JULIA AGER

PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER

Julia founded Sapphire in 2018 after serving at both the DCCC and the DSCC for eight years. In just two years, her team at Sapphire has helped President Joe Biden reclaim Wisconsin, Governor John Bel Edwards win re-election in Louisiana, and Senator Ben Ray Luján win in New Mexico. Her team has developed multi-million digital fundraising programs for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Presidential candidate Julián Castro, and GoFundMe. Her team raised over $1 million for House candidates in CA-21, NE-02, and more.
 

As 2018 Chief Digital Officer of the DCCC Julia and her team raised an historic amount -- $111 million for the DCCC and $18 million for House campaigns -- helping Democrats win a resounding House Majority in the 2018 midterms. She led the DCCC to build the most successful list growth operation in the country, raising $42 million from newly acquired emails, and ran a multi-million dollar digital mobilization campaign reaching people of color and young voters.

She’s from Ann Arbor, Michigan and went to college at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

SHEREEN AHMAD

DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL STRATEGY

Shereen spearheaded the massive online operation that secured Secretary Julián Castro a spot in the 2020 Presidential debates, increasing his donor base from 5,000 to nearly 200,000 donors. Shereen is also recognized for building and transforming Speaker Pelosi’s Democratic Leadership PAC from scratch into a multi-million-dollar grossing organization, as well as leading the digital program that elected New Mexico’s first Latino Senator in more than 40 years.

 
Shereen joins Sapphire Strategies from the DCCC, where she ran the Committee’s multi-million-person social media following. In the 2018 cycle, she led the DCCC social media outreach to connect with American voters an unprecedented 800 million times. Before joining the team at Democratic Headquarters, Shereen spent several years as a political operative in Texas, working to turn the Lone Star State blue.

 
Shereen is from Austin, Texas and received her degree in Political Science from the University of Texas at Austin. 

JULIANA DOLCIMASCOLO

DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL ADVERTISING

Juliana managed Sapphire’s digital efforts to re-elect Governor John Bel Edwards in Louisiana, the first successful Democratic gubernatorial re-election in Louisiana in four decades. In 2020, she worked closely on both email and ad campaigns for Sapphire’s most competitive Congressional races. Juliana also led statewide ad strategy for the Democratic Party in Wisconsin and End Citizens United in North Carolina. She manages Nancy Pelosi for Congress’ online fundraising and advertising, and increased the Speaker’s 2020 digital haul by over 800% compared to 2019.

 
As the DCCC’s Digital Campaign Manager for the 2018 cycle, Juliana spearheaded the first in-house digital persuasion campaign the Committee had ever run and flipped over 40 House seats. Juliana started her career as a Digital Strategist at the DCCC in 2016.

Juliana grew up in both Chicago, Illinois and Cincinnati, Ohio, and has a Political Communication degree from the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.

BENJAMIN ROSENBLATT

MANAGER OF EMAIL & SMS PRODUCTION

Benjamin Rosenblatt joins Sapphire Strategies after working independently as a political consultant for
the 2018 and 2020 cycles. 

Previously, he worked at a digital fundraising firm and interned on the O’Malley 2016 presidential campaign. Through these experiences, he raised tens of thousands of dollars for vital red-to-blue districts
and helped organize the presidential campaign in New York.
 

Benjamin graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., and is from Queens, New York.

ANTHONY J. ZARZYCKI

PRODUCTION STRATEGIST

Anthony is a Pennsylvania native, joining Sapphire in 2021. He started in politics as an activist and community organizer in Centre County for local issues and campaigns. Anthony worked in field organizing between 2015 and 2020 for several groups, including the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. In 2020, he used online tools, mediums, and strategies to get out the vote among young voters as NextGen America’s Iowa Digital Director.

As a volunteer, Anthony has run email programs for the Pennsylvania Young Democrats and served as the Treasurer and digital administrator for Front & Centre, a non-profit promoting and expanding LGBTQ+ rights which led a campaign resulting in the banning of conversion therapy among minors for a third of Centre County’s population.

Anthony is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics with minors in Physics and Political Science.

ISAAC BONILLA

SENIOR MULTIMEDIA DESIGNER

Isaac is directly responsible for the Wisconsin Democratic Party’s persuasion and GOTV creative suite that flipped Wisconsin for Joe Biden in 2020. Isaac also spearheaded the massive advertising design operations for Nancy Pelosi, End Citizens United, and Ben Ray Luján. He joined Sapphire Strategies as the team’s first multimedia designer, and has since built the agency’s creative department into a world class design entity for progressive causes. Isaac is known for his incredible eye-catching designs and animations that bring Democrats’ message to life on screen.  

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Before joining Sapphire Strategies, Isaac was a part of Pete Buttigieg’s Presidential Campaign, where he was recognized for helping to win the Iowa Caucuses by developing and designing a top-tier animated training series for organizers and volunteers.

