2 DEGREES - Key Persons

Job Titles:

• Communications Specialist
• Managing Partner of the Political Consulting Firm Kully Struble

Dan is a communications specialist and award-winning media consultant with nearly twenty-five years of experience advising high profile political campaigns across the country in nearly every state and internationally as well. Dan's work is known for its authenticity. He strives to capture the true voice and values of his clients in order to best strike an emotional chord with audiences. For instance, his breakthrough television ad from 2006 "Creating a Buzz" is widely regarded as one of the most successful in American political history precisely for its creative validation of Montana Senator Jon Tester and his prairie populism. Dan brings a unique understanding of the issue of climate change through the lens of American politics. Over the years, Dan has worked extensively with Climate Action Campaign, The Nature Conservancy, League of Conservation Voters, Environmental Defense Fund and The Sierra Club, and Dan has been instrumental in passing some of the nation's largest ballot measures to expand funding for transit. Dan also spent much of 2019 helping launch and serve as an advisor to Washington Governor Jay Inslee (and still serves as advisor to his reelection campaign for Washington Governor) in his bid for the White House that was unique for the fact that the issue of climate change was the central organizing principle of his presidential campaign. While the Governor bowed out early, his climate agenda became the blueprint for how our nation could meet the urgent threat of the climate crisis. In addition to co-founding Two Degrees, Dan is the managing partner of the political consulting firm Kully Struble and partner in the Seattle based public affairs firm, Sound View Strategies. Dan grew up in Omaha Nebraska, holds a B.A. from Colgate University and lives with his wife and their two daughters in Seattle, Washington.

James is a digital marketing pioneer and environmental activist with more than thirty years of experience in leveraging effective communications to advance social change, and help businesses grow. James has worked personally and professionally on initiatives to preserve America's beautiful wild places, to protect our rivers and streams, and to reduce emissions and green-house gases through more expansive community transit. James served on the board of Utah Open Lands, was chair of the political action committee for the Sierra Club. James is a successful entrepreneur. In 2004 he founded Redirect Digital Marketing. Based in Salt Lake City, Redirect is engaged in digital campaigns throughout the Western United States. He is also the principal owner of Lone Peak Productions. And, previously served as Director of Corporate Development at Sundance, and Executive Director of the Utah Democratic Party, James brings private-sector business development and marketing experience to bear on political and educational initiatives. When he's not talking on the phone or creating Rube Goldberg diagrams on a whiteboard, you're most likely to find James enjoying time outdoors.

Job Titles:

• Communications Strategist

Kate Maeder is a California-based political and communications strategist who has been working in politics for a decade. After serving as the lead strategist and Campaign Manager for the first woman elected Lieutenant Governor in California's history, Kate joined the political consulting firm Kully Struble as a partner. At Kully Struble she designs and develops multi-channel communication strategies to organize communities and win campaigns for her political and non-profit clients. Kate has a deep commitment to electing and empowering more women. She has helped train women to run for office through the Emerge California program, organized women to support and get involved with EMILY's List, and served as the Chapter Director of New Leaders Council, a national organization training the next generation of progressive leaders, for five years. As a board member of Equality California, Kate works to elect and elevate LGBTQ+ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ+ people. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley Kate previously worked at the Democratic political media firm Storefront Political Media, where she worked her way up to Senior Vice President. In 2018 she was named one of the 40 Under 40 political leaders by the American Association of Political Consultants. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and now lives in San Francisco.

Kathleen graduated from Amherst College in 2020, receiving her Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Environmental Studies. During her time as an undergraduate, she developed a passion for the intersections of climate mitigation, environmental advocacy, and public policy, and served as an intern for The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Environmental Voter Project. Now, Kathleen plays a supportive role for the Two Degrees team, assisting with research, social and email communications, and client management and relations. She is excited about the opportunity to help private and public sector clients engage in meaningful sustainability and conservation initiatives. Kathleen is originally from Los Angeles, and now resides in San Francisco.

