Minds Behind the Message
From the front lines of the campaign trail to back-end data analytics, we know what it takes to influence and motivate voters. Our team includes political professionals with decades of combined experience in political strategy, campaign management, and public affairs advocacy. We help clients win the toughest races because our team has the experience, dedication, and ability to get results. Meet the minds that will make a difference in your campaign.
John Jameson
President and Founder
John founded the firm in 1996 to build on his telecommunications, political and government experience. Under his leadership, Winning Connections has become America’s premier voter contact firm for winning electoral campaigns and legislative fights. John is now driving the firm’s integration of digital with telephone contact services.
More About John
John has led Winning Connections to earn more Pollie and Reed Awards than any competitor. We helped Senator Jon Tester, Senator Al Franken and Governor Dan Malloy win some of the closest statewide races of the last decade. Our clients have ranged from Planned Parenthood, Everytown for Gun Safety and the Sierra Club to PEW, the American Cancer Association, and United Healthcare.
Prior to starting Winning Connections, John managed four statewide campaigns, was a congressional chief-of-staff and mastered telephone technology at American Mobile Satellite Corporation.
Jameson, who lives in Washington, DC, is a native of Eupora, Mississippi. He spent two years selling waterless cookware in 44 states and has traveled to more than 30 countries on five continents.
John earned a BA from Millsaps College, a JD from Duke Law School and an MBA from Harvard Business School. His writing has appeared in The New Republic, Playboy and Campaigns & Elections. He has served in leadership positions at Christ Episcopal Church, International Bridges to Justice, the Ballot Initiatives Strategy Center, and Harvard Business School DC Alumni Association.
Stuart Jameson
Vice President for Campaigns
Stuart Jameson is the Campaign Director at Winning Connections. Stuart’s experience over a decade with the firm drives the expert political consulting he provides to clients.
More About Stuart
Stuart regularly travels around the country networking, marketing, and educating campaigns and organizations about our winning advantage. He got his start in politics in his home state of Mississippi, where he worked for the future governor, Ray Mabus. He joined Winning Connections in the 2004 election cycle. Since then, Stuart has worked numerous winning campaigns including races for Governor Dan Malloy, U.S. Senator Jon Tester, and Congressman Raúl Grijalva as well as legislative and municipal races in over 30 states. He received his MBA from the University of Pittsburgh, and his undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Mississippi.
Brian Steblay
Vice President for Operations
Brian Steblay is the Vice President for Operations at Winning Connections. He leads all technical aspects of Winning Connections call programs, optimizing our proprietary data systems to get the most efficiency out of every call we make. Brian is an innovative data-pro and always finds ways to keep our operations process best-in-class.
More About Brian
Prior to joining Winning Connections, he cut his teeth in politics working with Grassroots Campaigns Incorporated in support of John Kerry in 2004. Following his start in politics, he worked on targeted Congressional campaigns in Washington State, Florida, and Michigan. He spent three years serving in the Washington, D.C. office of Congressman Gary Peters after helping his successful campaign in 2008, and has consulted on everything from local to federal campaigns.
Brian grew up outside Seattle, Washington and is a graduate of Western Washington University.
Mark Schauer
Vice President
Former Congressman Mark Schauer represented Michigan’s 7th District from 2009-11 in the historic 111th Congress. Previously, Mark was Battle Creek City Commissioner, state Representative and state Senator, rising to the post of Democratic Leader. He was chosen by Michigan Democrats as their gubernatorial nominee in 2014, losing a tight race to the Republican incumbent.
More About Mark
A client of Winning Connections, Mark won multiple times as an underdog in GOP-gerrymandered districts, earning a reputation as a dogged campaigner who assembled effective teams and deployed the most sophisticated tools and strategies.
Mark has also performed national consulting work for the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee’s Advantage 2020 project and for the Eric Holder-chaired National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
Mark holds a BA from Albion College, a Master of Public Administration from Western Michigan University, and an MA in Political Science from Michigan State University. Mark, his wife Christine, and their dog Rocky live in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Robin Winston
Senior Advisor
Robin Winston is a Senior Advisor at Winning Connections. An accomplished business leader and a skilled community development professional, Robin Winston has devoted his career to providing timely and savvy public outreach, communications, strategic, finance, management, marketing, and political advice to his colleagues and clients.
More About Robin
To learn more about Robin Winston’s career and accomplishments, please read his full bio here.
Michael Childers
Operations Manager and Data Assistant
Michael Childers is the Operations Manager and Data Assistant at Winning Connections. He assists the Vice President of Operations with technical aspects of the firm’s call programs and performs data analysis for clients.
More About Michael
Prior to joining the firm in April 2014, Michael was a data manager at Community Connect LLC. He has worked on candidate and issue campaigns, large and small, and has been responsible for both in-field and data roles across multiple states including Florida, Maryland, Ohio, and Wisconsin.
Michael graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 2010 with a masters in Mathematics.
Joe Hayes
Programs Director
Joe Hayes is the Programs Director at Winning Connections. He runs the firm’s direct voter contact programs for grassroots advocacy as well as elections. Joe works with clients to determine how to best accomplish their goals, engaging constituencies across the country.
More About Joe
Joe started his professional career in 2011 as a Teach for America Corps Member, teaching special education in Chicago Public Schools. After completing TFA, Joe continued to work for social justice as the Assistant to the Director of Northwestern University’s Bluhm Legal Clinic, spearheading an effort to quantitatively evaluate and reform the Cook County Jail.
In early 2016, Joe accepted a fellowship with Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL), advancing the Congressman’s education policy and criminal justice reform agenda. After completing the fellowship, Joe worked in direct mail during the 2016 election cycle, managing accounts for Moore Campaigns, a progressive firm working with democratic candidates across the country.
Joe graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2011 with degrees in History and Public Policy. He completed his Masters in Public Policy and Administration at Northwestern University in 2016.
Erica Hennes
Research Associate
Erica is a Research Associate at Winning Connections where she focuses on electoral and ballot initiative research.
More About Erica
Erica graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she studied Political Science. While in North Carolina, she was involved in several electoral campaigns at the local and state levels, helping Democrats flip seats in highly competitive districts. In her free time, Erica enjoys working on craft projects, solving crosswords, and petting every dog she meets.
Mo Pasternak
Research Associate
Mo is a Research Associate at Winning Connections. He assists with research for elections and grassroots issues across the country.
More About Mo
Mo is the proud holder of a BA in Political Science from The George Washington University. While in school, Mo interned for U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. After graduation he worked for Campaign Legal Center, a democracy reform non-profit, on both the operations and program side. Mo, a New Jersey native, is a big sports fan and an avid audiobook listener.