Meet the Rittenhouse Team!

Aubrey Montgomery - Principal and President

Aubrey Montgomery founded Rittenhouse Political Partners, a Pennsylvania-based fundraising firm, in 2013 after more than a decade spent raising millions of dollars in more than a dozen states.

Aubrey is regarded as one of top fundraising professionals in the country, not only for her ability to create and execute finance plans, but also for her ability to coach candidates and manage finance staff.

Neil Deegan - Managing Principal

Neil Deegan, a skilled political and non-profit leader with more than a decade of experience, joined the firm’s team of fundraising professionals as managing principal in 2016.

Neil joined Rittenhouse Political Partners from Enroll America, a non-profit organization focused on connecting the uninsured with health coverage, where he served as the Pennsylvania state director. 

Sam Bolno - Senior Project Manager

Sam joined Rittenhouse Political Partners in the fall of 2019 as a project manager and now serves as a senior project manager at the firm.

Sam got his first taste of politics after joining Allyson Schwartz’s campaign for Governor as a finance staffer. Sam moved on to work with Chuck Hadley in his bid to unseat long time State Representative Bill Adolph, and then served as special projects manager at Home Care Associates, a B-corp and the second largest worker-owned home care cooperative in the country, based in Philadelphia.

Most recently, Sam advised Justin DiBerardinis’ campaign for City Council At Large.

A Philadelphia native, Sam attended the University of Pittsburgh and is a graduate of Temple University. Sam is an avid golfer and is a fan of all things Philly.

Emily Marcus - Senior Project Manager

Emily Marcus joined Rittenhouse Political Partners as a project manager in November 2021.

A New York State native, Emily has experience working in both government and politics. She formerly served as Executive Director of the Erie County, NY Democratic Committee where she fostered her love of politics and campaigning.

Most recently, Emily served as Communications Director and Campaign Manager for New York State Assemblymember Patrick Burke, as well as Vice-Chair of the Amherst, NY Democratic Committee.

Emily graduated from the University of Vermont with a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies. She grew up just outside of Buffalo, NY and recently followed in the footsteps of her two sisters by moving to Philadelphia. She loves traveling, her cat Cheddar, and the Buffalo Bills.

Emilie Ahr - Project Assistant

Emilie joined Rittenhouse as a fellow in 2022, and joined the firm full time as a project assistant in June 2023, Holding a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied Marketing and Political Science, Emilie's passion lies in merging these fields to create meaningful impact on her community.

Emilie has garnered valuable experience through her internships on notable campaigns, including Mayor Ed Gainey, Steve Irwin for Congress, Antonetta Stancu for DA, and the Black Women for Better Education PAC's slate for PPS School Board. During her time at Pitt, she furthered her marketing prowess and political acumen through achievements such as serving as President of the American Marketing Association, leading a student run marketing consultation firm, studying art history abroad in Paris, and graduating Summa Cum Laude.

Born and raised in Doylestown, PA, Emilie holds a deep appreciation for her creative outlets, and in her free time enjoys cooking and baking, skiing, and creating art through various mediums.

Zoey Benson - Project Assistant

Zoey joined Rittenhouse Political Partners as a project assistant in February 2023. 

Raised in Northwest Arkansas, Zoey moved to Pennsylvania as a teenager and studied Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh. While in Pittsburgh, Zoey worked in the office of Senator Bob Casey, then-State Representative Austin Davis, and was a Campaign Fellow on Mayor Ed Gainey’s campaign. 

Zoey has also worked as a social worker and as a policy researcher. 

In her free time, Zoey loves to travel, go camping, play board games, collect vinyl records, and try as much new food as possible.

Caroline Shelton - Project Assistant

Caroline Shelton joined Rittenhouse Political Partners in 2023 after serving on the finance team for former Councilmember Derek Green’s mayoral campaign.

A Georgia native, Caroline got her start in politics working on Carolyn Bourdeaux’s campaign in 2020. She was a part of a successful field team that flipped Georgia’s 7th district blue and elected the first woman to that seat. Caroline then joined Raphael Warnock’s re-election team in 2022, working with his digital and social media teams.

In her spare time, Caroline is a photographer and yoga enthusiast and loves finding new coffee shops and record stores.

Caroline attended McGill University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and minors in Philosophy and Art History.

Elizabeth Montgomery - Administrative Coordinator

Elizabeth was born and raised in the South Texas border town of Mercedes. She attended Yale University on scholarship, graduating in three years with undergraduate degrees in Sociology and Psychology.

After a successful 25 year career in sales, Elizabeth joined Rittenhouse Political Partners in 2015 as our administrative coordinator.

Elizabeth, or “Ms. E” as she is known here, is mother to Aubrey, Devon, Katelynn and Owen Montgomery, and grandmother to Shireen Pasha. When not at work, Ms. E loves to travel (to the beach or Europe), is a voracious reader and an avid Game of Thrones fan. She enjoys hiking, calligraphy, adult coloring books, visiting museums and historical homes.  Ms. E lives in the Philadelphia suburbs.