Stephanie Rosendorf recalled her AP Government class as the moment she decided to pursue a career in public policy and politics.
It was 2008 – a “historic election year,” Rosendorf said. As a student she had witnessed President Barack Obama’s first successful bid for the Oval Office and would later cast a vote for the two-term President as a Florida Delegate in 2012.
Now 28 years old, Rosendorf has since graduated from law school at the University of Miami. While licensed to practice law, she’s spending her time interpreting policies and advising clients at Metropolitan Public Strategies, a progressive political consulting firm operating in New York and Florida. Rosendorf’s work spans from research to outreach. As a millennial working in the Digital Age, she suggested the rapid evolution of outreach and campaign tactics is bittersweet.
“It’s a lot easier in some ways to get the message out, but in many ways it’s also harder because there are so many avenues and so many different forums,” Rosendorf said.
She also says there’s room for improvement – “such as building relationships, really studying the issues and making sure you always do what’s right and put principle above partisan politics” – in the political and issue-based advocacy arena.
Rosendorf is relatively new to her role at Metropolitan Public Strategies. Before that, she worked alongside Broward County Commissioner Nan Rich, complementing her longtime ties in South Florida.
Rosendorf graduated from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School well before the school suffered a remarkable tragedy. But as a political operator, she is compelled by the actions of her alumni after the tragedy.
“Everybody deals with grief in different ways,” Rosendorf said. “I’ve kind of been inspired by those who’ve tried to channel their grief and loss of their loves ones into purpose and action.”
