About

Lively Strategies

Spencer Lively

Consultant & Founder (he/they)

Spencer has held leadership positions in numerous nonprofit and political organizations, currently acting as chief executive of the 40th District Democrats, and previously of the Young Democrats of Washington, among others. For years, he has organized, lobbied, fundraised, and helped swing elections throughout Washington state.

Spencer was born and raised in Mount Vernon, Washington. He is a graduate of the University of Washington, where he completed his Bachelor of Arts with majors in French & Political Economy and a minor in International Studies.

While continuing his full-time enrollment as a student at the University of Washington, Spencer spent what was left of his remaining time working and volunteering in support of numerous progressive organizations, as detailed below. He loves using what he’s learned to help others so he has created this consulting firm to continue this work in a sustainable fashion (i.e. being able to eat and pay rent) at a fair, affordable rate for organizations doing good in our communities.

Paid Experience

Consultant, Lively Strategies (July 2021 - Present)
Fundraising Assistant, Columbia Strategy Group (July 2020 - March 2021)
  • Managed direct donor solicitation and prospecting for local and state government campaigns;
  • Communicated clients’ branding and messaging through the design and distribution of graphics, email solicitations, and other media;
  • Compiled and maintained databases of fundraising data via NGP VAN, the PDC, and Excel.
Director of Legislative Affairs, ASUW Office of Government Relations (May 2019 - June 2020)
  • Supervised two employees, seven interns, and thirty volunteers;
  • Lobbied on behalf of 47,000+ students to ensure the success of numerous bills relevant to the interests of University of Washington students.
  • Researched and communicated various policy to students, administrators, and legislators;
  • Led a statewide coalition to fund a student health taskforce from the state’s operating budget;
  • Coordinated voter registration, Get Out The Vote, and SNAP awareness campaigns;
  • Collaborated in planning of lobby day, legislative reception, COVID-19 townhall, and first Rock the Vote concert through management of data and operations, research, and design of materials.
Senate Speaker, ASUW Student Senate (May 2018 - May 2019)
  • Supervised three employees, two interns, and seventy volunteers;
  • Advocated student opinion to faculty, administration, and elected officials;
  • Built coalitions on-campus with many different students and organizations with various priorities;
  • Implemented first internship program, resolution writing workshops, Student Council on Insurance, and several other successful innovative approaches to improving our office’s impact.
Crew Member, McDonald's (2015-2016)
  • Customer Service
  • Food Preparation
  • Cleaning & Dishwashing

Volunteer Experience

40th Legislative District Democrats

Chair (Jan 2021 - Present)
  • Serve as chief executive officer of the organization;
  • Coordinate volunteer recruitment using innovative, data-led practices, and training volunteers for a variety of responsibilities;
  • Improve organization’s online presence through redesign and development of its website, social media, and other virtual assets;
  • Expand the financial capacity of the organization through the implementation of a redesigned budget, fundraising plan, and financial best practices.
State Committee Member (Jan 2019- Jan 2021)
  • Represent the 40th Legislative District to the Washington State Democratic Central Committee (WSDCC) and its subcommittees.
  • Responsible for soliciting input from the membership regarding future and ongoing business of the WSDCC and reporting upon actions taken by the WSDCC to the membership.

Human Rights Campaign – Seattle

Chair for Political Action & Community Engagement (Jan 2018 - Present)
  • Coordinate HRC’s support of local campaigns by recruiting, training, and providing opportunities for direct action to volunteers;
  • Lead HRC’s local lobbying efforts by tracking legislation, notifying the organization of changes, and coordinating testimony from volunteers;
  • Organize events to build community & educate our members on relevant topics.

