Accomplishments and Recommendations

For additional information on Nathan’s career and professional accomplishments, please see his résumé.

Freelance Consultant and Strategist

  • Client feedback from May 2017: “The copy was awesome! … Thanks SO MUCH! It was a complicated campaign with lots of sources to draw info from, and you did it so well and so thoroughly!”
  • Client feedback from March 2016: “The advocacy alert went out Thursday, and about 36 hours later, it is out performing all previous emails this year on engagement of previous non-donors and has beaten the best donation appeal this calendar year.“
  • LinkedIn recommendation from Dave Stroup, formerly of Rising Tide Interactive:
    • “I contracted Nathan to write a variety of fundraising emails… He is reliable and fast, with quick turnaround time. He was able to quickly capture the voice of various campaigns and write very effective emails. He’s a pleasure to work with and highly recommend him to others.”
  • LinkedIn recommendation from Chris Burley, formerly of Care2:
    • “Nathan is an extraordinarily savvy and effective communicator and advocate. He is well-versed not only in interpreting data to design effective strategies, but also in understanding the emotional core of the issues on which he works. He was an outstanding colleague and — later — contractor whose work was on-time and high-quality.”

Sierra Club

  • Led digital strategy and recruitment for 2013’s Forward on Climate Rally, then the largest climate rally in United States history with 50,000 attendees on the National Mall and one of the National Organizing Institute’s “13 Best Organizing Moments of 2013.” Nathan managed the digital efforts for both the Sierra Club and the rally’s 60+-member coalition;
  • Greatly expanded the Sierra Club’s role in the ALEC Exposed coalition, and provided the majority of the coalition’s signatures in a successful campaign to pressure Google and Facebook into quitting the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council;
  • Gathered 207,000 comments against the Keystone XL pipeline, a Sierra Club record and ultimately successful campaign;
  • Designed A/B and multivariate tests that increased the Sierra Club’s share rates by 13% and donations by 20%-50%;
  • Wrote the Sierra Club’s most viral alerts for two years in a row;
  • Co-founded the Sierra Club’s SierraRise branding and innovative email testing program, with a successful focus on list growth.
  • LinkedIn recommendation from supervisor Michael Grenetz, later of ActionSprout and Amazon, now of Microsoft:
    • “Nathan Empsall is a brilliant online organizer and digital strategist. It was a true pleasure working with him – his passion for winning campaigns, his drive for digital experimentation, and his good-natured style – were all huge contributions to SierraRise and Digital Innovation at Sierra Club. He is at the top of his game.”
  • LinkedIn recommendation from supervisor Jesse Danzig, now of Global Wave Digital:
    • “His work in both digital strategy development as well as tactical execution was of very high quality. His communication skills helped him maintain a strong relationship between the campaign staff and the digital team. I was also impressed with his passion for testing, optimizing performance and attention to detail during the 2012 election, when he helped manage the Club’s Independent Expenditure email campaign and a major social-media project for endorsed candidates… I would certainly hire Nathan again, whether as a consultant or employee.”

Democratic National Committee and Organizing for America

  • Helped launch the Obama for America reelection campaign and email list;
  • Wrote emails in the name of President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and DNC and OFA executive staff;
  • Assisted with tests that proved mobilization emails can:
    • increase voter turnout,
    • solicit donations without increasing unsubscription rates, and
    • integrate multiple platforms and lists.
  • LinkedIn recommendation from supervisor Matt Compton, later White House Deputy Director of Digital Content and DNC Digital Director:
    • “Nathan is a smart, detail-oriented digital strategist who has a sophisticated understanding of the best ways to mobilize supporters and activists. He’s a talented writer and a passionate advocate for social justice and protecting the environment.”

Care2

  • Managed Care2’s successful campaign to pressure a major national hotel chain to revise its corporate policies regarding homeless guests;
  • Grew Care2’s lists by hundreds of thousands of profitable new members with high retention rates.
  • LinkedIn recommendation from supervisor Emily Logan:
    • “Nathan is an absolute force. He worked incredibly hard on every single campaign he took on, and built relationships with organizers and individuals that paid dues even after his time at Care2. His writing is stellar and often almost poetic. And he’s incredibly savvy about testing and metrics-based campaigning, to the extent that he raised the quality of our entire program with his insights. He’s a gem and I would work with him again any day.”

For further information, please see Nathan’s résumé.