OUR TEAM

Josie Mooney
Special Counselor & Senior Strategist

Before joining WMCSM, Josie Mooney had a 30-year career as a labor leader and activist for social change across the United States and around the world. Josie rose from a community organizer and special education teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area to become one of California's most prominent and influential labor leaders. Along the way, she has worked to improve the lives of working people through her activism and senior posts at several unions, including the United Educators of San Francisco, the Service Employees International Union and the California School Employees Association, one of California's largest education unions.

As Special Assistant to the President and Secretary-Treasurer of the SEIU, America's fastest-growing union, Josie was instrumental in negotiating a landmark agreement to unionize 14 WalMart stores in the People's Republic of China with the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, a campaign profiled in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and other media worldwide.

Josie specializes in assisting unions, nonprofits, public service campaigns and socially conscious businesses to develop their strategies, marketing efforts, communications campaigns and frequently leads key negotiations on their behalf.

Chuck Finnie
Vice President, Media & Communications

Chuck Finnie, one of San Francisco’s most recognized and respected public affairs journalists, devises and executes media and communication strategies for Whitehurst/Mosher and its clients. During a 20-year newspaper career, Chuck led local government and political reporting for the Hearst Corporation’s San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner newspapers as a City Hall beat writer, investigative reporter and finally as City Editor. Previously, he co-authored a political column for SF Weekly; covered the court system and legal affairs in the Bay Area and Washington, DC, for the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Daily Journal and Legal Times; and reported for the Orange County Register, Los Angeles Times and Fresno Bee. He is a 1988 recipient of a Master of Arts degree from the renowned University of Missouri School of Journalism, and a 1983 graduate of Saint Michael’s College of Vermont. As a consultant to WMCSM, Chuck helps our business, union and campaign clients tell their stories on their terms in a fast-changing media landscape.

Brad Witherspoon
Vice President, Operations

Brad Witherspoon handles financial and campaign reporting for Whitehurst/Mosher, as well as manages human resources. Brad has more than 25 years of accounting and human resource experience, having worked in such diverse fields as e-commerce, health care, education, for-profit and non-profit professional organizations, and the retail and restaurant industry. Brad was a Managing Partner and Director of Accounting and Audits for Il Fornaio, a restaurant and wholesale bakery company. During his 11-year tenure with the company, he helped open 15 restaurants, taking the company to over $100 million in revenue. He was voted "Corporate Employee of the Year" in 1996 and given the company's "Yes, We Can" award for outstanding service in 1997. Brad has served as Assistant Treasurer on many campaigns, including the successful Regional Measure 2, a seven-county transportation ballot measure, and San Franciscans Against Proposition 54.

Jill Nelson Golub
Director

Jill provides Whitehurst/Mosher clients with a wide range of strategic communications and political expertise. She has a diverse background in government and electoral politics, ranging from policy and research to press and field. Jill has successfully managed numerous political and public affairs campaigns since joining the firm in 2009. She relocated to San Francisco from New York, where she gained extensive experience as a political strategist and senior government aide in a variety of key positions. Jill served as Chief of Staff to New York City Council Member David Yassky and then as Political Director for his campaign for New York City Comptroller. Previously, she was the Director of External Affairs for Manhattan Borough President Scott M. Stringer. Jill got her start doing research and communications strategy for the New York State Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee. She has a degree in political science from Emory University in Atlanta.

Rudy Ramirez
Associate

Rudy brings a strong background in community organizing, social media and policy research to the WMCSM team. As a top field organizer, Rudy has the experience and expertise to aid WMCSM in creating winning field strategies for our clients. Prior to joining Whitehurst/Mosher, Rudy worked as an independent consultant with the firm and managed several successful campaigns in the Bay Area. Rudy moved to San Francisco from Washington DC where he gained valuable experience as a researcher in the private sector and as a policy aide on Capitol Hill. A Southern California native, he graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a degree in Political Science.

Lisa Hanson
Production Manager

Lisa provides production support. She has extensive political and campaign experience at local, state and national levels. Lisa previously founded and ran her own East Bay political consulting firm and managed a number of successful candidate and ballot measure campaigns, including Mike Sweeney’s successful 1994 bid for state Assembly, Rusty Areias’ victorious 1992 state Assembly campaign and winning city council campaigns for Joanne Lothrop and Shelia Young in San Leandro. A native of Chicago, Lisa attended Indiana University.