Roger Lau
{{short description|American political campaign manager}}
{{Infobox politician
| image = Roger Lau (49640241172) (1).jpg
| name = Roger Lau
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1977}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = Democratic
| education = University of Massachusetts, Amherst (BA)
| office = Deputy Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee
| term_start = February, 2021
| predecessor = Vacant
}}
{{Chinese
| t = {{linktext|劉|煒}}
| s = {{linktext|刘|炜}}
| p = Liú Wěi
| j = Lau4 Wai3
}}
Roger Lau (born in 1977) is an American political consultant who served as the campaign manager for Elizabeth Warren's 2020 presidential campaign.{{cite web|url=https://www-m.cnn.com/2019/02/13/politics/elizabeth-warren-campaign-manager/index.html|title=Elizabeth Warren taps Roger Lau as campaign manager|work=CNN|last=Lee|first=MJ|date=13 February 2019 |quote=The appointment is also a historic one: Lau appears to be the first Asian-American campaign manager for a major American presidential candidate -- particularly notable in an election that already features an unprecedentedly diverse field of candidates.}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2019/02/20/faiz-shakir-south-asian-american-presidential-campaign-manager-436473/|title=Faiz Shakir: Finally, a South Asian American at the helm of a presidential campaign|date=2019-02-20|website=The American Bazaar|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-13}} Lau is the executive director of the Democratic National Committee.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-03 |title=Roger Lau named DNC executive director |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/roger-lau-named-dnc-executive-150300238.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}
Early life
Lau was born in Woodside, Queens, New York to parents from Guangzhou, China. He has two brothers. His parents worked many jobs including driving instructors, takeout restaurant owners, etc. He attended the Bronx High School of Science but dropped out. After receiving a GED, he went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he majored in political science and minored in Chinese. While at UMass, he interned for John Kerry. Lau graduated in 2000, and planned to return to New York; instead he was hired by John Kerry's staff and asked for a job working with constituents.{{cite web|url=https://commonwealthmagazine.org/politics/the-steady-hand/|title=The steady hand|work=Commonwealthmagazine.org|last=Metzger|first=Andy|date=January 2019 }}
Career
Lau started his career working with Kerry, including his 2004 presidential campaign. While working on the campaign, he met former United States president Bill Clinton and United States Senator Hillary Clinton, for whom he now provides consultancy on Massachusetts-related politics. He also worked on Kerry's 2008 U.S. Senate re-election campaign.
Lau briefly worked in the United States Department of Commerce for President Barack Obama.{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/13/elizabeth-warren-2020-campaign-manager-1168323|title=Warren names 2020 campaign manager|work=Politico|last=Korecki|first=Natasha|date=13 February 2019 }}
After the death of Ted Kennedy and the Democrats’ loss of the Senate seat in the subsequent special election, Lau led the victorious 2012 Senate campaign of Elizabeth Warren. He would then serve as her state director and later go on to manage her 2020 presidential campaign.
In 2021, Lau was named Deputy Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee.{{cite web |last1=Bowker |first1=Brittany |title=DNC announces several new hires, including Roger Lau, a former Elizabeth Warren staffer |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/dnc-announces-several-new-hires-including-roger-lau-a-former-elizabeth-warren-staffer/ar-BB1dXLpZ |website=MSN.com |access-date=May 3, 2021 |date=Feb 24, 2021}}{{cite news |title=Biden shifts his operation to DNC ahead of 2022 midterm elections |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-dnc-politics/2021/02/23/ba11c3da-75f6-11eb-8115-9ad5e9c02117_story.html |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=May 3, 2021 |date=Feb 23, 2021}}
In 2025, Lau was named Executive Director of the Democratic National Committee.{{Cite web |date=2025-03-03 |title=DNC taps Roger Lau as executive director |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/dnc-taps-roger-lau-executive-162904509.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall |access-date=2025-04-19 |website=Yahoo News |language=en-US}}
Personal life
Lau is partnered with Amanda Coulombe, a political field organizer who emphasizes technology, and they reside in Somerville, Massachusetts.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lau, Roger}}
Category:American campaign managers
Category:American people of Chinese descent
Category:The Bronx High School of Science alumni
Category:Democratic National Committee people
Category:Massachusetts Democrats
Category:People associated with the 2020 United States presidential election
Category:People from Somerville, Massachusetts
Category:People from Woodside, Queens
Category:University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Social and Behavioral Sciences alumni
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