OUR TEAM

edward erikson
president, founder
Good communication is about connecting with your audience on their own turf based on shared language and common values. Ed helps handcraft and execute winning communication strategies that integrate earned, paid and social media to engage and mobilize targeted audiences for ECG clients.
For the last 10 years, Ed has been behind some of the most innovative communication strategies that bridge online and offline campaigns to engage citizens, drive results, and win elections.
A native Mainer, Ed has a BA in Political Science from the University of Southern Maine, an MA in Communication, Culture, and Technology from Georgetown University, and a Ph.D. (ABD) from The University of Massachusetts, Amherst in Political Science.
He's been featured in CNN, Politico, Fox News, PBS News Hour, Portland Press Herald, Bangor Daily News, and other publications.

julia brown
director of operations & HR
Julia Brown has a decade of experience bringing diverse groups of people together to accomplish their goals. Whether it's negotiating a tri-partisan consensus on political redistricting lines in Maine, or leading her local community theater group, Julia is dedicated to making groups work better.
Julia is a Maine-based political strategist who helped flip the Maine State Senate chamber blue in 2018 and led the chamber to expand their majority in 2022. She's also worked on campaigns to Ban the Box, Fight for $15, Sierra Club, and Environment Maine.

brian muldoon
vice president
A Boston native, Brian has amassed over a decade of experience in the political, government and non-profit sectors. Most recently, Brian served as Data and Information Systems Director for American Promise, a national cross-partisan organization with the goal of ending big money in politics. During this time, Brian also served as a grassroots lobbying and data consultant to the Novus Group, a government affairs firm in Boston, and senior strategist to the historic Rachael Rollins for District Attorney campaign and Julia Mejia for Boston City Council At-Large campaign.
Prior to this, Brian served as Executive Director as well as Field and Data Director for the Massachusetts Democratic Party. At the MassDems, he was the Massachusetts Admin for VoteBuilder, the coordinator for the annual State Convention and was the GOTV Data Lead for the successful 2010 Coordinated Campaign that reelected Governor Deval Patrick. After leaving the Party, he held a senior staff position on the Martha Coakley gubernatorial campaign and has consulted for numerous local, statewide and federal Democratic candidates.
Brian holds a J.D. from Suffolk Law School and a B.A. in Political Science from UMass Boston.

liz popolo
director of design
Based in the heart of Western Massachusetts, Liz was born, raised, and "Made in Mass." She brings multi-disciplinary talents from the colliding worlds of commercial design and the political space, with a personal passion for pro-democracy electoral reform.
Since joining Erikson Communication Group in 2020, she has managed and mentored a creative team of five digital strategists, on content spanning anywhere from photography, website development and digital ad design; to direct mail, print collateral, brand creation, and social media creative. Liz's core focus is maintaining a common arc of high-caliber production quality and polish across all projects, with leading industry tools.
Liz holds a B.S. in Design from Cornell University, with specialties in design theory, graphics, studio art, and CG. Before joining ECG, she spent seven years prior in commercial advertising as an animator for clients including LEGO, Lucasfilm, and Disney; and previously, in interactive entertainment for Warner Bros. Boston.

dan mccormick
vice president of fundraising
Dan McCormick loves helping candidates and organizations put their passion for change into direct action. He works to maximize the energy that drives people to start an organization or run for office into a fully-funded campaign. Dan’s biggest accomplishments come from empowering donors to make their fullest contribution.
Originally from New Jersey, Dan has a BA in Government and Urban Affairs from Manhattan College. Over the past 7 years, he has worked in 15 different states running field and fundraising operations for progressive non-profit groups, Democratic candidates up and down the ballot, and humanitarian non-profits.
When Dan isn’t rejuvenating fundraising bases, find him belting Stephen Sondheim songs because he’s a proud theatre nerd. Dan has been featured in OFF-Broadway musical productions, movies, podcasts, and once sang on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon with The Roots about March Madness brackets.

yaw akuffo-anoff
senior associate
Yaw is a resident of Lewiston, Maine with a background in screenwriting and written communications for state and national campaigns. During the last election cycle, he worked on digital content for elected officials in the Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts legislatures. A graduate of Boston College, he specializes in social media messaging and copywriting. Yaw enjoys traveling, reading, and trolling conspiracy theorists online in defense of democracy.

