Rodericka Applewhaite is a research and communications professional who grew up in Carrollton, Georgia and has worked on several federal and statewide campaigns.
For the 2022 cycle, Rodericka was on the ground spearheading offensive narratives to combat a crowded Republican gubernatorial primary as the senior communications advisor for Michigan Democratic Party – an effort that contributed to Governor Gretchen Whitmer winning a tough re-election by double digits and a larger margin than her first term. One of the first hires for his historic 2020 presidential run, Rodericka was on the rapid response team for now-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s campaign.
Off the trail, Rodericka led EMILY’s List’s vetting operation for state and local candidates, processing over 700 potential endorsees for the prominent pro-choice organization during the 2017 and 2018 cycles. Following volunteering on campaigns up and down the ballot, she began her career as an associate at a top opposition research firm in 2015.
Rodericka has a B.A. in political science from The George Washington University and is a class of 2021 Political Partner of the Truman National Security Project. When she’s not religiously catching up on the latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Rodericka can be found at any one of DC’s live music venues.
Rachel is an experienced social media, digital, and brand strategist who specializes in social media growth, brand building and awareness, increased engagement, social content creation, and digital messaging. She brings her extensive expertise in social media and branding to her work at SKDK after years of working in the political and reproductive rights nonprofit sectors. She has led social media strategy through major Supreme Court cases, confirmation battles, and several election cycles.
At SKDK, she works on a wide range of corporate, health care, government, and nonprofit clients to increase brand awareness and engagement across social media channels. Before SKDK, Rachel was the senior social media strategist and brand associate at NARAL Pro-Choice America, the communications coordinator at Emerge, and a press assistant at the DNC. She is also an experienced social media trainer.
A Californian, Rachel is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley where she studied English. She also earned her master’s degree in communication from Johns Hopkins University, where she specialized in political communication.
Comments Off on Rachel FederMatt manages digital paid media strategy for SKDK clients to help win campaigns and advocate for progressive organizations. He brings a wealth of knowledge after working at several progressive digital firms while formulating winning email fundraising and digital advertising programs for progressive candidates, labor unions, and environmental groups. Matt was a campaign manager for Democratic state level and county level candidates in his home state in the Commonwealth of Virginia for the 2019 cycle and the 2021 cycle as well as being a legislative advocate for repealing Virginia’s Right to Work laws, campaign finance reform, and a Green New Deal for Virginia after returning home from organizing in the Midwest to lobby for clean energy, public housing in DC, and lifting cannabis restrictions nationwide.
Outside of work, Matt serves as the Chief of Staff for Young Democrats of America, on the Virginia Young Democrats Executive Board, an elected member of the 8th Congressional District Democratic Committee, a Public Interest Commissioner on the Arlington County Tenant-Landlord Commission, and a member of the Northern Virginia Labor Federation.
Matt graduated from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia with a degree in Intelligence Analysis and graduated from the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Matt enjoys spending time with his family, his dogs Ryder and Aoife, traveling to new cities, playing music and going to concerts with friends, and being a long-suffering DC sports fan.
Comments Off on Matt RoyerAlex Macfarlane is an experienced and proven communicator who brings nearly a decade of experience in policy and politics to SKDK. She has extensive knowledge and involvement managing the rollout of legislation, communicating with reporters on complex issues, and preparing principals, executives and elected leaders to speak with local, state, and national media outlets. She has worked with health care systems and pharmaceutical companies to help them communicate with the public. She’s also worked with clients to manage complex crisis and litigation needs, including advising Dr. Caitlin Bernard, the Indianapolis obstetrician-gynecologist who came under attack by various media outlets and public figures after the Indianapolis Star reported that she provided medical and reproductive care for a 10-year-old child abuse victim days after the groundbreaking Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Alex also brings a deep understanding of Congressional policy and practice to bear on her work for clients. Before joining SKDK, she served as Communications Director to Congressman Mike Thompson (CA-05), where she managed the Congressman’s communications as Chairman of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force and as a senior member on the House Committee on Ways and Means. Before that, she served as Press Secretary to both Congressman Raul Ruiz (CA-36) and Congressman David Cicilline (RI-01).
Originally from Utah, Alex earned a bachelor’s in history from Brown University. She currently resides in Washington, D.C. with her dog Millie.
Comments Off on Alex MacfarlaneNate Hitchings manages communications and media relations strategy for a wide range of political advocacy projects within SKDK’s DC Public Affairs practice. Since joining the firm as a director, he has helped drive forward campaigns dedicated to tackling the climate crisis, passing anti-poverty and anti-hunger legislation, and uniting progressive coalitions around landmark cases before the Supreme Court.
