Hope all is well in your world.
“You know as well as I know that a photo can change a political campaign”.
I wanted to check in about the upcoming roles for the 2024 DNC, specifically the role of running the Volunteer Digital Team.
I was one of the lead photographers for the Volunteer Digital Team at the 2016 DNC, working under Erin Scaff, now staff photographer at the NYT.
I captured Illinois Democrats from 7.30 am to 10 am, inhaled a muffin, ran to photograph the Caucus and Council meetings from 10am- 2 pm, then jumped on the SEPTA to head down to the Wells Fargo Center to cover the Convention, where I was in charge of capturing speeches. I produced 30K photos in 4 days, with my images leading the media on Wednesday –
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ijIbFcFbW7qCZe_PJ7aD40G7jlj1EPUG/view
I also produced a documentary book called “A Visual History – Democratic Party of Illinoi – 2016 DNC” with the support of Kevin O’Keefe and Kevin Conlon. Please let me know where I can send a copy. Please note: It is only the second book ever produced on the DNC and was self funded to the value of $8K.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Grs2WzwVCpD0LMhiPb1nu6zQZFHhAfV3/view
One of the challenges with the 2016 DNC was the Volunteer Digital team was created 4 weeks before the event.
Erin will confirm that we were understaffed and under-resourced. We did what we could with what we had, but it was by no means optimal.
I took what I learnt from the 2016 DNC and developed a robust and scalable workflow and used that as the foundation for the 2018 Women’s March Chicago Digital Team.
I managed a team of 50 (25 photographers and 25 support staff), secured locations for the 2 media centers and secured $100K in loan camera gear from Canon. I also donated $10K to this project. The team created 30K images in one day, edited and flooded social media. As a result of the quality and quantity of real time content produced and distributed, Women’s March Chicago trended 1st in the world on Twitter.
Photoshelter, our Digital Asset Management Partner, produced an amazing case study on the event.
So, in short, I’ve run a Volunteer Digital team before with great success. I understand the challenges first hand and know how much time and planning is needed to make it work seamlessly, especially with a diverse team who will only come together days/ weeks before the event.
Why start now!
Already, Summer internships for 2024 are being advertised by major corporations on LinkedIn. Here’s an example from United Airlines, already advertising on Linkedin for Summer Interns
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/collections/recommended/?currentJobId=3718547778&start=48
It would be advantageous for students involved in the 2024 Volunteer Digital team to receive academic credit from their college or university.
This takes time, forward planning and coordination with academic institutions, here in Illinois, and across the country, especially as security clearance is paramount.
As you can see, I’ve got the skills, experience and drive to run the Volunteer Digital Team and would like to engage with the DNC Host Committee and the DNC team to help make this happen.
Can you please let me know how we can make this happen
Thanks and chat soon
Sarah Matheson Photos