Democratic National Committee Names New CEO

Tom Perez, Chair of the Democratic National Committee, sent the following announcement this week to the Democratic National Committee. We reprint it here, compliments of Doug Ballard, our DNC rep:

Dear Fellow DNC Members,

I am excited to inform you that after an extensive search and interview process, Jess O’Connell has accepted the position of CEO of the Democratic National Committee. Jess joins the DNC from EMILY’s List, the largest political organization dedicated to women running for office in the United States, where she served as Executive Director. She has an impressive progressive track record and I am honored that she will lend her talents to rebuilding and strengthening our Party.

We interviewed more than 20 candidates for CEO, working closely with all of our officers to ensure that we identified the most qualified, effective, and energized candidate for the role. I am confident that Jess’ experience as a grassroots organizer and as a leader who has helped hundreds of Democratic candidates win up and down the ballot will be invaluable as we gear up for critical elections in 2017, 2018, and beyond.

Under her tenure, EMILY’s List provided some of the biggest electoral victories for Democrats in recent years, including helping to elect the most diverse Congress in history. She’s managed campaigns and large organizations, from the Center of American Progress to the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, and she’s driven culture change while translating movements into votes. She will also be the first openly LGBT person to serve in the CEO role.

Jess understands our current political landscape, and I am thrilled that she will be joining our leadership team and working with all of us to jump-start Democratic victories in every territory and state. This includes overseeing the innovative restructuring efforts we discussed earlier this week, including:

  • Making grassroots organizing part of the fabric of the DNC by standing up a new Mobilization Department, staffed by full-time organizers whose mission is to engage directly with grassroots movements across the nation.
  • Continuing to build out and fortify the DNC’s technology infrastructure, including by recruiting a new Chief Technology Officer and Chief Information Security Officer who will overseeing an expanded team of engineers and analytics staff.
  • Standing up a Voter Protection and Empowerment unit at the DNC to play offense on voting rights and redistricting.
  • Bringing together the first truly multi-channel grassroots fundraising effort to ensure a thriving small-donor base and a party accountable only to the people.

Jess will be transitioning over to the DNC in the coming weeks. Please join me in congratulating Jess and welcoming her to the Party.

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