Skills for Winning Campaigns and Elections

Instructor: Emily Bhandari, MPAff, MSSW

The principal objective for this course was to build civic skills around running campaigns and elections. Whether working for an elected official, government agency, or nonprofit organization, many civic leaders at one point in their career will be working on some sort of campaign. This course helped prepare the next generation for managing a successful one. Students put their learning into action and worked in teams to create a campaign plan for a mock candidate or for an issue they care about. Students presented their plans at the end of the semester.

Fall 2024 Speakers

James Aldrete (D)

President of MAP Political Communications

Mike Baselice (R)

President and CEO of Baselice and Associates

Brencia Berry (D)

Former Political Director at the Democratic National Committee

Darcy Caballero (D)

Government Relations and Political Director at Planned Parenthood and Texas Votes

Liz Chadderdon (D)

Former President and Creative Director at Chadderdon Lestingi Creative Strategies

Matthew Dowd (I)

Chief strategist for the Bush–Cheney 2004 presidential campaign and former ABC News political analyst

John Drogin (R)

Former campaign manager for Senator Ted Cruz

John Egan (R)

Partner and COO of Murphy Nasica

Manny Garcia (D)

Former Executive Director of The Texas Democratic Party

The Honorable Larry Gonzales (R)

Former Texas State Representative

The Honorable Sherri Greenberg (D)

Former Texas State Representative
Assistant Dean, LBJ School of Public Affairs

Elliott Griffin (R)

Former Chief of Staff in the Texas Capitol

Vincent Harris (R)

CEO of Harris Media

Laura Hernandez Holmes (D)

Former Campaign Manager for U.S. Representative Greg Casar

Rob Johnson (R)

Former campaign manager for Rick Perry for Governor and Dade Phelan for Re-Election

Periklis Karoutas (R)

Managing Partner at Legislative Solutions

Kevin Lindley (R)

Former Campaign Manager for Governor Rick Perry and Senator Creighton

Ryan Micik (D)

Political Research and Communications Consultant

Jennifer Naedler (R)

Campaign Fundraiser

Joey Parr (R)

Partner and Creative Director at Murphy Nasica & Associates

Scott Pollard (D)

Former Director of Advance for The Texas Democratic Party and Former Advance Associate for The White House under President Obama