Votesane PAC Leadership

Rob Zimmer
Rob Zimmer is the founder of Votesane. Zimmer is a longtime financial services executive with significant political and technology industry experience. In addition to Votesane, Zimmer currently heads up TVDC, a strategic consulting firm.  Zimmer was an officer and early employee of VCall and RadioWallStreet.com, early (streaming) web portals for investors, and has congressional affairs experience.  He has Capitol Hill experience as a staff member of the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, and was an officer in the US Army’s 4th Infantry Division. He has degrees from Syracuse and Harvard Universities, and lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland with his family.

Julie Wadler
Julie Wadler is a co-founder of Votesane. Wadler, a self professed “serial entrepreneur” and highly respected fundraiser, has built several enterprises related to event planning and fundraising. Wadler founded epiphany productions, inc. in 1996, growing it into a highly-acclaimed fundraising and event planning company. Julie has more than 20 years of fundraising and event planning experience for a wide range of political, corporate and nonprofit clients.  She has several other successful businesses recognized for their superior products and service: Comitatus Consulting, a technology company, and KRM Livery, an event transportation company. Wadler began her career on Capitol Hill, which included serving as the deputy finance director for the NRCC. Active in the community, she is a volunteer and former board member of AHOPE for Children.

Paul Equale
Paul Equale is Votesane’s treasurer and the president of Equale & Associates, a public affairs strategic counseling firm. Over the years, Equale has held a variety of senior level government affairs and leadership positions in the public and private sectors, including at the U.S. Department of Energy, the Independent Insurance Agents of America and the Travel Industry Association of America. Considered one of DC’s most effective advocates and political operatives, Equale served as chairman of the Business Council of the Democratic National Committee from 2001 until 2002.   Often quoted in the media, he is also a frequent guest lecturer at American University and George Washington University.

Votesane PAC Advisory Board

John Feehery
John Feehery is the founder of The Feehery Group, a boutique advocacy firm that focuses on communications and government affairs strategy. Feehery has spent two decades in a variety of influential positions in Washington, DC for leading members of the Congress and in the private sector, including serving as the lead spokesman to Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert.  Feehery is widely-regarded as an insightful strategist, and is a regular television guest on programs like CNN’s The Situation Room and MSNBC’s The Ed Show. His blog, The Feehery Theory, is one of the most popular reads on Capitol Hill.

Karen Finney
Karen Finney is a political analyst for MSNBC and an independent consultant. Finney brings more than 17 years of experience in national politics and campaigns as well as the public and private sectors. Finney most recently served as the spokeswoman and director of Communications at the Democratic National Committee. She also served in the Clinton White House as deputy press secretary to then First Lady Hillary Clinton and as deputy director of Presidential Scheduling for President Clinton. Finney has also worked in a number of high-profile campaigns, including Hillary Clinton’s successful bid for the U.S. Senate.

Bruce Haynes
Bruce Haynes heads the public affairs advertising practice at National Media. A veteran political and public affairs strategist, Haynes has designed and executed high profile communications strategies and corporate campaigns for Fortune 50 companies, trade associations, national coalitions and non-profit organizations. Prior to joining National Media, he served as chief-of-staff to former South Carolina Congressman Bob Inglis and as staff counsel to two-term South Carolina Governor Carroll Campbell. Haynes also is an advisor to many state and local political and public affairs campaigns.

Jeffrey MacKinnon
Jeff MacKinnon is a principal with Ryan, MacKinnon, Vasapoli and Berzok, LLP, a law firm specializing in legislative, administrative, and election law.  With extensive DC experience, MacKinnon served as director of Legislative Affairs at Interstate Natural Gas Association, and served on the personal staff of Representative Joe Barton (R-TX), including as legislative director. During this time, he staffed Representative Barton, a Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, in all issue areas within the Committee's jurisdiction.

Audrey Mullen
Audrey Mullen is the founder of Advocacy Ink, a public relations firm based in Alexandria, VA, specializing in issue advocacy campaigns, media relations, and book and film promotions. Advocacy Ink’s issues include federal tax and regulatory policy, health care reform, ballot initiatives, and state tax policies. Prior to launching Advocacy Ink, Mullen worked in the political non-profit world for groups such as Americans for Tax Reform, and Citizens for a Sound Economy.

Ellen Ratner
Ellen Ratner is the White House correspondent and bureau chief for The Talk Radio News Service, covering the White House and providing exclusive reports to talk radio stations from the Congress and government agencies. Ratner is also a news analyst on The Fox News Channel, where she is currently seen on “The Strategy Room.” She is heard on over 400 radio stations across the U.S. In addition, she is Washington bureau chief and political editor for Talkers Magazine. Her most recent book is “Ready, Set, Talk” (Chelsea Green 2007).

Curtis Symonds
Corporate executive Curtis Symonds has a long history with television and sports. After starting at Continental Cablevision, he moved into sales and marketing at ESPN. Later he joined Black Entertainment Television (BET) as executive vice president of marketing, building its subscriber base to 65 million homes. After BET, Symonds became COO of the Washington Mystics, and today runs his own privately-funded indoor basketball facility called Hoop Magic in Virginia.