For-profit

TSD Communications

Website:

www.tsd.biz/

Location:

Washington, DC

Type:

Public Relations Firm

Formation:

1993

Senior Principal:

Mark Steitz

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TSD Communications is a public-relations firm that serves numerous left-of-center organizations. It was founded and is staffed by numerous alumni of the Clinton administration and Clinton-era Democratic National Committee.

Clients

TSD Communications has had numerous clients in the left-of-center advocacy sphere, including George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Center for American Progress, the AFL-CIO, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Campaign, 1 and the American Civil Liberties Union. 2

TSD’s political clients have included the 2008 then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, former U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), and former U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD). 3 2

FTX, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by Sam Bankman-Fried, was a client of TSD. 4 TSD also represented Protect Our Future (POF), a pro-Democratic, effective altruist hybrid PAC founded in 2022. As of January 2023, nearly all of POF’s $28 million budget had been raised from Bankman-Fried. 5 6 7

TSD has had numerous big tech clients, including Napster, Google 8, and Facebook. 9

TSD worked extensively on the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics. 1

Leadership

Mark Steitz

Mark Steitz is the founder and senior principal of TSD. He is also a founder and board member of the Analyst Institute, an organization that performs analytics on left-of-center activist groups, and is on the board of Catalist, a pro-Democratic data analytics firm. Prior, Steitz worked as director of communications and research at the Democratic National Committee, on the campaigns of Jesse Jackson and U.S. Senator Gary Hart (D-CO), and in the U.S. Congressional Budget Office. 10

David Dreyer

David Dreyer is a senior principal at TSD. Prior, Dreyer served as Deputy White House Communications Director for President Bill Clinton (D) and as senior advisor to U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin. Dreyer was also an advisor to numerous Democratic U.S. Congressional leaders, including Senator Hart, House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (D-MO), and Majority Whip Tony Coelho (D-CA). 11

Ricki Seidman

Ricki Seidman was a senior principal at TSD from 2000 to 2021 until she was appointed deputy associate attorney general in the office of the associate attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) by President Joe Biden (D). Ten months later, Seidman became a senior counselor at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Seidman’s clients at TSD included Napster and Google. 8 3

While working at TSD, Seidman served as an advisor in numerous judiciary hearings. She advised Christine Blasey Ford during the U.S. Supreme Court Justice nomination hearings for Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor for her U.S. Senate hearings, and Anita Hill during the U.S. Senate hearings on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. In 2008, Seidman worked for then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama’s (D-IL) presidential campaign, during which time she worked as then-U.S. Senator and vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden’s communications director. 8 3

Prior to TSD, Seidman was a deputy associate attorney general at the DOJ, worked as the executive director at Rock the Vote, and served in a variety of roles in President Bill Clinton’s  White House. Earlier, Seidman worked on the presidential campaigns of former Vice President Walter Mondale (D-MN), then-Governor Michael Dukakis (D-MA), and then-Governor Clinton. 8 3

John Coletti

John Coletti is a principal and COO of TSD. Prior, Coletti was on the Democratic National Committee’s finance staff. Earlier, Coletti was on President Clinton’s communication team during the 1992 presidential election, worked on the president’s transition team, and organized meetings for the National Economic Council. Coletti began his career as a legislative assistant for former U.S. Rep. Nicholas Mavroules (D-MA). 12

Eric London

Eric London is a senior principal and managing director of TSD. Prior, London was director of the Office of Public Affairs of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, and deputy communications director to then-House Democratic Leader Gephardt. 13

Mike Levine

Mike Levine has been a principal at TSD since 2022. He previously worked for Open Philanthropy as a communications officer. 14 15

References

  1. “Expertise.” TSD Communications. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.tsd.biz/expertise/.
  2. “Charles Sweeny.” TSD Communications. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.tsd.biz/our-team/charles-sweeney/.
  3. Dayen, David.” The American Prospect. April 15, 2021. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://prospect.org/power/end-of-the-insider-party-network/.
  4. Fang, Lee; Klippenstein, Ken; Boguslaw, Daniel. “New FTX Filing Pulls Back The Curtain On Sam Bankman-Fried’s Massive Influence Peddling Operation.” The Intercept. January 30, 2023. Accessed February 9, 2023. https://theintercept.com/2023/01/30/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-lobbying-pr/.
  5. Isman Huda, Mohammad. “Protect Our Future’s Crypto Politics.” Effective Altruism Forum. January 29, 2023. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/45EMKCpPesvhGxwey/protect-our-future-s-crypto-politics.
  6. Coltin, Jeff. “A cryptocurrency billionaire is spending big in New York congressional primaries.” City and State NY. August 8, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.cityandstateny.com/politics/2022/08/cryptocurrency-billionaire-spending-big-new-york-congressional-primaries/375529/.
  7. Schwartz, Brian. “Democrats’ Senate Majority PAC plans to return $3 million in donations from disgraced former FTX executives.” CNBC. December 20, 2022. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/20/ftx-democrats-senate-majority-pac-to-return-bankman-fried-donations.html.
  8. “Ricki Seidman.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricki-seidman-7a93072/.
  9. McCabe, David; Fischer, Sara. “Facebook fights back.” Axios. October 5, 2017. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.axios.com/2017/12/15/facebook-fights-back-1513305975.
  10. “Mark Steitz.” TSD. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.tsd.biz/our-team/mark-steitz/.
  11. “David Dreyer.” TSD. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.tsd.biz/our-team/david-dreyer/.
  12. “John R. Coletti.” TSD. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.tsd.biz/our-team/john-coletti/.
  13. “Eric London.” TSD. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.tsd.biz/our-team/eric-london/.
  14. “Mike Levine.” TSD. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.tsd.biz/our-team/mike-levine/.
  15. “Michael Levine.” LinkedIn. Accessed February 12, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-levine-bay-area/.
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TSD Communications


Washington, DC