ADVISOR, INVESTOR, FORMER DIGITAL AGENCY FOUNDER & CEO
Jonah Seiger is a veteran digital agency executive, entrepreneur, and public affairs communications professional. Over his nearly 30-year career working at the intersection of the internet and American politics and policy, Jonah has co-founded two successful digital marketing agencies and a leading digital rights non-profit, and served as a senior advisor and strategist to leading corporations, foundations, trade associations, and candidates for federal, state, and local office.
Currently an independent consultant, strategic advisor, and angel investor, Jonah's provides counsel on business strategy, personnel and team-building, communications, and public affairs to select early-stage startups, established growing businesses, and mission-driven organizations; with a focus on green-tech, gov-tech, and the future of work.
Beginning in 2004, Jonah spent 15 years as founder, managing partner, and CEO of Connections Media LLC, a creative digital agency with a focus on public affairs. Connections Media offered strategy, design, and digital marketing and analytics services in support of issues and causes, working with Fortune 500 companies, foundations, trade associations, and select candidates for federal, state, and local office. A nearly 40-strong team of talented professionals with offices in Washington, DC and NYC, "CM" was trusted for the team's insight, creativity, and quality execution, and was rewarded with longstanding loyal clients and numerous industry awards - including multiple Webby’s.
Connections Media was acquired in 2013 by Next15 Communications, and following Jonah's departure, became part of the UK-based holding company's Outcast in 2019.
Prior to starting Connections Media, in 1997 Jonah co-founded mindshare Internet Campaigns (later Virilion, acquired by Rep-Equity), and helped build a pioneering Web 1.0 digital public affairs agency combining creativity and data, setting the example for modern digital campaigns. In 2001 Jonah was recognized by the American Association of Political Consultants & Harvard University on its list of “The 25 Who Are Changing the World of Internet Politics.”
Widely regarded as an internet advocacy pioneer, Jonah has deep roots in the internet world.
A native of Silicon Valley, Jonah began his career in Washington DC in 1993 as an intern working on internet-related-policy issues with Congressman Ed Markey (MA), then-chair of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee, and then as a policy analyst with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). In 1994, he helped found and served as the first Communications Director for the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), an internet policy and advocacy organization, whose mission is putting democracy and individual civil liberties at the center of the digital revolution.
While at CDT, Jonah worked on legislation that that shaped today's internet, including the landmark battles over content regulation (he was in the room where Section 230 happened), encryption, consumer privacy, children's privacy, and copyright. In the early 1990's, Jonah was a leader and organizer of many of the first large-scale demonstrations of the internet for organizing advocacy; including the first online petition (in early-1995), the first webcast of a Congressional hearing, and the precedent-setting “black page protest” of 1996 - an event Yahoo.com cited as one of the 10 most important moments in the first 10 years of the internet. During that time, a 1997 New York Times profile described Jonah as “a trench warrior in the battle to democratize cyberspace,” in reference to his role in the landmark Supreme Court decision establishing broad First Amendment protections for the internet (ACLU v. Reno).
Jonah has served on the board of All For Good, an open-source platform for matching volunteers to activities across the U.S and powered sites including the Obama Administration's serve.gov, and service initiatives by MTV, and the AARP. Jonah was also Chair of the Board of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at the George Washington University. As a former member of the Adjunct faculty at the GWU's Graduate School of Political Management, he taught a graduate course on the role of digital communications in politics and public affairs in the mid 2000’s.
In his spare time, Jonah enjoys racing sailboats, cooking, guitar, and digital photography. He holds a BA with Highest Honors with a double major in Psychology and Studies in Religion from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Go Blue!). A native of Palo Alto, CA, he currently lives in Washington DC with his wife and dogs.
PAST EXPERIENCE
FOUNDER & CEO
CONNECTIONS MEDIA LLC
2004 - 2018
A full-service digital agency offering strategy, content, design, digital marketing, and data analytics to leading corporate, foundation, and advocacy clients. Jonah built the company into a team of 40 professionals with offices in Washington DC and New York City. Notable clients included former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2005 and 2009 campaigns, the Auto Alliance, Google, JDRF. NBC, PepsiCo, PhRMA, MPAA, Starbucks, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the World Bank, and Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Connections Media was acquired by Next15 Communications in 2013 and became a part of Outcast in 2019.
CO-FOUNDER & CHIEF-STRATEGIST
MINDSHARE INTERNET CAMPAIGNS LLC
One of the first-of-its-kind digital agencies, mindshare helped organizations leverage communications opportunities created by new technologies. The company pioneered digital advocacy helped establish an industry.
Mindshare became Virilion in 2007 and was acquired by RepEquity in 2011.
1997 - 2004
FOUNDING COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY & TECHNOLOGY
1994 - 1997
The Center for Democracy & Technology is dedicated to preserving democracy and individual civil liberties in the digital age. CDT supports laws, corporate policies, and technology tools that protect the privacy of internet users, and advocate for stronger legal controls on government surveillance.
Headquartered in Washington, with an international presence in Brussels, CDT works across sectors and the political spectrum to find tangible solutions to today's most pressing internet policy challenges.
POLICY ANALYST
ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION
1994
Founded in 1990, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is a leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world.
While at EFF Jonah worked on encryption policy, (key escrow & the "clipper chip"), electronic surveillance (CALEA), and the early the legal and policy framework that defined today's open internet.