee. She also managed investments and led campaign efforts for NextGen America, a political action committee and C4 founded by philanthropist and political activist, Tom Steyer. In her time at NextGen, Sky led a multi-million-dollar independent expenditure campaign to elect climate champions across battleground states, managed efforts to drive a more prominent climate narrative in the 2016 Presidential cycle and developed and managed a program to influence the political narrative on immigration and support pro-immigrant rights' candidates.
Sky helped launch Hilltop as one of three partners when the firm was founded in 2006 and returned in 2021. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Stanford University. She is a native of Denver, Colorado, but currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee with her family.
Tanya Nathan has served on multiple federal Democratic political campaigns in her home state of Colorado over the last 10 years. These races have included Joe Miklosi for Congress 2012 in the highly competitive Congressional District 6, and Senator Mark Udall's reelection campaign in 2014 as the Regional Organizing Director of the Western Slope. In the fall of 2015, Tanya joined Hillary for America during the primary as the State Field Lead and Delegate Director, and transitioned to the Colorado Training Director during the General Election. During the 2020 Democratic Primary, Tanya served as Tom Steyer's Colorado State Director. In her time at Hilltop, Tanya has consulted on a wide variety of clients and high-profile campaigns, including the 2020 tobacco tax increase statewide ballot measure, and on the historic Colorado Option healthcare bill that was signed into law in 2021. She also served as lead consultant for statewide ballot measure Proposition 123 in 2022, and in 2024, the Yes on 2Q for Denver Health campaign and the historic Yes on 7A for RTD campaign.
Between races, Tanya gained experience locally and nationally outside of the political realm including time with The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, The Biennial of the Americas, and JEWISHcolorado. Tanya has spent time with the National Democratic Training Committee training local candidates, campaign staff, and party leaders in Idaho, Missouri, and Montana, and is a fellow in the Anti Defamation League's Glass Leadership Institute leadership development program.
Job Titles:
- Principal
- Principal - California
Vanessa Carr is a Principal at Hilltop Public Solutions, managing high-level political candidates and campaigns.
Most recently she served as the Regional Deputy Director for External Affairs at the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom. There she led strategic community outreach and coalition building with a diverse set of stakeholders that included elected officials, business leaders, labor unions, community based organizations, and other thought leaders.
Vanessa's extensive experience spans across the public and private sector and all levels of government, including roles with California Volunteers Office of the Governor, Stop the Republican Recall campaign, Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, Congressman Ro Khanna, Congressman Mike Honda, Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits, and Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy, LLP.
Originally from San Jose, California, Vanessa earned her Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Santa Clara University. Vanessa now resides in Los Angeles and is actively involved with political and community organizations that uplift the issues affecting Black and Asian American communities.