Who We Are

Sally Aman

At the highest levels of government, industry, and advocacy, Sally Aman has built a career helping organizations shape narratives that move policy, opinion, and action. As Chief Communications Officer at GPS Influence, she leads high-stakes, integrated campaigns that bring together earned, owned, and paid media to advance complex business and policy objectives. She is widely regarded as a trusted advisor to organizations operating in complex policy environments, combining strategic insight with creative execution to anticipate challenges, identify opportunities, and elevate visibility across audiences. Her work consistently focuses on aligning communications strategy with measurable influence and outcomes. Sally previously served as Senior Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs at USTelecom, overseeing enterprise-wide communications strategy. Earlier, she spent nearly five years in the White House as a Communications Director in the Office of the Vice President, shaping national messaging and political strategy. She is also the founder of Aman & Associates, a public affairs consultancy advising leading organizations on brand positioning, policy engagement, and reputation strategy.

Elsa Rainey

Elsa works at the intersection of storytelling, trust, and community engagement, helping purpose-driven organizations turn complex issues into narratives that resonate and mobilize action. Her approach centers on building authentic connection, particularly among audiences and communities often overlooked in national conversations. With more than a decade of experience, she has led communications strategy for civil rights organizations, national associations, consumer-facing brands, and health and education initiatives. Her work includes deep coalition-building across rural communities in the Midwest and South, with a focus on health, education, and racial equity. Elsa also brings extensive experience designing and executing large-scale engagement efforts, including national convenings, mobile tours, and town hall campaigns that strengthen local trust and expand reach. Her work is grounded in a strategy-first philosophy that prioritizes authenticity, relationship-building, and long-term impact.

Jocelyn Ocampo

Jocelyn’s work is rooted in the intersection of culture, data, and digital storytelling, helping organizations engage audiences in ways that are both strategic and deeply resonant. She specializes in building digital ecosystems that translate complex issues into accessible, action-oriented narratives. At UnidosUS, the nation’s largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization, she led bilingual digital and social strategy across key issue areas including education, health, immigration, the economy, and workforce development. Her work reached audiences through the national organization and its network of nearly 300 affiliate organizations. She brings both professional expertise and lived experience as the daughter of immigrants to her approach, shaping campaigns that are culturally grounded and audience-informed. Her work consistently leverages analytics and social listening to guide strategy, spark dialogue, and strengthen engagement across partners, media, and community stakeholders.

Jim Gardner

Few communications professionals bring Jim’s range of experience across journalism, politics, and government. His career has been defined by shaping narratives that elevate complex policy issues and translate them into compelling, media-ready stories. He has led message development and earned media strategy for initiatives focused on income inequality and the racial wealth gap, with work placing stories across outlets including Axios on HBO, CBS MoneyWatch, Real Time with Bill Maher, Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg News, The Hill, and Business Insider. Jim began his career as an award-winning business journalist in the Midwest before moving into senior communications roles across state and national government. His experience includes serving as press secretary to Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, communications director roles in Missouri state government, and senior communications positions in New Jersey for Governor Jon Corzine and the Department of Banking and Insurance.

Kyle Freese

Kyle’s background spans fast-paced political environments where messaging, media, and strategy intersect in real time. He focuses on helping organizations translate policy priorities into clear, compelling communications that drive engagement and visibility. He has served as a strategist for Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and as media relations manager for Kansas State Treasurer Lynn Rogers, supporting public image development, earned media strategy, and digital communications execution. Kyle brings a strong foundation in writing and storytelling, paired with hands-on campaign and government experience. He approaches communications as both a strategic and practical discipline, helping clients adapt messaging to an evolving media environment while maintaining clarity, authenticity, and purpose.

Laura Schumacher

Laura’s perspective on communications is shaped by a rare combination of academic research and applied industry experience. She specializes in audience insight, helping organizations understand how people consume media, form beliefs, and engage with messaging in a rapidly changing landscape. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication Arts, Media and Cultural Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where her research focused on the relationship between media industries and U.S. audiences. Her published work explores Gen Z engagement, generational belief shifts, and evolving media consumption behaviors. In addition to her research, she served as a university lecturer, designing courses and engaging directly with students to inform her understanding of emerging audiences. She now applies this foundation to help organizations build communications strategies grounded in nuance, cultural awareness, and real-world audience behavior.

Alyssa Larkin

Alyssa focuses on helping organizations connect strategy, messaging, and execution to drive measurable growth and impact. Her work sits at the intersection of communications, partnerships, and organizational development. Most recently, she served as Senior Director of Communications at the Institute for Political Innovation, where she led integrated communications strategy that elevated organizational visibility and supported the successful raise of $20 million in startup funding. Her work combined narrative development with operational execution to strengthen both brand and institutional capacity. Across her career, she has led initiatives that bring structure to complex priorities, align cross-functional teams, and translate organizational goals into clear external narratives. She is known for bridging strategic thinking with executional discipline to help organizations scale influence and outcomes.

Mike Gehrke

Mike Gehrke has worked at the top levels of communication strategy in the White House and Democratic presidential campaigns. Formerly the Democratic party’s top opposition research strategist, Mike spent seven years developing quantitative and qualitative research with a major polling firm. His experience gives him unmatched experience in public opinion analysis, message design, and campaign strategy for political campaigns, nonprofits, trade associations, and Fortune 100 and 500 companies. He specializes in helping prepare for public-facing challenges, directing crisis communications, and managing disruptive competition. In addition to his work helping elect President Barack Obama in 2008, Mike has helped elect five U.S. Senators, two governors, and aheads of state or government in five foreign countries.

Catherine Jones

Catherine Jones is a Managing Director at GPS Impact. Before taking on this role, Catherine led the firm’s integrated media-buying team during the 2018 and 2020 cycles, which was responsible for placing ad strategy and delivery for candidates, organizations, and issue campaigns across the country.

As Media Director, Catherine helped oversee the integration of traditional television and digital advertising strategy and placement for the firm, helping position GPS Impact as a leading provider of integrated, in-house, audience-centered solutions. She developed and refined GPS Impact’s voter-centered and screen-agnostic approach, helping hundreds of clients deploy customized advertising solutions to advance their strategic goals. Additionally, Jones has led digital persuasion efforts for advocacy groups across the country and candidates running for everything from statehouses to president.

Meggan Houts

Meggan is a creative director with more than 12 years of design experience. She has developed branding, advertising, websites and physical media for initiatives and campaigns across all levels. She has a passion for problem solving and an appreciation for clean, effective design solutions. She is invested in improving accessibility and constantly strives to find new ways to make make designs more inclusive.

Before to joining GPS Impact, Meggan worked a Web Specialist for the State of Missouri, where she managed web design, content creation, and social media.

Will Oppermann

Will Oppermann is an expert in paid media who uses his experiences from the campaign world to contextualize the media landscape for clients. During his time with GPS, Will has planned and managed the paid media efforts of candidates and committees at all levels of elected office, as well as assisted advocacy clients in achieving their legislative and electoral goals. Prior to GPS, Will worked in field for several campaigns in Iowa, as well as in the Iowa State Legislature.

Melissa Baldauff

Melissa is an experienced strategist with an extensive background working in communications, government, research, policy, digital strategy, development, and earned media. Prior to joining GPS Impact she served as deputy chief of staff for Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, where she developed and managed strategic communications for the governor and the administration, including the state’s COVID-19 communications strategy. Baldauff has also served as communications director for Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and as communications director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, in addition to working as a consultant on a number of congressional and gubernatorial campaigns across the country.