Conversations with Jason Berlin

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Berlin.

Hi Jason, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I had been a TV writer for 18 years when Trump got elected in 2016, and it broke my heart and mind. So I gave up my career and jumped into volunteering… it was all I wanted to do!

Going to my first activist meeting was transformative, just looking around at everyone in the room who felt as crazy as I did, and who had come to this room to do something about it, I was overwhelmed by gratitude. I had found my tribe. I decided I needed to be in a lot more rooms like that.

The next life-changing discovery was that during voter drives, I could channel all my rage and grief into positive conversations with strangers that got voters registered… and that if enough of us did this we could swing elections!

In 2019 I took a huge leap and started my own organization, Field Team 6. Our mission: Register Democrats. Save the world.

The idea was to go national, and fill the vacuum left by the national party doing about zero voter registration for the last 20 years. And we’ve succeeded beyond our wildest dreams.

We remain the one and only national organization registering Democrats and progressives to vote in every single swing state and district.

We now have 40,000 volunteers nationwide. We register voters not only through voter drives but also via text, email, and postcard… and to date?

We’ve helped register over 8.3 million new voters!

Our goal for the November midterms is to register enough Democrats to take back the House and Senate – and we need all the help we can get. Our mantra is: Volunteer – donate – win!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been almost infinite obstacles to overcome along the way. Here was one of the toughest. COVID almost ended the organization – but instead, we learned how to assemble a first-of-its-kind database of millions of unregistered, likely Democrats. And in 2020, that allowed us to help register 700,000 voters instead of the 100,000 we were hoping to register. Success!!

Right now, our toughest obstacle is fundraising. That’s the only thing standing between us and contacting the 9 million+ people we need to before the midterms!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are the progressive voter registration specialists! We are the one and only organization registering Democrats and progressive independents in every single swing state and House district, all year, every year. We do it with joy and fun and absolute relentlessness. We do it with a volunteer army. We do it at the biggest scale and lowest cost ever seen in progressive organizing!

Who else deserves credit in your story?
I am SO lucky to have had so many amazing mentors in organizing since I jumped into this world. Chuck Tyler, a veteran who brings military rigor to his organizing, taught me that to be a good organizer, you have to be able to 1) build capacity, 2) hit targets, and 3) grow leaders.

Christian Esperias, who won awards for registering voters in both Obama presidential campaigns, is the visionary who taught me how to register voters in a proudly partisan way – his teachings were the entire basis of Field Team 6, and our mission: Register Democrats. Save the world.

And I’ve learned so much about leading and running an organization from my fellow organizers, including Dale, our COO, who also comes from entertainment. (He actually hired me for one of my first TV writing gigs back in 1999!) He is an incredible systems thinker and problem solver, who approaches every crisis with creativity, positivity, and a dogged work ethic. He never, ever, ever, ever, ever gives up. And he’s saved the life of Field Team 6 multiple times.

Patti is another key member of Field Team 6, who was a founder and CEO of a communications firm for over 30 years, and is now the founder of our own Field Team 6 Analytics Team. I’ve learned invaluable lessons from her on how to tell the story of what Field Team 6 does – and how to use narrative structure to register the most possible voters with our scripts… whether that’s texting, emails, postcards, or talking to people in person on a college campus.

Wayne (our Operations Director) taught me the importance of delegating, and building specialized volunteer teams to scale up an entire organization. He also built our sister organization, BlueVoterGuide.org – an incredibly helpful ballot-building tool available for free in all 50 states.

Postcard Czar Sharon taught me how to use humor in literally every situation possible. Deb Verla taught me infinite patience and unflappability in any crisis.

Voter Drive Coach Jo Ann taught me that the best way to start a conversation at a voter drive is by offering someone free stickers with issues-based messaging, and then using their sticker choice to talk to them about why their vote matters.

Script Captain Mel teaches me every day how to bring order to chaos, and how to keep track of almost infinite outreach scripts.

And Data Team Lead Janet teaches me precision and attention to detail, and how to make sure we are doing outreach to the right people in the right states on the right dates – and to do it all in a super high-stakes, pressurized environment with grace and ease.

I am surrounded by volunteer leaders who are truly incredible at what they do, and just being around them makes me a better organizer every day.

Pricing:

• $1 = 1 new vote, the best bang for your activist buck
• $25 = 25 new votes
• $60 = 1 voter drive kit for a volunteer in Michigan
• $100 = 2,500 voter registration texts into Texas
• $500 = 50,000 voter registration emails

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fieldteam6.org
• Other: Donate here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ft6i-hiddengem