Collaboration Campaigns was founded in 2023 by Gerry Vaughan. Gerry is a communications and political campaign strategist with more than two decades of experience helping organizations and candidates win issue and electoral victories in California, including ballot measure fights, independent expenditure campaigns, and legislative advocacy.

He began working in California as a union organizer with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and as a campaign field organizer with the League of Conservation Voters. Gerry was then recruited to lead the communications work for the historic organizing victory and first-ever contract for more than 74,000 homecare workers in Los Angeles County.

He helped lead the California Democratic Party’s regional campaign in 2000 to win back a crucial congressional seat and then continued his work with SEIU on priority projects to increase earned media coverage, build coalitions, and win contract campaigns. He worked with the largest public sector local in Southern California, SEIU Local 721, to build support against drastic cuts to the L.A. County public health care system and then led the union’s political and legislative department for several years before going to work for the Speaker of the California State Assembly, John A. Pérez. As a Special Assistant to the Speaker, he worked with Assemblymembers, their staff, and unions throughout the state on Democratic legislative and campaign priorities.

From 2012 through 2013, Gerry served as the Political Director at the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, helping to lead California’s largest central labor council in the fight to defeat Proposition 32 to protect union members’ political voice and win Proposition 30 to increase school funding.

Gerry brought his record of experience and accomplishments to the Strategy Group, one of the most prominent direct mail and campaign management firms in the nation. He worked as a lead strategist in their California office and created award-winning direct mail pieces for some of the highest profile issue, candidate, and independent expenditure campaigns in the state. Highlights include working with labor and environmental groups to elect progressive candidates to office at every level of government, and helping to gain more Democratic congressional and legislative seats in California, win an historic mayoral victory in Los Angeles, defeat Proposition 27 to protect California tribal sovereignty, and win independent expenditure campaigns for statewide offices.

After nearly 10 successful years with the Strategy Group, Gerry left the firm at the end of 2023 to launch Collaboration Campaigns.