MELISSA CRESSEY
USA/Sweden | Secretary General
Melissa Cressey is CEO & Founder of Cressey Strategies. Melissa is a digital and social media expert who has served at the top ranks of one of the leading political digital operations in the country prior to starting her own firm.
LUKE MARTZ
USA | Treasurer
Luke Martz is a veteran political strategist with two decades of experience navigating the complexities of local, state, and federal campaigns. In 2026, his career-long impact was recognized nationally by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC) as one of their "40 Under 40" honorees.
MARKO RAKAR
Croatia | President
Marko Rakar (1972) is a Chief executive manager of the consulting company MRAK services ltd headquartered in Zagreb, Croatia.
Rakar has lifelong experience in working/writing for media as well as dealing with the media. He combines his media knowledge with new technologies and was one of the earliest internet adopters in Croatia.
CARLOS FARA
Argentina | Past President
President of Fara Veggetti since 1991 (Buenos Aires, Argentina), and has been dedicated to political consulting for 39 years...
EDGARD GUTIERREZ
Venezuela | VP Membership
CRYSTAL MARTIN
USA | VP Conference & Events
Crystal Martin opened her Marketing Agency/Political Consulting firm in Northern California in 2005. She was named an AAPC "40 Under 40" and a "Rising Star"...
ADAM HYLAND
USA | VP Partnerships
Adam E. Hyland is the founder and principal of EccaNova—Strategic Digital Outcome Architects—a strategic online ad buying and mobilization technology firm trusted on thousands of campaigns since 2010....
LUIS HERRERO ACEVEDO
Puerto Rico | VP Communications
Luis S. Herrero is founder and partner at 303.Digital LLP. Based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, he has grown 303 from a two-man shop to a boutique agency serving clients in Puerto Rico, the United States, Latin America and the Caribbean...
FEYI AKINDOYENI
Australia | Vice President Awards
With over 20 years of experience in strategic communications, Feyi is a Partner and global digital team lead at SEC Newgate. In Australia, she helps lead the largest integrated strategic communications firm for public interest issues and is one of the country’s most sought after public affairs consultants.
THOMAS BORWICK
United Kingdom| Board Member
Thomas started his professional life with a background in business, having read Economics and Finance, Leadership Studies with a minor in Law. However, he quickly found passion in data-driven corporate, political and social campaigns...
GISELLE PEREZBLAS
Mexico| Board Member
Communications and mass media strategist; specialist in political and social communication and crisis management. He began his professional career in the production of Noticieros Televisa , the most important Spanish-speaking communication company.
JORDAN O'BRIEN
Canada | Board Member
Since his first campaign at the age of 14, Jordan has never stopped working in politics. His experience spans all levels of Canadian campaigns, including municipal races, provincial and federal nominations, and general elections
BRENT BUCHANAN
USA | Board Member
Brent Buchanan is CEO & Founder of Cygnal, an international public opinion polling, messaging strategy, and predictive analytics firm based in Washington, DC...
OZAN IBRISIM
Singapore | Board Member
Ozan Ibrisim is an international public affairs professional with over 20 years of experience.
His work spans across government, business and politics throughout Australia, Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia.
...
SAL RUSSO
USA | Board Member
He is the founder of Russo Marsh + Associates, Inc. (RMA) and has spent over 50 years in the field of political consulting, advertising and public affairs, being in the forefront of some of the most prominent campaigns at every level.
KURTIS ADIGBA
Nigeria | Board Member
Kurtis Udenyi Adigba is an Attorney at law and a political consultant. His greatest passion is to see Nigeria make real progress and to take her rightful place in the world.
HUGO HAIME
Argentina| Board Member
Mr. Haime is the president of Hugo Haime & Associates, a political, public opinion and institutional image consultant. As a political consultant and analyst, Hugo Haime has participated in over 200 electoral campaigns, for national elections (Presidential) and for provincial (Governor and Mayor) elections....
