About RTV Staff
Heather Smith
President
Rock the Vote
Under Smith's leadership during the past two election cycles, Rock the Vote built new tools and refined best practices for the continued engagement of young voters, setting the highest voter registration records in both midterm and presidential elections in the organization's 20-year history. In 2010, Smith led Rock the Vote in its largest midterm election effort that generated more than 300,000 voter registration applications, engaged thousands of volunteers, and increased youth turnout in targeted precincts. This work built on the successful efforts of 2008, when Rock the Vote registered a record-shattering 2.2 million people.
Prior to Rock the Vote, Smith founded and directed Young Voter Strategies, a nonpartisan project in partnership with The Graduate School of Political Management at The George Washington University with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts. Young Voter Strategies provided the general public, political parties, candidates, consultants and nonprofits with data and research on the youth vote as well as best practices to effectively mobilize young people.
In 2004 Smith served as national field director for the Student PIRGs New Voters Project, the largest nonpartisan grassroots effort ever undertaken to register and mobilize young voters. Across the country, the New Voters Project, under Smith’s direction, registered nearly 600,000 voters and conducted an intensive, multi-faceted get-out-the-vote effort to bring these newly registered voters to the polls on Election Day. Youth turnout was 11 percentage points higher than in 2000.
Prior to her work at the New Voters Project, Smith was an organizing director for Green Corps’ Field School for Environmental Organizing in Boston.
Smith received a B.A. with honors in economics and public policy from Duke University. In 2006, Smith was named one of Campaign & Elections magazine’s Rising Stars for her work with young voters. She was also named one of Esquire Magazine’s Best and Brightest of 2007.
Chrissy Faessen
V.P. Marketing and Communications
Rock the Vote
With over 15 years of experience in advertising, marketing and communications, Chrissy Faessen joined Rock the Vote’s team in 2008 as the Vice President of Communications and Marketing. In her capacity as Vice President she is responsible for creating and executing effective grassroots, broadcast, digital and mobile strategies to accomplish the ambitious goal of registering 1.5 million individuals in the 2012 election.
Faessen is also responsible for executing a range of events from star-studded events at the political nominating conventions to summer festivals, bus tours, and inaugural celebrations. One of the major projects Faessen undertook at Rock the Vote was spearheading the organizations first high school civics program, Democracy Class. The program, supported by an advisory board of innovative professionals from the education, media and music communities, is designed to educate and excite high school students about voting, elections and governance. Overall Faessen helps Rock the Vote use music, popular culture and new technology to engage and mobilize millions of young people to participate in the political process.
Prior to joining the Rock the Vote team, Faessen served as Business Director at DDB Issues and Advocacy, a progressive issues advertising practice, part of DDB Worldwide. In her capacity as Business Director at DDB, she waged advocacy, public policy, and advertising strategies including lacing stories in the top US media outlets. Faessen worked with clients such as the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Save the Children, PATH, Reproductive Heath Technology Project, Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies, and HopeLab. Additionally, as part of various campaign spotlight stories, she has been quoted in the PR Week and numerous other trade publications.
While Faessen's work product speaks for itself it has also received awards from the Public Relations Society of America, International Association of Business Communicators, and The Webbys.
Amanda Brown
Director of Development
Rock the Vote
Amanda’s personal commitment to the Rock the Vote cause is to build the political power of the Millennial generation such that we can create the social and political change that we desire.
Prior to joining the Rock the Vote team, Amanda worked in the Obama Administration. Most recently as the Advisor for Strategic Planning at the U.S. Department of Energy, she developed strategy for Secretary Chu’s medium and long-term agenda, making recommendations concerning the priorities of both the Department leadership and the Administration generally. In 2009, Amanda served as the Assistant to the Director in the White House Office of Political Affairs. The White House door was opened for her while serving on the Transition team and the Presidential Inaugural Committee.
During the 2008 campaign cycle, Amanda worked on the Obama for America campaign. Starting only a few days after her college graduation, Amanda spent time in several states during the primary season – Nevada, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and North Carolina. She moved to the Chicago headquarters for the general election, serving as the surrogate desk for the Great Lakes Ohio Valley region.
Amanda graduated from Dartmouth College with a double major in Government and Sociology in 2007. She struggles with the “where are you from” question, but would say Georgia if you push her.
Caitlin Maguire
Marketing Manager
Rock the Vote
Caitlin joined Rock the Vote in 2010 and serves as Marketing Manager, supporting event activations, artist engagement, sponsorship development and partnership building. While at Rock the Vote she has successfully executed dozens of concert promotions with Rock the Vote artists, developed creative campaigns for sponsors and forged national partnerships that helped extend the brands' reach and visibility among young Americans.
Caitlin was a Marketing Intern for Epic Records in 2008 and 2009. She graduated from Union College with a BA in English in 2010.
Megan Simpson
Street Team Program Manager
Rock the Vote
Megan Simpson joined Rock the Vote in 2011 as the Street Team Program Manager. In her capacity as Street Team Program Manger she is responsible for mobilizing the Millennial Generation and ensuring they have a voice in the political process through Rock the Vote. Megan has worked with thousands of volunteers across the country in an effort to support them in registering young people to vote and educate young voters about the importance of the political process.
Simpson hails from Dubuque, Iowa and brings with her a wealth of experience having worked on several campaigns, including Obama for America, Scott Murphy for Congress and Reshma Saujani for Congress. On each campaign she has worked in the field, coordinating volunteers, coordinating outreach within communities of various backgrounds, and planning town hall meetings at which the candidates spoke. Since Megan has been with Rock the Vote she has increased its Street Team Program and assisted in the implementation of a second year of Rock the Vote's well received Democracy Class.
