conference logo

Welcome to the 2026 Delivering an Effective Economy conference home page. Scroll down for the conference agenda, speaker bios, and downloadable resources.

Tuesday, May 12

12:30 PM

Doors open to all attendees

1:00 PM

Welcome Remarks

Andrew Wright, EGC Executive Director

Rep. Brad Schneider, New Democrat Coalition Chair

1:10 PM

Introduction to Poll Presentation

Rep. Marilyn Strickland

1:15 PM

Poll Presentation: New Data on Affordability

Molly Murphy, Impact Research

1:35 PM

Introduction to Affordability Panel

Rep. Greg Landsman

1:40 PM

Affordability Agenda Panel

Jessica Tarlov, Co-Host, The Five & Raging Moderates Podcast

Lanae Erickson, Third Way

Rep. Nikki Budzinski

Moderated by Doug Thornell, Chief Executive Officer, SKDK

2:10 PM

Break

2:30 PM

Introduction to Fireside Chat

Rep. Salud Carbajal 

2:35 PM

Strategic Messaging Fireside Chat

Sen. Elissa Slotkin

Moderated by Molly Ball

3:15 PM

Introduction to Swing District Panel

Rep. Greg Stanton

3:20 PM

Battleground Member Messaging Panel

Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet

Rep. Gabe Vasquez

Rep. Janelle Bynum

Rep. Emilia Sykes

Moderated by Leigh Ann Caldwell, Puck News

4:05 PM

Closing Remarks

Rep. Brad Schneider, New Democrat Coalition Chair

4:30 PM

Reception

Speakers

Andrew Wright headshot

Andrew Wright

Executive Director, Effective Governing Coalition

Andrew Wright is Executive Director of the Effective Governing Coalition, a role he assumed in March 2026. He brings nearly a decade of senior Capitol Hill experience, having served as Chief of Staff to two House Democrats, senior advisor to the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress, and as the inaugural Executive Director of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus. Earlier in his career, Andrew led grassroots strategy at a leading bipartisan public affairs firm. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Pittsburgh and is originally from Rochester, New York.

Brad Schneider headshot

Congressman Brad Schneider

New Democrat Coalition Chair

Brad Schneider is currently serving his sixth term representing Illinois’ 10th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. He serves on the House Ways and Means Committee and is Chair of the New Democrat Coalition, where he works to advance the coalition’s vision of economic growth and opportunity, safe and healthy communities, and strong national security and defense. Known as a strong and independent voice for the Tenth District, Brad has consistently been ranked among the most bipartisan members of Congress, a reputation that contributed to his election as Chair of the New Democrat Coalition.  Before serving in Congress, Brad built deep roots in the community through years of civic engagement and public service. He also spent nearly three decades in business, primarily as a business advisor helping company leaders develop and implement strategies for long-term growth and success. Brad and his wife, Julie, have lived in the 10th District for more than 30 years, where they have created a home, built their careers and, most importantly, raised their two, now-adult sons Adam and Daniel.

Marilyn Strickland headshot

Congresswoman Marilyn Strickland

WA-10

Marilyn Strickland proudly represents Washington State’s 10th Congressional District. Born in Seoul and raised in Tacoma, she is the first African-American and Korean-American woman elected to Congress. From day one, she has focused on making our nation more safe, just, and secure for all people. During her first three terms in Congress, she has delivered for the residents of her district - lowering costs for families, seniors and small businesses, protecting tribal treaty rights, supporting military service members and their families, and standing up for our veterans. She secured over $7 billion in investments for Washington State, and over $300 million for South Sound families, small businesses and local government.  In Congress, Marilyn is a Chief Deputy Whip in the House Democratic Caucus, and Secretary of the Congressional Black Caucus. She also serves on the House Armed Services Committee, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and is a member of the New Democrat Coalition. Marilyn is a member of Democratic National Committee and serves as Chair of ASPIRE PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.

Molly Murphy headshot

Molly Murphy

President, Impact Research

Molly Murphy is a top pollster and campaign strategist who has helped Democrats prevail in some of the most consequential races in recent history, overseeing numerous victories at the statewide, congressional, and local levels.  Molly is a lead advisor for the DCCC, DNC, DSCC, DGA, and was a key advisor and pollster for VP Harris in 2024. She has extensive research experience for progressive issue organizations including Third Way, Reproductive Freedom for All, End Citizens United, American Bridge, and The Hub Project.

