Reach your audience. Tell your story. Win.

A women-owned, diverse, full-service digital advertising and strategic communications firm serving campaigns and advocacy organizations.

Leadership

Marina Orcutt, Partner

Marina has been shaping Democratic digital strategy at the highest levels for over a decade. In 2020 she was the digital director at the DSCC where she overhauled the committee's digital program and helped Democrats flip the U.S. Senate. As the first Latina to serve as deputy director of the DSCC IE, Marina brought her years of experience reaching diverse audiences to the IE's digital persuasion program, overseeing the largest increase in digital ad spend in DSCC history and resulting in wins in states like Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, and New Hampshire.

Helen Hare, Partner

High-ranking elected officials, campaigns, and committees look to Helen for strategies that reach, persuade, and mobilize audiences in a constantly changing information environment. Helen has helped challengers and incumbents win tough races and used communications to build support for ambitious policy initiatives. Helen managed Senator Patty Murray's 2022 re-election campaign, taking the campaign from a statistical tie to a 14-point victory against one of the NRSC's top recruits. She served as communications director for Senator Murray and the U.S. Senate HELP Committee and ran communications on U.S. Senate campaigns in Arizona and North Carolina. A Truman Scholar, Helen was a researcher in the Obama White House and on the Obama 2012 campaign in Chicago. She started her career on mayoral races.

Ben Seltzer, Managing Director

Watershed managing director Ben Seltzer is an experienced digital and creative strategist who oversaw the development of more than 440 video and static ads during the 2024 electoral cycle. Ben has worked on campaigns and elections up and down the ballot, including leading digital content and creative efforts on Senator Cortez Masto's campaign in Nevada where he scripted and produced compelling creative directed millions in digital spending to help win the closest Senate race of 2022. Prior to his work in Nevada, Ben spent two cycles at the DSCC developing and implementing innovative best practices to reach and engage target audiences. Ben got his start on Tom Perriello's gubernatorial campaign in Virginia. A proud Latino raised in a bilingual family, Ben now lives in Virginia with his wife Eleanor.

Margaret Smith, Paid Media Director

Margaret is a digital strategist who has managed and led paid media for political campaigns up and down the ballot. Most recently, she helped Democrats hold and gain seats in 2022, including campaigns for Governor JB Pritzker, Governor Ned Lamont, Rep. Angie Craig, and Rep. Jeff Jackson, planning paid digital advertising campaigns to lead clients to victory. In 2020, she worked with Biden for President in the largest Democratic digital ads program to date, along with organizations including Environmental Defense Fund, Everytown for Gun Safety, and Planned Parenthood Vermont.

Services

We seamlessly align messaging, creative, and digital strategy to tell stories that resonate and win.

Creative strategy and production

Paid media planning and buying

Testing and measurement

Campaign strategy

Communications advising

For years I looked to Helen and Marina for communications and digital strategies that reflected my voice, values, and legislative priorities. They're tested and proven campaign experts who are passionate about understanding how, and where, to tell a story so it breaks through and makes a difference. They have my highest recommendation.

Senator Patty Murray

Watershed's leadership team has been on the front lines of the toughest races, constantly innovating to figure out how to reach voters with stories that resonate. Their on-the-ground experience and strategic expertise will make a difference for campaigns across the country. I can't recommend them highly enough.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto

The Watershed team developed a strategy unique to my campaign, my values, and Washington state voters, always going the extra mile to make sure we had the information to make informed and smart decisions about digital. I'm confident they will add value to any campaign.

Senator Maria Cantwell

Ben, Margaret, and Marina are deeply trusted strategic partners to my team. They're vigilant about finding innovative, effective ways to help us meet our goals, they're meticulous about tracking performance and equally transparent about results. They have worked with us to design our reports specifically to make it easier for us to share our results and impact with our colleagues. I recommend them every chance I get.

Kelli Klein, Managing Director of Digital Campaigns at Everytown for Gun Safety

After a comprehensive audit of our program, Watershed put together a new strategy that used innovative targeting as well as state and audience-specific creative to mobilize young, Black, and brown voters. With Watershed as our partners, we saw dramatic increases in performance and found efficiencies that helped us do more within our budget. Watershed is committed to their clients' success and it shows every step of the way.

Jannessa Agnew, Vice President of Field at the League of Conservation Voters

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

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