Prior to SKDK, Nate served as a communications director under former House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) at Waxman Strategies, providing policy messaging expertise and government relations support for mission-driven Beltway organizations, nonprofits, and corporate clients. He also holds extensive crisis management experience from time spent working within FTI Consulting’s Public Affairs, Government Relations, Global Risk, and Investigations practices.
Originally from Massachusetts, Nate holds a master’s degree in Politics and Communication from the London School of Economics and graduated from the University of Maryland College Park with a bachelor’s degree in Government.
Comments Off on Nate HitchingsWill Whitmire is a skilled communication strategist who specializes in earned media, communication planning, and messaging. At SKDK, Will works with a variety of clients utilizing his background in media relations, strategic communication and social media to help clients reach their goals. His writing for clients has appeared in The Financial Times, Bloomberg, and New York Daily News. His has secured media placements in The New York Times, Washington Post and MSNBC, among other outlets. Will helps leads media pitching and thought leadership for several clients, securing weekly placements in top-tier news outlets. He also led and helped roll out the groundbreaking research by Dr. Kimberly Noble titled “Baby’s First Years,” which resulted in more than 100 pieces of media coverage, including stories in Newsweek, Vox Media, MSNBC’s All in With Chris Hayes and the Associated Press.
Prior to joining the public affairs team at SKDK, Will worked as the Deputy Communications Director at Patriotic Millionaires where he helped build a comprehensive communication plan for the organization around economic justice and political representation. As well as developing the organization’s media relations capacity. Will has also worked as a Communications Coordinator at the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy organization and in the Florida Senate as a Legislative Assistant.
Will is a graduate of Georgetown University with a Master’s degree in Public Relations and Corporate Communications, and earned a Bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in Political Science. Will was recently inducted into Georgetown’s Hoya Professional 30, an honor awarded to recognize students and alumni who exemplify leadership and serve their communities while embodying Georgetown’s Jesuit value of “People for Others.”
Comments Off on William WhitmireFrom federal campaigns to corporate positioning, Max has written for party leaders and CEOs; labor unions and EGOT award-winning artists; and underdog political candidates with a Cinderella story. Max brings his battle-tested experience to SKDK’s Executive Communications practice, where he specializes in speechwriting, brand storytelling, and principal media training.
In the 2020 election cycle, Max served at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) as Speechwriter to Chairwoman Cheri Bustos and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He also guided and crafted remarks for celebrity surrogates, candidates on the campaign trail and caucus leadership. Outside of Washington, Max headed B2B storytelling at a leading management consultancy and wrote its current corporate values statement.
A native Virginian, he holds dual degrees in political science and public relations.
Comments Off on Max LuongKevin brings valuable experience on campaigns and Capitol Hill to his work at SKDK, where he helps advocacy organizations, non-profits, and corporate clients shape the news and manage crises.
Prior to joining SKDK, Kevin served as communications director for Congresswoman Titus (NV-1) and as press secretary and digital director for Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz (FL-23). On Capitol Hill and the campaign trail, he advised those principals on political strategy, prepared them for interviews on national television, and served as a spokesperson. Kevin is also a veteran of numerous other political campaigns, including Hillary for America in 2016, where he wrote speeches for elected officials, activists, and celebrities.
Born and raised in Miami, Kevin earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in political science from the University of Florida.
Comments Off on Kevin GersonCamille Meekins is an experienced diversity, equity, and inclusion professional with years of experience in creating diverse strategies, initiatives, and programming. At SKDK, Camille works to develop and implement inclusive and equitable practices across the firm. Additionally, Camille works closely alongside the Employee Resource Groups and DEI Council to support efforts in creating an inclusive environment.
Camille joined SKDK from the Office for Diversity, Equity and Community Engagement at The George Washington University where she created inclusive programming and initiatives, partnered across the university to increase representation, visibility and cultural awareness of diverse identities and experiences, and oversaw diversity-related communications university-wide. At GW, Camille developed and facilitated trainings on topics ranging from Title IX Policy to Understanding Cultural Competency.
Camille is a graduate of The George Washington University, holds a certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University and is a Philadelphia native.
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Alyssa is a communications professional with experience in public affairs and digital media as well as a passion for fighting for ambitious progressive movements.
Prior to joining SKDK, Alyssa worked on Capitol Hill where she served as Digital Director and Deputy Press Secretary for Delaware Senator Tom Carper. Before her work in the U.S. Senate, Alyssa managed on-the-ground field operatives in more than 25 states around the country, intertwining paid and earned media efforts with grassroots political advocacy for DDC Public Affairs. Alyssa has worked on numerous campaigns including President-elect Joe Biden’s primary campaign, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential run, and Senator Corey Booker’s 2013 run for the U.S. Senate.
Alyssa hails from New Jersey and is a graduate of the University of Delaware.
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