OUR Team
MORGAN JAMESON, CO-FOUNDER
Morgan is one of the founders of the Competitive Commonwealth Fund. Having grown up in Fairfax County, Morgan is a Virginia local. His first engagement with the civic process was at the age of 8 when he began volunteering on political campaigns. Morgan has spent the past several years working with Democratic leaders, organizations, for and with elected officials to help create a more Democratic community in Virginia.
He is a foodie at heart and enjoys taking time away to visit some of his favorite Virginia wineries or take advantage of the many outdoor recreational activities the Commonwealth has to offer. You can find Morgan on Twitter at @_morganwj.
JESS BROWN, BOARD CHAIR
Jess Brown has been a union organizer at SEIU Virginia 512 for over a decade. She has organized Fairfax and Loudoun County employees, as well as Home Care providers statewide in the union. She helps build teams of active union members throughout the Commonwealth who grow the union, engage in political action, and hold politicians accountable once they have been elected into office.
Her work with union members has taught her the importance and urgency of maintaining the Democratic majority in the Virginia House of Delegates. Prior to union-organizing, Jess taught English Language Arts in Title I New York City public schools.
IRENE SHIN, BOARD MEMBER
Irene is an experienced campaigns professional and fundraiser. She has worked on an array of campaigns -- ranging from city council to US Senate races -- and help raised tens of millions of dollars. Currently, she is the political director for a poli-tech startup, where she has helped hundreds of grassroots organizations across the country and worked to recruit local candidates to run for office in their communities. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Irene moved to Virginia in 2014.
As a Korean-American woman, she is committed to recruiting diverse candidates to run for office and expand representation of marginalized communities in elected bodies.
HON. JOHN BELL, BOARD MEMBER
Delegate John Bell is a retired member of the United States Air Force. He served almost 26 years before retiring as a Major in 2007. During his Air Force career, John served as a Finance Officer all over the world, including tours in support of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. His ability to build consensus among diverse participants produced savings and cost reductions throughout the world, including $200 million saved annually from his work in Iceland.
John enlisted in the Air Force in 1981 after graduating from high school. He was consistently recognized during this enlisted career as an outstanding performer and was named the #1 Non Commissioned Officer out of over 5,000 assigned to the Far East in 1992. After completing his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and graduating Summa Cum Laude (while serving full time in the Air Force) from Regis University, he was selected for Officer Training School. At Officer Training School, John finished in the Top 10% of graduates and was named a Distinguished Graduate. John was also a Distinguished Graduate of Squadron Officer’s School and was named the U.S. Air Force’s 2006 Outstanding Contributor to Financial Management and Comptrollership.
John now leads a team of financial professionals in the private sector and assists government clients to identify inefficiencies and implement cost-saving solutions.
John was elected to the State Senate in 2019 after having served in the House of Delegates since 2015.
DANIEL PRESS, BOARD MEMBER
Daniel Press is an attorney with Chung & Press, P.C., in McLean VA. He is an elected member of the Virginia Democratic State Central Committee and the 11th C.D. Democratic Committee, and serves on the DPVA Voter Protection Council and the Fairfax County Democratic Committee Election Law and Voter Protection Committee, as well as the FCDC Education Committee. He also represents the 11th CD on the DPVA Rural Caucus.
Previously, Mr. Press served on the National Board of Americans for Democratic Action and on the Executive Committee of the International Federation of Liberal Youth, and on the Fairfax County Public Schools Family Life Education Citizens Advisory Committee. Mr. Press has been involved in party building and fair election work abroad, having consulted on election systems and laws in several countries and worked on and led international election monitoring teams. He has worked with people trying to build progressive and liberal parties and movements around the world. Closer to home, Mr. Press has extensive experience in working for progressive causes in Richmond and Washington.
He has led legislative efforts to protect consumers from creditor abuse, including legislation to protect cars, child and spousal support, and tax credits for low income Virginians from being taken by creditors. He was heavily involved in the fight against what became the 2005 Bankruptcy reform bill, working with a coalition of consumer and progressive groups and people including then-Professor Elizabeth Warren to successfully kill the bill for 8 years, and to minimize its harshest terms when it did finally pass after we lost the 2004 election. He has been active pursuing solutions to the student loan crisis, and most recently with the introduction of a bipartisan bill to restore student loan dischargeability in bankruptcy.
He is a board member of the National Consumer Bankruptcy Rights Center and of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys. Mr. Press was one of the first lawyers on site at Dulles Airport when the Muslim Travel Ban was imposed, handling media relations and working with our elected officials and candidates to make sure they were involved in fighting it, and serving as a liaison between the litigation team and the lawyers and protesters on site, and he joined in the amicus brief filed by the airport lawyers challenging the unconstitutional travel ban.
MATT ROGERS, BOARD MEMBER
Matt is a passionate professional with close to a decade of experience working with local, state, and federal elected officials, as well as, caucuses, campaigns, and nonprofit organizations.