San Diego’s Legacy: Evinco’s Evolution and the Next Chapter

There was a time when Evinco Strategies and Eva Posner were the same thing. Two names used interchangeably to mean “get campaign shit done.”

Those years have long-since passed, and Evinco is its own noun. It’s grown so much more than I had originally dreamed — now encompassing what are arguably multiple business models all rolled into one. Thanks to the hard work and determination of my team, I looked up in 2020 and realized we’d built my 5-year plan in 2.5 years.

As the founder, I had a small identity crisis. Who are we now that we aren’t just me? What do I do with this genie that’s exploded from the bottle?

After a cycle-long process of feedback and planning alongside my team, I am proud to say that Evinco is no longer being run to achieve my dream. My dream is in the rearview mirror, and now we are building toward a bigger, more impactful organization than I ever could have imagined on my own.

Our clients are the movement, and we are their insider knowledge.

We are a strategic partner in movement building, increasing political access, tackling systemic problems, and empowering community representation. With our clients, we break barriers and create a future of progress and justice.

We specialize in fundraising, digital, mail, ads, field, policy, press, and training. Our comprehensive SOAR Academy for Operatives transforms activists into skilled campaign staffers through a self-paced, comprehensive online training program. And our paid internship program invests in the development of the next generation of consultants and staffers.

We are a lot of things to a lot of people. But we are humans first, and this human has a big life change coming.

My family and I are moving back to Virginia in July.

It’s been 15 years since I left home, and I had always planned to go back at some point.

We were only supposed to be in San Diego for 2 years. Long enough for my husband to get his master’s degree from San Diego State University. Then we were going to go back east.

But, in a tale that is familiar to so many, San Diego drew us in and wouldn’t let go.

Yes, it’s the beaches and the palm trees and the mountains and the deserts. Yes, it’s Balboa Park and Chicano Park and the La Jolla sea lions and the Tijuana Estuary. Yes, it’s the tacos.

But it’s mostly that San Diego gave me my calling.

San Diego gave me the mentors I needed through the early years of this absolutely insane industry. San Diego gave me the partners I needed to build with. San Diego gave me righteous causes to fight for, stubborn interests to fight against, dozens of victory dances after a win and more than one lesson in how to lose the race without losing the movement. San Diego gave me the wisdom to build small wins into the campaign plan, so no matter the outcome of the race I could make measurable progress toward my goal that could be used to make a future campaign more viable. San Diego gave me the understanding of when to step back and when to step up; the knowledge of how to open doors historically not just closed but padlocked; and the sense of responsibility to use my power, access, and resources to smash away at institutionalized inequity anywhere I can.

Lose, lose, lose, win. Win, lose, win. Win. Win again. Lose again. Win again. San Diego taught me the value of the long game in politics.

It’s time for me to expand our boundaries and apply all these lessons and resources in new geographies.

It means, once again, Evinco is growing. Scaling a company is no joke. It is not a burden that is held by the owner alone. My entire team works in a near-constant state of transition, and they constantly step up to the challenges placed before them. I am incredibly grateful to them for the flexibility and enthusiasm they have shown for what this life change for me, and means for the company.

New markets. New challenges. New movements.

Make no mistake: Evinco will still be in San Diego.

Evinco was born here. A majority of our Leadership team are born and raised San Diegans, and will not stop fighting to increase quality of life and equity in San Diego. And thanks to the power of technology I will still be working on projects with San Diego clients. San Diego couldn’t fully get rid of me if you tried. (Already have a flight booked back in September…)

But it’s time for a new chapter in my life, and therefore a new chapter for Evinco. A chapter in a far more grand plan than anything I dreamed up when I filed the LLC paperwork in 2016.

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the San Diegans and Californians who have taught me everything I know. Everything I am doing and will be doing is the result of the decade of work you have put into shaping this loud, stubborn, opinionated woman into a strategist. Everything Evinco achieves is a group effort that goes far beyond the people who work here.

San Diego is the foundation on which we will grow our human-impact political strategies into areas that need the infrastructure and funding most. You helped us build something special, and now it’s time to export it.

This piece was written by Eva Posner, President & Founder of Evinco Strategies.

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