ELECTA EXPERTS
ELECTA is bringing together a team of political experts and campaign strategists across the political spectrum — people with both the experience and the passion to help our participants turn ambition into electoral success.
See below a selection of our expert team:
Katrien Van den broeck
Katrien is the author of Confronting the 10 Traps of Power, a Survival Guide for Women (and men) in Politics. Katrien is a social media and campaign expert who has been empowering female political leaders through her work with the Alliance Of Her. She’s advised two Prime Ministers and numerous other elected officials on social media engagement.
Wim Borremans
As Democracy Development expert, Wim has trained candidates, elected officials, political party staff, and leaders of civil society in challenging, fast-paced environments. Wim also has extensive experience at the local, regional, and federal level through his work with the Belgian Green Party (Groen) as Chief of Staff of the Ghent Deputy Mayors, running electoral campaigns, building the youth organisation, and coordinating policy initiatives.
Kiki Thiessen-Bakker
Kiki is a political coach and advisor with over a decade of experience in Dutch local and national politics. Her political journey spans a wide range of roles—from grassroots volunteer to National Field Organizer—culminating in her leadership in ground campaigns that helped re-elect Prime Minister Mark Rutte for his second and third terms. She brings a deep understanding of political dynamics, campaign strategy, and the power of people-driven movements.
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Patrick Frank
Patrick is a small donor fundraising and grassroots campaigning expert based in Austria. He worked on Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns before serving as Outreach Director at ActBlue for 7.5 years. Since 2021, he has supported political parties and NGOs across Europe and beyond with digital strategy and fundraising. He is currently the Director of Nimbus Strategies, a fundraising consulting agency, and the co-founder of Lunda, a progressive donation software company.
Tomas Halasz
Tomas is the co-founder of the award-winning online platform TrollWall AI which uses AI to combat against online hate. Tomáš was inspired to start TrollWall AI from his experiences as a photojournalist, activist, and digital and engagement manager for elected officials and political parties.
Ian Marquardt
Ian has been helping candidates win elections for 28 years. Ian developed the comprehensive ELECTA Candidate training programme by drawing upon experience using data-driven strategies and authentic voter engagement techniques in places as diverse as South Dakota, Ukraine, the European Union and Africa. Trained by EMILY’s List in America, Ian co-founded the European Women’s Academy and Alliance Of Her Academy that have trained over 300 European female politicians at all levels of government.
Christine Quirk
As principal of Quirk Global Strategies, Christine brings a unique combination of strategic campaign skills and experience conducting groundbreaking opinion research projects in some of the world's most challenging places. She specializes in using qualitative, quantitative and emerging methodologies to provide strategic support for political and advocacy campaigns. A former US-based political pollster and country director for National Democratic Institute, she has designed and implemented research projects for a variety of political, private sector and government clients in more than 80 countries around the world.
Simon Bucknall
Simon helps leaders to connect, influence & inspire through the spoken word. Clients include leaders and opinion formers at the highest level, across a wide range of sectors, from all over the world. Simon has been on the Adjunct Faculty of Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government since 2015 and a Visiting Fellow in Professional Skills at Cambridge University’s Department of Engineering. With extensive experience in British politics as a campaigner at local level, Simon was previously Head of Office for a senior parliamentarian in the House of Commons back in 2003-2005.
Trudy Veninga
Trudy is a political trainer, coach and guide who helps local leaders, members of local Parliament and organizations succeed in the world of politics without getting lost in the “political game.” Drawing upon her years of experience in the Christian Democratic party (CDA) as an elected Municipal Councilor, deputy Mayor, and local party faction leader in the Netherlands, Trudy provides tailor-made guidance in order to keep politics meaningful, enjoyable and clear.
Tim Herrmann
Tim is a political communications coach who has a professional background in both business and politics. As the German Social-Democrats’ federal head of campaigns, his work had a decisive impact on the party’s successful 2021 federal election campaign, from which Olaf Scholz emerged as Germany’s ninth chancellor. His previous work experience includes stations at the European Commission’s corporate campaigns unit and Hamburg-based e-commerce retailer Otto where he was responsible for the full scale of corporate communications.
Andrea Keerbs
Andrea worked for the International Republican Institute (IRI) for over nineteen years and has a strong background in political analysis, programme management, and elections across Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. Most recently based in Budapest, Hungary, Andrea oversaw programmes aimed at enhancing transparency and accountability and Transatlantic relations. With previous roles at IRI in Thailand, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia, Andrea has successfully managed multimillion-dollar grants, conducted comprehensive political analyses, and led campaign trainings. She has worked on campaigns in the US and the UK and is a seasoned advocate for democratic governance. Andrea has worked closely with political parties, local governments, and U.S. diplomatic missions to foster effective political engagement and civic resilience.