BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Danny Sepulveda, SVP for policy and advocacy at MediaMath
How/where are you celebrating your birthday and with whom? “I will be celebrating my birthday at our home in Takoma Park, Md., with my family grilling steak and feeling super lucky.”
How did you get your start in your career? “I rented a van, moved to D.C. and knocked on doors until I got a policy advocacy job working for what was then the National Council of La Raza and is today UnidosUS, the largest Latino advocacy organization in the country. A few years later, I went to work for Sen. [Barbara] Boxer from California and took over her tech and telecom portfolio. It’s interesting that civil rights and tech policy, my two areas of passion, have come together again in the end.”
What’s an interesting book/article you’re reading during coronavirus social distancing? “I read ‘Never Split the Difference,’ which is a book on negotiation by a former FBI hostage negotiator. Basic point is you can’t let the hostage taker shoot two hostages and let two go, so you need to find another solution that sets them all free. It’s the best negotiation book I have ever read, and I have read all of them. And why?
“I think our party has to be prepared to negotiate a reconciliation of the nation’s leaders in order to reconcile the country after this election is over. But we have to do it without compromising the opportunity to make historic change, so we can’t just split the difference to get there.”
What’s a trend going on in the U.S. or abroad that doesn’t get enough attention? “It gets plenty of attention, but the trend toward greater inequality of wealth and opportunity between the middle class and the wealthiest 1% is the greatest threat to sustainable peace and multiethnic democracy.”
How’s the Trump presidency going? “It’s my birthday so I don’t want to say anything mean. But it’s not going well.”
What’s a fun fact that people in Washington might not know about you? “Two of my best friends are Republicans.”
