CEO, Winning Strategies LLC
[email protected]

Robin Leeds is the CEO of Winning Strategies LLC, a public affairs and communications consulting firm based in Washington, DC. Winning Strategies was a Strategic Partner to Burson Cohn & Wolfe, a leading global public relations and communications firm. She is now a Partner at Democracy Partners and provides a wide range of services – multi-cultural and crisis communications, public policy advocacy, stakeholder engagement, coalition building, diversity, equity and inclusion programming, and corporate social responsibility counsel. Leeds serves on the President’s Advisory Commission on the Arts (PACA). 

Winning Strategies offers clients a depth and breadth of experience cultivated over more than four decades working at the intersection of politics, policy and communications. From the campaign trail to the boardroom, Leeds has built solid relationships with leaders and changemakers across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. Her extensive network and political know how make her the ideal advisor for organizations and individuals aiming to forge diverse partnerships and strengthen their reputations among key influencers and stakeholders. Centrally involved in every presidential cycle since 1984, in 2020 Leeds served on the Fair Fight Executive Council, Biden Presidential Campaign Women’s Outreach and Policy Team, the DNC Voter Protection Program, and currently to the Biden-Harris 2024 Presidential Campaign. 

Leeds has devoted her career to expanding access to economic, civil, and social opportunities for all Americans and is a powerful voice for women, people of color, the LGBTQIA community, and other underrepresented groups. Leeds has a proven track record in the private sector successfully guiding companies through public crises by crafting communications and stakeholder engagement initiatives. Under her stewardship, major organizations have instituted socially responsible policies and programs creating more diverse, inclusive and fair workplaces. As a civic and cultural leader, Leeds passionately brings her social change lens into the arts. She served as an Advisory Board Member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and serves as a senior advisor to Creative Visions. Leeds represented the Creative Coalition at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and Emmy nominated actor Giancarlo Esposito in partnership with the Congressional Black Caucus during President Obama’s inauguration. 

A seasoned crisis communications strategist and diversity, equity and inclusion professional, Leeds has led multi-sector efforts to address complex race and gender challenges. She has brought her subject matter expertise and deep bench of relationships with policy makers, advocates and the media to address sexual violence and gender harassment and inequality for numerous organizations – Black Men Vote, Times Up Legal Defense Fund, National Women’s Law Center, National Association of Attorneys General, Princeton University, Georgetown University, University of Rochester, and City of Charlotte. 

Winning Strategies advised the Barilla Group repairing its reputation with the LGBTQIA community, and due to these efforts, the Human Rights Campaign awarded the company a perfect score in the Corporate Equality Index and a 2021 Catalyst Award recipient. Leeds advised pharmaceutical company Bayer Corporation coordinating a stakeholder engagement initiative on controversial issues impacting the health of women and girls. 

While serving at the Clinton White House Office on Women’s Initiatives and Outreach, Leeds coordinated domestic and global constituency engagement efforts on behalf of the President and First Lady shaping public policy on fair pay, Title IX, voting rights, public health, domestic violence, and sexual harassment. As a Clinton Presidential appointee she led efforts that raised the national childhood immunization rate to 90% for the Child Immunization Initiative at the Department of Health and Human Services, directed the implementation of the National Voter Registration (Motor Voter) Act in the WIC, Food Stamps and AFDC programs at the Department of Agriculture, and spearheaded the public-private initiative that expanded youth training and employment for Youth Opportunity Movement at the Department of Labor. 

Leeds is widely regarded as a leading voting rights advocate and labor/community organizer. In Massachusetts, she served on the Secretary of State’s Voter Participation Partnership, as director of Human SERVE (Human Services Employees Voter Registration and Education), campaign manager of the Voter Registration by Mail ballot initiative and the Building Trades and AFL-CIO Prevailing Wage ballot fight. Robin led the effort to win the passage of the Boston Residents Jobs Policy (BRJP) which mandated that 50% of all publicly funded construction jobs go to residents, 25% to people of color and 10% to women. She organized the successful implementation of the BRJP with the Boston Jobs Coalition.

Leeds has consistently fought to increase women’s participation, visibility, and leadership in politics and government. Since 1984 she has played leadership roles in presidential, gubernatorial and congressional campaigns ensuring that a gender perspective and women’s vote strategy was fully integrated. During the 2004 presidential cycle, Leeds created a partnership with the National Council of Women’s Organizations, Lifetime Television, Lesley University, and Barnard College, to launch a national leadership academy for young women in politics during the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. She acted as National Co-Chair of Women for Kerry and served as a senior women’s policy advisor during the Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden presidential campaigns. 

As a board director for the National Council of Jewish Women, Ambassador to Vital Voices Global Ambassadors Program in Puerto Rico (following Hurricane Maria), founder and board director of Breast Care for Washington and board director of Mary’s Center for Maternal and Child Health, Leeds has made a significant impact on improving the lives of women and families. She was a member of the Harvard Women’s Leadership Board, Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Center for Public Leadership, Advisor to the Senior Director of Harvard University, Women’s Initiatives, Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Leadership, Scholar-in-Residence at the Women in Politics Institute at American University, Appointee to the Governor Weld’s Commission on the Status of Women, and Fellow at the Council of Independent Colleges.

Leeds has consistently championed progressive causes and has a demonstrated track record of forging connections to create common agenda victories among diverse constituencies. Her success in managing multi sector crises combined with a deep understanding of public policy and long standing relationships with key influencers, gives Robin – and her clients – an edge over the competition.