caitlin deluca
director of public relations
A native of Michigan, Caitlin specializes in digital strategy, public relations, written communications, and client relations. A graduate of Michigan State University, she has a background in journalism and Democratic fieldwork. Last election cycle, she worked closely with clients on digital strategy and coordinating account activity. Caitlin currently resides in Brunswick, Maine with her cat Odysseus. She spends her time reading, hiking with friends, and crushing late-2000's pop culture trivia.

aren lebrun
director of photography
From Skowhegan, Aren is a video journalist with a print/digital background as well as experience with political organizing. Several of his productions have earned National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences honors at three different Boston/New England Emmy Awards. In 2016, before completing his Bachelor of Arts at Northeastern University, Aren was selected for a five-month editorial internship at Rolling Stone magazine in Manhattan. In the years since graduation, he has worked across the country in broadcast news, advertising, theatrical set carpentry, and field organizing.

quinn malter
senior associate
From Cape Elizabeth, Quinn specializes in social media, issue research, and written communications. A recent graduate of Smith College, she has worked previously on field campaigns for candidates as well as party and nonprofit organizations. In her spare time, she can most likely be found reading with a dog in her lap.

bibek gurung
director of digital strategy
Bibek started his career in digital communications way back when being a "digital native" was still somewhat of a novelty. Born in Singapore, an Alumnus of the University of Sydney in Australia, and now living in Boston, MA, Bibek has helped craft the digital strategies of clients in fields as diverse as sports marketing, law, ed tech, as well as politics in Australia and the US. In his free time, the antipodean likes to travel the country taking part in trivia competitions and extolling the virtues of a humble karaoke room with a group of friends.

kelly bentdahl
senior associate, design
From Minneapolis, Kelly specializes in social media and email strategy. A recent graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Kelly has three years of experience on progressive campaigns at every level of government. In her free time, she enjoys walks, music trivia and playing the ukulele.

mike bergmaier
senior associate, research
For two decades, Mike has worked to advance the causes of peace, civil liberties, and social justice as an organizer and academic. Prior to joining ECG, Mike worked as an educator specializing in social movements and post-9/11 politics.
Mike has taught courses in English, communication, and political science on two continents. He held research fellowships and grants with the Center for Democratic Deliberation, the Institute for the Arts and Humanities, and the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, and also also served as coordinator of Wabash College’s prestigious democracy and public discourse fellowship program.
Mike holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in communication, a B.A. in international relations, and a reputation as a formidable trivia opponent.

annie noel
associate
As a Louisiana native, Annie definitely knows a thing or two about our inherently broken political systems. In her work, she is committed to uplifting the voices of everyone, making the complicated simple, and finding new ways to build community-based power. Annie graduated from Emerson College as their Class of 2021 Valedictorian with a B.S. in Political Communications and a minor in Health & Society. During her time in Boston, she has had the honor of working to share the messages of District Attorney Rachael Rollins and Boston City Councilors Julia Mejia and Andrea Campbell.

jonathan ambar
senior associate, copywriting
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and raised in the Dominican Republic, Portugal, and Argentina, Jonathan is a polyglot who does some of his best work in English. He's a well-seasoned wordsmith with an eclectic background, which includes yoga and wellness marketing, children’s media, healthcare communications, and textbook publishing. He’s proud to use his skills to advocate for the greater good at ECG.
Jonathan is a graduate of Emerson College, where he focused on creative writing and media studies, and is a certified yoga teacher. He’s also a part-time burlesque performer, a full-on cinephile, and can quote The Golden Girls at a moment’s notice.
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madison sims
digital associate
Madison is an Emerson College graduate with a passion for social justice and a deep knowledge of the current social media landscape. Madison uses her passion and skills to help create engaging content that educates and inspires people to take action. She has previous experience drafting communications materials for various labor unions in New England and understands the importance of knowing your audience.
Madison currently lives in the Greater Boston area but is originally from New Jersey. In her free time, she enjoys a good book and cooking “gourmet” meals for her friends and family.
We handcraft and execute winning communication campaigns that integrate earned, paid and social media to engage and mobilize targeted audiences