63 Magazine - Issue 4

Political
for Organizing
with
Riley Kilburg
Riley Kilburg, the deputy political director
for Hillary for Iowa, has been organizing in
Iowa since he was in high school. Born and
raised in Iowa, Riley has had the privilege
of working hard in multiple historical
organizing movements throughout the
years—first as a volunteer on then-Senator
Obama’s 2008 campaign, next throughout
college for the president’s reelection, and
finally working to help Hillary Clinton win
the Iowa caucus, the Nevada caucus, and
now the general election.
“Organizing is the bread and butter of
Democratic campaigns. It’s how we win.
I think it’s incredibly important that all
Democratic campaign staffers work as an
organizer at one point or another because
all other departments on a campaign exist
to support organizing.”
With so much experience organizing,
Riley understands just how crucial the
skills he learned while organizing are to
his success. Riley may be working in the
political department now, but he still sees
himself as an organizer, just of a different
group of people. He also knows that he best
serves his campaign when his work creates
opportunities for organizers to expand their
efforts.
It was in part due to his experience, in part
due to his deeply embedded understanding
of the political landscape in Iowa, and in part
due to his understanding of the way other
departments should support organizers,
that Riley was able to make the transition to
political after over a year spent organizing
on the Hillary campaign. All of these
experiences and skills made Riley a perfect
candidate for his new role, but Riley also
stood out because he was willing to advocate
for himself.
“Advocating for yourself and what you
want is important in any professional
setting. By having conversations and
demonstrating that I could do the work
and bring something unique and valuable
to the political team, I was able to move
into the position I have now.”