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Person

Rajiv Chandrasekaran

Nationality:

American
Occupation:

Policy and Strategy Director at The Policy and Strategy Director at The Emes Project, LLC
Residence:

Seattle, WA
Political Party:

N/A

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Rajiv Chandrasekaran is the director of policy and strategy at The Emes Project LLC, a project of Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz, that works with the left-of-center Schultz Family Foundation. 1 Prior to joining the Emes Project, Chandrasekaran was a senior vice president for public affairs of Starbucks 2 3 and a national editor of the Washington Post. 4

Chandrasekaran is a member of the left-of-center National Task Force on Election Crises 5 and a part of the left-leaning voter advocacy campaign Count Every Vote. 6 He supports the deletion of social media posts deemed to be “election disinformation” and said that Facebook’s decision to flag election-related information it deemed to be “disinformation” during the 2020 election cycle did not go far enough. 7 Chandrasekaran also said that media coverage of the 2020 election needed “to be different” 8 and said that media outlets should not rush to be first in counting votes because the first vote count could “get it wrong” due to the large number of absentee ballots in battleground states. 9

He has been an author in residence with the left-progressive Center for New American Security (CNAS), 10 11 on the board of directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) advocacy organization, 12 and a two-time public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. 13

Career

Rajiv Chandrasekaran is the head of policy and strategy for the Emes Project LLC, a project of Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz that works with the left-of-center Schultz Family Foundation. 14 Chandrasekaran is reportedly considered one of Schultz’s “closest confidants” and was considered an individual with a pivotal voice helping Schultz choose whether or not to run for president in 2020. 15

Election Advocacy

Chandrasekaran is a member of the left-of-center National Task Force on Election Crises, 16 a part of the left-leaning voter advocacy campaign Count Every Vote, 17 and on the board of veteran’s organization The Mission Continues. 18

In a 2021 interview analyzing the results of the 2020 election at an event sponsored by the left-of-center Campaign Legal Center, 19 he supported the deletion of posts deemed to contain “election disinformation” and claimed that Facebook’s decision to flag information it considered “disinformation” did not go far enough. 20

Chandrasekaran said that the 2020 election cycle needed “to be different” 21 than past cycles and that media organizations should not rush to be first in counting votes. He cited the “large number of absentee ballots” cast in battleground states as one factor that could result in organizations rushing to be first with the vote count “getting it wrong.” 22 In the 2020 election cycle, Chandrasekaran also spoke at the “Covering an Unprecedented Election” event, which was presented by the left-of-center National Task Force on Election Crises and Election SOS and supported by the Ad Hoc Committee, American Press Institute, First Draft, PEN America, and Unite America. 23

Starbucks

In 2015, Chandrasekaran joined Starbucks as a senior vice president for public affairs 24 25 and as executive producer of Starbucks’s social impact media initiatives. 26 In this role, he produced the Starbucks video series “Upstanders” with Schultz and hosted Starbucks’ Upstanders podcast. 27 28 29 In his role, Chandrasekaran said that Starbucks’s controversial Race Together initiative was not about social-impact storytelling. 30

The Upstanders series was included in the Obama administration’s White House Festival of Ideas, Art and Action on the South Lawn of the White House, 31 and its program topics included The Mosque Across the Street, Breaking the Prison Pipeline, Homes for Everyone, Scholarships for Every Student, A Warrior’s Workout, and others. 32

Journalism

Prior to joining Starbucks, Chandrasekaran co-wrote a book about U.S. military veterans with Schultz 33 34 and worked at the Washington Post from 1994 to 2014. Chandrasekaran worked in various positions at the Post, including as national editor, assistant managing editor, and chief of the Baghdad bureau for coverage of the Iraq War from 2003 to 2004. 35 36 He has also published multiple books on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 37

Chandrasekaran was an author in residence with the left-progressive Center for New American Security (CNAS), 38 39 on the board of directors of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) advocacy organization, 40 a two-time public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, and a journalist in residence at the International Reporting Project of the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies. 41