Greg Landsman headshot

Congressman Greg Landsman

OH-01

Greg Landsman serves as the U.S. Representative for Ohio’s First Congressional District. He is a proud father and husband who calls Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio home. Greg is a former teacher and son of teachers. He spent most of his career working on behalf of children and families, especially those who have been left out and left behind. Before joining Congress in 2023, Greg successfully led a ballot measure to make Cincinnati the first city in America to provide two years of quality preschool. He also served five years on Cincinnati City Council, where he led efforts to strengthen core services – from public safety to paving roads. Greg also led comprehensive eviction prevention reforms and new investments in children and families: prenatal care, childcare, affordable housing, and youth jobs. In his first term in Congress, Greg took on the Speaker of the House to force a vote on the Social Security Fairness Act. The bill finally passed after it had been sitting in Congress for 25 years. It returns $20 billion a year to public retirees – such as police officers, firefighters, teachers, and letter carriers. Greg has secured tens of millions of dollars for Southwest Ohio projects and hosted over 30 town halls and community conversations.  He is a reformer, and one of only a few members of Congress who sold all their stocks because he believes members of Congress should not be trading stocks. Greg also suspended his pay during the government shutdown, and is a leading voice in banning dark money and getting big money out of politics.  He serves as co-chair of the bipartisan What Works Caucus, co-founder of the Lowering Costs Caucus, and holds a leadership role in the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, where he works across the aisle to deliver real results. Greg earned his undergraduate degree from Ohio University and a master’s in theology from Harvard. He lives in Cincinnati with his wife, Sarah, and their two children, Maddie and Elijah.

Doug Thornell Headshot

Doug Thornell

Chief Executive Officer of SKDK

Doug Thornell is the CEO of SKDK, one of the most influential strategic communications, integrated media, and political consulting firms in the United States. With over 25 years of experience, Doug has been a trusted advisor to Fortune 50 companies, major sports leagues, advocacy organizations, and leading Democratic campaigns—helping them navigate complex challenges, protect reputations, and shape public perception. As CEO, Doug leads day-to-day operations for a firm known for delivering results in high-stakes environments. He also co-leads SKDK’s award-winning advertising and political division, where he has overseen breakthrough campaigns, including Wes Moore’s historic gubernatorial victory in Maryland. Doug has been named to PRWeek’s Top 50 Power List (2023, 2024, 2025) and recognized by National Journal as one of “50 People Changing the Game in Washington.” Doug is known for his strategic insight, collaborative leadership style, and ability to deliver communications solutions that drive measurable impact. He resides in Maryland with his wife, Katie, their daughter, Olivia, and their two dogs, Sam and Ernie. He graduated from Cornell University where he played varsity football and earned a degree in government.

Jessica Tarlov headshot

Jessica Tarlov

Co-Host of Fox News’ The Five and Raging Moderates podcast

Jessica Tarlov is a liberal co-host of The Five, the highest rated show in cable news. She offers political analysis across the Fox News Channel, playing a critical role in coverage of major political headlines as well as providing analysis throughout the 2024 election cycle from the primaries to Inauguration Day. Tarlov also hosts the podcast Raging Moderates alongside NYU Professor Scott Galloway. She previously served as the Vice President of Research and Consumer Insight for Bustle Digital Group specializing in GenZ and Millennial attitudes. Prior to this, she was a senior strategist with Schoen Cooperman Research, where she advised domestic and international clients on messaging strategies for more than five years and worked as a democratic pollster. Tarlov holds a PhD in government from the London School of Economics and Political Science and is the author of the forthcoming book I Disagree: Winning Arguments Without Losing Friends, which is out September 15th. You can preorder now!

