Our People

Rick Ridder

President and Co-Founder

Rick Ridder, President and Co-Founder of RBI Strategies and Research is a former presidential campaign manager and senior consultant for five other presidential campaigns. In the over 25 years with RBI, Rick has consulted for numerous U.S. Congressional, gubernatorial, state and local campaigns. Internationally, he has worked in 20 countries including the successful campaigns of four heads of state. He is a past president of the International Association of Political Consultants and a winner of the “Pollie” Award as International Consultant of the Year. He has written for “Salon.com,” “Campaigns and Elections,” “Australian Financial Review” and “The Denver Post.” Internationally, Rick has been profiled in publications in Denmark, Greece, Portugal, and the UK. He has appeared on all major US networks, the BBC, Australian Broadcasting, and a number of other foreign broadcast networks.

On a personal level, Rick has been recognized with the “Award of Achievement” from the Gleitsman Foundation, “in recognition of commitment and leadership initiating social change.” He holds a BA from Middlebury College, an MS in Broadcasting from Boston University, and is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver’s Korbel School of International Studies.

Joannie Braden

Vice-President and Co-Founder

Joannie Braden, Vice President and Co-founder of RBI Strategies and Research, has been involved in politics for almost 30 years. Since starting RBI with her husband, she has been integral to every aspect of the firm’s development. As managing partner, Joannie has oversight of all RBI operations, clients, projects, and marketing efforts.

Her expertise includes campaign strategy, voter contact, survey research, and budgeting. Joannie enjoys working with both candidates and non-profits, especially women’s reproductive health advocates and environmental groups. She has worked closely with clients on ad creation, messaging and media placement. She has been involved in campaigns and campaign training programs in Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, and Sweden.

She is a yoga and fitness enthusiast, a discriminating coffee drinker, and an avid reader. She has a working knowledge of Spanish and holds a B.A. from Bennington College.

Faye Diamond

Partner

Faye Diamond is a Partner at RBI Strategies & Research. She advises candidates, membership associations, and non-profit organizations. She specializes in campaign finance and legal compliance for congressional and statewide campaigns and does campaign management consulting work with candidates and statewide ballot initiatives. Faye holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Denver, College of Law. She has also worked for prominent membership organizations, including the National Women’s Political Caucus and the Colorado Education Association. She served on the legislative staff of Governor Richard Lamm, having first worked on his 1982 re-election campaign. Faye managed two state legislative races and has worked on various federal, local and referenda campaigns before joining RBI. She has been active in Democratic Party politics and served as Executive Director for the Colorado Democratic Party. Her legal, organizational and political skills bring added dimension to RBI’s strategic consulting and research services.

Faye currently serves as Secretary of the International Association of Political Consultants.

Craig Hughes

Partner

Craig has been involved in the design and management of various issue and candidate campaigns throughout the United States. Most recently, he served as Senior Advisor for Barack Obama’s Colorado campaign, which resulted in a resounding victory for the Democratic nominee in this battleground state. Craig came to RBI after working as Eastern Political Director in the Clinton White House from 1998-2000. In that position, he supervised political activities for the President, First Lady, Vice President, and Mrs. Gore in twelve Eastern states. Craig was one of the earliest staff members hired for the Clinton for President Campaign in 1991, and subsequently worked for both Clinton/Gore campaigns as well as the Democratic National Committee. Through these and other positions, Craig has worked on or consulted for campaigns in over twenty states in every section of the country. Craig was named a “Rising Star in Politics” by Campaigns and Elections magazine in 2000 and has been a featured speaker at political trainings, retreats and clinics, including seminars in Kenya, Uganda, and Brazil. He has also been an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Metro State University in Denver.

Niki Hawthorne

Senior Associate

Niki brings an international and non-profit background to RBI Strategies and Research. Her clients at RBI include policy-outcome oriented issue and policy campaigns, including in the environmental and conservation sector, and statewide ballot initiatives. Niki provides her clients with coordinated grasstops contacts, media outreach, and has directed statewide visibility efforts including a political issue forum for a US Senator and a statewide signature gathering tour. Further, her international experience provides RBI’s international clients with a broad knowledge and keen awareness of the intersection of international human rights and political campaigns. Niki’s human rights background includes work on conflict diamonds, human trafficking and slavery, poverty, women’s rights, refugees, and genocide prevention. Previously, she has worked for local nonprofits and humanitarian assistance organizations in Portland, Oregon and Washington, DC.

Niki has a Masters in International Human Rights from the University of Denver, and a B.S. in Social Science from Warner Pacific College in Portland.

Adam Dunstone

Senior Associate

Adam Dunstone, Senior Associate, Adam has worked on candidate and issue campaigns on local, state, and national levels. His Colorado campaign experience includes working as Campaign Coordinator for U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, and as Campaign Manager for Chris Romer’s Denver mayoral campaign. He also served as the Iowa Field Director for Vice President Joe Biden in 2008, and worked for a national advertising firm doing communications and paid media on races in every region of the country. Adam brings to RBI experience running large-scale voter contact operations, managing candidate and issue campaigns, and working with media and polling. Adam holds a degree in Public Administration and Public Policy with a concentration in Economics and History from Michigan State University. In addition to politics, he is also experienced in residential construction. Adam lives in Evergreen with his wife and two dogs.

Callie Seymour

Associate

Callie Seymour, Associate. With a knack for creativity and precision, Callie spearheads RBI’s Direct Mail Department. In particular, she deals with conceptualization, production, and targeting for RBI’s direct mail clients. She is committed to ensuring that each piece uniquely reflects the candidate or issue. Callie is fluent in Spanish and proficient in Japanese. She has interest and experience in international politics, and recently spent a year in Japan teaching English, where she gained a unique insight into the people, customs, and politics of the world’s fastest growing region. Callie holds a B.A. in Spanish from Davidson College in North Carolina.

Lauren Stackpoole

Associate

Lauren Stackpoole, Associate, works with RBI’s non-profit clients, as well as candidates. With her talent for writing and editing, she has become an invaluable member of RBI’s staff. Lauren also works on survey research projects, particularly for international clients and ballot initiatives. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts from Loyola University Chicago, she went on to earn a Master of Arts in International Studies from the University of Denver, with concentrations in non-profit management and policy analysis. Her areas of interest are democracy promotion and minority rights in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia. During her graduate studies, she worked in Budapest, Hungary with Freedom House Europe. She has also worked in Western Wollega, Ethiopia for the Village Health Partnership.