Leo Wallach, Founder and Principal at RALLY Campaigns, creates and manages dynamic campaigns that bring together opinion research, message development, strategy, and different communication channels.

Leo has helped lead campaigns in Michigan, Nevada, Arkansas, West Virginia, Arizona, and more. He was previously Vice President at Winner & Mandabach Campaigns, a Los Angeles based national political consulting firm, and also ran his own strategic consulting firm, Wallach Public Affairs.

His deep background on complex statewide ballot measure campaigns informs Leo’s approach. He also draws from interests in brand advertising, business strategy, and public policy.

Recently, Leo created compelling TV advertising and winning strategies in some of the larger candidate campaign battles in California. He believes in carefully positioning candidates and in using opinion research to unlock new messaging and paths to victory.

In 2012, he was a senior consultant on two successful statewide ballot measure campaigns, Propositions 35 and 39. He was also the lead consultant on the winning campaign in California’s 10th Assembly District, achieving the most dramatic upset in the state in 2012, and establishing a model for how to win in the new era of the top-two primary.

In 2010, Leo was a senior consultant on the campaign that defeated Proposition 23 and preserved California’s clean energy and climate change law in what became the most watched ballot measure battle in the nation that year. After the 2010 election cycle, Leo was named a Rising Star by Campaigns & Elections magazine.

Leo grew up in Oakland, California and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from UCLA and an MBA from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. He loves soccer, is an avid hiker and runner, and can be found exploring restaurants and neighborhoods around his home base in San Francisco.

Felix Schein is a Principal at RALLY Campaigns, and the President of RALLY, our issue advocacy arm. Felix is a campaign and communications strategist who has worked as a political campaign manager, corporate communications director, and network television reporter and producer.

Felix’s unique background is central to the firms’ ability to tell compelling stories, manage challenging media battles, make political issues current and culturally relevant, and leverage the media and social platforms to engage the public in positive campaigns for change. Felix has collaborated with clients large and small across a variety of issue areas, including environmental preservation, improving the quality of America’s public schools, and reducing gun violence. Clients have included California’s largest healthcare foundation, the nation’s largest corporate foundation, and a mix of prominent family foundations.

Felix began his career in journalism as an associate producer and researcher at Meet the Press and the NBC Nightly News. In 2001, he joined Today and in 2003 shifted his focus to domestic politics as a producer for NBC’s political unit, logging more than 500 days in the field reporting on the 2004 presidential campaign. Felix later segued into campaign management, leading a 2006 gubernatorial campaign before co-founding RALLY.

A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, Felix split his childhood between Munich, Germany and Telluride, Colorado, and as a result is both a soccer fanatic and an avid skier. He now splits his time between RALLY’s San Francisco and Los Angeles offices.

Cynara Lilly is a Principal at RALLY Campaigns, specializing in message development, communications, coalition building, campaign management, and crisis response. Cynara comes to RALLY Campaigns with more than a decade of experience developing and implementing strategic plans for a wide range of political, corporate, and non-profit clients. Cynara has managed multiple campaigns, as well as led communications and served as a spokesperson for multiple statewide ballot initiatives and political candidates across Washington, Oregon, and California.

Most recently, Cynara served as Campaign Manager/Communications Director for the Marshall Tuck for California State Superintendent of Public Instruction campaign, which built a unique bi-partisan coalition of education reform supporters and garnered unprecedented national media attention. An unknown challenger, Tuck came within four points of the well-funded incumbent, and the race was widely recognized as the most contested–and expensive–on the 2014 California ballot.

Through her work, Cynara has developed excellent relationships with a network of elected officials, thought leaders, and members of the media across multiple states. Previously, Cynara served as an Account Director at Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, developing national PR strategies in the tech and ed tech sectors, and as the Public Affairs Director for Sound View Strategies, working with a variety of clients in Washington and Oregon. Cynara graduated from Santa Clara University with a degree in French and Studio Art, and lives in downtown Los Angeles. She recently relocated from Seattle and is enjoying the sunshine.

Noah Finneburgh is a Director at RALLY Campaigns, where he has worked to develop political and communications strategies for campaigns in California, Washington State, and Colorado.

Noah specializes in paid media, targeting, and messaging. He is passionate about using creative communications tools to move public opinion.

