UltraViolet

Several individuals that the organization has led campaigns against include news commentator Bill O’Reilly, entertainment journalist Billy Bush, controversial media influencer Andrew Tate, singer Celo Green, rap musicians Rick Ross and Sean “Diddy” Combs, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and President Donald Trump. ²

Background

UltraViolet was founded in February 2012 by Nita Chaudhary, formerly the national campaigns and organizing director at MoveOn.org Political Action, a left-progressive political action committee (PAC), and Shaunna Thomas, formerly the executive director of the P Street Project, a 501(c)(4)  advocacy organization which works to elect liberal candidates to state and federal government. The organization was funded by the Citizen Engagement Lab, a social welfare and political consulting group that organizes left-of-center organizations that advocate for a wide range of liberal policies and demographic groups. ³

The organization was recognized as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit in August 2015 under the name “UltraViolet Education Fund.” ⁴ The group’s 501(c)(4) lobbying arm is UltraViolet Action, which was formed in September 2016. ⁵

Activities

The activities of UltraViolet largely consist of public awareness campaigns using both traditional mediums like petitions and social media to generate social pressure intended to influence various organizations to make decisions in accord with the group’s left-progressive perspective. ⁶

The group’s first campaign was generated in February 2012 in response to a decision by Susan G Komen for the Cure (a healthcare organization focused on curing breast cancer) to discontinue its funding of Planned Parenthood because it performs abortions. After a brief but intense media campaign, the Komen reversed its decision and Karen Handel, a Georgia Republican politician then working as Komen’s vice president of public policy, the decision’s chief supporter, stepped down. ³⁶

In March 2012, the group followed up by pressuring advertisers of conservative media personality Rush Limbaugh’s radio program to pull their ads from his show in response to comments that Limbaugh made regarding a then-Georgetown undergraduate and later unsuccessful Democratic politician Sandra Fluke who had testified in favor of mandating insurance coverage of contraception without co-payments. ⁶⁷

In April 2013, UltraViolet generated a petition demanding that Reebok, the footwear company, end its relationship with Rick Ross, a celebrity rapper and record executive, for encouraging, according to ultraviolet’s website, “rape culture.” Additionally, the group organized a Twitter campaign against Reebok and a small protest in front of its New York City flagship retail store. Reebok ended its relationship with Ross. ⁶⁸

In July 2014, UltraViolet, along with NARAL Pro Choice America, a pro-abortion advocacy organization, produced a petition to lobby Yahoo, the internet and media company, to remove paid advertisements on its service from crisis pregnancy centers that oppose abortion. ⁶⁹

In September 2014, UltraViolet produced a media campaign targeting TBS, the television network, demanding that they cancel rapper and actor Celo Green’s show because he made comments, according to UltraViolet, which “trivialized rape.” The network cancelled Green’s show within the month. ⁶¹⁰

In July 2016, UltraViolet led a social media campaign of its members to pressure the National Basketball Association and its biggest sponsor PepsiCo to relocate the 2017 All Stars Game out of Charlotte, North Carolina in response to the passage of The Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act. The North Carolina state bill, commonly known as “HB2,” compels schools, and other public facilities with single-gender bathrooms to only allow people of the corresponding sex (as listed on their birth certificate) to use them. During the same month, UltraViolet also led a social media campaign advocating for the resignation of Roger Ailes, then the CEO of Fox News, in response to reports alleging that he cultivated an inappropriate workplace culture. ⁶¹¹

In October 2016, following the Washington Post’s reporting on audio tapes of Donald Trump and Billy Bush of NBC’s The Today Show, UltraViolet led a social media campaign demanding that the latter be fired. A few weeks following news coverage of the story, NBC fired Bush. ¹²⁶

In April 2017, UIltraViolet produced a petition demanding that Fox News fire one its leading pundits, Bill O’Reilly, due to allegations that he had engaged in inappropriate workplace behavior with his female colleagues. Additionally, UltraViolet organized a small protest outside of the Network’s headquarters. Within the month, Fox fired O’Reilly. ⁶¹³

In July 2017, UltraViolet unsuccessfully demanded that the U.S. Golf Association relocate its women’s golf tournament from Trump National Golf Club Bedminster, a golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey owned by President Donald Trump’s companies. The USGA did not relocate the tournament, and UltraViolet staged a small protest near the course as the event was taking place. ⁶¹⁴

