Hello from Zinc Collective! For those who don’t yet know me, I’m Sarah Kleinman. I joined as the President of Zinc Collective in late May and am deeply honored to be a part of this community.

Over the past eight months, since Trump was elected for the second time, I’ve felt what so many of you have felt: the anger, the fear, the sense of urgency as we watch our rights being stripped away each day. But in challenging times, we don’t just despair, we seek solutions. That’s why I joined this organization a few months ago, at one of the most turbulent moments in our nation’s history, and that’s why Zinc Collective is planning to meet this moment by taking bold action and applying a laser-focus to our work. 

The truth is unfortunate but simple: business-as-usual approaches are failing us. We need to adapt and do things differently if we want to win. Zinc Collective is ready to adapt in two ways.

First, we’re more narrowly focusing our work on winning back the U.S. House and Senate, restoring the balance of power at the federal level at a time when it is critically needed. Heading into 2026, we will do this by taking four key actions:

1. 1. Train campaign operatives on the skills that are critical for victory in today’s world, including data, digital, AI, and authentic communication across platforms; 
   2. Recruit and deploy exceptional talent into key roles, ensuring that the most critical federal races are supported by top-notch digital and social communications experts and led by the best campaign managers;
   3. Strengthen campaign security so teams can focus on winning; and
   4. Keep the best of the best in the party so they can transform it from within and help drive victories in future cycles.

Second, we’re augmenting our capability to influence the most competitive federal races by merging with Arena, an industry leader in talent development. Since their founding in 2016, Arena has recruited, trained, and deployed more than 8,000 political operatives, hailing from all 50 states, including hundreds of campaign managers, fundraisers, digital strategists, data directors, communications experts, organizers, and movement leaders. Last year, despite 90% of counties shifting towards Trump, more than 60% of candidates with Arena-trained staff won their elections, consistently out-performing national trends. Arena’s work is hugely important to the ecosystem, and they have long been a valued partner to us. We know that, together, we will be more than the sum of our parts. 

“The current political environment is unprecedented, and it calls for bold action. Democratic organizations must not only work harder, but smarter—and that’s exactly what we’re doing here. This merger brings together the two leading Democratic talent pipeline organizations under one roof, each with an exceptional track record of recruiting, training, and deploying talent. Together, Arena and Zinc Collective will be able to function more strategically, drive more impact, deliver more victories, and, collectively, be more than the sum of their parts. With strong vision and values alignment between our organizations, programmatic synergies, and new competencies that will be unlocked through deep collaboration, we are poised to build a powerhouse organization that will deliver Democratic majorities for years to come.” 

— Lauren Baer, Managing Partner, Arena

“We’re energized by our clarified focus for the next 18 months, and we are thrilled that Arena will be working with us to deliver on them. Talent recruitment, development, and deployment are at the heart of taking back the House and Senate in 2026 and delivering persistent Democratic majorities over time. Arena has been a trusted and effective partner in that work for years—we will have even more impact together than we had apart. Bringing Arena into the family is a powerful step forward in building the talent pipeline our democracy needs.”  

— Alicia Rockmore, CEO and Co-Founder, Zinc Collective

“Arena was founded on the belief that we have the power to make a better future for everyone— one where authentic leaders with bold ideas step forward and receive the training, mentorship, and strategic support they need to win elections. That’s why joining forces with Zinc Collective feels like such a natural next step for Arena. Together, we’re bringing two mission-driven organizations under one roof to nurture and develop the next generation of leadership that our movement depends on. I’m excited for what this partnership makes possible, for the people we serve, the campaigns we support, and the future we’re building together.” 

— Kate Catherall, Co-Founder and Board Chair, Arena

We’ve greatly valued your support and partnership as Zinc Collective has grown and evolved over the last seven years. We look forward to continuing that partnership as we adapt and enter this new chapter of our work. 

Sarah Kleinman

President, Zinc Collective
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