Michael Charles (’13) recently joined the Political Science Alumni Advisory Board and will soon be teaching the one-week course POLI:3701:002 Special Topics in Politics: The Business of Political Campaigning. The class will dig deep into the mechanics of political campaigning, as well as the political campaign industry and the job opportunities within it. 

Michael Charles is the managing partner of Upper Left Strategies, a full-service public affairs and communications firm based in Seattle, Washington. Upper Left Strategies was founded in 2018 to marry authentic storytelling, community engagement and strategic thinking to change the culture of politics in the Pacific Northwest. Since founding Upper Left Strategies, Michael has gone on to elect candidates to public office at all levels of government and has served as a political advisor to numerous businesses, nonprofit and government entities.

In 2021, Michael was named “40 under 40” by the American Association of Political Consultants, a culminating award that was preceded by earning Pollie Awards in 2019 (the industry’s highest distinction), as well as being named “Best Consulting Group” by the Martin Luther King Labor Council in 2019. He earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Iowa.