Young Democrats of Washington

President (2019-2020)
  • Serve as the chief administrative officer of the organization;
  • Support 17 local chartered county, college, and high school chapters across the state;
  • Aid the planning of events throughout the state, such as the annual lobby day;
  • Supervise and aid fundraising, communications, and endorsement activities;
  • Represent the organization in public to media outlets, elected officials, and others;
  • Liaison to the Young Democrats of America and the Washington State Democratic Party.
Vice-President of Membership (2018-2019)
  • Responsible for the support of existing chapters and the chartering of new chapters;
  • Served as the liaison to all federal, statewide and legislative campaigns;
  • Chaired the Endorsements Committee, including the coordination of individual interviews for, and consideration of, 60 candidates, each requiring at least seven members of the committee to be in attendance;
  • Organize campaign activities on behalf of endorsed candidates throughout the state, including several weekend-long ‘Paint the Town Blue’ events;
  • Organize one YDWA Day of Action for each priority candidate; and
  • Oversee the Membership Engagement Department, consisting of three Region Directors, and appointments.
Vice-President of Communications (2017-2018)
  • Develop and implement strategies for developing the brand of the organization;
  • Chair Credentials Committee;
  • Work with the President to produce public statements on behalf of the organization;
  • Ensure the website, social media tools, and email list are regularly used to advance the goals of the organization; and
  • Track news stories and current events to ensure communications reflect the topics of the day;
  • Work with caucus leaders to identify important pre-scheduled events, such as holidays, and plan appropriate messaging;
  • Maintain the organization’s digital media profile, including its Twitter feed and Facebook page;
  • Seek out opportunities to produce videos, graphics, and other media materials;
  • Organize YDWA’s participation in media campaigns that engage young Democrats from across the state; and
  • Oversee the Communications Department, with suggested appointment of the Current Affairs Director and the Digital Media Director, and other appointments as necessary;
Current Affairs Director (2017)

  • Support the VP of Communications;

  • Ensure that YDWA is up to date with what is happening locally, in the state, nationally, and across the world;

  • Coordinate with chapters to promote the chapters’ work locally;

  • Track news stories and current events to ensure communications reflect the topics of the day;

  • Work with caucuses to promote their work, identify important pre-scheduled events, such as holidays, and plan appropriate messaging;

  • Support caucuses with their required blog posts.

Washington Student Association

Vice-President of Legislative Affairs (2019-2020)
  • Assume all duties of the WSA President in case of their absence or in the case of a vacancy until a special election is held to appoint a new President;
  • Coordinate the drafting of a legislative agenda and the selection of issue campaigns in conjunction with the General Assembly;
  • Coordinate with the legislative liaisons in monitoring and reporting on relevant Legislative and Agency actions;
  • Be present for and assist in the training of the legislative liaisons prior to the legislative session. In the event that staff or an advisor is unavailable, the Vice President of Legislative Affairs shall train legislative liaisons prior to the legislative session;
  • If desired, coordinate with staff in the planning and implementation of an annual statewide lobby day.
  • Facilitate regularly scheduled meetings of the Legislative Liaisons during the normal legislative session. 
Vice-President of Communications & Outreach (2018-2019)
  • Act as the Secretary of the Washington Student Association meetings;
  • Maintain the active and inactive rosters of members and membership associations;
  • Prepare correspondence with member institutions and the press;
  • Prepare and distribute press releases; 
  • Coordinate all activities with media;
  • Maintain online social media including, but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, and the WSA Website;
  • Collaborate with Executive Officers to facilitate planning, including the coordination of outreach activities.

Young Democrats of Skagit County

Political & Legislative Affairs Director (2020-Present)
  • Chair the Endorsements Committee.
  • Liaise with campaigns, candidates, organizations, and issue advocates.
  • In coordination with the Director of Membership and Outreach, develop programming for YDSC general membership meetings and special events.
  • Coordinate with YDWA, Skagit County Democrats, and other Democratic or allied organizations to advance political and legislative goals through advocacy, campaigns, outreach, or education.
  • Perform such duties as the Chair may reasonably assign.
Vice-Chair (2019-2020)
  • Perform the duties of the Chair in the Chair’s absence.
  • Assume the Office of the Chair upon the Chair’s death, removal, resignation, or incapacitating disability.
  • Serve as Chief Development Officer:
  • Represent YDSC on such boards and committees in which the organization has voice or vote, provided the Chair or their designee is not available.
  • Perform such duties as the Chair may reasonably assign.
Chair (2017-2019)
  • Act as the Chief Executive of the YDSC.
  • Act as the official representative to the YDWA, the media, and other groups.
  • Carry out the mandates, policies, and directives of the YDSC.
  • Appoint special officers, standing and ad hoc committees, and representatives to external organizations.
  • Preside over all official meetings.
  • Oversee operations of the organization and delegate responsibilities accordingly.
  • Draft a yearly budget.
  • Develop yearly organizational goals and outcomes with advice and consent of the Executive Board.
  • Take such actions as deemed necessary and proper to promote the purpose of the YDSC.

