MLTers in Politics Series – Joan Kato

Joan Kato, MBAP 2007

We are excited to share our MLTers in Politics blog series. Our goal is to highlight MLT Fellows and Alum working in grassroots organizing, advocacy, government roles and politics. Through these interviews, MLTers shared with us what sparked their interest in working in politics, what it means to work in politics in today’s environment and biggest takeaways from working in the sector.

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Joan Kato is the first in our series.

Joan had her first introduction to  politics in elementary school when her grandmother took her and her sister to the Gardena Democratic Club meetings, however, she never imagined that she would eventually make a living around it. Joan has held a number of roles in the political space including, working as a NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected Officials) Ford Fellow, a Foreign Service Officer and most recently as the National Delegate Director on Bernie Sanders Campaign. We reached out to Joan to learn more about her background, her learnings from her work in the politics and the changes she has observed in political campaigns over the past decade.

Tell us a little about your early educational background.

I was a high school drop-out.  My aunts offered me the opportunity to move to Iowa from Los Angeles to finish high school.  At first, I was unsure.  All I knew was that Iowa is cold, and all my friends were in LA, but I ultimately made a decision that changed my life.  I finished high school, and graduated from the University of Iowa with a BBA in Marketing and International Business. I’m a true believer that it takes a village to raise a child.  For me, it was a village of strong women—my aunts, grandmas, and step mom.

Give us a quick summary of your career journey until now and your decision to apply to MLT.

After undergrad, I did a summer fellowship on Capitol Hill as a NALEO (National Association of Latino Elected Officials) Ford Fellow.

While working on the Hill, I applied to MLT because I thought I wanted to go to business school (I still might one day).  After applying to MBA and MA programs I got the opportunity to work on then-Senator Obama’s Campaign, as his Latino and Asian American Outreach Director in Iowa, and later worked in Nevada, Colorado, Ohio and Pennsylvania.  Since the campaign lasted so long, I requested and was granted deferred enrollment to Johns Hopkins SAIS, the School of Advanced International Studies.

After the campaign I took a year off, and backpacked around the world.  During that time, I received the Graduate Pickering Fellowship, which paid for my graduate studies at John Hopkins on the condition that I would commit to working as a Foreign Service Officer at the US Department of State for a certain amount of years.

As a Foreign Service Officer, I served in Washington, DC on the Philippines Desk, in the Crisis Response Unit, and Consular Affairs Bureau. I also worked in Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam and Jakarta, Indonesia.

I left the Foreign Service to be the Nevada State Director for Bernie Sanders.  My team closed a 39% gap to bring him within 5% of winning the state.  Then I became the Washington State Director and then the National Delegate Director, responsible for all his national delegates.

Although I deferred my MBA program enrollment, the coaches from MLT taught me how to put together the “whole package.” They made me cognizant of how I could highlight different aspects of myself to compliment the program to which I was applying.  I’ve since used this insight when strategizing on applying to jobs and while reformatting my resume.

Tell us more about your role and the major campaigns you have worked on? How do you feel you are making an impact in politics?

I have been blessed to be a part of two game changing campaigns. The Obama and Bernie Campaigns had a lot in common— both were on the cutting edge in fundraising, technology, and engaging young voters.

I had two different roles on the Bernie Campaign—State Director and National Delegate Director.  I won Bernie the Latino vote in Nevada, which translated to him being able to win states with big minority populations.  As the Delegate Director, I created the infrastructure necessary to get approximately 2000 delegates, alternates, and standing committee members to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.  Through both experiences I have inspired others to get involved in politics at a local level.  I hope that Bernie supporters will continue to remain involved in local politics beyond 2016.  It’s important to pay attention to politics in off year elections. Your local state representatives, senators, city councils, and mayors influence your lives on a daily basis a lot more than those who are federally elected.

Social media, big data, and the internet have transformed how candidates reach and engage voters and measure the campaign’s success. How do you feel big data and technology are impacting local and national politics?

Data is huge.  I always stress to my staff—if you don’t record it, it’s like it never happened.  There are huge technology differences between working on Obama’s campaign in 2008 and Bernie’s in 2016.  In 2008, we recorded our canvassing activities on paper.  Now, you can record the results via an app.  It saves so much time.  The other big difference is text messaging.  I was the first State Director to sign us up for Hustle, which is an app you can use to text voters.  Text communication was huge for Bernie since we had so many young people who were engaging in politics for the first time.  If we want them involved, we should communicate with them via the platform they are most comfortable.  Polling has also changed.  In 2016 it is very common to include cell phones in polls, which definitely makes our projections more accurate.

What would be your suggestion to those who are interested in pursuing politics and unsure of what steps to take to get involved?

I’m a firm believer that the best way to get involved is to just sign up and do it.  Campaigns are great places to get involved in your community.  It’s a great way to meet other people who also care about the future of your state and country.  Plus, they are always looking for bright, smart and diverse volunteers.

I’d recommend taking advantage of opportunities to participate in fundraisers too. They are a great way to network, and make connections.  If you’re really ambitious, you could also volunteer to be a grassroots fundraiser.

How has your experience in politics prepared and positioned you for leadership?

Working on a campaign is like flying an airplane at the same time it is being built.  To give you an idea, when I started at the Nevada State Director in October I have approximately 10 staff and 1 office.  By February 20th, I had approximately 70 staff, plus 100 out of state staff, and 13 offices.  You have to make decisions, and you have to make them quick so you can respond to what’s happening locally, in the press, and to build an infrastructure to improve name identification and voter turnout.

After working a campaign, you have the confidence to know that you can deal with anything– because you already have.  You become adept to dealing with crises and coming up with innovative, cost effective solutions.

Do you see yourself continuing to work in politics after the campaign finishes? What are your plans afterwards?

I’m currently exploring opportunities, so if anyone is looking to hire someone with policy, political and international experience, let me know.