Roger Lau (born in 1977) is an American

political consultant Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely televi ...

who served as the campaign manager for Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign. Lau is the executive director 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 ...

Early life

Lau was born in

Woodside, Queens Woodside is a neighborhood in the western portion of the borough (New York City), borough of Queens in New York City. It is bordered on the south by Maspeth, Queens, Maspeth, on the north by Astoria, Queens, Astoria, on the west by Sunnyside, ...

, New York to parents from

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, China. He has two brothers. His parents worked many jobs including driving instructors, takeout restaurant owners, etc. He attended the

Bronx High School of Science The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...

but dropped out. After receiving a

GED Ged or GED may refer to: Places * Ged, Louisiana, an unincorporated community in the United States * Ged, a village in Bichiwara Tehsil, Dungarpur District, Rajasthan, India * Delaware Coastal Airport, in Delaware, US, callsign GED People * Ged B ...

, he went to the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

where he majored in political science and minored in Chinese. While at UMass, he interned for

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

. Lau graduated in 2000, and planned to return to New York; instead he was hired by John Kerry's staff and asked for a job working with constituents.

Career

Lau started his career working with Kerry, including his 2004 presidential campaign. While working on the campaign, he met former United States president

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, ...

and United States Senator

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

, for whom he now provides consultancy on Massachusetts-related politics. He also worked on Kerry's 2008 U.S. Senate re-election campaign. Lau briefly worked in the

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce (DOC) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government. It is responsible for gathering data for business and governmental decision making, establishing industrial standards, catalyzing econ ...

for President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

. After the death of

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...

and the Democrats’ loss of the Senate seat in the subsequent special election, Lau led the victorious 2012 Senate campaign of

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A mem ...

. He would then serve as her state director and later go on to manage her 2020 presidential campaign. In 2021, Lau was named Deputy Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee. In 2025, Lau was named Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee.

Personal life

Lau is partnered with Amanda Coulombe, a political field organizer who emphasizes technology, and they reside in

Somerville, Massachusetts Somerville ( ) is a city located directly to the northwest of Boston, and north of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge, in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 81, ...

References

1977 births American campaign managers American people of Chinese descent The Bronx High School of Science alumni Democratic National Committee people Elizabeth Warren Living people Massachusetts Democrats People associated with the 2020 United States presidential election People from Somerville, Massachusetts People from Woodside, Queens University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Social and Behavioral Sciences alumni {{US-poli-bio-stub