How to Run a Campaign: A Workshop with Addisu Demissie ’08

Please join the Yale Law Democrats for a workshop with Addisu Demissie ’08.

Addisu Demissie is a Founding Principal of California-based political consulting firm 50+1 Strategies, with two decades of experience in advocacy and campaign strategy. He has led campaigns at the national, state, and local levels for electoral, nonprofit, and corporate clients.

Demissie is an experienced campaign manager, having run successful campaigns for U.S. Senator Cory Booker in 2013 and California Governor Gavin Newsom in 2018. He also served as the Campaign Manager for Booker’s run for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020 and a Senior Advisor to Newsom’s anti-recall effort in 2021. Demissie is a Senior Advisor to Future Forward USA, the primary external organization that supported Vice President Harris’ election campaign, and was one of the lead organizers in planning the 2020 Democratic National Convention.

Following President Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, Demissie was selected as the first National Political Director for the President’s political organization, Organizing for America. The Washington Post named him one of the “Ten Young Black Aides To Watch” in the Obama Administration, as he played a key role in mobilizing and coordinating grassroots support for the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, federal student loan reform, and the Affordable Care Act. Demissie has significant experience in California having served as general consultant to several municipal and state legislative candidates, local and state ballot initiatives, and independent expenditure campaigns over the past decade.

Demissie is a 2001 graduate of Yale University, 2008 graduate of Yale Law School, and a member of the state Bar of California. He serves on several nonprofit boards including Run for Something, Higher Ground Labs, Giffords Courage to Fight Gun Violence, and Vote Save America. In his spare time, he likes to run in the California sun and watch sports of any and every kind, especially his hometown Atlanta Braves and adopted hometown Golden State Warriors.  
 

Lunch will be provided! This is an inclusive and welcoming event. If you have questions about accessibility or would like to request an accommodation, please include your requirements with your registration form or contact Gevin Reynolds.