Personal Information and Advocacy

Rajiv Chandrasekaran was born in the San Francisco Bay Area. He holds a bachelor of the arts in political science from Stanford University 42 and resides in Seattle, Washington. 43

In 2017, Chandrasekaran opposed the Trump administration’s decision to ban travel from countries alleged to be terrorism-sponsoring. 44

References

  1. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Schultz Family Foundation. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://www.schultzfamilyfoundation.org/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  2. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Schultz Family Foundation. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://www.schultzfamilyfoundation.org/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  3. Shapiro, Steven. “Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran: ‘For Love of Country’.” Yahoo! News. November 10, 2014. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://twitter.com/rajivscribe/status/1323359166459604992?cxt=HHwWgMCnsdCJwt0kAAAA.
  4. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Schultz Family Foundation. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://www.schultzfamilyfoundation.org/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  5. “Task Force Members.” National Task Force on Election Crises. November 8, 2020. Accessed via Web Archive April 16, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108170336/https://www.electiontaskforce.org/members-1.
  6. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted November 2, 2020. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/rajivscribe/status/1323359166459604992?cxt=HHwWgMCnsdCJwt0kAAAA.
  7. Crawford, Liz. “What lessons did bipartisan experts learn from the 2020 election?” 10 News Tampa Bay. January 15, 2021. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/politics/elections/national-task-force-outlines-lessons-from-2020-election-and-makes-recommendations-for-reform/67-4dcc4311-2e9f-4465-ac0f-60ea0a2ebda8.
  8. Axelrod, Tal. “Watchdog requests media detail plans for election night coverage.” The Hill. September 17, 2020. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/516847-watchdog-requests-media-detail-plans-for-election-night-coverage/.
  9.  Montellaro, Zach. “Watchdogs demand election night clarity from the media.” Politico. September 17, 2020. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/17/election-night-2020-calling-winner-416644.
  10. Chandrasekaran, Rajiv. “Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan.” Center for a New American Security. June 26, 2012. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://www.cnas.org/publications/book/little-america-the-war-within-the-war-for-afghanistan.
  11. “About Rajiv.” Rajic Chandrasekaran Personal Website. Accessed April 15, 2022. http://rajivc.com/about-rajiv/.
  12. “Chandrasekaran, Sawyer, and Williams join CPJ board.” Committee to Protect Journalists. November 5, 2007. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://cpj.org/2007/11/chandrasekaran-sawyer-and-williams-join-cpj-board/.
  13. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Schultz Family Foundation. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://www.schultzfamilyfoundation.org/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  14. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Schultz Family Foundation. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://www.schultzfamilyfoundation.org/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  15. Schwartz, Brian. “Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz assembles an elite PR team as he considers running for president.” CNBC. November 9, 2018. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/09/ex-starbucks-ceo-howard-schultz-builds-elite-pr-team-as-he-mulls-white-house-run.html.
  16.  “Task Force Members.” National Task Force on Election Crises. November 8, 2020. Accessed via Web Archive April 16, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20201108170336/https://www.electiontaskforce.org/members-1.
  17. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted November 2, 2020. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://twitter.com/rajivscribe/status/1323359166459604992?cxt=HHwWgMCnsdCJwt0kAAAA.
  18. “Tweet.” Twitter. Posted September 20, 2021. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://twitter.com/missioncontinue/status/1440054529752383497.
  19. “Video: What lessons did bipartisan experts learn from the 2020 election?” Campaign Legal Center. January 15, 2021. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://campaignlegal.org/media-mentions/video-what-lessons-did-bipartisan-experts-learn-2020-election.
  20. Crawford, Liz. “What lessons did bipartisan experts learn from the 2020 election?” 10 News Tampa Bay. January 15, 2021. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/politics/elections/national-task-force-outlines-lessons-from-2020-election-and-makes-recommendations-for-reform/67-4dcc4311-2e9f-4465-ac0f-60ea0a2ebda8.
  21. Axelrod, Tal. “Watchdog requests media detail plans for election night coverage.” The Hill. September 17, 2020. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/516847-watchdog-requests-media-detail-plans-for-election-night-coverage/.
