Eva Bermudez Zimmerman
The daughter of educators Eva, at an early age was resolute on marching to her own beat. At 12 years old the Hartford native volunteered for Presidential Candidate Al Gore’s campaign. Using her public speaking experience as the youngest plaintiff for the landmark school desegregation case Sheff v. O’Neill, where the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled; “the state had an affirmative obligation to provide equal educational opportunities to every student”. Eva remembers underfunded classrooms and her bilingual program being cut all while losing friends to gang and drug violence that plagued Hartford during the years of her youth. The court case framed what would become her career in Organizing & Activism. The polyglot Boricua used her time away from Hartford to help in humanitarian efforts in Brazil, participate a student strike in Puerto Rico and conducted legislative research for Congressman Rangel’s office in Capitol Hill. After a couple years working in politics Eva found a home for her activism with SEIU “Service Employees International Union”. She now enters her fourteenth year as an organizer and tenth in labor. Currently serves as the CSEA SEIU Local 2001 Childcare & Organizing Director. Where she fights for affordable childcare, wider access to healthcare and improving the lives of working people. The former Newtown Councilwoman was awarded Latina of the year by LPRAC of the Connecticut State Legislature for her role as an Assister in Connecticut Access Health Exchange. Where she enrolled of over 7,000 people in the first two years of the Affordable Care Act. She’s also served as the first Latina Secretary for the State Democratic Party and is most recently recognized for acquiring 40% in the Democratic Primary for Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut. “Worker rights are human rights! Many problems could be solved in today’s society when people make a living wage but we must persist!” Eva proclaims any opportunity she gets.
Prerna Rao
Prerna is the founding attorney of Omnia Law, LLC, in Trumbull, CT, and a canvassing enthusiast! She has been knocking on doors and calling voters for over ten years. She loves doing so because person-to-person connections are the most impactful when trying to engage voters. Come hang out with Prerna and find out more tips & tricks and best practices on how to lose the jitters and have fun with democracy!
Jonathan Perloe
Jonathan is a progressive activist who lives in Greenwich. He helps lead Voter Choice Connecticut, the volunteer citizens’ group working to bring ranked choice voting to Connecticut. Following the 2016 election, he co-led the successful grassroots effort to get CT to join the National Popular Vote Compact. For his day job, Jonathan is Director of Communications for CT Against Gun Violence. Jonathan joined CAGV in 2017 after serving on its Board. Like many in CT, he got involved in gun violence prevention following the Sandy Hook School shooting. He led the Greenwich Council Against Gun Violence before joining CAGV. His entry into legislative advocacy followed more than 30 years in marketing communications strategy, much of it at Young & Rubicam’s digital marketing agency, Wunderman.
Dave Stowe
As Vice President of Business Development and Marketing for AlphaGraphics Stamford, David brings over two decades of experience to the table. His proactive approach centered around exploring new products and services to integrate with AlphaGraphics’s already substantial roster of offerings ensures we serve client needs with more comprehensive and all-inclusive offerings. He’s also been at the cornerstone of AlphaGraphic’s work within the political arena. Decades of experience developing and implementing political print, direct mail and graphics projects has positioned David and the Stamford AlphaGraphics as invaluable assets to numerous campaigns. David has also been instrumental in fostering support for area non-profits, both within AlphaGraphics, by developing programs that have put the company at the forefront of corporate and social responsibility and outside of AlphaGraphics, serving on numerous boards and acting as a non-profit founder himself.
Bill Hopf
Actively involved in local politics since Malloy’s 2014 campaign (became semi-retired in 2013). Bill was campaign manager for Michelle McCabe in 2018. He is currently the Data Director of the Fairfield DTC and frequently supports area DTCs in working with the VAN database.
Prevail Blue with John Girard and Janet Epstein
Janet Epstein
Janet Epstein was raised by an ardent Democratic activist. She is a social worker, retired from teaching hospitals in New York, Indiana, Scotland and Israel. She has a long-standing investment in interpersonal communication and applied social research.
John Girard
John Girard is a technical research professional with three decades of corporate strategic consulting experience around the world. His work continually underscored the importance of human factors in making major decisions. The 2016 election galvanized us into political activism. Prevail Blue (Indivisible) was founded because we recognized the need for clear and compelling communications to drive more blue votes.
Jimmy Tickey
Jimmy Tickey is the District Director to Congressman Jim Himes and was Congressman Rosa DeLauro’s longtime Campaign Manager. Jimmy understands the levers of local, state and federal government; and has won 3 local elections in a traditionally Republican town. He serves on his DTC and on the Democratic State Central Committee.
Andrew Gausepohl
Founding Partner at 475 Consulting Group, Andrew has been working in digital media and communications since 2010 and with Democratic campaigns and DTCs since 2015. A passion for politics combined with analytics and production led him to start a firm that focuses on campaign requirements for the modern era.