Progressive Mass is thrilled to announce our new staff, who will start at the end of the month. We’ve waited to hire so that we can start with a team!
Jonathan Cohn as Policy Director
Nazia Ashraful and Melanie O’Malley as Outreach & Operations Co-Directors
You may think you already know Jonathan Cohn, and chances are high that you’ve seen him on Twitter or out canvassing, but there’s definitely more to share. While Jonathan was the Chair of PM’s Issues Committee and Elections & Endorsements Committee in recent years (and the source of many PM calls to action), his day job has been as a professional editor. Jon also served on the Political Committee of the Massachusetts Sierra Club, he’s been chair of the Boston Ward 4 Democratic Committee, and communications director for Young Democrats of Massachusetts.
Becoming PM’s Policy Director allows us to expand and formalize Jon’s role to deepen our advocacy and accountability efforts, and represent PM in statewide coalitions on voting rights, immigrants’ rights, and economic justice.
PM’s Outreach & Operations Co-Directors will strengthen chapters and help launch new chapters in a wider geography, engage members, manage marketing and fundraising, and so much more! We are extremely excited to be able to hire both Nazia Ashraful and Melanie O’Malley!
Nazia Ashraful is a committed advocate and organizer for minority populations, women’s rights, and health and equity. She is the former Director of Government Affairs at the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Massachusetts. During her time at CAIR-MA, she built the first political advocacy department to serve the Massachusetts Muslim community, active in both legislative and electoral seasons, where she worked on community outreach, voter engagement, volunteer management, and developing a media plan, strategies, and training.
Melanie O’Malley has over a decade of experience advocating and organizing for progressive issues and candidates in Massachusetts, especially dedicated to the intersection of race, class, and gender. Prior to coming to Progressive Massachusetts, Melanie was the Communications and Policy Manager at the Massachusetts Public Health Association, advancing policies for health equity and organizing the state’s local public health leaders. She is the former Chapter President of the National Organization for Women, Boston, a chapter-based organization.
Onwards,
The Progressive Mass Board
Caroline Bays, Gumby Breton, Stephanie Everett, Zayda Ortiz, Rachel Poliner, Meg Wheeler
