EMILYs List Announces Additions to Senior Team to Kick Off 2020 Cycle

For Immediate Release
May 29, 2019

EMILYs List Announces Additions to Senior Team to Kick Off 2020 Cycle

Gearing up for another highly anticipated cycle for Democratic women in politics, EMILYs List is excited to announce three new members to its Senior Leadership Team: Madhur Bansal as Vice President, Research; Karen Defilippi as Vice President, Federal & Gubernatorial Campaigns; and Geri Prado as Vice President, State & Local Campaigns. Benjamin Ray joins the team as Senior Director, Campaign Communications.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, announced three new additions to their senior leadership team: Madhur Bansal has been promoted to Vice President, Research.  In a newly structured campaigns department resulting from growth, Karen Defilippi will now serve as the Vice President, Federal & Gubernatorial Campaigns and Geri Prado will serve as the Vice President, State & Local Campaigns. Stephanie Schriock, president of EMILYs List released, the following statement:
 
 “Almost six months into the 2020 cycle, EMILYs List is building on the continued momentum for pro-choice Democratic women candidates and voters. We’re thrilled to have these rising stars on our team in this critical cycle defending reproductive freedom and fighting for more Democratic women’s voices at our decision-making tables.
 
“I am especially excited to welcome Madhur, Karen, and Geri to our senior leadership team. Madhur’s research skills were invaluable to EMILYs List in 2018. Not only did she oversee our vetting process, but she also provided rapid response research to our endorsed campaigns on the ground. Last cycle, Karen oversaw the historic recruitment and campaigns of over 100 candidates running for governor, Senate, and House; we simply would not have been able to deliver the Democratic majority with women had it not been for Karen’s political savvy and leadership. Geri brings years of experience expanding and implementing state and local programs to her new role. Since joining EMILYs List, she has built the team that led the strategic expansion of our work to recruit and elect the next generation of women leaders to state and local offices across the country. These women and their work have been instrumental in driving us to victory. We can’t wait to see them tackle these elevated roles and lead EMILYs List to yet another historic cycle for pro-choice Democratic women.”
 
Madhur Bansal is the vice president of research. Madhur previously served as EMILYs List’ s deputy research director during the 2018 cycle. Prior to joining EMILYs List she worked at American Bridge and the DCCC, where she was the primary researcher for 14 competitive races on the committee’s IE providing research backup on polls as well as television, digital, and radio ads. Madhur has also worked on President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign, in Congressman Elijah Cummings' Baltimore City district office doing constituent services, and for South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT). Madhur has an MPA from Syracuse University and a BA from George Washington University.
 
Karen Defilippi is the vice president of federal and gubernatorial campaigns. She joined EMILYs List during the 2016 cycle as a political advisor for the Northeast Region. She has since served as senior director of federal and gubernatorial affairs at EMILYs List, helping the Federal team triple the number of pro-choice women governors and elect 34 new women to the House. Prior to joining EMILYs List she was the Chief of Staff to Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-12) where she oversaw all Congressional operations and political affairs. Karen has managed a DCCC top-tier Red to Blue race, and she is a veteran of multiple statewide campaigns as well as then-Senator Hillary Clinton’s 2008 Presidential campaign. She has spoken on campaign and elections and women in politics at the Women’s Campaign School at Yale University, the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington, and American University’s School of Public Affairs. Karen is originally from Pittsburgh. 

Geri Prado is the vice president of state and local campaigns. During the 2018 cycle, Geri oversaw the strategic expansion of the state and local team and program as senior director of state and local campaigns. She has been a political operative and advocacy strategist for over 15 years. Before joining EMILY's List, Geri consulted an organization dedicated to increasing the number of voters in underrepresented communities. Previously, Geri was a director at the AFL-CIO managing the Campaigns Department staff and work. She worked on the presidential campaigns of John Kerry, Hillary Clinton and America Coming Together, managed multiple U.S. Senate campaigns and voter contact operations, and served as the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee’s deputy political director during the historic 2006 cycle. A Colorado native, Geri is a graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder with a degree in Political Science. 

EMILY's List also announced the hiring of Ben Ray as the new senior director of campaign communications. Prior to joining EMILYs List, Ben most recently served as a Senior Advisor for Communications at the DSCC, assisting campaign teams across the country to win competitive races. He has also served on the senior staff of three targeted U.S. Senate races, led a 13-person communications and rapid response team at American Bridge 21st Century, and was a part of other key Democratic campaigns in Kentucky and South Carolina.

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $600 million to elect pro-choice Democratic women candidates. With a grassroots community of over five million members, EMILY's List helps Democratic women win competitive campaigns – across the country and up and down the ballot – by recruiting and training candidates, supporting strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 150 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 16 governors, and nearly 1,100 women to state and local office. Nearly 40 percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. During the historic 2017-2018 cycle, EMILYs List raised a record-breaking $110 million and launched a record independent expenditure campaign. We helped elect 34 new women to the House, including 24 red-to-blue victories; enough seats to have delivered the U.S. House majority alone. Since the 2016 election, more than 46,000 women have reached out to EMILY's List about running for office laying the groundwork for the next decade of candidates for local, state and national offices.