Our Team
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M.E. Smith
PARTNER AND CO-FOUNDER
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Erin McCann Ciani
PARTNER AND CO-FOUNDER
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Maddie Schmidt
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
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CJ Keshap
DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST
M.E. Smith
PARTNER AND CO-FOUNDER
M.E. is a Co-Founder and Partner of Elevate Strategic Consulting. She has a deep background in getting big, strategic wins, developing and leading high-powered teams, and helping her clients creatively navigate the current political and social landscape. She has managed a presidential campaign and two US senate campaigns, as well as serving as senior leadership for multiple other successful statewide and federal races including gubernatorial and US congressional races. Additionally, having served in policy roles for two Colorado governors, she has a deep background in policy and understands the intricate way policies impact our communities.
Before founding Elevate Strategies, M.E. led the Colorado office for Strategies 360, where she led a team of eight who helped achieve major political and policy wins including nearly toppling Lauren Boebert and helping pass legislation lowering prescription drug costs and expanding access to affordable housing.
Before her time at Strategies 360, M.E. managed John Hickenlooper’s successful US Senate campaign, running a $44 M campaign even during the beginning of the covid epidemic. Sen. Hickenlooper won by 9.5 percent, the largest margin for a Colorado senate challenger in the last 40 years. Her campaign experience runs deep, with 20 years of experience in campaigns across the US including managing US Sen. Bob Casey’s 2018 campaign and multiple other statewide races. M.E. is known as a fixer, able to bring leadership and focus to deliver big results.
Additionally, M.E. also served as a policy director for then-Governor John Hickenlooper, specializing in environmental and energy policy. Before that, she was the senior policy advisor to Gov. Bill Ritter. In her time in the governor’s office, she worked on more than 300 bills, helped write State of the State speeches, and was a member of the governor’s cabinet and senior staff. She also served as Staff Council for the Western Governors Association, where she helped align cross-state, bipartisan efforts for priorities across the region including land conservation, energy transmission, and regional health care costs.
M.E. was born in Alaska and raised in Idaho but has called Colorado home for more than a decade. She has a Bachelors in Political Science from Tufts University and a Masters in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where she completed her masters thesis on TABOR and the fiscal knot of Colorado. In her spare time, she enjoys travel, backpacking, and whitewater rafting.
Erin McCann Ciani
PARTNER AND CO-FOUNDER
Erin is a founding partner of Elevate Strategic Consulting. She draws from a broad background in political and strategic communications, having served as a consultant for state and federal agencies, national PACs and NGOs, statewide political candidates and ballot initiatives, nonprofits and labor unions, and major, national and international corporations. Erin is a proven leader and natural relationship and coalition builder, having formed solid foundations in the press, political, consulting, and business communities across the state.
Erin has led her clients to numerous key political, legislative, and strategic wins and secured them front-page and leading statewide news coverage as well as national news coverage. Her strategic communications expertise has spanned everything from health care to education, to the legalization of cannabis and the decriminalization of natural medicines, to energy policy and environmental stewardship, to workforce development and building our economy, to strengthening government and protecting democracy, and more. She has also successfully led multiple clients through serious crisis communications situations.
Erin is constantly looking for new angles and new innovations with her clients and aiding them in rebranding, reimagining and refocusing to meet their goals. Erin’s clients describe her as creative, strategic, knowledgeable, and talented, as well as hard working and collaborative. Erin prides herself on building strong relationships with her clients and their teams, adjusting to their workstyles, and prioritizing their objectives.
Prior to her work as a highly respected and sought after communications consultant, Erin worked in communications for State Senate President Brandon Shaffer, The Colorado Department of Labor, the campaign to reelect then Governor John Hickenlooper, and as a Press Secretary for Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet. As Press Secretary for Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, she played a key role in crafting messaging strategies for national initiatives around immigration, agriculture, energy, public lands, education, health care policy. She successfully strengthened the office’s communications and outreach efforts statewide and aided on the campaign for his successful re-election.
Erin graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder with a Bachelor’s Degree in both Political Science and Psychology. Erin enjoys running, reading, finding reasons to visit her family and the beach, and spending time with her husband, son and dog Bodie.
Maddie Schmidt
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Maddie serves as Communications Director for Elevate Strategic Consulting. With lifelong passions for writing, media, and political advocacy and a five year stint as a journalist, Maddie guides clients through a challenging and ever-evolving media landscape and helps them craft their message to achieve their goals.
Prior to Elevate, Maddie worked in Strategies 360’s Colorado office as Communications Director. During her time at S360, Maddie led communications for major state legislative initiatives as well as for Adam Frisch’s historic 2022 CD-3 race against U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert. Before becoming a political communications professional, Maddie spent five years as a political reporter and social media manager for the Colorado Times Recorder, a Denver-based progressive political news outlet. Maddie helped CTR build a following from the ground up through creative social media strategies and an eye for a great story. Much of her reporting focused on gender politics and reproductive rights, and her expertise in the field earned her bylines in national news publications. In addition to Colorado Times Recorder, Maddie’s work can be found in Jezebel, Rewire News, Colorado Springs Independent, KRCC, and Colorado Pols.
Maddie is a graduate of Colorado College, where she earned her BA in comparative literature and journalism. Born and raised in Oklahoma City, Maddie moved west after falling in love with the Rocky Mountains. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, seeing live music, and exploring the beautiful Colorado outdoors with her dog Zuko.
CJ Keshap
DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGIST
CJ brings a passion for policy into every project she takes on as the Digital Communications Strategist for Elevate. In a digital age, she brings a new dimension to clients’ communications goals through creative collateral and tested tactics for reaching digital audiences.
Before joining Elevate, CJ was the Senior Associate of Communications at Strategies 360’s Colorado office. There she managed digital communications for successful political campaigns, nonprofits, government agencies, and more. She excelled at curating digital presences for controversial political campaigns and has worked with clients to communicate topics like racial equity, police funding, affordable housing, reproductive health care, water rights and more.
CJ also served as the Digital Communications Director for Attorney General Phil Weiser’s re-election campaign in 2022 where he won by 11 points.
With a background in science writing, CJ earned two bachelor's degrees in public relations and environmental studies from the University of Oregon. Originally from Arlington, Virginia, CJ is grateful to add Colorado to the list of many places she’s called home. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, games and exploring nature with her dog Harriet.