Lanae Erickson headshot

Lanae Erickson

Senior Vice President for Social Policy, Education & Politics, Third Way

Lanae spends her days helping policymakers better understand the complexities of how voters in the middle approach topics that are often perceived politically as black and white, including immigration, crime, and guns. Her commentary has been featured in a variety of news outlets, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, Politico, The New Yorker, and PBS News Hour. She has also appeared on MSNBC, NPR, CSPAN’s Washington Journal, CNN, and her beloved home state’s Minnesota Public Radio.

Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski

New Democrat Coalition Vice Chair of Policy (IL-13)

Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski is a champion for working families, a native of Downstate Illinois, and the proud Representative for Illinois’ 13th Congressional District. After graduating from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Nikki joined the labor movement, where she fought for firefighters, grocery workers, and meatpackers to secure better wages, benefits, and safer working conditions. She later served in the Illinois Governor’s office, leading negotiations to raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 per hour and expanding broadband access to rural communities. At the White House Office of Management and Budget, she helped implement the American Rescue Plan and supported efforts to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States.

Elected to Congress in 2023, Nikki continues her work advocating for working people. She serves on the House Committees on Agriculture and Veterans’ Affairs, where she supports family farmers and veterans. She also holds leadership roles, including Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization, founder of the Congressional Postal Service Caucus, and Vice-Chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus.

Focused on results over partisanship, Nikki works to bring the voices of Central and Southern Illinois to Washington. She serves as Vice Chair of Policy for the New Democrat Coalition and has been recognized for her bipartisan approach, consistently seeking practical solutions that benefit the communities she represents.

Salud Carbajal

Congressman Salud Carbajal

CA-24

Congressman Salud Carbajal serves as the Vice Chair for Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition. He proudly represents the 24th Congressional District of California, which includes the entirety of Santa Barbara County and portions of San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties. He serves on the House Committees on Agriculture, Armed Services, and Transportation and Infrastructure. Prior to his election to Congress, he served on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors for 12 years, where he worked on initiatives to protect California’s environment, promote clean energy and sustainability, strengthen schools, and improve public health and safety. He also served eight years in the United States Marine Corps Reserve, including being mobilized to active duty service during the 1992 Gulf War.

Elissa Slotkin headshot

Sen. Elissa Slotkin

D-MI

Elissa has dedicated her career to serving the country she loves. A former CIA analyst who served three tours in Iraq alongside the U.S. military, Elissa then worked in national security roles at the Pentagon and White House under President Bush and President Obama. She was eventually nominated to serve as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs at the Pentagon.  Elissa served three full terms in the U.S. House of Representatives and began her U.S. Senate term in January 2025. She serves on the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Armed Services, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and Veterans Affairs Senate Committees. 

Molly Ball headshot

Molly Ball

Political Reporter, Analyst, Commentator, and Author

Molly Ball is a political reporter, analyst, commentator and author. She is currently working on a book about America’s political realignment, to be published by Henry Holt in 2027. Formerly the senior political correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, Ball has also covered U.S. politics for Time magazine, the Atlantic, Politico and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She is the author of Pelosi, a bestselling biography published in 2020. She has received numerous awards for her political coverage, including the Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress, the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency and the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting. She lives in the Washington, D.C., area with her husband and three children.

Greg Stanton headshot

Congressman Greg Stanton

AZ-04

Greg Stanton represents Arizona’s 4th Congressional District, serving since 2019. In Congress, Rep. Stanton has focused on Arizona’s water future, investing in transit,  lowering costs for working families, and building out the state's 21st-century economy. He is the co-founder of the Extreme Heat Caucus and currently serves on the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, the Foreign Affairs Committee, and the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Previously, Stanton served as the Mayor of Phoenix, a Phoenix City Council Member, and as Arizona’s Deputy Attorney General.

Leigh Ann Caldwell headshot

Leigh Ann Caldwell

Puck News’ Chief Washington Correspondent

Leigh Ann Caldwell is Chief Washington Correspondent at Puck, where she leads the flagship political private email, The Best & the Brightest and hosts Puck’s monthly Power Breakfast series with key lawmakers. 

Caldwell joined Puck from The Washington Post, where she was a senior reporter and co-author of its Early Brief newsletter and anchor for Washington Post Live. She is a former correspondent for NBC’s congressional unit where she won an Emmy for her coverage of the January 6 attack on the Capitol and received the Joan Shorenstein Barone Award for Excellence in Congressional Reporting in 2018 for her leading role in NBC’s coverage of sexual harassment on Capitol Hill. 

