Grassroots Campaigns, Inc. Distinguished Alumni

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Sylvia Vellino

Sylvia started her career in politics during the Clinton Administration, working as National Economic Advisor, Gene Sperling’s, Special Assistant. After suffering through Bush’s first term, Sylvia joined Grassroots Campaigns’ “Beat Bush” team in January 2004. As part of the central staff, Sylvia worked on the recruitment team and ultimately as part of the roving central staff team, riding across the country trying to get out the Democratic vote.

Sylvia is currently attending Tulane Law School, and was recently awarded the Cowen Presidential fellowship for Public Service. She continues her work for Grassroots Campaigns helping with central staff operations – including recruitment, alumni outreach, and helping new staff adjust to campaign life. And of course, she’s doing her part in New Orleans, hoping to make the impossible possible – by turning Louisiana blue!.

Joey Wender

Joey worked for GCI as a Canvass Director first in Boston and then in New York leading his team to raise over $1 million for the Democratic Party. He also was a Lead Organizer in the Dearborn, Michigan office in the final month before the election helping to get Michigan voters to the polls.

Since GCI, Joey spent three years at law school and will be graduated from Harvard this June. Last summer, he worked in Senator Kennedy's Judiciary Committee office. During law school Joey has also worked for the ACLU of Massachusetts, the Legal Assistance Foundation of Chicago, the US Attorney's office, Relman & Dane (a small civil rights impact litigation firm in DC), and the Criminal Justice Institute at Harvard.

Recently, Joey won the Heyman Fellowship at Harvard and he is currently studying for the Illinois bar this summer and will work on Capitol Hill this fall.

Max Schorr
Co-Founder
Good Magazine

In 2004, Max attended the Campaign Institute and was offered a position at GCI. Initially, he worked out of the Boston office as a fundraiser and field manager, and then as part of the logistics team to set up office space, phone lines, and internet in the national field offices. After the Milwaukee summit bringing together 600 GCI organizers from across the country, Max served as an organizer in the "Ring Of Fire" suburbs of Philadelphia, the Bryn Mawr office.

The on-the-ground positive experience coupled with the taste of national defeat stunned Max, and in retrospect, made him more realistic and hungrier.

After the election, Max thawed out a bit and took the LSAT, and a couple weeks later started working on the beginning of GOOD Magazine. GOOD, which launched in the fall of 2006, was named one of the top launches of 2007, and recently was nominated for two national magazine awards and two webby's. Starting something that you love from scratch was an incredible experience for Max, though it often felt, to him, like those endless campaign days.

One notable innovation at GOOD: In an effort to find an alternative to direct mail, we created the Choose GOOD Campaign, which allows people to donate 100% of the subscription fee to a non profit organization of their choice. This effort has saved GOOD significant money, while raising over $800,000 for great initiatives including Ashoka, Kiva, Slow Food and Teach For America. That's really what Max and the terrific team at GOOD are up to, creating a collaboration of people, businesses and non profits to push things forward.

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