Our Team
Aaron
Leavy
Aaron
Leavy serves as National Editorial Advisor for
The Harwood Institute. In this position,
he helps to develop, diffuse and produce
Harwood content and capture the stories of
those using our work.
Prior to
joining The Harwood Institute, Aaron worked as
a research associate for Belden Russonello
& Stewart, a national communications and
research firm. He has also worked on campaigns
in every Continental time zone, serving as
Assistant to the Campaign Manager for the 2002
Paul Wellstone campaign and the Iowa Director
of Special Projects for Dean for
America.
Aaron
graduated from Oberlin College in 2001 with a
B.A. in Politics. He lives in the Mt. Pleasant
neighborhood of Washington and is an avid
ultimate player.
Ryan Seashore
Ryan Seashore serves as New Media and
Communications Strategist for The Harwood
Institute. His diverse background in politics,
technology and entertainment allows him to
create forward thinking communication
strategies for the organization.
Prior
to joining Harwood he worked as an associate at
the White House, Office of Presidential
Personnel. His responsibilities included
vetting Presidential Appointments and assisting
to create the first SES Career Development
Conference. In 2008, Ryan founded the San
Francisco Chapter of Generation Obama, a
national organization focused on youth outreach
and engagement. Before joining the GO
organization, Ryan served as a consultant in
Product Development he provided Innovative
In
another life Ryan produced two independent
feature films. One of which “The Beat” was
selected to the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.
During
his spare time, he enjoys volunteering his time
and energy to various causes, including
community action, political activism, and youth
guidance and tutoring. Ryan holds a BA in
Communications with an emphasis in Marketing
from the University of Southern
California.
Jennifer
Barton
Jennifer S. Barton serves as the
Operations Manager for The Harwood Institute.
She is responsible for the management of all
internal systems, events, vendor relationships,
contract negotiations, and overall timeline and
budget management.
She
brings to the organization 13 years of
marketing/management experience. Her previous
role was as the Director of Marketing for a
gourmet food store, Balducci’s. In addition
to advertising and all sales generating
activities she was responsible for management
of a multi-million dollar budget, all special
events and media contract negotiations. Her
previous position allowed her to travel the
east coast, meet the Greek Ambassador, and
partner with Antwan Jamison previously of the
Washington Wizards.
Originally from Evanston, IL she
moved to Washington, DC to attend Howard
University. She enjoys volunteering with youth
in her community and is an active member of her
church. She currently lives in Laurel, MD with
her husband and her two dogs both of which are
boxers. Jennifer is a passionate person and is
thrilled to have transitioned into the
non-profit industry.
Matthew
Virgo
Matthew Virgo is an administrative assistant
at Harwood specializing in audio visual
production and new media. Soon to receive his
Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Audio
Visual Production from Delaware State
University, his previous internships have
included BET, Washington, DC and numerous hours
in lighting and sound for the stage. At
Delaware State he was awarded two Outstanding
Leadership Awards as a Residential Assistant.
In addition, he has found time to complete more
than 2,000 hours of volunteer work:
working with adolescents in tutorial programs;
special events management; and teaching adult
literacy classes in his community.