Carolyn Riggs is a Director in Mercury’s New York office. She is a proven analytical and collaborative problem solver. Her experience employs critical-systems-thinking, organizational development and management systems, project management, and developing campaign strategies around earned and paid communications to achieve client goals. Her knowledge of grassroots organizing and coalition building in rural areas has acutely impacted local and state campaigns.

Most recently, Carolyn worked with a nonprofit organization dedicated to community and economic development as a communications and development director, and was a part of the team that successfully secured a $10M Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant from New York state. Carolyn has extensive experience in developing strategies to connect private-public-philanthropic stakeholders to work toward a common good.

Prior to joining Mercury, Carolyn worked as a campaign manager and political consultant for state and federal candidates running for office in Colorado, California, and New York. She co-founded the Rural Majority Project in 2018, an organization aimed to build Democratic presence in rural areas of the country by running candidates’ campaigns for public office in traditionally Republican districts. Over the last decade, Carolyn developed direct voter outreach communications strategies through targeted canvassing, earned media, and digital campaigns to hit tenable benchmarks and goals.

Carolyn has served as both an appointed and former elected local government official and formerly served as a County Chair to the Democratic Party in both Colorado and New York. She earned her BA in Organizational Communications from Western Colorado University.