Skagit County Democrats

Webmaster (April 2021-November 2021)
  • Improve functionality, navigation, responsive design of website;
  • Update website with new pages and other content as needed.
  • Provide general technical support.
Secretary (2017-2018)
  • Prepare minutes of the previous Executive Board and Central Committee meetings and send the drafts to the Chair at
    least fourteen (14) days before the next scheduled meeting of the Executive Board and Central Committee, respectively;
  • Maintain an up-to-date list of PCOs;
  • Certify member’s status on request.

University of Washington

Co-Chair, Student Council on Insurance (2018-2020)
  • Lead discussions among student leaders regarding the potential reimplementation of student health insurance at the University of Washington.
  • Identify and evaluate hurdles to student health insurance then strategize collaboratively to navigate through or resolve them.
  • Build consensus and coalition with university administrators, state agencies, legislators, and a broad coalition of students.
Member, U-PASS Advisory Board (2018-2019)
  • Collaborate with the City of Seattle and the University of Washington to maximize the value and effectiveness of the U-PASS program for UW students;
  • Oversee fee setting and implementation, along with the scope of services provided by the fee;
  • Approve any addition of services valued at more than 1% of the program budget or elimination of any program component;
  • Jointly responsible for managing  program budget of $16,384,714
Volunteer, ASUW Office of Government Relations (2017-2019)
  • Collaborate on numerous campaigns including the organization’s annual voter registration & get out the vote drives as well as the collection of 7000+ student signatures to allow the continued use of opt-in fees to pay the organization’s dues to the Washington Student Association.
Member, HUB Board of Representatives (2017-2018)
  • Advise the Husky Union Building in conjuction with UW students, staff, faculty, and alumni, to help provide the vision, voice, and direction of the student union.
  • Business of particular interest includes events & programming, student organization office space assignments, and operations & services.
Chair, POMCOM Committee, ASUW Student Senate (2017-2018)
  • Chair committee of student senators responsible for Publicity, Outreach, Membership, and Communications (POMCOM);
  • Serve on the Steering Committee of the ASUW Student Senate;
  • Coordinate event planning and membership bonding activities;
  • Contribute to social media presence.
Member, ASUW Legislative Process Reform Taskforce (2017-2018)
  • Review the policies governing the drafting and approval of the ASUW Legislative Agenda and develop a set of recommendations to holistically reform and improve this process.

Miscellaneous

External Affairs Director, Young Democrats of UW (2017-2018)
  • Maintain relationships with organizations as approved by the Executive Board.
  • Chair the External Affairs Caucus, whose members shall be appointed by the President and have the responsibility of attending and reporting on the activities of their respective organization(s) as our official liaisons.
Young Democrats Representative, 43rd District Democrats (2017-2018)
  • Liaison to the Young Democrats at the University of Washington, representing the perspective and needs of students in our community;
  • Collaborate on various projects to support other members of the Executive Board in leading an organization with hundreds of active members.
Field Director, Richard Brocksmith for Mount Vernon City Council At-Large (2017)
  • Helped organize for a successful mid-size city council campaign against a 4-term incumbent;
  • Managed team of volunteers for field work, including phone banking, doorbelling, and reaching out to organizations for recruiting volunteers and advertising purposes;
  • Contributed to campaign’s social media presence;
  • Managed voter contact data through VoteBuilder and Excel.
  • Researched various local issues and helped prepare campaign literature.
Peer Educator & Volunteer, Planned Parenthood (2015-2016)
  • Taught comprehensive sex education to middle school, high school, and college students;
  • Phonebanked & doorbelled in support of Planned Parenthood’s electoral efforts.
  • Lobbied legislators in Olympia and D.C. for reproductive health and other issues impacting young people.