To say 2020 has been a wild year is an understatement, but, somehow, it's only going to get wilder as we approach Nov. 3. 

Election Day is a favorite holiday of mine (well, it should be a federal holiday but we'll leave that to another blog post) and one I can't wait to share in this year. A quick look at my sample ballot shows seven races spanning from President to School Board, two city questions, and 29 judges. It feels...

I have a not-so-exciting secret to share: I love podcasts. 

I love them as a medium to get information, I love them as a medium to share information, and they have become an important partner in my day-to-day activities.

At my first job out of college, I helped launch a small business' podcast. It was about business, technology, and changing industries. It was a great introduction for me to something that was still a pretty...

Okay, where were we? Ah, that’s right, relational organizing and how we used it on the Pete Buttigieg campaign to catapult our campaign into top-tier presidential campaign status. 

Last week, we left off talking about the difference between seeing a commercial for a restaurant that went in one ear and out the other versus when your best friend, who you know and trust, tells you about that same restaurant. 

Now, to get back to it...

Over my career, I have worked on campaigns and races large and small searching for the best way to empower voters to use their voices and create change in their communities. 

No other example illustrates that quite like when I packed up my car exactly one year ago today and headed for South Bend, Indiana (which I wouldn’t have been able to point out on a map if you dared me) to take a chance on a guy with a silly last name runn...

I heard that you may be interested in running for office. Let me be the first to say congratulations!

Now, let’s talk about how we can take your grand idea and turn it into a winning campaign. 

There are a few key things that you need to do in order to get off on the right foot, regardless of what level of office you pursue. 

Find your “Why”

If you are reading this, there is something that lit that fire in your belly to even...

For so many reasons, Pride feels different this year: No parades. No festivals. Just the stark realization of how far we have come -- and how much farther we need to go to achieve true equity in our communities.

It is easy to think back fondly on that moment five years ago today, when the Supreme Court ruled that love was the law of the land, and forget the pain and struggles that led to that moment. 

The Stonewal...

What was it like managing a legislative campaign in a pandemic?

Well, it was very similar--except we couldn’t do anything in person and our zoom meetings were often interrupted by dogs crying and children barking in the background. Alright, maybe I’m being a little cheeky, but the fundamentals don’t change much. 

Campaigns are about communicating a candidate’s message to the people who will determine the outcome of the election....

Updated June 9, 2020:

In case you missed every news cycle of the past two weeks, the TL;DR is that a lot has happened in Minnesota -- specifically Minneapolis and St. Paul -- following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police in South Minneapolis.

There is a lot in motion, including Keith Ellison, the MN Attorney General, taking on the criminal case of George Floyd's murderer and accomplices. 

Also elevated to the s...

When Leili and I started Apparatus, we knew that we wanted to build a company that was ethically successful. Said differently, we wanted to make money but only by doing good things with positive outcomes for our community and issues we care about.

Not long after we started Apparatus, we were able to apply to become a Public Benefit Corporation in Minnesota. As of then, we've officially been a General Benefit Corporation (you se...