Targeted Victory

Michael Beach

Co-Founder

Michael Beach co-founded Targeted Victory in February, 2009.  Since inception, Targeted Victory has quickly grown to become the premier Republican digital strategic consulting firm, serving over 40 clients including Marco Rubio for Senate (FL), American Crossroads, Susana Martinez for Governor (NM), and Mitt Romney’s Presidential Campaign.  This experience includes the strategy, development, and placement of more than $14 million in online advertising campaigns.

Prior to founding Targeted Victory, Michael served as the National Victory Director for the Republican National Committee, overseeing and implementing a 50-state voter turnout program for the 2007-08 election cycles.

Before joining the RNC, Michael served as the Political Director for the Nevada Republican Party during the 2006 campaign cycle. In 2004, Michael served in the 72 Hour Department of the Ohio Republican Party, focusing his attention on voter turnout tactics and field program operations.

Michael is a graduate of the Ohio State University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in both Economics and Political Science.

Ryan Meerstein

Senior Political Analyst & Director of Human Resources

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Ryan Meerstein served as the Executive Director of the South Carolina Republican Party, overseeing Party operations, fundraising, communications and compliance.

In 2008, Ryan served as the Ohio State Director for the McCain-Palin Presidential Campaign where he oversaw the statewide day-to-day campaign activities during the General Election. Before joining the McCain team, Ryan served as the South Carolina State Director for Rudy Giuliani’s Presidential Committee.

In 2005-06, Ryan served as the Director of Political Education at the Republican National Committee, where he organized and managed 40+ training programs & campaign colleges across the United States, including the newly formed Campaign Field School. During the 2004 Presidential campaign cycle, Ryan worked for the Ohio Republican Party as the Central Ohio Victory Field Coordinator.

Ryan is a graduate of Allegheny College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

D. Archibald Smart

Chief Technology Officer

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, D. Archibald Smart worked on Madison Avenue with and for an impressive list of clients, including American Express, Diageo, Nautica, Elizabeth Arden, Giorgio Armani, Island Records, Universal Music Group, the United States Department of Indian Affairs, and the Guggenheim Museum.  Archie brings deep expertise to Targeted Victory in his ability to articulate technology challenges to clients in a manner that is both compelling and accessible.

Archie was raised by wolves in the woods of Greenwich Connecticut. He survived on tree bark and CompuServe until the age of 22 at which point he began a career in technology and advertising.

Chris Gulugian-Taylor

Senior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Chris Gulugian-Taylor served as the Deputy Director for the successful Prosser for Justice Statewide Recount in Wisconsin.  In 2010, Chris served as the Republican National Committee Victory Director for Washington State.

Prior to this, Chris served as Campaign Manager for the Dudley for Governor Campaign in Oregon, helping to organize and launch campaign operations.  Before joining the Dudley campaign Chris worked on Chris Christie’s Gubernatorial Campaign, assisting with field operations for voter turnout.  In 2008, Chris was the Pennsylvania Victory Director for the RNC, where he organized and executed the voter contact & GOTV program in the Presidential battleground state.  During the Primary, Chris worked for the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Campaign, serving as a Regional Political Director covering the 14 Western States.

Chris served as the Executive Director of the Nevada Republican Party for the 2005-06 campaign cycle and in 2004, he served as the RNC’s 72 Hour Director for Washington State for the Bush-Cheney’04 Presidential Campaign.

Chris is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound where he received a Bachelor’s degree in International Political Economy.  Chris was also ranked #19 out of 90,000+ people on Arrested Development trivia on Facebook prior to the page tragically being taken down and his dream of taking over the #1 spot being dashed.

John Hall

Senior Political Analyst

Prior to joining the Targeted Victory team, John Hall served as the State Director for the Ohio State Attorney General’s Office. In this role, John focused on managing the outreach division of the Attorney General’s office.  In the 2010 election cycle, John was the Campaign Manager for Mike DeWine’s successful Attorney General race, managing a $6 Million budget, all political operations, as well as the communications shop.

