Meet Our Team

Meet the talented COMPETE team that powers our clients’ success.

Courtney Abeyta​

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Andrew Curtis

DIGITAL DESIGNER

Shaun Daniels

production lead

Keith Frederick

DIRECTOR OF MESSAGING

Ceci Freed

MULTIMEDIA DESIGNER

Jadah Greenidge

Digital Strategist and Operations Coordinator

Kimberly Humke

DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE PRODUCTION

MacAdam Lea

SENIOR SEARCH STRATEGIST AND TECHNICIAN

Zach Mandelblatt

PRESIDENT

Ryan Pané

SOCIAL AND EMAIL COORDINATOR

Pooja Patel

Paid Media Strategist

Adam Perry

Creative director

Chris Ricci

PARTNER

Jaden Slagle

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Charlotte Spears

Digital Strategist

Ameera Sylvian

Senior Digital Strategist

Isobel Sylvian

DIRECTOR OF CAMPAIGNS

Jourdan Taylor

Paid Media Strategist

Eriberto Velazquez

Digital Strategist

Tank

ASSISTANT TO THE REGIONAL MANAGER

Pretzel

DIRECTOR OF PUP-LICK RELATIONS

Cairo and Seven

Oregon Branch Managers

Rascal

KITCHEN SUPERVISOR

Courtney Abeyta​

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS
Courtney is the brains behind the scenes at COMPETE. She has conquered the administrative world working in industries ranging from print advertising to healthcare. She keeps COMPETE’s trains running on time so everyone else can focus on doing an excellent job for our clients. Courtney witnessed our politics becoming more and more toxic, and co-founded COMPETE to do her part to bring us back to a more equitable and harmonious place.

Andrew Curtis

DIGITAL DESIGNER

Andrew Curtis is a Virginia-based graphic designer who focuses on helping clients in finding the right visual solution for their creative problems. A graduate of George Mason University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, he was also involved in AIGA (American Institute for Graphic Arts) while in college. Andrew has been involved in several local Startup Weekends & Hack-A-thons.

Shaun Daniels

production lead and conceptor
Shaun is a battle-tested political strategist with over 15 years of experience managing campaigns nationwide. His expertise spans redistricting, polling, issue advocacy, and fundraising. He has directed operations for congressional, senatorial, and gubernatorial races in six states, producing direct mail in 48 states for campaigns from school board to president. As Executive Director for multiple PACs and C4 organizations, Shaun honed his skills in coalition building and high-level strategy. When not crafting winning strategies, he experiments with new recipes or explores parks around Virginia and Maryland.

Keith Frederick

DIRECTOR OF MESSAGING

Keith Frederick is the owner of FrederickPolls based in Arlington, Virginia. FrederickPolls is one of the country’s leading issue and political polling firms. Keith has 35+ years’ experience providing strategic message and targeting advice. Recognizing that digital is the future of communication, Keith co-founded COMPETE to provide message testing expertise and invaluable experience navigating the political market.

Ceci Freed

MULTIMEDIA DESIGNER

Ceci is a designer with a background in graphic design, video editing, and motion graphics, and a passion to create compelling and engaging visuals for progressive causes. She’s designed for dozens of local, Congressional, and Senate races, helping Democrats win competitive races throughout the country. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University and is obtaining a Master’s in Fine Arts from the Savannah College of Art and Design. When she’s not obsessing over kerning, she’s probably hiking with her dog, Rascal, or replaying Tears of the Kingdom.

Jadah Greenidge

Digital Strategist and Operations Coordinator
Jadah is a coordinator with many hats. She has a background in marketing, social media project management, sales, as well as office management. She enjoys being behind the scenes and supporting the team with personal and professional development to ensure that each team member is thriving in our team oriented environment at COMPETE. She helps coordinate social media content for several platforms and supports the operations for COMPETE. When she takes her hat off, she’s at the park hanging out with her dog Bentley.

Kimberly Humke

DIRECTOR OF CREATIVE PRODUCTION

Kimberly is a retired professional dancer, entrepreneur, writer, and life-long activist. She is a frequent contributor to local news publications and manages content creation for several not-for-profit organizations. Kimberly is passionate about creating strong messaging that hits the mark eloquently. In college, she double majored in Women’s Studies and Political Science with a minor in Philosophy. When she’s not dreaming up new concepts for COMPETE, she is chasing around an exuberant 2 year old and an adventurous 13 year old.

MacAdam Lea

SENIOR SEARCH STRATEGIST AND TECHNICIAN

MacAdam and President Zach Mandelblatt cut their teeth together at Digital Reach. After working for 8 years at DRA, MacAdam was at lunch with his family when his siblings asked “what would it take to start our own company?”. Many meetings later and MacAdam launched LEA Analytics! COMPETE partners with LEA when our clients would benefit from Search and Mid-Funnel specific marketing expertise / solutions, or other general technical expertise. Driven by a need to make customers money and a fear of letting his co-founder’s down, MacAdam loves Dark Souls and cats and his wife/business partner Dori.

Zach Mandelblatt

PRESIDENT

Ever since it became clear to Zach that he wasn’t going to make it to the MLB, he has been building Digital marketing and media firms. In 2012, he co-founded Digital Reach, a Silicon Valley based firm that works with Tech companies. After Trump won in 2016, a shocked and determined Zach began knocking on doors and registering folks to vote for Democratic campaigns. This led him to the belief that he could best help left-of-center campaigns and causes by bringing the successful Digital strategies and agency structure he built at his other firm over to the Political vertical. With 500 campaigns under COMPETE’s belt since its launch in 2019, Zach is glad he made the jump.

