PROPS & MEASURES - Key Persons
Born and raised in California's Central Valley, Alex Wara-Macapinlac brings over 15 years of experience on campaigns, crafting policy and in community relations and outreach. Since joining Props & Measures Alex has worked on numerous measures, generating billions in funds in the areas of affordable housing, K-12 school bonds and parcel taxes, city special taxes and community college bonds. Alex is one of the youngest people to be named partner in the firm's history. Alex has filled every role in a campaign throughout her career from the data entry intern, volunteer coordinator, field director to campaign manager and has an unmatched knowledge of the inner workings of campaigns. In 2018, she helped pass Props 1 and 2, the statewide affordable housing bonds that helped create homes for veterans, seniors, and families and helped create permanent, supportive housing for the mentally ill and those who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Alex is also no stranger to the public sector, prior to Props & Measures, she served as Deputy District Director in the CA State Legislature. While there she worked on K-12 education policy issues, higher education issues, women's rights issues, and was a liaison to numerous agencies - ranging from cities to special districts as well as labor and chamber groups. She also managed the constituent services outreach program, helping hundreds of constituents navigate state agencies. She is a graduate of San Jose State University, with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and a minor in American Studies. Go Spartans! Alex lives in Campbell, CA with her husband Andrae. You can catch Alex at a local brewery in her free time, watching reality TV or drinking an absurd amount of coffee.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Production Manager
Raised in Israel and Connecticut, Dan grew up with a strong interest in both American and global politics. After graduating college in 2003, he moved to Washington, DC to attend the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University. During college and grad school, Dan spent his breaks leading state legislative and Congressional campaigns and field programs in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and South Dakota. In 2005, seeking a change from Washington, DC life, culture and dress code, Dan moved to California and organized for various candidates and ballot measure campaigns ranging from the $4 billion Los Angeles school bond, Measure Y, to leading a League of Conservation Voters Independent Expenditure campaign. Dan joined Terris, Barnes & Walters, now Props & Measures, in July 2007 as an Account Executive and transitioned into his current role as Production Manager before becoming a Partner in 2012. As Production Manager, he maintains a nationwide network of print and mail vendors and works with them to ensure projects are completed on time and meet Props & Measures high standards with regards to quality and efficiency. Dan currently lives in San Francisco and spends his spare time coaching and training with aspiring long distance runners and enjoying the best food, drinks and music the City has to offer.
David has been a partner and longtime Business Manager for the firm. He's responsible for the firm's finances, HR, office management and political reporting. His route to the firm was circuitous: degrees in History and Rhetoric from Cal, a decade-plus at the American Arbitration Association (most of that time helping run it's San Francisco Arbitration Department), followed by a jump to Terris, Barnes & Walters, now Props & Measures, as Business Manager. David lives in the East Bay with his wife Amy, a Cal instructor. An avid cyclist, David spends what time he can touring the Berkeley/Oakland hills and the Bay Trail.
Prior to joining Props & Measures (formerly TBWB Strategies) in early 1998, Erica Walters received her political training in the trenches of over 30 campaigns throughout the country. Walters became a partner in 2003. Today, Walters specializes in ballot measures, independent expenditure campaigns and federal races. She recently earned the nickname "landslide" for a nail-biting 2018 victory in a transportation tax measure in San Mateo County by 543 votes out of 180,895. She is also helping public agencies navigate the COVID epidemic today. Previously, she helped the State of Oregon pass progressive tax reform despite serious hurdles presented by the recession. Measures 66 & 67 helped stabilize the state economy and provide much-needed funding for schools, without negative consequences for in-state businesses. She has also worked on an open space measure in Montana, a sales tax campaign in Santa Cruz and for the Santa Clara County Water District. Walters lives in San Francisco with her husband, Mark. She has two poorly-behaved cats and three much better behaved stepsons. She enjoys cooking, hiking, playing mahjongg and travel.
Michael Terris received his professional training from some of America's most prestigious political media firms. After returning to his native San Francisco, Terris founded Terris Communications in the summer of 1988. Over the decades, the firm has grown and branched out across California and the rest of the country. Terris is actively involved in marketing, creative, message development, earned media and targeting for a wide variety of the firm's clients. He remains committed to hands-on, personal service for his clients, large and small. His work on Props & Measures has included two statewide measures in 2018: Propositions 1 to pass a $6 billion statewide affordable housing bond measure and Proposition 2 to fund $2 billion worth of bonds to provide housing and mental health services for the homeless. He worked on Regional Measure 3, a nine county Bay Area measure to fund transportation by raising bridge tolls. He has also spearheaded numerous other ballot measures across Northern California for many districts including bond, parcel tax and sales tax measures for Santa Rosa Jr College, Valley Transportation Authority and parks and transportation measures for Santa Cruz County among others.
Robin joined Props & Measures in March 2018, bringing a wealth of knowledge in strategic communications, project management and education policy. Many of Robin's projects have been with school districts to develop bond and parcel tax measures to help fund school construction and close the gap in funding academic programs in public education. Robin has also worked with cities and counties on measures to fund public health and safety initiatives, including an initiative that will fund proactive wildfire prevention and preparedness efforts and increase public safety from deadly wildfires. Robin is known for her "we're all in this together" mentality with her clients and believes the key to a successful campaign is recognizing the strengths of each committee member, creating an environment for collaboration, and motivating the team through our strategic process to bring home a WIN! With a degree in Public Administration from San Diego State University, Robin spent many years working in the public education field as the Executive Director of Can Do! Education Foundation where she worked directly with the parent community and district administration team to streamline resources to local students. No stranger to local parcel tax and bond campaigns, Robin co-chaired multiple campaigns on behalf of her local school district, resulting in millions of dollars to benefit local students. Her unique knowledge of client's needs arising from her personal experience makes Robin a perfect fit for Props & Measures. Robin is a resident of San Rafael and, when not traveling to see her three daughters in various corners of the US, she enjoys reading, spending time outdoors and keeping up-to-date on anything and everything related to sports.