About Jared Kamrass of Cincinnati, OH
Jared Kamrass of Cincinnati, OH is a Principal with Technicolor Political, a full-service messaging and ad making firm advising Democratic candidates, committees, and progressive causes across the country. Before joining Technicolor, Jared Kamrass was the founder and Principal of Cincinnati-based Rivertown Strategies and a Senior Advisor to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Growing up the son of a Rabbi in a Cincinnati suburb, civic engagement was a value instilled in Jared and his siblings from an early age. It was through watching West Wing with his dad and brother and witnessing Barack Obama’s 2004 DNC Convention Speech in Boston that ignited his interest in politics.
Jared Kamrass went on to attend Ohio State as the Great Recession was unfolding in real time. Though always harboring a love for politics, his initial plan was to pursue a career in broadcast journalism.
For Jared Kamrass, the trajectory of life changed when he was told he had cancer the morning after Thanksgiving in 2010. Prior to that day, he’d been a normal 19-year old college sophomore whose career aspirations included becoming a sports broadcaster. To that point, his political campaign experience was limited to knocking doors in Cincinnati for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and helping manage his brother, Micah’s, campaign for OSU student body president.
But as he began treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and experienced the side effects that accompanied the chemotherapy and radiation, Jared’s interests began to shift. Amidst the backdrop of the national debate surrounding President Obama’s healthcare reform package, Jared saw first-hand how health outcomes were driven by economic circumstances. Jared became friendly with a peer undergoing Leukemia treatment and being raised by a single mom without health insurance.
Not only did their family have to deal with the stress of undergoing treatment, but they also felt the pain and anxiety of not knowing how to pay for the treatment. Why did two kids with similar diagnoses have such different experiences in receiving (and affording) the care they needed to survive? Upon entering remission and going back to school, Jared dedicated himself to making a difference by electing policymakers that work toward ending these inequities.
After graduating, Jared Kamrass returned home to Cincinnati, OH to manage local campaigns before opening Rivertown Strategies in 2013. What started out as a one-person shop evolved into a small business offering fundraising, media planning and buying, and general strategic consulting services.
The firm’s clients included ballot initiatives and candidates for local, state, and federal office. Jared Kamrass of Cincinnati, OH and the firm were particularly proud of accomplishments in helping elect John Cranley and Nan Whaley as Mayors of Cincinnati and Dayton respectively, passing the first dedicated transit and infrastructure levy in Ohio in more than 30 years, helping return control of courthouses in Ohio to Democratic control (in some cases for the first time in a hundred years), and electing the Judge who stopped a harmful 6-week abortion ban from taking effect in his state.
Over the course of eight years, Rivertown grew to be one of the top full-service Democratic consulting shops in the Midwest. The firm branched out to work in several states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, Oregon, and Florida, advising candidate campaigns and independent expenditure committees.
In the 2020 cycle, Jared Kamrass served as a Senior Advisor to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, advising candidates and staff in some of the nation’s most competitive districts at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and the parallel presidential campaign. The DCCC helped to preserve a Democratic majority following that tumultuous cycle.
Following the election, Jared joined Technicolor Political as a Principal, working as the ad maker and media consultant for a range of clients, including national committees, and candidates for Governor, Congress, and other statewide and local offices. Technicolor is the largest majority Black-owned firm in the Democratic party and is focused on creating and placing content that breaks the mold of traditional political advertising and grabs the attention of voters who are oftentimes engaging with multiple screens at once.
Jared and his wife, Emma, live in Cincinnati, OH with their dog, Archie, and love spending time with friends, family, and their seven nieces and nephews! In the Kamrass house, most things take a backseat to Ohio State football, but on any given day, you’ll be likely to find Reds, Bengals, FC Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati, and Washington Wizards games on in their house. Follow along by subscribing to the blog.