About ECDC

Michelle N. Taylor has more than twelve years of experience in fundraising, marketing, strategic planning, message development and management.

Taylor started her career working for Young America’s Foundation at the Reagan Ranch and served on the management team responsible for the construction of the Reagan Ranch Center in Santa Barbara, CA. As part of the development team, she focused on raising funds and awareness for the Foundation’s student programs as well as the preservation of the Reagan Ranch.

In 2006, Taylor moved to Washington, D.C. and worked at Citizens United as the Director of Development. She oversaw all fundraising and development staff at the organization. Taylor also worked on the marketing and distribution of three of Citizens United’s films and productions and organized film premiers in Los Angeles, New York, Washington D.C., Dallas and Chicago.

In 2008, Taylor joined A.C. Fitzgerald & Associates, a national nonprofit consulting firm. As the Executive Vice President, Taylor worked with dozens of clients with budgets ranging from $250,000 – $80 million to develop successful strategies to grow revenue, increase donor engagement, improve fundraising results, and meet the organization’s goals. Taylor has spoken at numerous fundraising conferences around the country and written dozens of articles on fundraising.

Taylor is also the co-founder of a media arts company in New York City. She has produced several short films, commercials and music videos as well as an award-winning documentary that was released in 2015. Taylor is the executive producer of a documentary scheduled for release in spring 2018 and is currently producing several short films.

Taylor has an Executive Certificate in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology.

M.A. Taylor grew up in the world of fashion and political activism.

Always creative, Taylor was drawn to sculpture, technology, and cinema, which would further develop during his time at Washington University, where he graduated with a B.F.A. in sculpture with an emphasis on art history and art theory. His work is deeply inspired by the early 20th century art movements that emphasized theoretical pursuits in concept art. Eventually, Taylor merged his love of cinema with sculpture and fashion to develop a unique perspective on messaging to broad audiences.

In 2004, Taylor entered the political arena when he went to work on messaging in the Bush-Cheney ’04 re-election campaign. Taylor’s notable commercials in the 2004 cycle were “I voted for $87 billion before I voted against it” ad and the “Windsurfing” ad. After the winning 2004 election, Taylor worked on a series of political campaigns across the country for Senatorial, Congressional and Gubernatorial candidates. He traveled, filmed and created content during this time communicating on a variety of issues and ideas.

In 2005, Taylor crossed into political feature films working with Citizens United to produce several feature length documentaries including Hillary The Movie, which triggered the Citizens United vs. FEC Supreme Court case in 2010.

Taylor has worked on 27 documentaries and directed a feature length award-winning documentary that was released in 2015. He has filmed all over the world including Poland, France, Czech Republic, Italy, Argentina, Germany, Guatemala and Albania. He has conducted hundreds of interviews with world leaders and experts including President George W. Bush, Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel, Sam Donaldson, Walter Isaacson, Newt Gingrich, Buzz Aldrin, Douglas Brinkley, Ron Maxwell, and Jeff Koons. In addition to feature films, Taylor has produced and directed over 100 short films ranging from avant-garde to music videos.

In 2011-2012, Taylor worked on the Romney for President campaign as a messaging and advertising consultant. In addition to consulting with federal and local campaigns, Taylor has worked with a series of associations, nonprofits and corporations including Financial Services Roundtable, DDC Advocacy, Targeted Victory, Young Americas Foundation, and the DCI Group.

In 2015, Taylor worked as a media consultant with Keep the Promise I, a SuperPAC supporting Senator Ted Cruz. During this time, Taylor directed Clinton Cash, a hugely impactful film on the corruption of the Clinton Global Initiative. The film was viewed online by over 7 million people and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

Clinton Cash became the foundation for the general election messaging that would lead to the eventual defeat of Hillary Clinton and collapse of the Clinton Global Initiative. During the 2016 presidential election, Taylor worked for Make America Number One as a media strategist in support of Donald Trump for President.

In addition to working in politics, Taylor has always kept one foot planted firmly in the fine art world. His work has been displayed in several galleries and shown at Fashion Week in New York City. Taylor works with members of the San Francisco Ballet merging classical dance and contemporary cinema for short films and music videos.