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Spitfire Strategies

Website:

www.spitfirestrategies.com
Location:

Washington, DC, United States
Type:

Political Consulting Firm
Founder and President:

Kristen Grimm
Offices:

Washington, D.C.

San Francisco, CA

New York, NY

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Spitfire Strategies is a Washington, D.C.-based political consulting and strategy firm established in 2002. Kristen Grimm, a Democratic Party operative and campaign strategist, founded the firm. Grimm sits on the board of directors of left-leaning groups, the most notable of which is the Windward Fund, an arm of the Arabella Advisors network of left-of-center “dark money” organizations.

Background

Spitfire Strategies is a Washington, D.C.-based political consulting and strategy firm. Kristen Grimm, a Democratic Party operative, founded the firm in 2002. It now has offices in Washington, D.C.; New York; San Francisco; Denver; and Durham. 1

Perhaps the company’s most famous employee was Piper Kerman, a communications consultant best known as the author of Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, a memoir of her life in Federal Correctional Institution Danbury, Connecticut, after she pleaded guilty to money laundering charges. The book inspired the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black.” 2 Kerman is not listed on the Spitfire Strategies website as of 2019.

The firm’s priority issues include left-of-center economics, environmentalism, education, expanded immigration, “advancing LGBTQIA equality,” left-of-center interethnic relations approaches, and support for abortion rights. 3

The organization touts that its team has experience working for political campaigns, as Capitol Hill staffers, and for advocacy organizations. 4

Clients

Clients for the firm include numerous left-leaning nonprofits. Among these are: the 11th Hour Project, Advance Family Planning, Advancement Project, Alliance for Justice, Amnesty International, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Aspen Institute, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Brookings Institution, Change Center for Health and Gender Equality, Color of Change, Conservation International, the Constitution Project, the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Environmental Defense Fund, Greenpeace, Human Rights Campaign, Humane Society International, Media Democracy Fund, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Open Society Foundations, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Progressive States Network, Sierra Club, the Tides Foundation, United Nations Foundation, and the World Wildlife Fund. 5

Leadership

Kristen Grimm is the founder and president of Spitfire Strategies. She developed resources for the field of political advocacy, such as Smart Chart 3.0, Discovering the Activation Point, Planning to Win, and Big Ideas to Big Change. 6

Before she started the company, Grimm wrote Now Hear This: The Nine Laws of Successful Advocacy Communications. Grimm also sits on the boards of Potomac Conservancy, Windward Fund, and Alaska Wilderness League. 7

Besides Grimm, the president, the top executives in the company are senior vice presidents Mindy Aponte, Jenny Kern, Ellie Klerlein, Dennis Poplin, Inga Skippings, and Jennifer Caring. Kevin Forster is the chief financial officer. The division vice presidents are Hannah Berkman, Adam Bink, Mike Desauer, Erin Uy and Aketa Maria Williams. 8

References

  1. About. Spitfire Strategies. Accessed October 4, 2019.  https://www.spitfirestrategies.com/about-spitfire/
  2. Grubbs, Jefferson. “What is the Real Piper Up To? ‘OITNB’s Inspiration Is a Jail Bird No More.” June 6, 2014. Accessed October 4, 2019. https://www.bustle.com/articles/26936-what-is-the-real-piper-up-to-oitnbs-inspiration-is-a-jail-bird-no-more
  3. About. Spitfire Strategies. Accessed October 4, 2019.  https://www.spitfirestrategies.com/about-spitfire/
  4. About. Spitfire Strategies. Accessed October 4, 2019.  https://www.spitfirestrategies.com/about-spitfire/
  5. Partners for Change. Spitfire Strategies. Accessed October 4, 2019. https://www.spitfirestrategies.com/clients/
  6. Kristen Grimm. Spitfire Strategies. Accessed October 4, 2019. https://www.spitfirestrategies.com/team/kristen-grimm/
  7. The Grist Team. Accessed October 4, 2019 https://grist.org/team/
  8. Get to Know Our Team. Accessed October 4, 2019. https://www.spitfirestrategies.com/team/

Directors, Employees & Supporters

  1. Kristen Grimm
    Founder and President
  2. Nima Shirazi
    Director

Clients

  1. Linden Trust for Conservation (Non-profit)
  2. Advancement Project (Non-profit)
  3. Alliance for Justice (AFJ) (Non-profit)
  4. Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) (Non-profit)
  5. Annie E. Casey Foundation (Non-profit)
  6. Aspen Institute (Non-profit)
  7. Atlantic Philanthropies (Non-profit)
  8. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Non-profit)
  9. Brookings Institution (Non-profit)
  10. California Endowment (Non-profit)
  11. Center for Community Change (CCC) (Non-profit)
  12. ClimateWorks Foundation (Non-profit)
  13. Color of Change (Non-profit)
  14. Colorado Trust (Non-profit)
  15. Community Catalyst (Non-profit)
  16. Conservation International (Non-profit)
  17. Constitution Project (TCP) (Non-profit)
  18. Council on Foundations (Non-profit)
  19. David and Lucile Packard Foundation (Non-profit)
  20. Embrey Family Foundation (Non-profit)
  21. Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) (Non-profit)
  22. Equal Justice Works (Non-profit)
  23. Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund (Non-profit)
  24. Gordon E. and Betty I. Moore Foundation (Non-profit)
  25. Greenpeace (Non-profit)
  26. Human Rights Campaign (Non-profit)
  27. Humane Society International (Non-profit)
  28. James Irvine Foundation (Non-profit)
  29. Media Democracy Fund (MDF) (Non-profit)
  30. Meridian Institute (Non-profit)
  31. Nathan Cummings Foundation (Non-profit)
  32. National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (Non-profit)
  33. National LGBTQ Task Force (Non-profit)
  34. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) (Non-profit)
  35. NEO Philanthropy (Non-profit)
  36. New Venture Fund (NVF) (Non-profit)
  37. NoVo Foundation (Non-profit)
  38. Open Society Foundations (Open Society Institute) (Non-profit)
  39. Progressive States Network (PSN) (Non-profit)
  40. Sierra Club (Non-profit)
  41. State Voices (Non-profit)
  42. Surdna Foundation (Non-profit)
  43. Tides Foundation (Non-profit)
  44. United Nations Foundation (Non-profit)
  45. W. K. Kellogg Foundation (Non-profit)
  46. Walton Family Foundation (Non-profit)
  47. William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (Non-profit)
  48. World Resources Institute (WRI) (Non-profit)
  49. World Wildlife Fund (Non-profit)
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Spitfire Strategies

1800 M Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20036
United States