Priorities USA Announces New Leadership and Programs
WASHINGTON D.C. — Priorities USA is announcing new senior leadership for the organization, including Danielle Butterfield as Executive Director, and is running a new campaign to promote President Biden’s agenda. Priorities will also continue its work to protect and expand voting rights, protect Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate, and expand the more than 100 partnerships formed during the 2018 and 2020 campaign cycles.
Priorities USA was the largest outside group supporting the Biden-Harris campaign and opposing Donald Trump, while also funding tens of millions of dollars in voting rights litigation across the country. In total, Priorities raised and spent more than $250 million during the 2020 cycle.
Over the next few weeks, Priorities will be kicking off several aspects of its program to bolster the Biden agenda and Democratic majorities in Congress including:
- Running two new digital ads, “Help is on the Way” and “Jumpstart,” to highlight President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which represent the first ads of what will be a two-year long multimillion dollar marketing program across Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to promote the Biden-Harris-Democratic agenda.
- Holding a series of briefings with over 100 partner organizations across the country to discuss the findings of Priorities USA’s Build Back Better Project – an extensive research project designed to examine the 2020 election and chart a path forward for success over the next two years.
- Expanding its campaign programs to emphasize voters who turned out or voted Democratic for the first time in 2020, a recognition of the critical role these voters will play in 2022.
Priorities USA also made the following key staff announcements:
Danielle Butterfield will serve as Executive Director of Priorities, running the day-to-day operations and strategic direction of the organization. Danielle was most recently the Paid Media Director at Priorities USA, where her team led the integrated marketing effort to successfully defeat Donald Trump, take back the Senate, and build digital capacity in the progressive space. Danielle’s promotion to Executive Director represents the organization’s continued commitment to investing in channels where voters spend their time: online. Before coming to Priorities in 2017, Danielle ran millions of dollars in digital advertising programs for several Democratic campaigns, including Hillary for America in 2016 and Obama for America in 2012. She is originally from Southern California.
Aneesa McMillan will serve as Deputy Executive Director with a focus on communications, editorial, voting rights and overall strategy. She joined Priorities USA in 2019 and previously served as Director of Strategic Communications and Voting Rights during the 2020 cycle.
Nick Ahamed will serve as the Deputy Executive Director for political partnerships, analytics and opinion research strategies. In that role, he will build out Priorities’ political operation by supporting and working with progressive allies, as well as oversee the organization’s analytics and opinion research. Previously, he served as the Director of Analytics at Priorities, leading targeting, ad testing, election forecasting and resource allocation for the largest outside effort to defeat Donald Trump. As a data scientist at Civis Analytics, he supported several independent expenditure efforts in the 2016 cycle. In 2017, he won the Gates Scholarship to research voter turnout at the University of Cambridge, from where he holds a MPhil in Politics and International Relations.
Patrick McHugh who served as Executive Director from 2017-2020, will now serve as the Senior Strategist as a consultant to Priorities.
Jenn Stowe is joining the board of Priorities USA. Jenn joined Priorities in 2018 and most recently served as Deputy Executive Director for the 2020 cycle.
Guy Cecil will continue to serve as Chair of the Board of Priorities USA, a role that he has held since 2015. Guy also previously served as Senior Strategist from 2015-2020.
“After historic elections in 2018 and 2020, Priorities continues to grow, innovate, and attract the very best leadership. Danielle, Aneesa, and Nick are three of the most talented people I know, and I am excited to see all of the ways they will lead Priorities as we promote the Biden-Harris agenda and win races up and down the ballot,” said Guy Cecil. Chairman of Priorities USA. “I look forward to continuing the critical work to defend and expand voting rights, protect our majorities in Congress, and expand the important partnerships that strengthened our work during previous cycles. I am also grateful for the ongoing leadership that Patrick and Jenn will provide in their new roles.”
“I am thrilled to be taking the reins of an organization that continues to evolve with the changing media landscape, while centering our work in progressive and equitable values,” said Danielle Butterfield, incoming Executive Director of Priorities USA. “The Biden-Harris administration and Democrats across the country are laser-focused on showing up for the people who showed up for them in 2020, and it is our job to earn and keep their support for years to come.”