DR. REZA KAZEMI
Germany | Board Member
Dr. Reza Kazemi is one of Europe's leading political campaign consultants. In election campaigns since the age of 16, he was managing national campaigns by 22 — and has since advised more than 1,000 politicians, from federal chancellors, minister presidents and party leaders to hundreds of mayors and candidates for national and European parliaments...
JOANNIE BRADEN
USA | Honorary Chair
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Joannie Braden has been involved in politics for over 40 years. Since starting RBI with her husband, she has been integral to every aspect of the firm’s development...
NECATI ÖZKAN
Turkey | Honorary Board Member
Necati Özkan is the founder and president of ÖYKÜ / Dialogue International (an Istanbul based independent creative agency) and Reform Institute (an Istanbul based think tank)...
ACADEMIC BOARD MEMBER
MICHAEL CORNFIELD (Chair) | USA
TEX DOZIER | USA
FINANCE COMMITTEE
LUKE MARTZ (Chair) | USA
BRENT BUCHANAN | USA
THOMAS BORWICK | UK
MATT KLINK | USA
HEATHER FRASER | Canada
ETHICS COMMITTEE
MATT KLINK (Chair) | USA
WAYNE JOHNSON, CHAIR | USA
FELIPE NOGUERA | Argentina
FRANK HOWARD | USA
ALLAN KALISH | USA
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
LUIS HERRERO ACEVEDO (Chair) | Puerto Rico
DANIEL ASCHKINASI | USA
ADAM HYLAND | USA
MANUEL MONTAS | Dominican Republic
GISELLE PEREZBLAS | Mexico
ANA SANZ | Spain
TARYN ROSENKRANTZ | USA
PARTNERSHIPS COMMITTEE
ADAM HYLAND (Chair) | USA
ELIF DORDUNCU AYDEMIR | Canada/Turkey
MATT KLINK | USA
MANUEL MONTAS | Dominican Republic
JORDAN O'BRIEN | Canada
JIM ROSS | Canada
SAL RUSSO | USA
MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
EDGARD GUTIERREZ (Chair) | Venezuela
DANIEL ASCHKINASI | USA
NAJI FILALI | USA
HUGO HAIME | Argentina
REZA KAZEMI | Germany
JORDAN O'BRIEN | Canada
JIM ROSS | Canada
CONFERENCE & EVENTS COMMITTEE
CRYSTAL MARTIN (Chair) | USA
MATT KLINK | USA
LUKE MARTZ | USA
MELISSA CRESSEY | Sweden/USA
AWARDS COMMITTEE
FEYI AKINDOYENI (Chair) | Australia
MATT KLINK | USA
CARLOS FARA | Argentina
FAYE DIAMOND | USA
GREG DIAMOND | USA
HUGO HAIME | Argentina
KURTIS ADIGBA | Nigeria
MAURICIO DE VENGOECHEA | Columbia
TORBJORN SJOSTROM | Sweden
PAST PRESIDENTS
MICHEL BONGRAND | France
JOE NAPOLITAN | USA
MAX BEAUCHEZ | Belgium
F. CLIFTON WHITE | USA
JOSE LUIS SANCHIS-ARMELLES | Spain
MICHAEL ROWAN | USA
HARRY WALTER | Germany
JOE CERRELL | USA
KLAUS GOLOMBEK | Germany
JOHN M. SEIGLE | USA
PAUL BUIAR | USA
BEN GODDARD | USA
MARIO BALLERINI | Italy
JONATHAN GAUL | Australia
BO KROGVIG | Sweden
RICK RIDDER | USA
SEPP HARTINGER | Austria
KEN FELTMAN | USA
VOLKER RIEGGER | Germany
TOM EDMONDS | USA
FELIPE NOGUERA | Argentina
ILKKA AHTOKIVI | Finland
NANCY TODD | USA
MEHMET URAL | Turkey