Before heading up the DeWine campaign, John served as the Deputy Director for Training and Targeting at the Ohio Republican Party.  This was his last stint at the Ohio Republican Party, but certainly not his first.   In 2008, John served as the Deputy Victory Director & Absentee Ballot Director at the ORP; from 2007-08, John was the Political-Communications Coordinator at the ORP and; in 2006, John served as the Non-Allocable Mail Coordinator at the ORP.

John received his Master’s in Political Science from the University of Akron and his Bachelor’s from Bowie State University in History and Government.

Jeff Daker

Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Jeff Daker served as both a Targeting and Election Analyst in the Strategy Division of the Republican National Committee. In this role, Jeff developed and executed national targeting plans for voter persuasion & voter turnout programs, tracked and analyzed election results & voter registration trends, interpreted micro-targeting data & trends in absentee/early voting, and served as the Strategy Division’s liaison for 16 states in the RNC’s Western and Mountain field regions.

Before the RNC, Jeff served as the Campaign Manager for Scott Tipton for Congress in Colorado.  In 2008, Jeff worked as the Deputy Victory Director for the Colorado Republican Party, where he managed the field staff for the McCain-Palin Presidential Campaign, Bob Schaffer for U.S Senate Campaign and the Colorado Republican Party. During the Primary Election, Jeff served as the Eastern Iowa Field Director for the Rudy Giuliani Presidential Campaign.

In 2006, Jeff served as the Central Iowa Field Director for the Jim Nussle for Governor Campaign and also served in the George W. Bush Administration as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of Interior in the U.S. Department of Interior.

Jeff is a graduate of the University of Iowa where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

Michael Escoto

Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Michael Escoto served as the Deputy Political Director for Data at the California Republican Party.  In 2010, Michael played a key role on the Meg Whitman for Governor Campaign in California, serving as Field Coordinator and Database Director.  In this capacity, Michael oversaw the tracking, maintenance and execution of voter, contact & email databases.

From 2009-10, Michael served as the Director of Social Media Optimization for The Monaco Group, building and maintaining social media networks for Monaco’s political and corporate clients.  In the 2008 Presidential cycle, Michael ran the Absentee Ballot & Early Vote program for Nevada.

Michael Babyak

Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Michael Babyak served as Press Secretary to Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC). In this role, Michael developed and implemented national, local, and digital media campaigns, and was the Congressman’s senior communications advisor. Starting in 2009, Michael built the Congressman’s digital communications platform from the ground up, with a focus on producing original web video content.

Michael is a graduate of Princeton University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Politics.

Matthias Reynolds

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Matthias Reynolds worked on the Lazio for Governor Campaign in New York, where he served as Director of New Media.  Matthias’ responsibilities included the creation of web videos and coordinated online advertising, as well as voter outreach and engagement through social media and email marketing.

Matthias is a graduate of Goucher College where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

Mac Bleser

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Mac Bleser served as a Victory Field Representative in Maryland for the Republican National Committee. In this role, Mac was responsible for coordinating grassroots efforts between statewide and local races, as well as creating web videos and other digital media for Robert Ehrlich’s 2010 Gubernatorial campaign.

Mac is a graduate of Elon University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management.

Jon Adams

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Jon Adams served as Budget Manager for the McCain-Palin 2008 presidential campaign. During this time Jon oversaw the $84.1 million General Election campaign budget for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate operations.

Before the 2008 General Election, Jon served as the Legislative Assistant to the Director of Government Relations at Balch & Bingham, LLP. In this role Jon conducted legislative research on pharmaceutical, international trade, energy and military defense issues.  In 2007, Jon worked in Political Education Department at the Republican National Committee.

Jon is a graduate of the University of Alabama where he majored in Political Science and minored in Computer Science.

Bart Thornburg

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Bart Thornburg worked in non-profit leadership and external communications. Bart served two years as a National Service Member in Volunteer Engagement with Habitat for Humanity, where he managed more than 2,000 individuals and won measurable victories in both workforce optimization and improving the volunteer experience. Before this, Bart served in advisory, representative, and support capacities to the Public Relations teams of more than a dozen non-profits around the country.