At RALLY Campaigns, Noah has managed strategy and paid media for candidates for mayor, state assembly, and state senate, and for statewide and local ballot measures. Over the last several election cycles, he has worked to elect an array of progressive candidates and has written TV, mail, and digital ads for state legislative independent expenditures.

Most recently, Noah oversaw brand and website development for Maryland Congressman John Delaney’s early 2020 presidential campaign announcement.

In 2016, he served as the lead strategist and paid media consultant for Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin’s winning campaign, helping guide the campaign from underdog to landslide winner, with nearly 50 percent of the vote in a crowded field of eight candidates. Arreguin is now Berkeley’s first Latino Mayor and its youngest in a century.  

Noah has also written and produced paid media for RALLY (our issue advocacy arm) clients involved in state education funding, environmental and coastal protection, and state parks, as well as direct mail for a major statewide legislative battle around education in Washington State.

Prior to joining RALLY Campaigns, Noah spent seven years as the Vice President and Communications Director at a Bay Area political consulting firm, where he managed communications, direct mail, and digital strategies for candidates for municipal, county, and state office. He also worked on ballot measures at the local and statewide level. Before that, he worked as a fundraiser, field organizer, and social media manager for both local and statewide campaigns across California.

Noah grew up in Oakland, California and graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a degree in Film and Digital Media and a Minor in Electronic Music. In his free time, Noah enjoys music, writing, reading political history, rooting for his Oakland A’s, and finding the next great sushi restaurant and coffee shop.

Alexis Mahrus is the Director of Design at RALLY Campaigns, where she works closely with the firm’s account teams to deliver groundbreaking creative work for clients. Alexis provides clients with a wide range of design capabilities, including brand development and identity, visual design for web, digital, and print. She is helping to shape RALLY Campaigns’ approach in an increasingly visual communications environment.

Prior to working at RALLY Campaigns, Alexis produced dynamic design solutions for a variety of projects and clients, specializing in brand, editorial, and advertising. Her recent clients include ad agencies, political consulting firms, start ups, non profits, and independents.

Alexis entered the design world through early studies in Illustration at the California College of Arts (formerly CCAC), which sparked her passion for solving conceptual problems through visual communication and storytelling, and where she met her mentor (and future boss), distinguished illustrator and designer Dugald Stermer.

Soon after graduating with distinction, she subsidized her budding freelance career by working with a San Francisco political consulting firm, creating logos, collateral, and direct mail for dozens of campaigns.

Alexis was also a part of the California College of Arts Illustration Program since 2001. Through the years she grew to wear several hats, including Assistant Professor, Assistant Chair, and more recently, Program Chair. As program chair, she directed the vision, advocacy, and comprehensive management of the program which at its peak reached 140 students, becoming the second largest student body in the design department.

When Alexis isn’t working with RALLY Campaigns’ team, she’s chasing after her twin boys with her husband Sami, or finding time for her other passion, painting.

Derek Jansen is an Account Manager at RALLY Campaigns with a breadth of experience leading successful candidate, ballot measure, and public affairs campaigns. Derek combines operational expertise with political and media savvy to help build winning campaigns. He has worked on political campaigns in Georgia, Pennsylvania, and most recently in California, and has served in a variety of roles, from treasurer, to field director, to campaign manager.

In California, Derek has worked on high-profile campaigns, including as Operations Director and Treasurer for San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s 2011 campaign, and as Campaign Manager for a multimillion dollar citywide ballot measure in San Francisco in 2013.

At RALLY Campaigns, Derek oversees strategy for a variety of candidate and public affairs campaigns. His expertise in campaign management, field organizing, operations, public policy and advocacy plays a critical role in the day-to-day successes of our clients.

Prior to joining RALLY Campaigns, Derek served on the political team for Tom Steyer’s environmental advocacy organization, NextGen Climate. He led the California team, working with coalition partners to successfully protect landmark climate change legislation from being undone. Derek also led NextGen Climate’s efforts to block the Keystone XL Pipeline by using earned media, political pressure, and mobilizing online supporters.

Derek began his professional career with Teach For America (TFA), teaching elementary school in Brooklyn, New York, and saw firsthand the critical need to improve the quality of America’s public schools. He continued his commitment to improving public education after leaving the classroom by joining TFA’s national staff in an operational role, helping recruit and hire critical staff during a period of rapid organizational growth.

