Our Staff

Elyssa Feder
Executive Director

(She/her)

Elyssa Feder is the co-founder and Executive Director of Rising Organizers. She has over a decade of experience as an organizer and trainer for social movements, and has held roles such as the Training Director for EMILY’s List and Deputy Training Director at Priorities USA. While at EMILY’s List, she created multiple new training programs, including the Ignite Change Fellowship, which trained women from underrepresented communities to increase their presence in political oﬃce and grow the pipeline of candidates of color. She co-founded Rising Organizers in 2016 to provide core grassroots organizing skills to emerging activists and organizers. The organization has since gone on to train over 5,000 individuals and hold seventeen intensive community organizing fellowships, with alumni now organizing in states across the country. Her work and the work of her organizers has been featured in Mother Jones, The Washington Post, Buzzfeed, and many more publications across the country.

All told, Elyssa has trained over 11,000 activists, political operatives, and candidates in the pursuit of social justice and civic engagement. In 2020, Elyssa was recognized for her work by being named one of Washingtonian Magazine’s 40 Women Under 40.

Aaron Booe
Community organizer

(He/They)

Aaron Booe is the Community Organizer at Rising Organizers. He brings years of experience working with youth and leading grassroots campaigns for racial and economic justice. Aaron began organizing as a high school student in Texas, where they led campaigns against school segregation and advocated for equitable public education.

While attending Howard University, they organized with SEIU Local 500 to support the non-tenured faculty union, helping to build a strong student-labor coalition on campus. Previously, Aaron worked with Black Swan Academy, where they supported middle and high school students in campaigns focused on public safety and education in D.C.

At Rising Organizers, Aaron helps RO alumni stay connected, strengthen the skills of emerging activists, and builds relationships with partner organizations. They are currently working on campaigns to defend D.C.’s home rule and fight for a people-centered city budget that reflects the needs of DC's working-class communities.

Daniela Guerrero
Development and Marketing Manager

(sHe/They)

Daniela Guerrero is the Development and Marketing Manager at Rising Organizers. She brings experience in digital organizing, strategic communications, and data management across movements for environmental and workers’ justice.

Prior to joining Rising Organizers, Daniela served as the Digital Communications Organizer at Just Transition Northwest Indiana, where they supported campaigns to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for environmental harm in the region. Most recently, Daniela worked as the Data Management and Communications Organizer at Chicago Workers’ Collaborative, where they led communications strategy to support temp workers organizing for stronger workplace protections, safety, and dignity on the job.

In their organizing work, Daniela has built CRM systems from the ground up to help organizations strengthen their fundraising, storytelling, and outreach through clean and sustainable data practices. At Rising Organizers, she helps build community-driven donor experiences and communications that deepen supporter engagement and spark joy, while working to ensure RO continues to be a pillar of D.C.’s movement ecosystem.