In the summer of 2018, following President Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, UltraViolet organized a series of campaigns and protests intended to negatively affect Kavanaugh’s confirmation during the hearings that followed. Aside from conventional social media activity and petitions, two UltraViolet Members confronted Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ) in a Senate office elevator. In that vein, directly before the final vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation, the organization trained and sent 300 volunteers to walk the halls of the Senate and confront Senators. Additionally, during this time, the organization situated a jumbotron in front of the Capitol Building, which played a controversial Access Hollywood tape featuring President Trump and Billy Bush on loop for 12 hours. On October 6, 2018, the Senate voted 50—48 to confirm Kavanaugh’s nomination. ⁶¹⁵¹⁶

2018 Google Protest

In May 2018, CREDO Action joined the left-wing LGBT advocacy group UltraViolet to protest at the Google I/O Conference, citing the number of crisis pregnancy centers and pro-life resources that appear in Google’s search results for “abortion clinics.” Protesters also planned to deliver a petition to change search results to Google’s headquarters at the end of the conference after gaining signatures from conference attendees.¹⁷

2025 Protests against Pete Hegseth

In January 2025, UltraViolet began a social media campaign advocating against Pete Hegseth’s nomination as Secretary of Defense for the Second Trump Administration. The campaign stated Hegseth should have his nomination revoked as he was “accused of sexual harassment and assault, alcohol abuse, and fiscal mismanagement of two veterans’ advocacy organizations.” ¹⁸ According to their website over 16,000 UltraViolet members signed a petition to oppose Hegseth’s confirmation. On January 24, 2025, Hegseth was confirmed to the position of Secretary of State in the U.S Senate by a 51-50 vote. ¹⁹

UltraViolet Action

UltraViolet Action, registered in 2014, is the lobbying arm of UltraViolet. Legislation that the organization has advocated for includes, the Violence Against Women Act, federal legislation which provides funding for programs investigating and prosecuting violent crimes against woman, and a July 2014 Obama administration Executive Order requiring prospective federal contractors to disclose labor law violations. The group has advocated heavily against several legislative attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (popularly known as “ObamaCare”). ⁶⁵

Financials

According to its 2024 990 form, UltraViolet reported a revenue of $3,882,412, expenses of $2,973,923, and total assets of $3,666,924. ²⁰

According to its 2023 990 form, UltraViolet reported a revenue of $4,024,488, expenses of $3,544,545, and total assets of $2,747,694. ²¹

Leadership

Co-Founders & Executive Director

Nita Chaudharty is the co-founder of UltraViolet and the previous co-executive director of the organization before stepping down in April 2018. ²² Prior to this, Chaudhary was the national campaigns and organizing director for super PAC MoveOn.org Political Action during the 2008 presidential election cycle. Beforehand, Chaudhary was also the Democratic National Committee’s first “Director of Online” during the 2004 election cycle. ²³

Arisha Hatch is the interim Executive Director following Shaunna Thomas stepping down from the position in February 2025. Hatch was previously a board member of UltraViolet before her appointment as interim executive director. Prior to this, Hatch worked on then-Senator Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential election campaign as a volunteer organizer before becoming Vice President and Chief of Campaigns at social advocacy group Color of Change. ²⁴

Shaunna Thomas is the co-founder and former executive director of UltraViolet, until she stepped down from her position in February 2025. Prior to UltraViolet, she was the executive director of lobbying group P Street Project as well as the COO of Progressive Congress, the 501 (c)(3) nonprofit arm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus made up of members from the House Democratic Caucus. ^{23 25}

Other Staff

Kat Barr is the chief operating officer (COO) of UltraViolet. Prior to this, Barr worked as a campaign director for MoveOn.org as well as the communications director and later director of political outreach for electoral advocacy group Rock the Vote. ²⁶

Anathea Chino was the advancement director of UltraViolet as of 2020. Prior to this, Chino was an investment advisor at Democracy Alliance, the development director at NARAL New Mexico, and a regional field director for the Democratic National Committee and Democratic Party of New Mexico. Chino sits on the board of directors or advisory boards for Inclusv and PowerPac as of 2020. ²⁶

Kathy Platt is the communications director for UltraViolet as of 2020. Prior to this, Plate was the Digital Strategies Director at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force as well as the online communications manager for the Alliance for Justice. ²⁶

Katie Reilly was the campaign director for UltraViolet as of 2020. Prior to this, Reilly was a volunteer with Obama for America as well as a digital team member for the People’s Climate Marches in 2014. ²⁶