PokerWorks

The Poker Players Alliance (PPA) has been building a reputation as a grassroots advocacy group, and Drew Lesofski recently joined the organization as the Director of Grassroots and External Affairs. His primary goal will be to manage the continued growth of the PPA’s nearly 1 million members.

Lesofski had previously worked as the Senior Federal Policy Advisor at the Washington, D.C. office of Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons. He handled a diverse portfolio of issues, including gaming. Prior to his work with Gibbons, Lesofski worked at the Department of Health and Human Services to help with Native American grant programs. But his most pertinent experience that prepared him for the PPA position was his vast volunteer work for numerous local, state, and federal campaigns on a grassroots level.

PPA Chairman Alfonse D’Amato said, “As we get closer to reaching the million-member milestone, it is more important than ever for PPA to find new ways to energize and mobilize our members. Drew’s policy and political campaign experience will be an asset to PPA as we further refine and augment our grassroots program.”

D’Amato continued, “Drew’s experience has given him a solid understanding of the relationship between states and the federal government and the skills necessary to organize and manage multifaceted grassroots operations. We look forward to having him as part of our team.”

On the heels of Lesofski assuming his new role with the PPA, the organization then tapped 50 PPA members to serve as directors for their respective states. The State Directors’ program is part of the PPA’s comprehensive strategy to become a part of policy debates on the national and state levels.

The 50 directors were chosen from a pool of over 1000 applicants, and the new state directors have proven to be active PPA members as well as leaders in their communities who can advocate on behalf of the organization. They will be responsible for monitoring poker-related issues and events in their respective states, alerting the national PPA office to those issues, and recruiting new members of the PPA. In addition, the state directors will organize local PPA members to attend poker-related events, contact elected officials when issues of importance arise, and serve as a spokesperson for local media.

With the help of Lesofski and the 50 state directors, the PPA plans to soon launch a political action committee (PAC), voter registration campaign, a new website, and new membership incentives. The hope is for these goals to be accomplished in the spring of 2008.

The PPA is a non-profit membership organization with close to one million members, all poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States. The mission of the PPA is to speak with one voice for its members in an effort to promote the game, ensure its integrity, and protect poker players’ rights. For more information, visit www.PokerPlayersAlliance.org.