Our Team

Connor Farrell is the CEO and Founder of Left Rising. He started his career in politics in 2013 working as a finance associate on a congressional campaign in Michigan. In the years since, he’s been the finance director for Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign for Governor, and led the finance teams for Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel as well as the successful statewide voting rights ballot proposal, Proposal 3.

Connor oversees Left Rising’s work with every single campaign and organization. He studied political science at the University of Chicago and has an MBA from Western Michigan University. In his free time, he enjoys playing tennis with his fiancée, cooking, and trying to play piano.

Blake Thompson is a Fundraising Director at Left Rising. Blake got his start in politics as an intern for Senator Jon Tester in 2012 while a student at the University of Montana. In the years since, he has worked on campaigns in South Carolina, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Montana, New York, Missouri, and Kentucky. Most recently, Blake served as the finance director for Congressman Mondaire Jones and Lucas Kunce’s US Senate Campaign. Outside of politics, Blake enjoys exploring the mountains and lakes of beautiful Montana, where he currently resides. He can be found gardening, throwing pottery, or soaking in a natural hot spring.

Elizabeth Mazorra is the Operations Manager at Left Rising. Elizabeth first began learning about progressive politics and policies while teaching English in South Korea. She is an alumna of Movement School and was the Finance Director for Victoria Burton-Harris for Wayne County Prosecutor in Michigan. Elizabeth is passionate about education and supports candidates who focus on investing in their communities through improving public school systems and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline. She now provides support to our staff by handling the day to day operations of the company.
In her spare time, she practices jiu jitsu and spoils her dog. She currently lives in Central New Jersey.

Bridget Kenney is a Senior Fundraising Associate at Left Rising. She received her BA in Communications from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY, and went on to get her start in politics as a marketing intern at the DNC in 2017. After moving back to Syracuse, she worked as call time manager for Dana Balter’s campaign which led to her working with local candidates and building campaign foundations. Bridget enjoys astrology, Survivor, making Spotify playlists, and watching Chelsea FC matches. She currently lives in Washington D.C.

Gray Davidson Carroll is a Senior Fundraising Associate at Left Rising. Since joining Left Rising in 2021, they’ve worked for Greg Casar, Jamaal Bowman, Susheela Jayapal and others. They are the author of the poetry chapbook Waterfall of Thanks (Bottlecap Press, 2023), and their work has further appeared or is forthcoming in The Common, new words {press}, Sage Journals and Frontiers in Medicine and elsewhere. They have received fellowships from Brooklyn Poets, The Good Listening Project, Columbia University and elsewhere. They currently live in Brooklyn, and in their spare time, are pursuing a poetry MFA at NYU.

Isabella Vargas is the Junior Associate at Left Rising. She is in her last year of undergrad at the Ohio State University, studying political science. Isabella got her start in politics here at Left Rising as an intern, and is located in Columbus, Ohio. Outside of work and class, Isabella is often cooking, hanging out with her roommates, or learning the piano.

Alexandra Merritt Mathews (She/Her) is a Junior Fundraising Associate at Left Rising. She has been involved in politics from a young age, and her second word was “CNN.” She began volunteering regularly and vigorously on campaigns in 2016, working for Hillary for America. She has volunteered for Elizabeth Warren, Jon Ossoff, Raphael Warnock, Joe Biden, and more. Prior to joining the team at Left Rising, Alexandra served as Lead Organizer and Communications Specialist for Maria Ordoñez’s State Assembly campaign in Harlem.  

Alexandra holds an MFA from The New School and a BA from The University of Chicago. She is determined to fight for our democracy, for our equal rights, and for our planet. Outside of politics, you may see Alexandra on a stage or on a screen near you. Like many of her colleagues at Left Rising, she is a Survivor “buff.” While Alexandra is currently based in NYC, she was born and raised in Buffalo, NY, so of course, she loves Tim Hortons, and she must end her bio with “Go Bills!”