Maurice has worked both domestically and internationally in the public and private sectors as well as on a number of political and advocacy campaigns across the country. Whether in his time as an educator, in his roles in the public sector, advocating for working people under the banner of organized labor, or on the campaign trail for individuals and causes he supported, nearly his entire professional career has been spent working towards providing equitable access to opportunities, most recently through his work in the Smart Cities arena. He was most recently the Senior Director of U.S. Government Partnerships at Bird Rides Inc. In October 2020, he was appointed by Governor Kate Brown to serve as a member of the Oregon Transportation Commission. In his prior public service, he worked in various capacities at the highest levels of the local and state government as well as in the transit industry. Those roles have included, working as the Chief Operating Officer for the Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) in Portland, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler's Chief of Staff, Deputy Director at the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), Chief Administrative Officer for the Technology office in Washington, DC, and as the Deputy Press Secretary for former Virginia Governor, now US Senator, Tim Kaine. He has served on a number of boards that are dedicated to equity, sustainability and environmental justice through expansion of electric and human-powered mobility options and land use planning, NABSA, Greenroads Foundation, and Forth Mobility. He is a member of the inaugural class for the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. He holds a Bachelor's in Leadership Studies, a Master's degree in Public Administration.

Job Titles:

• Strategic Counsel to Startups, NGOs

Michael has a proven track record - throughout his +20-year career - of building and leading organizations that drive impactful results for major corporations, brands, political leaders, philanthropic organizations and non-profits in high pressure situations and dynamic environments. He has significant experience working with CEOs and C-suite executives, national and international political leaders, high profile media professionals, personalities and celebrities, and on/with major motion picture and television series productions. Michael is currently providing strategic counsel to startups, NGOs, non-profits, political leaders, corporations and philanthropic entities. Current clients include IBM, Aon, and Weber Shandwick. He is also a member of the Tech:NYC Leadership Council, part of the The Hive collective (a social impact consultancy), on the Board of CCNY's Brand and Integrated Communications Program, on the advisory board of Turbine Labs and Positive Energy, and is on the board of New Yorkers for Culture and Arts. Most recently he served as SVP, Strategic Communications for Turner Broadcasting, building and running their corporate communications, public affairs, corporate partnerships, corporate marketing, media relations and executive communications operation. He also served as CEO & Chairman John Turner's external communications lead and sat on the Senior Leadership Team of their Global Technology and Operations (GTO) organization working directly with the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Previously, he worked at Bloomberg LP as Head of Global Communications for Brand, Innovation and Sustainability, where he created and ran a cross-platform positioning and reputation effort for the Technology, Innovation and Design organization at Bloomberg (R&D, Office of the CTO and Bloomberg Beta), and worked closely on public affairs issue specifically related to the companies sustainability and philanthropic efforts. He also created and ran Bloomberg's Branded Entertainment Group which worked strategically with the entertainment industry. Prior to that he ran Global Communications for Core and Financial Products (aka The Bloomberg Terminal), and worked closely with Bloomberg's global government relations team on issues impacting Bloomberg's business and the global financial markets. Before moving to Bloomberg LP, Michael launched Bloomberg Philanthropies and the C40 Cities Climate Group (at the time Chaired by then NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg) and served on their leadership teams. In both capacities he worked closely with leaders and organizations around the world on impacting public policy outcomes on a local and national level, particularly relating to public health, climate and sustainability. He also served as Mike Bloomberg's personal spokesperson and ran his personal social and digital media. Prior to his time with Bloomberg, he spent four years at Microsoft, working with Legal and Corporate Affairs (LCA) and the General Counsel on intellectual property matters, and then running communications and analyst relations for Microsoft Office (Enterprise). Prior to that he built and lead Global Public Relations for Becton Dickinson developing public affairs campaigns on global health issues, created a Public Affairs and Government Relations consulting practice for Grey Advertising, was a consultant on Microsoft's Antitrust Case, and served in the U.S. Senate for seven years first with Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (New York) and later Senator Bob Kerrey (Nebraska).

Paige specializes in strategic planning, communication, positioning and tactics, team building and management. She brings her passion for excellent public policy - especially for leveraging investment in renewable energy to create good paying US jobs - and deep political expertise to 2Degrees. Born into a family with deep roots in politics, Paige was going door to door for her father's West Virginia House of Delegates race at the age of 8 and recruiting her friends to help. Paige's command of every element of campaigns has produced win-after-win for candidates and causes across the country. She's personally worked on the ground in over 20 states for candidates, ballot measures, and issue advocacy campaigns. Paige's work has included guiding the campaign for the Portland Clean Energy Fund which secured a "first in the nation" grant program for city-wide renewable energy infrastructure in Portland, OR, and passing record-breaking school and library bonds.