Participants

Celinda Lake is a prominent pollster and political strategist for Democrats and progressives. She currently serves as President of Lake Research Partners. Lake’s polling and strategic advice helped candidates such as Jon Tester, Tim Walz , and Gov Bob Wise defeat incumbent Republicans and her expertise guided Senator Mark Begich to victory, making him the first Senate candidate in Alaska to oust the incumbent in 50 years. She has focused on women candidates and women's concerns, having worked for Speaker Pelosi, Governor Janet Napolitano, and Senator Debbie Stabenow. Celinda worked for the largest independent expenditure to take back the House and has been a key player in campaigns launched by progressive groups such as the AFL-CIO, SEIU, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, HRC, EMILY'S List and more. Additionally, she recently helped elect Annise Parker as the first openly gay mayor of major US city. Lake co-authored the book What Women Really Want with Republican pollster Kellyanne Conway which examines the way women are changing the political landscape in America, and she also served as pollster for Senator Joe Biden's presidential bid.