Derek Jansen
Political Consulting • Public Affairs Campaign Management • Strategic Communications • Strategic Media Relations
Managing Director
Derek Jansen is a Sacramento-based political consultant and public affairs, media, and communications strategist working to help his clients achieve electoral, policy, and advocacy goals.
Derek is a leading Democratic consultant who has developed winning strategies and hard-hitting paid media for political campaigns throughout California, and advises government, corporate, and nonprofit clients facing public affairs and communications challenges.
Derek has a deep understanding of how state and local government works in California, including helping the State of California implement new policies and programs impacting key industry organizations. At the state and local levels, he has developed behavior change campaigns to improve public health, created messaging and advertising to raise awareness about financial assistance programs, and helped the City and County of San Francisco launch a public awareness campaign to advance public power.
For private and nonprofit sector clients, Derek provides counsel and develops communications strategies to help advance policy goals and regulatory priorities with the state legislature, agencies, and departments. He has built communications and advocacy campaigns across a wide range of high-stakes issue areas including land use and housing, environmental protection, clean energy, economic development, labor, criminal justice, tobacco control, and educational equity.
Prior to joining Mercury, Derek worked at the advocacy firm RALLY for nearly a decade, and on advocacy campaigns for Tom Steyer’s NextGen Climate. He has worked on political campaigns in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, and cut his teeth in crisis communications at Singer Associates Public Relations. Derek began his career as a Teach For America elementary school teacher in Brooklyn, New York.
Derek grew up in Davis, California, graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Kalamazoo College, and now lives in Sacramento with his wife, Victoria Hassid, and their two daughters.
Derek has a deep understanding of how state and local government works in California, including helping the State of California implement new policies and programs impacting key industry organizations. At the state and local levels, he has developed behavior change campaigns to improve public health, created messaging and advertising to raise awareness about financial assistance programs, and helped the City and County of San Francisco launch a public awareness campaign to advance public power.
For private and nonprofit sector clients, Derek provides counsel and develops communications strategies to help advance policy goals and regulatory priorities with the state legislature, agencies, and departments. He has built communications and advocacy campaigns across a wide range of high-stakes issue areas including land use and housing, environmental protection, clean energy, economic development, labor, criminal justice, tobacco control, and educational equity.
Prior to joining Mercury, Derek worked at the advocacy firm RALLY for nearly a decade, and on advocacy campaigns for Tom Steyer’s NextGen Climate. He has worked on political campaigns in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, and cut his teeth in crisis communications at Singer Associates Public Relations. Derek began his career as a Teach For America elementary school teacher in Brooklyn, New York.
Derek grew up in Davis, California, graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Kalamazoo College, and now lives in Sacramento with his wife, Victoria Hassid, and their two daughters.
