Behind the Curtain in Denver

One heads a Christian church and is a devout Star Wars fan. Another designed cars and sneakers before becoming a special-events guru. They're some of the key people involved in orchestrating the Democratic convention. A look at seven of them.

by Brian Friel

Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008


Denver Operatives• Matthew Nugen
• Leah Daughtry
• Travis Dredd
• Cameron Moody
• Ricky Kirshner & Mark Squier
• Mike Dino

Related: GOP Operatives

Way back in April 2007, convention planners met at the Democratic National Committee's Washington headquarters to start preparing for the Denver convention. Sixteen months later, the planners are aiming to hold the "greenest" convention ever. And they hope to "bring down the walls" by connecting more Americans to the convention hall through the Internet and by moving some events--most notably, Barack Obama's acceptance speech--outside into the Mile High City. But along with such twists, they need to keep the focus on the traditional goal of introducing their party's nominee to the nation for the fall campaign. Here is a look at seven key officials who are orchestrating the convention.

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