Derek grew up in Davis, California and graduated from Kalamazoo College with a degree in political science, and has a Masters of Science in Teaching from Pace University.

Kevin Singer is a Senior Account Executive at RALLY Campaigns, where he specializes in paid media strategy, digital communications, and creative content production.

At RALLY Campaigns, he has developed and executed strategic communications plans for multiple campaigns across the state, including several candidate campaigns, independent expenditures, and local and statewide ballot initiatives. He recently served as the lead consultant for Santa Rosa Vice Mayor Jack Tibbetts, who won his seat in a landslide and beat out two incumbents to earn the highest number of votes in the race. Kevin also managed the digital program for the largest independent expenditure campaign in California in 2016, and served on the core campaign team for Yes on Prop 67 to protect California’s ban on plastic bags.

Kevin is excited about the rapidly changing media landscape, in which digital channels are becoming the primary means of disseminating information, and takes pride in keeping RALLY Campaigns’ clients on the cutting edge when it comes to crafting effective messaging and communicating to a highly targeted audience.

Prior to joining RALLY Campaigns, Kevin worked as a campaign manager on state legislative campaigns where he coordinated strategy, managed digital programs and ad buys, oversaw field efforts, and conducted endorsement outreach. Previously, he wrote copy for various mailers, brochures, and emails for candidates in the North Bay Area.

Kevin graduated from Cal Berkeley (go Bears!) with a B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Theater. When he’s not in the office, he moonlights as a professional actor, singer, and performer around the Bay Area. He also enjoys rooting for his San Francisco Giants and Cal Golden Bears and watching some quality television.

Julia Kwasniza is an Account Executive at RALLY Campaigns where she specializes in campaign strategy, planning and management, messaging, polling, and policy analysis.

At RALLY Campaigns, Julia has helped coordinate successful campaigns for a range of candidates and ballot measures at the state and local level.

Prior to joining RALLY Campaigns, Julia interned for the San Francisco Mayor’s Office, where she wrote and edited speeches, produced extensive background research reports for Mayor Ed Lee, and assisted in coordinating his diplomatic trips to Israel and Brazil. Julia also interned for U.S. Congresswoman Lois Capps and California State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson, conducting field campaigns and organizing fundraisers and other events.

Julia graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Political Science – International Relations and a minor in Russian Language and Literature. While at UCSB she helped manage and win dozens of campaigns for UCSB’s Open People’s Party. Julia also spent a semester studying abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Outside of the office, Julia spends her time in dance studios, practicing yoga, and attending concerts. Julia also enjoys traveling, and has visited over 25 countries in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Alex Hammarstedt is a Design Associate based in RALLY Campaigns’ San Francisco office. Alex brings imaginative solutions to graphic design projects across all mediums; including print, digital, web, and interactive. She aspires to create work that is both meaningful and memorable.

At RALLY Campaigns, Alex works closely with account teams to ensure her designs are appropriately targeted to each client’s larger brand strategy. Her scope of work includes creating advertisements, social media content, websites, print materials, and more.

Before joining RALLY Campaigns, Alex was the Art Director for SOMA Magazine, a bi-monthly publication dedicated to discovering and featuring trendsetting creatives. Supplementing the print heavy magazine work, Alex dabbled in freelance digital and web design, keeping herself up-to-date with the latest in design trends and technologies.

Niles Swinney is an Account Associate at RALLY Campaigns, where he manages communications and digital strategies. He also specializes in graphic design and video production.

While at RALLY Campaigns, Niles has managed and executed communications plans for campaigns across California, including the successful statewide campaign for Proposition 68 (2018), a $4 billion water and parks bond . He also developed and executed digital strategy for Richmond Mayor Tom Butt’s winning re-election campaign in 2018.

Prior to RALLY Campaigns, Niles served as Acting Public Affairs Officer and Special Projects Manager at the Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco, where he planned official visits by senior Canadian politicians and worked to amplify Canada’s presence in the Northern California region through digital diplomacy communications.

Niles is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a B.A. in Political Science. Outside of work, he is an avid photographer, urbanist, and traveler.