Jones Mandel

Benjamin fell in love with the energy, excitement and passion of campaign politics during the successful re-election of his home state Governor, Zell Miller. Since then, he has steadily worked in several capacities and built three consulting firms over 27 years. His wide-ranging professional experience includes: political campaign consulting, crisis communications research, issue management, competitive intelligence for corporations, non-profits and issue groups. Today, Ben is driven by running a successful company, building great teams, solving problems for clients and introducing research to a new generation. Ben has a masters degree from George Washington University and lives in Seattle with his wife, 3 kids and dog Mudd. When not working, you will find Ben with his family at an event for one of his middle school kids, walking the dog, at the gym, playing golf, reading or attempting some new outdoor activity with patient friends and family.

Ian is one of the Democratic Party’s most sought-after research strategists. He has helped dozens of clients win election as governor, to the U.S. Senate, to the U.S. House of Representatives and as president of the United States. Ian is the long-time research consultant for the Democratic National Committee, overseeing the Democratic Party’s public record research. In the private sector, Ian has used the research and communications tactics and strategies honed over years in politics to help businesses, law firms and organizations achieve their goals. His private sector clients range from Fortune 100 companies, to privately-held health care and renewable energy businesses. For both his political and non-political clients, Ian offers a strategic research approach that solves problems, while positioning clients to succeed and prepare for all contingencies. A native of New York, Ian attended Hamilton College and lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and three children.

Evan joined Jones Mandel during the 2018 election cycle. An experienced researcher, Evan has led self and opposition research projects for clients and campaigns doing political work in over a dozen states. Prior to entering political research, Evan graduated with a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor's Degree in History from Gannon University. Evan is a native Ohioan, and currently lives on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. with his foxhound, Chloe.

Kelly started her career in the place she grew up: Virginia. With the election of Trump, she jumped feet first into the campaign world and joined the Tom Perriello campaign for Governor. After the Virginia primary, she joined Senator Elizabeth Warren's Senate campaign through 2018 then continued working for the Senator during her 2020 Presidential with a focus on self-research and rapid response. She wrapped the 2020 campaign cycle as a Research Desk with House Majority PAC handling dozens of congressional districts key to protecting the House. She currently lives in DC with her dog Biscuit and looks forward to working with a range of races at Jones Mandel and help elect more Democrats.

Henry joined the Jones Mandel team during the 2020 election cycle after graduating from Hamilton College with a government degree. Prior to entering political research, he held internships at a government affairs firm and the Jay Gonzalez gubernatorial campaign in his home state of Massachusetts. While he remains an avid Red Sox fan, Henry has since moved to Washington, D.C., where he enjoys running and meeting neighborhood dogs.

Elizabeth graduated from Duke University with degrees in Engish, German and theater studies, finding politics when she started as an organizing fellow with the Hillary Clinton campaign. She went on to intern with Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, the TEAM, and Rock the Vote prior to starting at Jones Mandel during the 2018 election cycle. Since then, Elizabeth has led self and opposition projects for clients on the state and national level. She is a proud Jersey knucklehead, and currently lives in Los Angeles with her dog Evie and her kitten Schmutzy.

Lauren has nearly a decade of experience working in opposition research and vetting. Prior to joining Jones Mandel in 2018, she served as the Research Director for the Obama White House’s Office of Presidential Personnel (PPO) from 2015 through 2017. In this capacity, she helped vet individuals under consideration for high-profile Presidential appointments throughout the federal government and trained PPO staff on background vetting.

In 2014 and 2015, she served as the Deputy Research Director for Rapid Response for the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Prior to that, she served as the Northeast Regional Research Analyst for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, where she provided strategic research and policy guidance to over 20 top-tier congressional campaigns.

In the 2012 cycle, Lauren served as Deputy Research Director for Tim Kaine’s Senate campaign in Richmond, Virginia. She previously worked for Kaine in the Chairman’s Office at the DNC.

She began her career at Struble Eichenbaum Communications, a media consulting firm that produced television and radio ads for Democratic candidates.