The Institute for a Democratic Future is a mostly-volunteer organization run by its Executive Director, Jason Bennett and Associate Director, Elizabeth Siegel.
JASON BENNETT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Jason Bennett first plunged into politics when he interned at US Senator Patty Murray’s office in the spring of 1997. Shortly following the internship, Jason accepted a position in the Washington State Legislature with the office of State Rep. Jeff Morris. Nearly two years later, Jason caught the campaign bug and moved over to the House Democratic Campaign Committee as their Operations Director where he helped secure the majority for House Democrats in Nov. 2001. After five years working on Democratic campaigns, Jason was recruited to the office of US Senator Maria Cantwell and served as her State Outreach Director, managing an outreach team of seven.
In early 2005, he decided to take his extensive campaign experience and political contacts and form Argo Strategies, a political consulting firm based in Seattle. During the last several years, Argo Strategies has helped over 150 federal, state and local campaigns win – either with award-winning direct mail, compliance and treasury consulting or web/technology work. A few of their successful clients include Seattle Port Commissioner Gael Tarleton, Tacoma City Council member Victoria Woodards, State Representative Cindy Ryu and Yes on Referendum 71 campaign, the only gay-rights initiative to pass in the country.
In his spare time, Jason has served on the Seattle Mayor’s Citizens Technology and Telecommunications Advisory Board, was an elected Queen Anne Community Councilmember and is a “site restoration steward” for Pipers Creek in Carkeek Park. He has served on the boards of Equal Rights Washington and the 36th District Democrats, representing the Queen Anne, Magnolia, Greenwood, Belltown, Ballard and Phinney Ridge neighborhoods of Seattle. In 2010, Jason was honored to receive the 2010 Magnuson Award by the Washington State Democrats for “Democrat of the Year.”
Jason was born and raised in Brookfield, Wisconsin. He attended Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona where he received his Bachelor of Science in Political Science. He moved to Seattle in February 1996 and currently resides in Queen Anne with his partner, Mike and their dog, Kasey.
ELIZABETH SIEGEL, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Elizabeth is a teacher with over a decade of dedication to education. She currently teaches at the Seattle Jewish Community School in Seattle, Washington and has also taught in New York City and abroad. She has her M.A. in History and Secondary Education from New York University. Prior to becoming an educator, she worked in the film industry in Los Angeles. Before returning to Seattle, Elizabeth spent a year traveling around the world as a private teacher. Elizabeth previously served on the boards of the Young Leadership Division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle and the Anti-Defamation League, where she co-created the Menschworks volunteer program and chaired the ADLʼs leadership program. She loves to travel internationally and is an advocate for humane treatment for animals through Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). In 2008, Elizabeth volunteered countless hours on Barack Obama and Christine Gregoireʼs campaigns. She spent time in both Montana and Washington State registering voters and enabling outreach. Elizabeth recently lectured to high school students in India on Americaʼs governmental system and her experiences with Obamaʼs campaign.
She is a proud graduate of Institute for a Democratic Future (2008) and is on the executive board of the 36th LD. This is her third year as Associate Director.