Caldwell is a contributor to the new policy streaming newsite 535 News and is a regular guest on NBC’s Meet the Press, ABC's This Week, MSNOW, CNN, PBS’ Washington Week with The Atlantic,  and more. 

Kristen McDonald Rivet headshot

Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet

MI-08

Congresswoman Kristen McDonald Rivet is a lifelong Michigander who has spent her career fighting for working families, a mission she continues serving as mid-Michigan’s champion in Congress.  Just prior to serving in Congress, Kristen served in the Michigan State Senate, where she worked with both parties to pass the largest tax cut for working families in Michigan’s history, repealed the state’s burdensome retirement tax, and created good-paying jobs.  In 2024, she stepped up to run for Congress in what experts rated as seat 218, the tipping point for control of Congress. Ultimately, while President Trump carried the district by 2, she won it by 7 – the largest overperformance by a winning House Dem in the country.

In Congress, Kristen is rated Michigan’s most bipartisan Member, and had two bills signed into law in her first year. She has introduced commonsense bills to cut taxes for working families, protect social security, and lower everyday costs, like healthcare, groceries, and gas. She even took on Elon Musk and DOGE to save the local Saginaw Security Office. She sits on the Committees for Agriculture and for Transportation and Infrastructure, and she is the Freshman Leadership Representative to the New Democratic Coalition. Kristen lives in Bay City with her husband Joseph, youngest son Elijah, and their cat Tuck. They have five other adult children.

Gabe Vasquez headshot

Congressman Gabe Vasquez

NM-02

Gabe Vasquez has represented NM-02 since 2022 after winning one of the closest races in the country that cycle. In 2024, he became the first Democrat to represent NM-02 in consecutive terms in nearly fifty years. In Congress, Vasquez has been a champion for public lands, a leader on commonsense immigration reform, and a voice in Washington for New Mexico's ranchers, farmers, and rural communities. Prior to serving in Congress, Vasquez helped build one of Las Cruces’ most successful startup companies and then began his time in public service as a Field Representative for Senator Heinrich. In 2017, he was elected to the Las Cruces City Council.

Janelle Bynum headshot

Congresswoman Janelle Bynum

OR-05

Congresswoman Janelle Bynum is a working mom of four, businesswoman, and former State Legislator who is working to elevate the needs and voices of Oregon’s Fifth. She knows that our voices aren’t being heard in Washington and she sees Congress playing political games with our livelihoods – that’s why she’s working to fix what’s broken and deliver practical solutions to the issues impacting our communities.

As the daughter of teachers, and as a woman of faith, Janelle learned the importance of working to strengthen her community at a young age. Before being elected to Congress, Janelle served for eight years in the Oregon House of Representatives, where she chaired the Committee on Small Business and Economic Development. During her tenure, she was known as a legislator who delivered strong bipartisan results, spearheading efforts to add $43 billion and over 6,000 jobs to Oregon's economy, invest in education, and increase access to the ballot box. As she did in the State House, in Congress she is fighting to create good paying jobs, strengthen public education, address the wildfire crisis, and lower the cost of healthcare, prescription drugs, and housing for working families like hers.

Janelle earned her undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering from Florida A&M University, and her MBA from the Ross Business School at the University of Michigan. She and her husband Mark are parents to four children and reside in Happy Valley. Janelle is a devoted sports mom and lifelong lover of all sports, the arts, and good barbecue

Emilia Sykes headshot

Congresswoman Emilia Sykes

OH-13

Congresswoman Emilia Sykes, a lifelong Akron resident, represents Ohio’s 13th Congressional District. She served eight years in the Ohio House, including as Minority Leader. Sykes focuses on economic opportunity, safer communities, and affordable healthcare. She serves on the House Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure and Science, Space, and Technology. She holds degrees from Kent State University and the University of Florida, is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and the NAACP, and enjoys spending time with her family.

Resources

Click the links to open resources you can save or print.

Want to learn more about the Effective Governing Coalition?

Effective Governing Coalition logo