Arena

Activity

Arena operates a variety of professional programs intended to cultivate Democratic Party campaign operatives. For instance, the organization operates Arena Training, a training program for campaign staff, which teaches participants about organizational fundamentals, digital operations, campaign data, the application of artificial intelligence tools, and communications; Arena Academy, an online training program for aspiring and experienced campaign staffers; and Arena Academy 201, a program similar to the latter, but which focuses on management skills and is intended for more experienced campaign staffers. ²

Additionally, the organization operates programs to assist aspiring campaign staff in finding work in Democratic Party campaigns. For instance, it operates a Job Search Accelerator program, which hosts virtual events with campaign professionals and networking opportunities; a job bank, which features listings from Democratic Party campaigns and aligned organizations; Arena Talent Bank, a bank of resumes that Arena provides to aligned organizations looking to hire; and other programs that assist individuals looking for jobs with resumé-writing and interviewing skills. ^{3 4 5}

Arena Staff Fellowship

Arena operates a staff fellowship program, which places a “select cadre” of Arena-trained operatives with Democratic Party campaigns on the state level. Successful candidates whom Arena has supported through the program include Virginia state Senator Danica Roem (D-Manassas), Pennsylvania State Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz (D-Berks), former Virginia Delegate Clinton Jenkins (D), and former Virginia Delegate Wendy Gooditis (D). ⁶

Partners

Partner organizations of Arena include Acronym, ActBlue, the Analyst Institute, Annie’s List, the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the Asian American Advocacy Fund, Battleground Texas, Bluebonnet Data, the Blue Leadership Collaborative, Blue Rose Research, Catalist, the Can’t Win Victory Fund, CAVE, the Community Tech Alliance, the Center for Artistic Activism, Contest Every Race, the Democratic Party of New Mexico, the Democratic Data Exchange, DigiDems, Emerge Georgia, EMILYs List, Equis, Fair Fight, Georgia Democrats, the Georgia House Democratic Caucus, the Georgia Working Families Party, Higher Ground Labs, Hood to the Holler, the Idaho Democratic Party, Instituto, Kentucky Democrats, Lead North Carolina, the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, Lillian’s List, Meso Solutions, Mi Familia Vota, Michigan Senate Democrats, Move On, New Disabled South Rising, the New Georgia Project Action Fund, One Arizona, Onward Together, Optimize, the Pennsylvania House Democratic Campaign Committee, Planned Parenthood, Priorities USA, Progressive Pipeline, the Represent Georgia Action Network, Ruth’s List Florida, the Sister District Project, Swing Left, Switchboard, Teach For America Greater Chicago–Northwest Indiana, Texas Democrats, the Texas Future Project, the The Management Action Center, the States Project, The Pipeline Fund, Virginia House Democrats, Vote Mama, Vote Rev, Vote Run Lead Action, Vote Save America, Wis Dems, Woke Vote, and the Zinc Collective. ⁷

Funding

Organizations that have provided financial support to Arena include Google, Grassroots Analytics, RunningMate, Ripple On Impact, Winnable, Act Blue, Blue Rose Research, Higher Ground Labs, Impactive, INTVRL, Kinetic Campaigns, Mission Control, NRG Consulting Group, Numero, Priorities, Raise More, Run For Something, Scale To Win, Technicolor, The Trade Desk, Univision, VDX.TV, Vote Run Lead Action, and Warchest. ⁸

Leadership

Kate Catherall is a co-founder and board chair emeritus of Arena. Previously, as part of the Alliance for Science, she taught two global fellowship courses in campaign strategy and planning at Cornell University, and was a staffer for President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns. ⁹

Swati Mylavarapu is a co-founder and board chair emeritus of Arena, as well as a founding partner at Incite Ventures, and board member of organizations including B Lab, Bayes Impact, and the Boston Review. Previously, she was a partner on the venture capital team at Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and an international business and product marketing staffer at Square. ¹⁰

Sarah Kleinman is the chair of Arena’s board of directors as well as the president of the Zinc Collective. Previously, she was the chief strategy officer at the International Rescue Committee, partner at McKinsey and Company, and deputy chief program officer and director of strategy at the Obama Foundation. ¹¹

Santiago Martinez is the executive director of Arena. Previously, she was a senior vice president of data and analytics at 270 Strategies and the North Carolina data director for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. ¹²

Debra Cohen is the deputy executive director of Arena. Previously, she was a digital organizer team manager on the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, an organizer-team leader in Virgina for President Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, and a staffer at Organizing for Action. ¹³