- Pritzker Fellows
- Former Fellows
- Patti Solis Doyle
Patti Solis Doyle
Democratic Political Organizer, Campaign Strategist & CNN Political Contributor
Winter 2016 Pritzker Fellow
Seminar Series: “The 2016 Shake-Up: How Demographics, Party Identification & Social Media Are Changing Our Politics”
Biography
Patti Solis Doyle is a nationally recognized political organizer and campaign strategist. She speaks regularly on the rise of women and minorities in politics, presidential campaigns and issues affecting Hispanic Americans. Solis Doyle is also a CNN political contributor.
Solis Doyle has enjoyed a 25-year career in politics, presidential campaigns, and public service. She began her career working on Richard Daley’s campaign for Mayor of Chicago and later worked at Chicago City Hall. In 1991, she was among the first to join then-Governor Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign. She served as a senior advisor to Hillary Clinton throughout that campaign and two terms in the White House. In 2000, Solis Doyle served as chief of staff to the First Lady’s first Senate campaign. She later managed Senator Clinton’s political operations, PAC and 2006 re-election campaign. As campaign manager of Clinton’s presidential bid (from January 2007 through February 2008), Solis Doyle was the first Hispanic woman to lead a presidential campaign.
During the 2008 general election, Solis Doyle joined the Obama for America campaign as chief of staff for Vice Presidential operations. In this role, Solis Doyle built a national team of policy, communications, political and field operatives in advance of the nominee’s selection. She later managed day-to-day operations for Vice Presidential nominee Joe Biden. During the 2012 presidential election, Solis Doyle served as an advisor to the Obama-Biden campaign.
She is currently president of Solis Strategies, a communications firm serving non-profits, NGOs, and corporations. Solis Doyle also cofounded The Vendor Assistance Program, LLC (VAP), a Chicago-based financial services firm. VAP helps state governments finance and accelerate payments to their vendors.
In addition to her work with Solis Strategies, CNN and VAP, Solis Doyle works with Hispanic service organizations and student organizations across the U.S.
Hispanic Magazine has honored Solis Doyle with the “Latinas of Excellence Award” for her accomplishments in government, politics and civil leadership. She also received the “Siempre Inspiran” award from Siempre Mujer magazine, honoring remarkable Latinas whose achievements and contributions to their communities are helping shape the future of Hispanic women in this country. Hispanic Business Magazine named her one of America’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics.”
Solis Doyle received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Northwestern University. She currently resides in Washington, DC with her husband and two children.
Seminars
“The 2016 Shake-Up: How Demographics, Party Identification & Social Media Are Changing Our Politics”
Presidential campaigns have always been expensive, complicated, exhausting, and unpredictable. The 2016 campaign is all that, plus it’s breaking entirely new ground. Long-term demographic trends and recent shifts in party identification are playing out in an election season upended by terrorist attacks, reality TV and social media. These changes will decide which candidate wins and how he or she will govern.
Two campaign veterans will explore what it takes to win, using examples from the past two decades. They also will offer play-by-play commentary as the 2016 primary and caucus season unfolds — from Iowa through Super Tuesday. Castellanos and Solis Doyle will review how the relative power of America’s racial and ethnic groups is changing the balance of political power — and how Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and reality TV are altering the way campaigns work. They also will explore what these changes mean for American policy and governance moving forward.
*This is a joint seminar series with Alex Castellanos
In this introductory seminar, Patti and Alex will discuss campaigning and government through the lens of their respective political careers. Starting with a look back at how races have been won, they will outline general principles of campaign politics and examine how those principles are changing. What do changes in demographics, technology, communication, and policy development mean for our two-party system? Alex and Patti also will assess the state of the 2016 race as the candidates gear up for the first ballots to be cast.
In 2012 President Obama won the presidency by building a coalition of African Americans, Hispanics, and women. The Republican Party responded with a plan to invest heavily in recruiting and organizing minority and women voters. But some of the party’s candidates in 2016 are taking a different approach, hoping to win the White House by increasing their share of white voters and by getting more white voters to the polls. Can Hillary Clinton hold the Obama coalition together? How will these strategies play out in an election where people of color will represent more that 30 percent of eligible voters? Alex and Patti will consider how these trends are playing out as the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses approach.
The development of key policy positions for the political parties is changing as Democrats move to the left and Republicans have moved to the right. What do these changes mean for gridlock in Washington and how does the deepening divide affect government’s ability to manage complex issues like the economy, immigration reform, climate change and abortion? Policy experts from both sides of the aisle will discuss this, as well as recap the results of the Iowa caucuses and look ahead to the New Hampshire race.
Special Guest: Neera Tanden, CEO, Center for American Progress
This seminar, which follows Super Tuesday, will examine the state of the 2016 race, using insights from our prior classes and real time data from the 2016 primaries. What does voting in early states tell us about each party’s chances of controlling Congress, winning the White House and governing America? How will each party’s nominee pivot from primary politics to the general election? What issues matter most in 2016, and which candidates do they benefit?
Special Guest: Michael DuHaime, Senior Strategist for Gov. Chris Christie's Presidential Race