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Isaac lives in South Florida and is a graduate from Full Sail University.
 

ANDREA AGUILAR

SENIOR DIGITAL STRATEGIST

Andrea led Latino Victory Project’s digital program during the 2020 cycle, overseeing robust email and acquisition efforts that increased nearly 350% from 2019. She has also been an integral member in the team that secured Secretary Julián Castro’s spot in the 2020 Presidential debates, helped transform Speaker Pelosi’s Democratic Leadership PAC into a multi-million-dollar digital program, and helped successfully elect Senator Ben Ray Luján as New Mexico’s first Latino Senator in more than 40 years. 

Andrea joins Sapphire Strategies from the DLCC, where she was the committee's Political Assistant and managed various projects, including the DLCC's inaugural Campaign Academy, a training series for caucus staff. She was also a Field Organizer with the Colorado Democratic Party in 2016. 

Andrea is from Los Angeles, California and a graduate of Wellesley College.

ERIC WOLFERT

SENIOR DIGITAL STRATEGIST

After joining Sapphire in 2020, Eric took over the digital operation for iVote’s nonprofit and political arms, raising over $1 million online in their first year. He was also a key member of Joyce Elliott for Congress’ digital team, elevating her historic campaign to toss-up status thanks to raising $700k through email and digital ads. 

Prior to joining Sapphire, Eric worked in both the digital fundraising and direct mail worlds. His work ranged from some of the most progressive members of Congress to flipping red seats blue. 

Eric hails from the New York City area. He is a graduate of George Washington University, where he is also currently pursuing a master’s degree in Political Management.

FRANCESCA CASTELLI

SENIOR DIGITAL STRATEGIST

Francesca joined Sapphire in 2019. During the 2020 cycle, she guided the digital strategy for several competitive Red to Blue and Frontline races, including Kara Eastman (NE-02) and TJ Cox (CA-21). Francesca’s team built Kara Eastman’s digital program from the ground up, developing a strategic acquisition and email fundraising plan that raised an impressive $3.1 million online -- including over $1 million raised through email alone. Francesca also led the online fundraising efforts for Congressman TJ Cox in the final stretch leading up to Election Day. She designed a rigorous email plan and D2D ad program that raised over $380,000 in less than three months.

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Francesca got her start in politics as a finance intern on Senator Tammy Baldwin’s reelection campaign in Wisconsin. She then went on to lead the finance teams of several Congressional campaigns, before moving into the digital fundraising world.

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Francesca received her Political Science degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. She is originally from Chicago, Illinois.
 

JANE-ELISE RYER

SENIOR DIGITAL STRATEGIST

Jane-Elise steered the digital fundraising effort for Sima Ladjevardian’s competitive Red to Blue race in TX-02. Her aggressive acquisition program increased Sima Ladjevardian’s donor base from 30,000 to 200,000 in a matter of weeks. She also contributed to the digital program that elected New Mexico’s first Latino Senator in more than 40 years. 

Jane-Elise joins Sapphire Strategies from a Washington, DC-based digital firm, where she got her start as a Digital Associate in the 2018 cycle. She previously ran email programs for  influential Democratic PACs such as End Citizens United, Fight for Reform, and BOLD PAC. Her prior record-breaking work contributed to Democratic victories in the key swing states of Wisconsin and Virginia. She additionally worked with the Congressional Black Caucus and the Carter Center.
 

Jane-Elise is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She graduated with honors from Lake Forest College.

LYDIA XIA

SENIOR DIGITAL & CREATIVE STRATEGIST

Lydia leads digital fundraising for Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi. She boosted the Congressman’s campaign to raise nearly $600k during his first cycle with Sapphire. In addition, she aids the team across the board with email, ad and creative creation. Lydia was also one of the creative forces behind digital ads for Nancy Pelosi, Joyce Elliott, iVote, and Wisconsin Democrats during the 2020 election.

Prior to Sapphire, Lydia was an Executive Associate at 4CM+M, a political media firm. She oversaw over 250 scripts and designed over 100 creatives for television, radio, and digital spots for progressive candidates for Congress, DCCC, Planned Parenthood, and others.

Lydia grew up in Arizona and has a Political Science and Legal Studies degree from University of California, Berkeley.

ABBY HENRY

DIGITAL STRATEGIST

Abby joined Sapphire as part of the company's very first intern class and returned as an Election Year Fellow. During her fellowship, Abby produced work on the Black Lives Matter protests for Alan Cohn's Campaign for Congress, which drew local media attention. The coverage referenced Abby’s work to highlight how meaningfully and respectfully our client addressed the topic online, in contrast to his opponent. Our client went on to win his competitive primary race. Most recently, Abby was hired as a full-time Digital Strategist in 2021. 

Abby has previously worked for the Ohio Democratic Party, Hillary for America, and the Friends of Sherrod Brown.

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Abby grew up in Canton, Ohio and graduated from American University with a Bachelor's of Arts in Sociology and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.