Meredith Jones DeWitt is an American democratic political and philanthropic consultant and donor advisor. She is the Founder and Principal of MJD Associates, LLC,[1] a boutique consulting firm based in Boston, Massachusetts that provides counsel and support to private individuals and business executives on their engagement in the democratic political arena.[2] DeWitt is also known for her political contributions and fundraising for the Democratic Party.
Career[edit]
DeWitt has a 30 year-long career in politics and philanthropy working at the state and federal level. She has served in various capacities on six U.S. presidential campaigns, serving as an aide to President Clinton, Vice President Gore, Senator Hillary Clinton, and Senator John Kerry. DeWitt has been an advisor to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).
DeWitt is the founder and Principal of DeWitt Consulting, now MJD Associates, LLC, a boutique consulting firm established in 2004 to provide political and philanthropic guidance to individuals from the private and public sectors, non-profit organizations, and academia. Additionally, she is Of Counsel to Public Strategies Washington, Inc. where she provides strategic advice to the firm’s leadership. [1]
DeWitt’s work as a donor advisor has resulted in DeWitt and the firm’s clients having significant impact on numerous democratic political campaigns and organizations.[2] In September 2012, DeWitt was listed by The New York Times as one of the top “bundlers” for Obama's 2012 reelection campaign.[3] In 2014, DeWitt appeared on MSNBC to discuss the gender gap in political fundraising, observing that during the Obama Campaign “women were some of the most effective volunteer fundraisers, bundlers as we call them, in the country…. Of the top 11 people who raised money for the President, five were women.”[4]
Early in her career, DeWitt worked the with the late Governor Ann Richards serving as a Managing Director for the New York City office of Public Strategies, a Texas based firm specializing in crises communications and public affairs. For a brief period following work on the Gore 2000 Presidential Campaign, DeWitt served as Executive Director of Corporate Outreach for Wenner Media where she was responsible for developing advertising sales strategy for Wenner Media’s three magazine properties: Rolling Stone, U.S. Weekly, and Men’s Journal.
DeWitt worked on Capitol Hill for several years, serving in the offices of Senator Lloyd Bentsen (D-TX), Representative John Bryant (D-TX) and was Legislative Director and Chief of Staff for Congressman Michael A. Andrews (D-TX), who was a member of the Budget, Ways & Means and Joint Economic Committees. During her tenure as a legislative aide, DeWitt was recognized by Roll Call as the youngest Chief of Staff on Capitol Hill.
Philanthropy[edit]
DeWitt advises individuals and family offices on their philanthropy, both as a consultant and active board member. Since its founding in 2010, she has served as a Senior Advisor to the Open Hands Initiative, a public diplomacy foundation dedicated to people-to-people diplomacy.[5] DeWitt has helped lead fellowship programs globally, including work in Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Myanmar and Morocco as well as work in Colombia with The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative which is affiliated with the Harvard University School of Public Heath.[6]
In 2012, DeWitt was a co-chair of the Anti-Defamation League’s Distinguished Community Service Award event honoring Bain Capital’s Managing Partner Jonathan Lavine. [7]
DeWitt is an active mentor of young women and girls and has been a regular attendee and speaker at the annual Massachusetts Conference for Women.[8] In 2012, she joined Chelsea Clinton in honoring philanthropist Elaine Schuster for the Big Sisters Association for Greater Boston. [9]
DeWitt became a founding Board Member and Secretary of the Better Angels Society (TBAS) in 2013. [10] The Better Angels Society is a non-profit organization inspired by filmmaker Ken Burns and dedicated to civics education and American history through documentary film. TBAS sponsors the annual Library of Congress Lavine/Ken Burns Prize for Film, an award DeWitt helped establish through the generosity of benefactors Jeannie and Jonathan Lavine to recognize and support young documentary filmmakers.[11]
DeWitt has served on the Advisory Board of the Camp Harbor View Foundation since 2019.[12] Camp Harbor View is a Boston-based organization, founded by philanthropist and business leader Jack Connors to provide a summer camp experience for children from underserved and at risk communities.
Personal Life & Education[edit]
Meredith DeWitt holds a B.A. in Government from American University and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law at Austin. She currently resides in Massachusetts with her two children.