Bart is a graduate of the University of North Carolina, School of the Arts where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance.

Thomas Newhouse

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Thomas Newhouse served as an Intern at the National Republican Congressional Committee.  At the NRCC, Thomas was responsible for tracking Congressional elections, and finding, collecting & recording public opinion polls from all districts across the country.  Before the NRCC, Thomas served as Research Intern at New Frontier Strategies & NetPower Strategy where he worked to develop online strategies for campaign clients.  Prior to his work at New Frontier, Thomas interned at both Public Opinion Strategies & the Cook Political Report.  In both capacities, Thomas was responsible for researching and reporting on various campaign trends and developments.

Thomas is a graduate of Tulane University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Economy.

Lauren McCanse

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Lauren McCanse served as a Victory Regional Field Director at the North Carolina Republican Party.  In this role, Lauren was responsible for recruiting over 200 volunteers who collectively made over 300,000 GOTV voter contacts.  Before this, Lauren worked as an Administrative Team Leader at the National Headquarters of the McCain-Palin Presidential campaign.

Lauren is a graduate of Sam Houston State University where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science & English.

Grant Skalak

Drupal/Web Developer

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Grant Skalak served as a Junior Drupal/Web Developer at Alliance Consulting in Washington, D.C., where Grant was responsible for supporting the lead developer in maintaining AboutWeb, as well as helping lead the development , design, and custom theming of various Drupal 6/7 concepts.  At Alliance Consulting, Grant also served as the Business Resources Manager, tasked with screening potential candidates for the IT solutions division of Alliance Consulting.  During the same time period, Grant also interned at GMMB (Omnicom).  In this role, Grant was responsible for educating community-based organizations and non-profits throughout New York about upcoming statewide energy efficiency programs, conducting market research and compiling field organizer data for clients.  Before this, Grant served as an Account Manager/Recruiter for Workbridge Associates, concentrating on the full life-cycle of IT recruiting.

Grant is a graduate of Virginia Tech where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance & International Studies.

David Gulugian-Taylor

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, David Gulugian-Taylor served as the Field Director for State Senator Randy Hopper’s Recall Election in Wisconsin.  In this capacity, David was responsible for managing 7 Field Representatives, utilizing social networking platforms and digital media technologies to organize volunteer efforts for phone banks, door-to-door, and events.  In 2010, David served as a Victory Field Representative for the Washington State Republican Party, where his primary focus was on King County, which accounts for roughly 70% of the state’s votes, and the highly targeted 8thCongressional District.

In 2008, David interned at the Washington State Republican Party and at West Meridian, LLC, a political consulting firm based in Washington State.

David is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound where he received a Bachelor’s degree in International Political Economy.

Matthew La Magna

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory as a Junior Political Analyst, Matthew La Magna interned at Targeted Victory in the Spring and Summer of 2010.  In this role, Matthew analyzed and researched trends in social media for campaigns.  Before this, Matthew interned at the Monmouth County Republican Party in New Jersey helping to coordinate and recruit volunteers for the 2009 elections, as well as compile and maintain the county party’s fundraising database.

Matthew is a graduate of Georgetown University where he received a Bachelor’s degree in International Politics.

Jason Weinstein

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Jason Weinstein served as the Scheduler & Office Manager for the Chris Dudley for Governor Campaign in Oregon.  In this role, Jason created a campaign-wide database for campaign correspondence, political events and event requests, as well as volunteer contact information and fundraising events.  In 2009-2010, Jason worked as an Account Manager at Cardinal Communications where he interfaced with political campaigns and issue advocacy groups on all aspects of automated calls, polling and Tele-Forums.

Prior to joining Cardinal Communications, Jason was an Assistant Coordinator for Generation NeXt PAC in California.  Jason also interned at the California Headquarters of Rudy Giuliani’s Presidential Campaign and the White House Office of National Drug Control in Washington, D.C.

