My name is Molly Uthoff. I’m a Democratic communications professional and graduate student in political management at George Washington University.
You can reach me at mauthoff@gmail.com or (573)380-3225. Please see writing samples below.
Work Experience and Samples
Most recently, I worked with a political reform nonprofit based in St. Louis, MO as a communications director. While at this organization, I worked with our team to kickstart a statewide ballot initiative campaign, defend the ballot initiative process, and pass a local ballot measure. As part of these efforts, I authored press materials, secured media coverage, drafted and placed op-eds, managed social media strategy and content creation, conducted supporter outreach through email and SMS, led message development, authored talking points, and managed websites. Samples of this work may be seen below.
These samples are pieces of work I completed at an organization that was cross-partisan in nature. We worked with coalitions of people across the political and ideological spectrum—I wrote on behalf of Democrats and Republicans, and on behalf of ideas that do not necessarily reflect my personal opinions. My work on a statewide ballot initiative campaign, as well as with coalitions to defend the initiative process, demonstrate the reality of living in a red state with Republican supermajorities in the legislature. I’m happy to answer any questions about the work presented here and will provide context below.
When Republican legislators attacked the ballot initiative process, my cross-partisan organization put together a coalition of conservatives that supported the process who could speak to fellow Republicans in Jefferson City about the need to defend it. These are two pieces of media outreach I created for this conservative coalition during the 2023 legislative session.
Press Materials
These articles feature quotes and arguments my organization worked to publicize as part of our effort to defend the ballot initiative against Republican attacks by showcasing conservative support for the process. Both were published shortly after the above press materials were sent out.
Earned Media
In 2022, my organization began working on a statewide initiative campaign for voting reform—I wrote the first op-ed for Jim McKelvey, a supporter of the reform. The Hubbard and Lewis op-ed was written for two of my org’s volunteers who supported a STL City policy that was passed via initiative in 2020, but threatened with repeal by the Board of Aldermen in 2022.
Op-eds
When Republican legislators attacked the ballot initiative, my organization assembled a coalition of conservatives that supported the process who could speak to fellow Republicans about the need to defend it. I wrote these LTEs for members of this coalition during the 2023 legislative session.
LTEs
As Comms Director, I was responsible for managing my organization’s social media accounts and creating content. Below are collections of Twitter and Facebook posts I produced—the first set for an April ballot measure election in St. Louis City, the second set for a 36-hour crowdfunding campaign.
Social Media
As Comms Director, I created a newsletter and email outreach program to regularly communicate with roughly 50,000 supporters and donors. The first sample shows 2 emails I wrote for campaigns my organization was involved in. The second sample is a newsletter I put together in 2022.
Emails and Newsletters
Below are messaging tool kits I created for my organization’s supporters and coalition partners. The MO Agrees kit was for a statewide initiative campaign, the Prop R kit was for a St. Louis City ballot measure campaign.
Coalition Tool Kits
As part of a statewide initiative campaign for voting reform, my organization hosted a panel event to discuss the policy with partners and donors—I created the first graphic to be displayed at this event. The second graphic is one I created for a fundraising gala my organization hosted in 2022.
Campaign Graphics
School Experience and Samples
In 2022, I enrolled in George Washington University’s School of Political Management where I will graduate from next spring with my master’s degree. While at GW, I’ve taken courses in applied communications, digital strategy, speechcraft, legislative politics, media, grassroots engagement, and campaign strategy. Samples of relevant work I completed in these classes may be seen below.
In my digital strategy course, I put together a comprehensive digital outreach plan for a mock ballot initiative campaign I created for automatic voter registration in Missouri called “Missouri Votes.” As part of this plan, I made an editorial calendar for one month of social media content, as well as a wireframe for the MO Votes website—both of which can be seen below.
Digital Campaign Plan
In my applied communications course, I put together a communications plan for Governor Andy Beshear’s 2023 reelection campaign. As part of this plan, I wrote a mock stump speech and created a mock press release featuring a (fictitious) key endorsement—both of which can be seen below.
Communications Plan
In my speechwriting course, one of my assignments was to write a mock announcement speech for a Presidential campaign. In another assignment, I wrote a mock policy speech for an elected official. My speeches for Governor Whitmer and Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez can be seen below.