Ryan Pané

SOCIAL AND EMAIL COORDINATOR

Ryan is a social media and digital media professional with a background working in entertainment and New York State politics. As an avid social media user Ryan enjoys finding the intersection where politics and pop culture meet. His passion for democratic politics started at a young age when he would (unsolicitedly) argue against President Bush’s policies over dinner with his family. Ryan believes that every person has a unique story just waiting to be told and strives to find new and creative ways to bring them to life. When not online Ryan can be found running to catch a train.

Pooja Patel

Paid Media Strategist

Pooja is a digital strategist with deep experience in rapid response, high-impact visibility, and large-scale acquisition programs. She is a solutions-oriented problem solver passionate about efficient process. Before getting into paid media, she was an organizer and a pollster for progressive advocacy organizations and electoral candidates. She’s worked on issues including include gun violence prevention, reproductive justice, environmental protection, voting rights, and immigration. Pooja currently resides in Brooklyn.

Adam Perry

Creative director

Adam is an experienced Creative Director with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. He is skilled in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Logo Design, Advertising, Video, and WordPress, and possesses a strong arts and design background. He graduated from the Bradley Academy for the Visual Arts.

Chris Ricci

PARTNER

Chris founded and ran Chris Ricci Presents, Inc. an event promotion firm in Central California. When Trump won the election he was compelled to get involved politically. Prior to joining COMPETE in 2019, he worked with the social media teams in CA-21 and Josh Harder in CA-10, and on texting campaigns for Democratic candidates using Relay and Hustle. Chris was recently elected Councilmember for the City of Modesto, giving him even deeper insight into what campaigns and elected officials need from their media firm.

Jaden Slagle

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Jaden is a lawyer turned organizer turned digital enthusiast. In 2014, he moved home to Texas to work for Wendy Davis. After he caught the campaign bug, he organized in Kansas, Missouri, Virginia, and Maryland before moving to Iowa to work for Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal. He has since managed campaigns in Virginia, Michigan, and Florida. Somewhere in there, he found the time to learn to code. Through his campaign travels Jaden realized the value of investment in digital, which led him to co-found COMPETE.

Charlotte Spears

Digital Strategist
Charlotte is a digital strategist with experience in national politics and North Carolina state campaigns. Charlotte graduated from Davidson College (Go ‘Cats!) where she studied political science and economics. Passionate about finding solutions to the toxicity of today’s politics, Charlotte works to support Democratic candidates and causes. When not at her desk, Charlotte is exploring many of D.C.’s farmer’s markets and restaurants.

Ameera Sylvian

Senior Digital Strategist

Ameera is a social media coordinator passionate about using her skills to bring about positive change. She has worked with a wide variety of social media and content moderation clients, including starting her own small business and building a loyal clientele via social media. She has been involved in progressive politics since a young age, and now takes pride in furthering those causes using social media to drive engagement. When not tied to a screen, she can be found in the woods of Oregon chasing after her 3 dogs.

Isobel Sylvian

DIRECTOR OF CAMPAIGNS

Isobel is a social media and public relations practitioner who has been involved in politics from a young age beginning with attending local and nationwide Democratic campaign rallies. Right after graduating from Boston University, she jumped into a career working for an advertising firm that helped open her mind to the possibility of what could happen when she combined her experience in advertising with her passion and skills for social media management. She now focuses her talents on uplifting and boosting her clients through engagement, growth, and organization.

Jourdan Taylor

Paid Media Strategist
Jourdan is a Baltimore-based digital media specialist, content creator, and music producer with experience in social media management, political advocacy, and digital marketing. He got his start at The Baltimore Times, where he helped secure a $25K endowment for an internship program. Later, he worked at The Hub Project on voter education campaigns in swing states and managed digital ad campaigns for Fortune 500 brands at Mosaic North America. Most recently, Jourdan consulted small businesses on social ad strategies at CommentSold. In his free time, he produces music, performs live shows, and writes about his experiences.

Eriberto Velazquez

Digital Strategist

Eriberto is a seasoned communications and political professional with extensive experience managing political campaigns and advancing progressive causes. He honed his expertise in digital communications and grassroots mobilization at the Human Rights Campaign and through his dedication to Virginia government and politics. Eriberto’s work has driven significant outcomes in competitive elections, reflecting his commitment to impactful advocacy and community engagement. His offline adventures involve cleats, a bat, and the occasional home run.

Tank

ASSISTANT TO THE REGIONAL MANAGER

Sergeant Tank Obama joined COMPETE after a brief stint at Delaware Alliance for Animal Welfare Groups, Inc. (DAAWGS). He is a social butterfly who has helped take COMPETE’s organic social media game to the next level. He has an eye for trending and viral content and brings style and class to every team meeting. In his spare time, he enjoys chasing trash cans and loudly snoring.

Cairo and Seven

Oregon Branch Managers​
Cairo and Seven are the dynamic canine duo managing our Oregon branch. Cairo excels in strategic planning and client relations, leveraging his keen instincts to drive successful campaigns. Seven handles team coordination and creative brainstorming, ensuring every project runs smoothly. Together, they bring a unique blend of leadership and enthusiasm to the office, making them beloved figures among our team. Their innovative approach and unwavering dedication keep Compete at the forefront of the industry.

Rascal

KITCHEN SUPERVISOR

Rascal is a diligent Kitchen Supervisor, with years of experience counter-surfing and licking dishes clean. Prior to his experience at COMPETE, he spent three years scarfing down food from his parent’s dinners and dutifully tracking down every crumb that made it to the floor. On Rascal’s watch, not a single item of food will be left untouched.

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