  22. Montellaro, Zach. “Watchdogs demand election night clarity from the media.” Politico. September 17, 2020. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/09/17/election-night-2020-calling-winner-416644.
  23. “Events to Help Journalists Prepare.” Democracy In Action. September 22, 2020. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/politics/elections/national-task-force-outlines-lessons-from-2020-election-and-makes-recommendations-for-reform/67-4dcc4311-2e9f-4465-ac0f-60ea0a2ebda8.
  24. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Schultz Family Foundation. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://www.schultzfamilyfoundation.org/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  25. Shapiro, Steven. “Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran: ‘For Love of Country’.” Yahoo! News. November 10, 2014. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://twitter.com/rajivscribe/status/1323359166459604992?cxt=HHwWgMCnsdCJwt0kAAAA.
  26. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” COVID Collaborative. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://www.covidcollaborative.us/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  27. “’Upstanders,’ a Starbucks Original Series by Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Starbucks Stories and News. September 7, 2016. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2016/upstanders-a-starbucks-original-series/.
  28. “Howard Schultz And Rajiv Chandrasekaran On The New Starbucks Series “Upstanders” | BUILD Series.” BUILD Series YouTube. Uploaded September 15, 2016. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-0np4g_baY.
  29. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Penguin Random House. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://www.prhspeakers.com/speaker/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  30. McDermott, Clare. “Why a Washington Post Editor Left to Work With Starbucks.” Content Marketing Institute. September 27, 2015. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/09/washington-post-editor-starbucks/.
  31. “Upstanders.” Starbucks. February 6, 2017. Accessed via Web Archive. April 15, 2022. https://upstanders.starbucks.com/https://web.archive.org/web/20170206135913/https://upstanders.starbucks.com/.
  32.  “’Upstanders,’ a Starbucks Original Series by Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Starbucks Stories and News. September 7, 2016. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2016/upstanders-a-starbucks-original-series/.
  33. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Schultz Family Foundation. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://www.schultzfamilyfoundation.org/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  34. Shapiro, Steven. “Howard Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran: ‘For Love of Country’.” Yahoo! News. November 10, 2014. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://twitter.com/rajivscribe/status/1323359166459604992?cxt=HHwWgMCnsdCJwt0kAAAA.
  35. Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Schultz Family Foundation. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://www.schultzfamilyfoundation.org/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  36. Uberti, David. “Washington Post staffer leaves for Starbucks-backed media startup.” Columbia Journalism Review. February 26, 2015. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://archives.cjr.org/the_kicker/washington_post_staffer_leaves.php.
  37. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Schultz Family Foundation. Accessed April 16, 2022. https://www.schultzfamilyfoundation.org/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  38. Chandrasekaran, Rajiv. “Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan.” Center for a New American Security. June 26, 2012. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://www.cnas.org/publications/book/little-america-the-war-within-the-war-for-afghanistan.
  39. “About Rajiv.” Rajic Chandrasekaran Personal Website. Accessed April 15, 2022. http://rajivc.com/about-rajiv/.
  40. “Chandrasekaran, Sawyer, and Williams join CPJ board.” Committee to Protect Journalists. November 5, 2007. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://cpj.org/2007/11/chandrasekaran-sawyer-and-williams-join-cpj-board/.
  41. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Schultz Family Foundation. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://www.schultzfamilyfoundation.org/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  42. “Rajiv Chandrasekaran.” Schultz Family Foundation. Accessed April 14, 2022. https://www.schultzfamilyfoundation.org/team/rajiv-chandrasekaran.
  43. “Peter Baker and Susan Glasser with Rajiv Chandrasekaran: The Man Who Ran Washington.” Town Hall Seattle YouTube. Uploaded October 26, 2020. Viewed April 15, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT-IU6pVG_k.
  44. “Twitter.” Tweet. Posted January 28, 2017. Accessed April 15, 2022. https://twitter.com/rajivscribe/status/825564417135751168?cxt=HHwWgMCh6dOd__QWAAAA
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