Nancy Jacobson (born November 9, 1962) is an American political activist. A former fundraiser for the Democratic Party, she later became founder and CEO of the centrist organization

No Labels No Labels is an Politics of the United States, American political organization whose stated mission is to support centrism and Bipartisanship in United States politics, bipartisanship through what it calls the "commonsense majority". No Labels w ...

Early career

Jacobson was born in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Florida, on November 9, 1962. She graduated from

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

. Jacobson's first political organizing occurred as a student at Syracuse University, where she organized a fundraising event to support then- Senator Gary Hart's 1984 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. She supported

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...

’s presidential campaign in 1988, and

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

's presidential campaign in 1991, and was the finance director of the 1992 Presidential Inaugural Committee. She later served as finance chair of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

(DNC) and the

Democratic Leadership Council The Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) was a non-profit 501(c)(4) corporation that was active from 1985 to 2011. Founded and directed by Al From, it argued that the United States Democratic Party should shift away from the leftward turn it had ...

(DLC). From 1995 through 2010, she was the national finance director for Sen.

Evan Bayh Birch Evans "Evan" Bayh III ( ; born December 26, 1955) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Indiana, 46th governor of Indiana from 1989 to 1997 and as a United States Senate, United States senator representing Indi ...

. She oversaw his political and fundraising strategy during his 2008 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. In 2007, Jacobson was named one of the 50 Most Powerful People in D.C. by

GQ Magazine ''GQ'' (short for ''Gentlemen's Quarterly'' and previously known as ''Apparel Arts'') is an international monthly men's magazine based in New York City and founded in 1931. The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture for men, though ...

. She has also been referred to as "one of the most powerful women in Washington."

No Labels

Jacobson founded

in 2010 with the stated goal of promoting bipartisanship. The organization has put forth ideas that it claims will "put problem solving above politics", and purports to support centrist, moderate social and economic policies. The No Labels group has been instrumental in the creation of the

Problem Solvers Caucus The Problem Solvers Caucus is a group in the United States House of Representatives that has included members equally divided between Democrats and Republicans, with the Caucus' stated goal of fostering bipartisan cooperation on key policy issues ...

. A number of proposals supported by the group have been signed into law. In 2021, the Problem Solvers Caucus, composed of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans, released a "Building Bridges" blueprint for a bipartisan infrastructure deal. It was the first deal to be endorsed by Republicans and Democrats during that budget cycle. In connection with her work with No Labels, ''New York Times'' columnist David Brooks described her in 2016 as an "undeterrable" leader. No Labels has also been criticized of fostering a toxic environment by former employees, according to ''

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American political digital newspaper company founded by American banker and media executive Robert Allbritton in 2007. It covers politics and policy in the Unit ...

''.

Personal and family

Jacobson is married to

Mark Penn Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

, president and managing partner of The Stagwell Group, former Democratic pollster and executive for

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

and

Burson-Marsteller Burson (formerly Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW)) is a global public relations and communications firm, headquartered in New York City, focused on building reputation for clients. In February 2018, parent WPP Group PLC announced that it had merged it ...

. The couple met in 1996 when

, then governor of Indiana, introduced them at a Democratic Leadership Council event. They married in 1999. They have four children.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobson, Nancy 1962 births 21st-century American businesswomen American University alumni American political fundraisers Indiana Democrats Living people Syracuse University alumni Washington, D.C., Democrats Washington, D.C., independents American women founders