Celinda Lake

Celinda Lake is one of the Democratic Party's leading
political strategists, serving as tactician and senior
advisor to the national party committees, dozens of
Democratic incumbents and challengers at all levels of the
electoral process, and democratic parties in several
Eastern European countries and South Africa. Celinda Lake
and her firm are known for cutting edge research on issues
including the economy, health care, the environment and
education. They work for a number of institutions including
the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Democratic
Governor's Association (DGA), AFL-CIO, SEIU, CWA, IAFF,
Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Campaign,
Emily's List and the Kaiser Foundation.
Celinda Lake is one of the nation's foremost experts on
electing women candidates and on framing issues to women
voters. American Politics calls Lake a "super-strategist
or, better yet, the Godmother," and Working Woman says she
is "arguably the most influential woman in her field." In
past election cycles, Lake served as pollster for many
candidates at all levels of government, including Governor
Gary Locke of Washington state, the first Asian-American
Governor in the country, Blanche Lincoln, U.S. Senator from
Arkansas, Mary Landrieu, the first woman Senator from the
South elected in her own right, Patricia Madrid the first
Hispanic woman Attorney General in New Mexico, and the
historic victory of Carol Moseley-Braun, who was the first
African-American woman to be elected to the United States
Senate. In 2000 Lake and her firm were the only firm to
beat 2 Republican incumbents to elect Debbie Stabenow to
the U.S. Senate and Bob Wise as Governor of West Virginia.
During the 1992 election cycle, Celinda Lake oversaw focus
group research for the Clinton/Gore campaign and served as
a general consultant throughout the campaign.
Prior to forming Lake Snell Perry and Associates, she was
partner and vice president at Greenberg-Lake. Lake has
served as political director of the Women's Campaign Fund.
She has also been Research Director at the Institute for
Social Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Policy Analyst
for the Subcommittee on Select Education.
Celinda Lake, a native of Montana and one of the political
world's most avid whitewater rafters, holds a Masters
degree in Political Science and Survey Research from the
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and a certificate in
political science from the University of Geneva, in Geneva,
Switzerland. Lake received her undergraduate degree from
Smith College in Massachusetts. Smith College recently
awarded her the Distinguished Alumna Medal.
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Series
Books:What Women Really Want, October 2005
Hardcover
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