Who knew that the effort to pass comprehensive health care reform in the early ‘90’s would become a pivotal event for Sue Zoldak? Here’s the story. While studying for her Master’s degree, Sue ran into the case study of “Harry and Louise” as part of her coursework. Intrigued by the fictional couple whose television ads are credited with launching the genre of advocacy advertising, Sue sought out the creator, Ben Goddard, for an internship at his public affairs firm. Sue had one goal in mind – to learn about issue advocacy and marry her passion for advertising and public policy. The rest is history.

Rising quickly in her field, Sue went from intern to Vice President at Goddard Claussen. In the interim, Sue led award-winning teams of strategic and creative talent for clients in industries including pharmaceuticals, transportation, energy, education, health care, consumer electronics, and food and beverage. In 2009 and 2010, Sue’s stewardship of the “Harry and Louise” brand led her to manage two new ad campaigns as the public policy pop icons advocated for health care reform the second time around. Sue modernized Harry and Louise by launching Twitter and Facebook campaigns, resulting in a National Journal interview for the article, “Mystery of who tweets for Harry and Louise solved.”

Next, Sue Zoldak was a Senior Vice President at Adfero Group, a Washington, DC strategic communications firm. In that post, she led business development efforts and was a key member of the senior leadership team. During her tenure, the staff grew from 18 to over 30 team members. She led efforts for major trade associations, government contracts, and grassroots advocacy campaigns.

As Founder and Owner of The Zoldak Agency, Sue gets to do what she loves best – win issue campaigns. At the heart of every campaign? Cutting-edge digital techniques and hard-driving messages. Built in 2016 at the nexus of political strategy and Madison Avenue-style advertising, The Zoldak Agency was named Public Affairs Firm of the Year in both 2018 and 2019 by the Campaigns & Elections Reed Awards. Sue launched Zoldak Research, a public opinion polling firm, and Zoldak Victory, a political ad agency in 2019. Sue appears often in the media as a political commentator. MIT Tech Review says, “Put simply, she’s a go-to person for companies and organizations determined to shape public policy.”

In 2020, after Fairfax County Public Schools botched their online learning rollout, Sue became invested in the performance of the then 10th largest school district in the country with an annual budget of $3.4 billion. She launched a Change.org petition in April 2020 to ask for the superintendent to step down. The momentum of this effort led her to launch Do Better FCPS, which now boasts nearly 2,000 Twitter followers and an avid online following of parents. Do Better FCPS has successfully advocated for transparency and accountability, forcing change such as demanding School Board Members to separate their personal (politically tinged) social posts from their official FCPS statements. Hundreds of parents, teachers, and community members submit tips through the Do Better FCPS tip line. In 2022, the School Board chose not to renew the superintendent’s contract. By leveraging her skillset in real life practice, Sue has proven that every citizen can – and should – have a voice.

In 2023, Sue and her business partner Dana Cichon co-founded a first-of its kind tech accelerator, Wolfram Labs, for tech startups, innovators, and investors who want to disrupt the political tech marketplace. Breaking into the political game is notoriously difficult. Dana and Sue saw a gap in the marketplace for counsulting grounded in deep knowledge of the industry and its players. Together, they bring the insight needed for companies to break through. Campaign & Elections Reed Awards name Wolfram Labs a finalist for “Best New Firm” in 2024 and awarded them the honor for “Best Company Rebrand” for work they did for one of their first portfolio companies.

Sue is also the founder of DC Media Peeps, a networking group of more than 2,000 professionals in public affairs, communications, and advertising fields. She was an adjunct professor at George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management, where she taught Digital Strategy. Sue has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Michigan and a Master’s in Public Policy from Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy.

Sue creates ground-breaking digital and social media campaigns, builds grassroots coalitions, and provides leading-edge advertising and media strategy. She succeeds by bringing a Madison Avenue mentality to public affairs, unafraid to bring uncommon ideas to the table. Determined to get inside the mind of audiences and find out what gets them to act, Sue tirelessly seeks to deploy the right tools, but only as part of a sound strategy.

Sue earned a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute (now the McCourt School). She earned a B.A. in Economics from the University of Michigan, where she also completed the Teaching Certification program in Secondary School Mathematics. She considers Cleveland, Ohio her hometown but on college football Saturdays can be found wearing Maize and Blue while rooting for the Michigan Wolverines.

Visit Sue's personal website at SueZoldak.com.