Jason is a graduate of UCLA where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and History.

Megan Sheehan

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Megan Sheehan served as the Legislative Affairs Associate with the government relations group of the law firm Schreimann, Rackers, Francka, and Blunt in Jefferson City, MO. In this capacity, Megan was responsible for monitoring legislation at the Missouri Capitol, reviewing policy matters consistent with the needs of the Firm’s clients, and redesigning the Firm’s electronic newsletter.

Before this, Megan both interned at and was employed by Learfield Sports, the nation’s preeminent collegiate sports marketing company, in their Dallas, TX and Albuquerque, NM offices. There Megan managed a $7 million advertising campaign, and also worked extensively in online advertising and online communications.

Megan is a graduate of Southern Methodist University where she received a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising.

Ali-Jae Asselstine

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Ali-Jae Asselstine served as the Operations Director for the Western Republican Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ali-Jae was included in the principal leadership team that built the WRLC & CNN-hosted Republican Presidential Debate and in this capacity managed conference & Presidential debate activities, as well as communications strategy between the sixteen Western states and territories.

Prior to this, Ali-Jae worked as a Search Engine Marketing Analyst at the digital marketing agency Business OnLine and as a Digital Marketing Coordinator at the Certified Collectibles Group.

Ali-Jae is a graduate of the University of Florida where she received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

Kurt Pickhardt

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Kurt Pickhardt served as the South Carolina Political Director for the Tim Pawlenty’s Presidential Primary Campaign. Before this, Kurt served as the Director of Operations for the South Carolina Republican Party, playing a leading role in the political organization that saw huge successes in the 2010 mid-term elections. Kurt came to the Republican Party from the Attorney General’s office where he worked in Constituent Services.

Kurt is a graduate of the University of South Carolina where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

Andrew Carroll

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Andrew Carroll served as a Regional Victory Coordinator for the Republican Party of Kentucky. In this role, Andrew was responsible for overseeing volunteer recruitment, organization, and deployment for voter outreach and get out the vote efforts. Prior to this, Andrew worked for Peritus Public Relations where he specialized in government relations, grassroots issue advocacy, media relations, and crisis communications.

Andrew also spent time interning for US Congressman Geoff Davis, the US Department of Labor, and an economic development corporation in the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area.

Andrew is a graduate of the University of Louisville where he received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

John Thompson

Junior Political Analyst

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, John Thompson served as the Director of Outreach & Sales for an international manufacturer/distributor in San Diego, CA. During the 2010 election cycle, John joined the Republican National Committee as a Victory Director for the targeted Congressional District 3 in California representing Congressman Dan Lungren, Meg Whitman, & Carly Fiorina.

John has also interned at the RNC, the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, Congressman Darrell Issa and for California State Assemblyman Mark Wland.

John is a graduate of the University of Tennessee where he received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

Jeff Rich

Staff Assistant

Prior to joining Targeted Victory, Jeff Rich volunteered for the Tom Corbett’s Gubernatorial Campaign in Pennsylvania.

Jeff is a graduate of Washington and Jefferson University where he received a bachelor’s in Political Science with a minor in Business Administration.

Elizabeth Ploshay

Staff Assistant

Prior to joining the Targeted Victory Team, Elizabeth Ploshay worked on new media in the office of Representative Kevin Brady (TX-08). Prior to Capitol Hill, Elizabeth worked as an executive assistant in a small international consulting group where she assisted in scheduling and office management.

Before this, Elizabeth also interned in the office of Representative Peter Roskam (IL-06) and served as the president of Wheaton College’s pro-Israel organization where she organized pro-Israel educational events, led students as the AIPAC Campus Liaison & CUFI Campus Liaison and helped bring speakers to campus to educate students on US-Israeli relations.

In 2008, Elizabeth interned with Rodney Frelinghuysen for Congress (R-NJ11) where she reached out to voters during and following the primary leading up to the general election.

Elizabeth is a graduate of Wheaton College where she received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.