Welcome to the Courage Campaign!
Courage Campaign is an online organizing network that empowers more than 750,000 grassroots and netroots activists to push for progressive change and full equality in California and across the country. As a leading multi-issue advocacy organization, Courage Campaign's work is supported by thousands of small donations from our diverse community.
Courage Campaign Institute is the educational arm of the Courage Campaign family of organizations. Our mission is to defend and extend human rights through innovative leadership-development training, strategic research and public-education.
The Courage Campaign Institute is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Contributions or gifts to Courage Campaign Institute are tax deductible within IRS guidelines.
Our partners include The California Federation of Teachers, The California Nurses Association, The California Teachers Association, CREDO Mobile, UDW ASCME Local 3930 and the National Union of Healthcare Workers and dozens of state-based organizations working for LGBT equality.
COURAGE CAMPAIGN STAFF
Rick Jacobs, Founder and Chair: Rick chaired Howard Dean's presidential campaign in California and served as Senior Advisor to Democracy for America. He also co-founded Brave New Films and served two terms as a director of the Liberty Hill Foundation. Rick is also a featured contributor to HuffingtonPost.com. Rick has a long background as an investor and senior executive.
Sarah Callahan, Chief Operating Officer: Sarah has worked on elections at the local, state and national level for more than 20 years. For the past six years, Sarah has worked in the California labor movement to achieve quality patient care and improved standards for 150,000 healthcare workers as Political Director for United Healthcare Workers West and with the National Union of Healthcare Workers. Prior to working in California politics, Sarah organized in Florida during the 2000 general election and served as the Caucus Campaign Director for the Connecticut Senate Democrats in 1996, helping restore the Democrats to the majority in the State Senate. Sarah has a masters degree in government administration from the University of Pennsylvania.
Adam Bink, Director of Online Programs: Adam manages Courage's online campaigns with a special emphasis on LGBT equality initiatives. He comes to Courage campaign after serving as Online Strategy Manager for the consulting firm Progressive Strategies LLC and as an Editor at OpenLeft.com -- a leading progressive blog with more than 28 million page views to date. Prior to joining Courage, Adam managed Courage Campaign Institute's Prop8TrialTracker.com, the #1 Google result for "Prop 8 trial", as well as helped lead the NOM Tour Tracker campaign and Courage Campaign’s advocacy efforts in support of repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy during the 111th Congress. Adam holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Rochester and an M.A. in Political Management from the George Washington University. He hails from Buffalo, N.Y., and currently resides in Washington, D.C.
Caitlin Maloney, Data Director: As Courage’s resident data geek, Caitlin manages our web site and online tools, including the Voter Activation Network’s (VAN) volunteer and voter files. Before working as a Campus Campaign Manager for No on Prop 8, she was a Program Manager for Libraries for the Future, a national non-profit supporting innovation and investment in America's public libraries. There, she ran online and offline trainings, while overseeing website and database development.
Eddie Kurtz, Director of California Campaigns: A theatre director at heart who just can’t stay out of politics, Eddie served as Communications Associate at Brave New Films and worked to elect Congressman Jerry McNerney and President Obama. Originally from Kansas City, Eddie is a proud graduate of the Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs, as well as Washington University in St. Louis and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. In a previous life, he worked at theatres around the country, including Berkeley Repertory Theatre and the Georgia Shakespeare Festival.
Ana Beatriz Cholo, Communications Manager: Ana has worked for more than a decade as reporter for some of the largest news outlets in the country, including the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press. Ana studied History at St.Mary’s College of Maryland and graduated from the University of Southern California with a dual degree in Print Journalism and History, with a focus on African-American History. Before becoming a journalist, she worked as a forklift operator and a country music disc jockey. As a proud veteran, Ana served four years in the U.S. Navy and was stationed on a supply ship in Scotland and a Seabee base in Puerto Rico. She is a first-generation immigrant fluent in Portuguese and conversational in Spanish. She lives in Seal Beach, CA with her partner and two sons.
Anthony Ash, Field Organizer: Anthony was born and raised in Central California and currently organizes in Fresno. Anthony got his start as a volunteer helping to organize the Courage Campaign’s Fresno County Equality Team. Anthony has been active with many different organizations including: The Imperial Dove Court, PFLAG, Queer Fresno, Gay Fresno, and coordinating volunteers and logistics for "Meet in the Middle for Equality." Prior to joining the Courage Campaign, Anthony spent the last seven years in the medical field.
Aidan Crawford, Administrative Manager: Prior to joining Courage, Aidan worked as an HIV/AIDS educator, as well as a filmmaker and editor for a number of years. His short documentary "Just a Boy" has screened in film festivals and classrooms around the world.
Michael Bridges, Finance Director: Michael began his public policy work designing and managing the NYC welfare to work Employability Skills Project under Mayor Ed Koch. In 2007-2008, he served as the coordinator of surrogate fund-raising in Southern California for Obama For America. Michael has also worked on electoral campaigns for Jim Hahn, Steve Westly and Gavin Newsom. For twenty years, Michael operated LIMB records, an independent Los Angeles-based record company. Michael earned an MS in Policy Analysis from SUNY Stonybrook, an MA in Theology from The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and an MA in Politics from NYU.
Miles Kurland, Web Developer and Graphic Designer: Miles didn't invent the Internet, but he was there in the early days as the first programmer to work on the software that became AOL. He developed pioneering new media tools like Lumena (the first professional PC-based paint system) and was a senior architect for Macromedia Director. An early netroots activist (Daily Kos UID 95) he's designed online tools and/or graphics for MoveOn.org, the CDP, John Edwards, John Kerry, Chris Dodd, DFA, Kos Media, MyDD, Jerry McNerney, Lt. Col. Charlie Brown and, of course, the Courage Campaign.
Courage Campaign structure and status
The Courage Campaign family of organizations is devoted to bringing progressive change and full equality in California and across the country. Courage Campaign is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization. The Courage Campaign Institute is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization. Courage Campaign Issues Committee is active on statewide and local ballot campaigns and is registered with the California Fair Political Practices Commission. None of the Courage Campaign organizations make contributions to or expressly advocate for the election or defeat of candidates for public office.
A "member" of the Courage Campaign is defined as any person who has participated in at least one online action with the Courage Campaign. Members are generally contacted by the Courage Campaign based on their expression of interest in specific issues or categories. We carefully guard our members’ information and do not sell or use any data for commercial purposes.
Please consider making a contribution to the Courage Campaign to help us build progressive infrastructure, empowering grassroots and netroots activists to create a new era for progressive politics in California and across the country.
Contact the Courage Campaign
Courage Campaign Our web site is designed by Kurland Digital with tools powered by Blue State Digital.
7119 West Sunset Boulevard, No. 195
Los Angeles, California 90046
Phone: 323-969-0160
Fax: 323-969-0157