Patrick Campaign Press Release - Deval Patrick Announces Seven Senior Leadership Hires

Staffs Up with Top Talent From Around the Country to Lead His Campaign

BOSTON, MA - Deval Patrick's campaign for President today announced a number of recent hires from progressive movements and political initiatives across the country. As Governor Patrick continues to build momentum, the campaign is rapidly filling its ranks with top talent who bring a range of political knowledge and experience to the team. As the campaign grows, additional hires will be announced in the following weeks.

"I am thrilled about the talented, experienced, and progressive-minded team that we are bringing together." Governor Patrick said. "These team members and I are ready to work with people all across the country to fight for the American dream and to build change that lasts."

The hires announced today are:

Abe Rakov - Campaign Manager

Abe joins the Patrick campaign after serving a Senior Advisor and Early States Director for Beto O'Rourke's presidential campaign. Prior to joining the O'Rourke campaign, Abe spent a number of years as a top aide to former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander. Abe managed Kander's races for Secretary of State in 2012 and for Senate in 2016. In 2017, Abe became the President and Executive Director of Let America Vote, a progressive organization dedicated to fighting against voter suppression efforts around the United States.

Rosy Gonzalez Speers - Senior Advisor

Rosy has over a decade of political experience and has remained a close advisor to Governor Patrick and his family. She has served as Governor Patrick's Finance Director, Political Director and political consultant over the years. Formerly a Vice President at Northwind Strategies, Rosy has advised and executed on behalf of some of the most prominent leaders in the Democratic Party today.

Aleigha Cavalier - Communications Director

Aleigha was most recently National Press Secretary for Beto O'Rourke's campaign for President. Previously, Aleigha was the Communications Director at NextGen America, which ran the largest youth vote program in history and doubled the turnout of voters ages 18-29 in 2018. At NextGen, Aleigha also led communications for the Need to Impeach campaign, and was a senior advisor to and spokesperson for Tom Steyer. Aleigha has also worked in leadership for Planned Parenthood and on various local and statewide races across the country.

Don Calloway - Senior Advisor for National Political and External Affairs

Don joins the Patrick campaign from the National Voter Protection Action Fund, a 501c4 dedicated to fighting voter suppression and expanding ballot box access. Don is known in Washington, DC and various state houses from his campaign and advocacy work at Pine Street Strategies, and his time as a cable news contributor. Don is a former member of the Missouri House of Representatives, and civil litigation attorney.

Samantha Joseph - Director of States / COO

Samantha most recently served in campaign leadership roles for Senator Ed Markey and Congressman Seth Moulton. The majority of Samantha's career has been as a senior executive in the private sector, building and leading corporate social responsibility programs.

Chelsie Ouellette - National Organizing Director

Chelsie is currently on leave from her role as Partner at Field First, a progressive consulting firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. Chelsie brings extensive experience working in the field for presidential campaigns to her role as National Organizing Director. In 2015 and 2016, Chelsie led field programs for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in numerous states. Chelsie worked on President Obama's reelection campaign, as well as a number of federal and state elections. Chelsie served in the Governor Patrick's administration as a speech writer and deputy press secretary.

Porsha White - Deputy Political Director

Porsha was most recently serving as the National Political Director at Let America Vote. She previously worked as the Public Policy Manager at Planned Parenthood Southeast. Porsha is a lifelong organizer and political strategist. She brings experience from her work on campaigns that, which have ranged from mayoral to Senate. Porsha is a native of Jackson, Mississippi, and is a resident of Decatur, Georgia.