Jordan Rodgers: The Man With a Voice in Every Room

Networking is a big part of working in political communication especially because of the amount of social interactions that come with most jobs in the field. These events can include victory parties, lobbying, campaign rallies, speaking with the press, and interacting with constituents.

A person who has made their voice known in all of these circles is Jordan Rogers. He is currently a director and lobbyist for Archer Public Affairs, a powerful New Jersey government relations firm that has expanded into Pennsylvania quickly through Jordan’s work.

Photo of Jordan Rogers courtesy of Archer Public Affairs

We first crossed paths at a celebratory event for our mutual contact Thomas Young, former senior associate at Bellevue Strategies, becoming the President & CEO of the World Trade Center of Philadelphia. We were surrounded by different elected officials, businessmen, and investors but Jordan surprised me by knowing almost everyone in the room. For those he did not know, he made sure to introduce himself and find a way to connect.

He came up to me and quickly filled me in on all the context I was missing in that room. We saw each other again at a fundraiser for Pennsylvania Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis and I was impressed to see him and other industry leaders gravitate around Jordan. We have stayed in touch ever since the first event and his wealth of insider knowledge has been helpful as I, a graduating senior, choose my next career path.

The lobbyist’s contacts have not all been made through his current role. Before joining Archer he crisscrossed all of Pennsylvania working on John Fetterman’s 2022 campaign to become U.S. Senator. He had multiple roles in this campaign including political director for their Southeastern PA operation and led the cannabis coalition. Jordan first found the campaign through his advocacy for marijuana legalization reform and he had stones for this fight from his research while obtaining a Masters in Public Health from Drexel University’s Dornsife School.

While pursuing his graduate degree, the Philadelphia native also found time to be State Representative Brian Sims’ district director. He has been in many front-facing interactions in political communication, so I wanted to ask about his different experiences and the challenges he managed in these roles.

Q: What does your typical day look like as a lobbyist and what is the roadblock you have when trying to get through to elected officials for a client?

“I do not have a consistent day-to-day routine. Some days I might be waiting around for a call but on another day I might be rushing to City Hall or Harrisburg. Not every interaction is necessarily about trying to get a bill passed but instead, it can to build relationships in new sectors or maintain the relationships I have formed over the last decade,” Jordan said.

“A difficulty I encounter is trying to get through gatekeepers for elected officials. In navigating this field I learned to drop the letter next to your name when you go to the door and when you come to work because it's all about getting stuff done. I'm as progressive as they come but I still believe in bipartisanship, even though young people believe it's a dying art form, it is very much still alive.”

Bipartisanship and respect for people of different political backgrounds are core principles in lobbying. Jordan exemplifies this perspective through his closeness to his mentor Jon Taylor, the director of Archer’s Pennsylvania operation and former Republican state representative in the commonwealth.

He remembers Taylor helping him get registered as a lobbyist and introducing him to people all over Harrisburg. Jordan has since returned the favor and has brought the former South Philadelphia politician to various Democratic events.

The client base Jordan has can vary but some are geared towards his public health policy knowledge. Some of these examples include the American Lung Association and the cannabis industry.

Q: When working on the Fetterman campaign, how did you have to restructure near the primary when he had his stroke?

“It was right at get-out-the-vote (GOTV) weekend when John had his stroke. Pushing through GOTV weekend with the candidate in the hospital was hard. I and other people on the campaign became surrogates for as many events as possible because the candidate couldn't be there. People were still very grateful and excited to meet with us because we stuck true to our message of every county, every vote.”

Lieutenant Governor Fetterman ended up winning the Democratic primary and swept the competition by obtaining 58.6% of the vote. This does not mean that things were easy for the campaign even before the stroke.

The campaign tried to impede an endorsement from the state Democratic Party, even though many prominent operatives were backing moderate congressman Conor Lamb. They were also trying to compete in the Democratic stronghold of Philadelphia while having State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta in the race, who was trying to out progress the lieutenant governor on social and racial issues.

Q: What was your first break into politics and how did you find it?

“I was studying at FSU and I took an urban politics course where the professor brought in a guest who ran a field operation for a Philly city council candidate. I connected with the speaker and this turned into a summer internship. After college, I came back to Philadelphia and was able to work for the councilmember as a campaign manager.”

This should serve as a lesson to college students when their professors bring in guest speakers and then they treat the class as a free period. One can always be one person away from a life-changing opportunity.

Jordan has not missed an opportunity to try out new things in the political communication field and raise his profile in the regional landscape.